Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train

Unless you are familiar with the Demon Slayer anime TV series, or the original manga that inspired it, you might want to reconsider setting foot into any cinema showing Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train.  This is not so much a cinematic event, as it is a bridge to cover the gap between the first season and the upcoming second season that's due to air later this year.  This is a strictly fans-only affair that revels in the over the top world-shattering battles that the franchise is famous for, while still making time for plenty of equally over the top slapstick humor.

The film's mix of high melodrama, bloody battles, and wacky humor is really not so uncommon in Japanese animation, and actually kind of works here.  It's also not uncommon for a film based on an existing property over there to assume that you are familiar with the material walking in, and need no catching up on what's going on, who these people are, where they have been, and why one of the main characters is a half-naked wild man who wears a boar's head over his own.  I will be honest, reader, I am not too familiar, and felt I was a bit in over my head during the opening 20 minutes.  But, after a while, I began to get involved, and figure out who these people were. (Even the crazy boar guy.) Unlike the recent Mortal Kombat film, I may have not felt the same personal connection that fans do, but I at least felt involved, and found them likable.  

The film has become a worldwide phenomenon, becoming the most successful film in box office history in its native country, and even breaking some records here in the US, such as becoming the highest-grossing R-rated animated film ever.  And yes, it earns that rating, though this is not exactly a gruesome film.  It has a playful sense of humor throughout, and is not afraid to have its characters go into brief fits of hyperactive comedy when appropriate.  Like a lot of action-based Japanese animation, the fights do tend to be epic, and go on for well over a half hour seemingly.  There are also some long-winded monologues that I thought could have been trimmed in order to shave a little off the film's roughly two hour running time.  Nonetheless, the movie is impressive to look at in its action sequences, and even someone not very familiar with the franchise walking in like myself was able to get involved with the plight of the young hero, Tanjiro (English Voice Dub provided by Zach Aguilar).

For those not in the know, Tanjiro is an orphan who lost most of his family to an attack by demons, save for his young sister Nezuko (Abby Trott), who is now a demon herself, but has somehow held onto enough of her humanity that she aids her brother in traveling the land and destroying the demonic forces that plague it. (He carries her around in a wooden box on his back in order to protect her.) Tanjiro's fellow Demon Slayers are the somewhat cowardly Zenitsu (Aleks Le), and Inosuke (Bryce Papenbrook), who is the previously mentioned guy who hides his face behind the mask of a boar at all times, and likes to think of himself as the leader of the quartet of fighters.  They board a train early on, which will be the primary setting of most of the film.  They do so in order to track down a fellow Demon Slayer named Rengoku (Mark Whitten), and to aid him in order to battle a demon by the name of Enmu (Landon McDonald), who is planning to feed upon all the innocent passengers that are aboard, as demons have insatiable appetites for human flesh.

The heroes are lulled into a deep sleep by Enmu's magic, as is everyone else on the train, save for those humans who are secretly aiding the villain.  We witness the individual dreams of the Demon Slayers, and inevitably the most touching are Tanjiro's dreams of being with his family again, and getting to live the life he left behind before devoting himself to demon hunting.  Eventually, they figure a way to break free of the dream spell, and a good chunk of the film is devoted to them battling against Enmu, who has become the train itself, and attacks Tanjiro and the others by turning the train itself into a swarming mass of CG tentacles and flesh.  This will all be thrilling to fans, as they get to see the team of Demon Slayers facing off against the most powerful enemies they have ever encountered, and ones that have been hinted at as the first season ended.  

Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train is a bit much, but then again, I don't think subtlety is what director Haruo Sotozaki is going for.  Once the simple plot is set up, it's pretty much non-stop fighting, with both the demons and the Slayers themselves performing impressive elemental-based sword and martial arts attacks.  A majority of the dialogue seems to be screamed, but the movie still manages to make time for some more subtler and powerful moments, particularly Tanjiro's dream fantasy of his perfect life.  I was drawn in by this aspect, and found myself engaged with the animated fight choreography.  Sure, it's not the best animation out there, and some of it looks only slightly better than what you see on TV. (There's a lot of still shots where the characters pose while they talk.) But it's captivating nonetheless, and as crazy as it gets, fairly easy to follow and keep track of.  

This movie was not exactly made for me, and yet, I certainly didn't mind watching it.  Yes, it's easy to see its TV action cartoon influences, but for what it is, it's well done, and certain moments or characters were able to grab me.  Maybe not enough that I would want to watch an entire TV show about them, but enough that I did not find this to be a waste of time.  I at least did some research into it beforehand, so i knew what I was getting into.  I shudder at what my reaction would have been had I went in cold.

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