Demon Slayer: Mugen Train (2020) Review: Grief at Full Speed

Is Demon Slayer: Mugen Train worth watching?

Yes. Demon Slayer: Mugen Train is a thrilling, beautifully animated action film with a surprising emotional depth, and one of the best anime features of its decade. Studio ufotable’s dazzling fight animation is reason enough to watch, but what lingers is how the film turns a demon-hunting mission into a story about loss, memory and what it costs to keep going. The main reservation is that it continues directly from the television series, so newcomers will get far more from it after watching the first season.

What is Demon Slayer: Mugen Train about?

Set in Taisho-era Japan, the film picks up the story of Tanjiro Kamado (voiced by Natsuki Hanae), a young demon slayer whose younger sister Nezuko (Akari Kitō) has been turned into a demon. With his companions Zenitsu (Hiro Shimono) and the boar-masked Inosuke, Tanjiro is sent to join Kyojuro Rengoku, the fiery Flame Hashira, aboard the Mugen Train, where dozens of passengers have disappeared. They soon discover that the train is the hunting ground of Enmu, a powerful demon who traps his victims inside their own dreams.

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train is directed by Haruo Sotozaki and adapts an arc of Koyoharu Gotouge’s manga. It is in Japanese, runs 117 minutes and broke Japan’s all-time box-office record on release. It also won the Japan Academy Film Prize for Best Animation, and it is streaming on Crunchyroll.

Dreams as a battlefield

The film’s first half is its most inventive. Enmu’s power drags each hero into a dream built from his deepest wishes, and for Tanjiro that means a return to the life he lost. These sequences are gentle and bright, full of snow, family meals and warm light, which makes the wrongness underneath them all the more disturbing. The film uses them to show, rather than explain, what drives each character.

When the heroes fight back, the imagery turns the train into a surreal, shifting monster, and Sotozaki keeps the geography clear even as the action accelerates. The mix of hand-drawn character animation with sweeping digital camera moves is ufotable’s signature, and here it produces some of the most exhilarating fight scenes in modern animation, with sword techniques rendered as flowing water, lightning and flame.

Rengoku gives the film its heart

The big addition is Rengoku, a character the series had only glimpsed. Loud, cheerful and unshakeably confident, he could have been a cartoon mentor. Instead, the film gradually reveals the conviction and kindness behind the bluster, and he becomes the moral centre of the story. His influence on Tanjiro is the emotional thread that carries the film into its extraordinary final act, which is best experienced without any foreknowledge.

The score by Yuki Kajiura and Go Shiina amplifies every emotional beat, and the voice performances are fully committed; this is a film that believes completely in its own sincerity, and that conviction is contagious.

Where the series format shows

The film is not without flaws. It is essentially a long, superb episode rather than a self-contained story, and it assumes knowledge of the characters, their powers and their relationships. The comic relief from Zenitsu and Inosuke, loud and slapstick, can jar with the film’s darker moments. And the characters’ habit of explaining their feelings and techniques aloud, familiar to anime fans, may test newcomers. None of this dims its power, but it defines its audience.

Who should watch Demon Slayer: Mugen Train?

It is essential for anyone who has watched the first season of Demon Slayer, and an excellent showcase for animation fans curious about why the franchise became a phenomenon. Newcomers should watch the first season first; the film makes much more sense and hits much harder with that context. There is intense, bloody violence and frightening demon imagery, so it is better suited to teenagers and adults than young children.

If it works for you, try these:

• Jujutsu Kaisen 0, another blockbuster anime feature that mixes supernatural battles with grief and loyalty.
• Princess Mononoke, Miyazaki’s epic of swords, curses and spirits in old Japan, for a more mythic take.
• Rurouni Kenshin Part II: Kyoto Inferno, a live-action manga adaptation with superb swordplay and a similar sense of honour.

The verdict

Demon Slayer: Mugen Train is a landmark of modern anime, with astonishing animation and a heartfelt story about courage in the face of loss. It relies on familiarity with the series, but for anyone who arrives prepared, it is a thrilling, moving experience that fully earns its record-breaking status.

Rating: 5/5