Movie Review: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie - Infinity Castle (2025)

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie - Infinity Castle (2025) directed by Hikaru Kondo and Haruo Sotozaki

My daughter and I caught up on all the available episodes on Crunchyroll for Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, so we went to the movies to see the feature film that has been a worldwide hit. I'll provide a brief synopsis of what came before just to get unfamiliar readers some footing for following the narrative of this movie.

Tanjiro Komado is the typical anime teen--his life has been swept up into a fantastic adventure. His family was killed by the demon Muzan Kibutsuji, leaving only Tanjiro and his sister Nezuko alive, but she has been turned into a demon by the sadistic Muzan. She has a thirst for blood and can't be exposed to sunlight or she will burn to cinders. She has been able to keep her thirst under control (she wears a bamboo gag over her mouth, which gives her a creepy appearance). Tanjiro travels to a mountain where new recruits are selected to join the Demon Slayer Corps. After an extensive training program, he is one of a handful of recruits who becomes a Demon Slayer. They use specially-crafted swords to behead the demons, the only way to kill a demon without sunlight. He and his two friends Zenitsu and Inosuke usually travel and fight together. Tanjiro carries Nezuko around in a box during the daylight; she joins the combat on occasions. The big twist comes when she develops immunity to daylight, an ability Kibutsuji wants desperately. The demons hunt after her as the Corps hunts after the demons. Things come to a head when the best Demon Slayers, the Hashira, are pulled into the Infinity Castle, Kibutsuji's secret base. Tanjiro and his friends are pulled in too though they are not top-level yet. Nezuko is still in the regular world at a Demon Slayer hideout.

The movie starts as the Slayers are falling into the castle, which has very disorienting physics, almost like an Escher painting. Lots of upside-down and sideways paths look like they are right-side up when someone stands on them--gravity is wacky. The castle has hundreds if not thousands of demons in it, including top-level demons created by Kibutsuji. Kibutsuji wants to find out where Nezuko is hidden so he can take her powers, though he is undergoing his own transformation somewhere in the castle. The Slayers fight their way through the castle, trying to find and eliminate Kibutsuji. The Corps has sent in some crows that are flying around trying to map the expansive and confusing place.

The action is very intense and well-choreographed and surprisingly easy to follow. The visuals give a lot of innovative angles amidst the mayhem of the fights but viewers know what is going on and are drawn. The Slayers are separated and roaming around in pairs. Tanjiro is with one of the masters and they have a tough fight with a demon who doesn't turn to dust when decapitated. Other battles are just as interesting and well-staged. The action is amazing to see.

The main narrative at this point is a bit on auto-pilot--the Demon Slayers are trying to end the demon threat, especially Kibutsuji (Tanjiro wants to avenge his family), while the demons want to eliminate the Slayers (and get the ability). The action is broken up by extended flashbacks which describe the motivations of the characters. By extended, I mean like 20-30 minutes of prior narrative, often of a seemingly minor character who is on the verge of death. One of the demons has his history explained, how his life led to becoming a demon. It's so long that the main narrative is almost lost. I find these interludes too long even though they do make interesting side stories. Throwing in extended backstories has been an ongoing issue with the series. Ultimately I think it is a minor flaw that feels frustrating in the moment.

The narrative does not come to a completion. Two more films are coming out in 2027 and 2029, so it's a long wait for the story to end. I might rewatch the show and backfill reviews of what led up to this.

Recommended--highly for anime fans. Even without seeing the show, this is an amazing spectacle.