Fans of the anime show “Demon Slayer” had been eagerly awaiting the second movie called “Demon Slayer: To the Hashira Training.” The movie finally premiered in theaters on Feb. 22 for general audiences, and then released in North America on Feb. 23. It was directed by Haruo Sotozaki, who also directed the first movie. Though the animation is exceptional, the way the movie is formatted is disappointing.
Both the anime and the movies are adaptations of the Japanese graphic novels of the same name. All of the books were written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotouge. In the show, a young boy named Tanjiro Kamado goes charcoal burning and comes home to find his family massacred by the Demon King. But, his younger sister, Nezuko Kamado, who is the sole survivor, was turned into a demon. Together, they go on adventurous journeys and join the Demon Slayer Corps to find a cure for Nezuko.
This new movie was pretty much a transition between two seasons, since the Hashira training arc was too short to be put in as a whole season. The movie begins with a recap of Seasons 1 through 3, as well as the first movie. After the recap, the first half of the movie ends up being the final episode of the Swordsmith Village arc, the third season. The second half of the movie starts the new arc, which shows the members of the Demon Slayer Corps, including Tanjiro, training under Hashiras to defeat the Demon King. Hashiras are Demon Slayers who have obtained the highest ranking and are known as the most powerful. This layout was what disappointed fans, as they had been waiting for the new movie to come out, but ended up with half of the movie just being a recap of everything they had already watched.
While the formatting could be better, the voice acting is good, showing depth in the characters’ emotions. The movie is available in both subbed (Japanese with English subtitles) and dubbed (English). The voice actor for Tanjiro in subbed is Natsuki Hanae, who also voice-acted multiple characters from other globally known series. The way he uses his voice supplements Tanjiro’s humble and generous personality, which is what makes his character so lovable. The Japanese voice actor for Nezuko, Akari Kitō, also enhances the character. Before the movie, Nezuko could only make sounds, since she always had a bamboo muzzle in her mouth to stop her from biting anyone as a demon. Then in the movie, Nezuko starts talking, which Kitō takes advantage of and uses her voice to enhance how Nezuko is getting stronger and trying to get used to talking again.
In addition to the voice acting being awesome, the visuals of the animations are the star of the show. “Demon Slayer” has always been known for its visually stunning animation and art style. And just recently, “Demon Slayer” won the award for Best Animation at the Crunchyroll Anime Awards. The animation of the action scenes got the audience hyped up, and the animation of the emotional scenes got the audience tearing up. The versatility of ways the animators animated the movie, such as drawing the flames of a sword or drawing the tears and the smiles of the characters, helped set the mood of everyone.
Even with the amazing voice acting and animation, the layout and storyline of the movie are crucial for whether or not the movie will be a success. Unlike the first movie, which had a specific plot, the second movie was all over the place. The movie is rated R for its bloody and violent scenes, so it would be more enjoyable for adults and older teenagers rather than kids. With the “anime boom” in the 1990s and the time of quarantine for COVID-19, anime started getting more global recognition. Today, “Demon Slayer” keeps its title as one of the most popular animes, even with a mediocre movie.
