Movie Review: Demon Slayer - Kimetsu No Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train

Demon Slayer - Kimetsu No Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train

Apr 23, 2021 

Director: Haruo Sotozaki

Writer: Koyoharu Gotoge, studio ufotable
Cast: Zach Aguilar (Tanjiro Kamado), Abby Trott (Nezuko Kamado), Aleks Le (Zenitsu Agatsuma), Bryce Papenbrook (Inosuke Hashibira), Mark Whitten (Kyojuro Rengoku)
Runtime: 1h 57m

Rating: R (Violence and Bloody Images)
Genre: Fantasy, Anime, Adventure, shonen
Original Language: Japanese

https://demonslayer-anime.com/
Falling forever into an endless dream... Tanjiro and the group have completed their rehabilitation training at the Butterfly Mansion, and they arrive to their next mission on the Mugen Train, where over 40 people have disappeared in a very short period of time. Tanjiro and Nezuko, along with Zenitsu and Inosuke, join one of the most powerful swordsmen within the Demon Slayer Corps, Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku, to face the demon aboard the Mugen Train on track to despair.

There is a lot to unpack with Demon Slayer - Kimetsu No Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train. I'm gonna try to keep it short and to the point. 

I saw it with my 20-year-old daughter (she'd already seen it once) and she's seen the TV series. I hadn't heard much about it before seeing the movie. Some people say you need to see the TV series first, but that's not the case. I still loved the movie...it rocked!

Here is a little background about Demon Slayer:

-Feb 2016-May 2020 the Demon Slayer manga* created by Koyoharu Gotouge appeared in the manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump.

*Set during Taishō-era Japan (1912-1926), it follows a young boy named Tanjiro in his quest to join the secret society known as the Demon Slayer Corps in order to find a cure for his sister, who has been turned into a demon.

-April-Sept 2019 it was a 26-episode anime television series adaptation produced by Ufotable

-Oct 2020 Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train was released in Japan. The events Mugen Train happen between season 1 of the TV series and season 2.

-2021: The TV series second season will air.

Okay, now I can talk about the movie.

The Demon Slayer movie is the highest-grossing film EVER in Japan! What makes it different from other shonen* anime is addition of a horror element. It is rated R.

*Manga marketed to a teen male audience ages of 12-18

If you enjoy animated action movies then this is a must-see. The action scenes are insane! The final battle lasted like 30 minutes (I might be exaggerating but it seemed like it) and it was epic. 

Not only do you get lots of action, you get character development. The "good guys" are so pure of heart and wholesome you can't help but love them. The "bad guys" demons are done in true anime style. I've always loved they way Japanese animators portray demons...mouths everywhere! lol.

The movie centers around two heroes. They young Tanjiro Kamado wants to become a hashira in the Demon Slayer Corps and he wants to be trained by the best Flame Hashira Kyojuro Rengoku. Rengoku only had a small part in the TV series so this is kind of his backstory.

The movie will also touch your heart...I shed a tear at one point. They balance a good amount of humor with the heavier moments.

The artists didn't use normal animation. They combined hand-drawn animation and digital effects to create 3D sequences. It took a few for me to adjust to the style but once you do you will be hooked.

Oh, it's subtitled if that is something you don't like. There is a great use of music with the action too.

Holly and I give it 4 1/2 "Hashira" Sheep

SharonS

Book Review: Hellhound (Deadtown #5) by Nancy Holzner

Hellhound (Deadtown #5) 
by Nancy Holzner
They call it Deadtown: the city’s quarantined section for its inhuman and undead residents. Most humans stay far from its borders—but Victory Vaughn, Boston’s only professional demon slayer, isn’t exactly human…

Boston’s zombies have suddenly become inexplicably violent—horror movie-style—resulting in a catastrophic all-out battle against humans. More troubling to Vicky is that she’s had dreams and visions of herself fighting alongside the demons. At least, she hopes they’re just visions—otherwise, that puts her on the front lines of the wrong side of the war.

Vicky’s not surprised to discover that Pryce, her demi-demon cousin and loathed adversary, is behind the outbreak of the zombie plague, having formed an unholy pact with the Old Ones. Now, as the violence escalates and alliances shift, Vicky knows she’s the only one who can stop the plague. Unless the pack of hellhounds on her trail finds her first.

This is book #5 in a fabulous urban fantasy series. Jumping in now probably isn’t the best thing to do. Holzner does a great job of recapping the last book for those of us who have waited a year for this one, but there is also some basic series arc and world building information given that will help those rebels who don’t care when they jump into a series. I won’t give any spoilers for this book, but I might talk about things that happened in the past 4 so if you don’t want the series spoiled grab the one you want to start with and go read while the rest of us talk.

Kane *sigh* can you be any more perfect? I think not! The man is flawless. He proves to Vicky how much he loves her over and over. Even when she does stupid things like keep secrets to protect him. She is still full of self-doubt and makes some real big mistakes in Hellhound, but by the end she is finally getting it. Kane and those close to her have her back and she can trust them.

The night hag is holding one hell of a grudge against Vicky and she plans on using Kane for payback. As if that wasn’t enough on her plate her aunt shows up and drops a bomb about Vicky’s destiny. The cheeky Eidolon demon, Butterfly, that lives in her gut and looks like a giant maggot, wants to be friends. Can demons be “good”? Butterfly is opening up a whole new dilemma for Vicky. Her dad is a falcon and the Hellion Difethwr is back helping her cousin Pryce and the old ones try to bring demons into the human realm and burn our playhouse down! They have also been experimenting on the zombies of Deadtown. And then there is a goddess who has her sights set on Vicky.

The next book is going to be interesting. The story has taken a new turn and Vicky must decide between the demon she knows and the goddess she doesn’t. Vicky’s life has changed forever and the next book will show us the consequences of her choices.

Nice solid edition to the series to transition into a new series arc. If you are looking for a rock solid urban fantasy with skillful world building and a nice mix of drama and humor then give this one a try.

Some of my favorite quotes:

“Still, it would be dark soon, the time when demons are free to enter in the human plane, and you never know when one might materialize in your face, waving its claws and spewing its sulfur-and-brimstone halitosis.”

“If you’ve ever gotten a dirty look from a zombie, chances are it took…oh, about a week before the possibility of a good night’s sleep returned.”

“It was impossible to read The Book of Utter Darkness like a normal book. For one thing, it was written in the language of Hell--a language forbidden to anyone outside the infernal regions. Google translate doesn’t do Hellish to English.”

“That mark raged with fire that raced up my arm. It ignited my heart, my brain. There would be death—and I would bring it.”

Deadtown (book #1) review
Darklands (book #4) review

4.5 “rubbery neon pink” Sheep

SharonS

About the Author:
FB-twitter-websiteNancy Holzner grew up in western Massachusetts with her nose stuck in a book. This meant that she tended to walk into things, wore glasses before she was out of elementary school, and forced her parents to institute a “no reading at the dinner table” rule. It was probably inevitable that she majored in English in college and then, because there were still a lot of books she wanted to read, continued her studies long enough to earn a masters degree and a PhD.

She began her career as a medievalist, then jumped off the tenure track to try some other things. Besides teaching English and philosophy, she’s worked as a technical writer, freelance editor and instructional designer, college admissions counselor, and corporate trainer. Most of her nonfiction books are published under the name Nancy Conner.