MOVIE: Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba the Movie: Mugen Train (2020) - Quick Review

 Disclaimer: All of this is just my opinion based on my experiences watching Mugen Train. I hope you enjoy!

You can read my review of the first season of Kimetsu no Yaiba here.

• Studio: ufotable
• Source: Kimetsu no Yaiba (manga by Gotouge Koyoharu)
• Director: Haruo Sotozaki
• Genres: Action, Historical, Demons, Supernatural, Shounen

Summary:After a string of mysterious disappearances begin to plague a train, the Demon Slayer Corps' multiple attempts to remedy the problem prove fruitless. To prevent further casualties, the flame pillar, Kyoujurou Rengoku, takes it upon himself to eliminate the threat. Accompanying him are some of the Corps' most promising new blood: Tanjirou Kamado, Zenitsu Agatsuma, and Inosuke Hashibira, who all hope to witness the fiery feats of this model demon slayer firsthand.

Unbeknownst to them, the demonic forces responsible for the disappearances have already put their sinister plan in motion. Under this demonic presence, the group must muster every ounce of their willpower and draw their swords to save all two hundred passengers onboard. Kimetsu no Yaiba Movie: Mugen Ressha-hen delves into the deepest corners of Tanjirou's mind, putting his resolve and commitment to duty to the test.

(From MyAnimeList)

My thoughts (No spoilers this time!)

Here it is, the sequel we've been all waiting for. After months of patiently waiting for the ocidental release, with endless curiosity after the positive reviews from Japan, Mugen Train hit the cinemas with an overwhelming force that I have honestly never seen before with anime. A bunch of famous people watched it, almost everyone I knew watched it, it was everything Twitter talked about for at least a day (which is a lot, considering the platform). This movie quickly became the highest-grossing film of 2020, a feat never done before by a non-American work of animation. 

So you can guess that I was understandably hyped for Mugen Train. It's still one of my favorite arcs of the manga, with one of my favorite characters as one of the leads, and possibly the part I wanted the most to be animated. After the huge success of the first season of Kimetsu no Yaiba, and the (in my opinion) beautiful adaptation of a manga I enjoy, I expected great things from this movie. And oh boy did it deliver.

We still get everything we loved most about the first season: gorgeous animation, amazing fight scenes, lovable characters and touching moments. This arc is very important to Tanjiro's development as a character, going into both physical and mental aspects of the journey to become a better demon slayer. Considering that this arc on the manga was fairly shorter than the others, the decision to make a movie instead of a full season was very smart. With the added scenes during the fights and the original parts of the manga, 2 hours were perfect to create a fast-paced but emotional narrative. 

This time, we are again introduced to one of my favorite characters of the anime/manga, the mentor of Tanjiro, Rengoku Kyoujuro. I love Rengoku's character with all my heart, and it was a delight to rewatch all the scenes that I liked so much in the manga, even the heartbreaking ones. I can't believe I genuinely thought I wasn't going to cry with this. I was already emotional reading the manga, but seeing it in colors and animated was a whole new experience. I can't even imagine how it was for those who didn't follow the serialization. 

This movie was excellent in keeping the standards from the first season of Kimetsu no Yaiba, with a well done animation and a fun, enjoyable plot as always. It was just as I expected it would be, and I can just hope the next season will keep it up. Overall, my score is the same as the first season, so Mugen Train gets a 9/10.