Demon Slayer has become a franchise synonymous with the best movies in anime. Ufotable has knocked it out of the park in terms of animation time and time again, and this year’s latest smash-hit, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Part One, is no exception.
The Demon Slayer movies are some of the highest-grossing Japanese films of all time, and that’s saying something. When people think about Japanese animated films, only one studio comes to mind: Studio Ghibli. Studio Ghibli has dominated the box office and records for decades, but Demon Slayer’s recent emergence has shown that their spot at the top isn’t set in stone.
Mugen Train decimated box offices when it came out and set a record as the highest-grossing Japanese film ever made. Nobody could have seen just how succesful the film became, and Infinity Castle seems to take that success a step further.
Demon Slayer Set the Standard for Anime Movies
The Demon Slayer Movies Are the Biggest of All Time
There isn’t another franchise as succesful in movie theaters as Demon Slayer. While there are a ton of anime franchises who have tried to create amazing film adaptions of their source material, no other franchise has cracked it quite like this one.
Demon Slayer has done so well at the box office that the franchise looks like it started a trend that other franchises are following. Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, and even the best sports anime of all time, Haikyu!!, are all creating movies for their series instead of traditional, seasonal anime.
The Demon Slayer movies are great because of how simple the series is. The series is centered around fighting, and that’s about it. Crunchyroll, the best streaming service for anime-lovers in America, has also promoted the films heavily, adding to their massive popularity.
Mugen Train Is on Another Level
It’s the Highest-Grossing Japanese Film of All Time
Demon Slayer was a great series before the Mugen Train movie came out, but Mugen Train is what took the series to another level. The Mugen Train movie capitalized on everything that a movie theater could add to an anime series.
The fights were spectacular, the story was heart-breaking, and the finale left fans begging for more. It was an exceptional experience that forced even non-Demon Slayer fans to look at the series in a new light.
Rengoku’s final fight against Akaza is a series-defining moment. It showed that Demon Slayer isn’t a series to pull punches, and that sometimes, the good guys don’t win. Their fight looked unrivaled in the theaters, and Akaza’s blows had a visceral feeling to them that showed just how strong Demons can be.
Infinity Castle Is Dominating
After Just a Few Days, It’s Set to Usurp Mugen Train
Infinity Castle hasn’t even been out for a full month, and it’s already dominated at the box office. Demon Slayer: Mugen Train is the highest-grossing Japanese film ever, grossing $506,473,668. It’s the first and only Japanese film to reach half of a billion dollars, but with Infinity Castle’s success, it won’t be alone for long.
At the time of writing, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle has grossed $386,294,092 and has become the 4th highest-grossing film in Japanese history. It’s only $9,000,000 beneath Spirited Away, the 3rd ranked movie and a film widely regarded as one of the best anime films of all time.
While $120,000,000 seems like a substantial difference between the two films, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle hasn’t even been out for a full week in America. It will most likely be in the movie theaters for at least 6 weeks, giving fans plenty of tan to watch the action-packed thrill ride.
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is almost assured the top spot as the high-grossing Japanese film ever made, and it’s easy to see why. There are a few moments in the film that show why it shines in theaters, and the hype behind the series has almost become palpable because of them.
The Next Movies Will Be Even Bigger
Infinity Castle Is Only the First Movie within the Trilogy
Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Part One: Akaza Returns is only the first film in a trilogy of Demon Slayer films that looks to adapt the final arcs of the hit manga. While there are a ton of great anime series to watch after Infinity Castle, viewers are already clamoring for the sequel.
While the first film in the trilogy is already set to break records, the subsequent films are nearly guaranteed to do even better. The first film highlighted two amazing fights when Tanjiro and Giyu defeated Akaza and Zenitsu avenged his master after killing Kaigaku, but those were just part of the beginning.
The next two films will feature the most consequential fights in the entire franchise when Doma, Kokushibo, and Muzan all take center stage. They’re the three strongest villains in Demon Slayer, and their fights will reflect the power and fear they’ve cultivated over the years.
The Future of Anime Will Be in Movie Theaters
For Better or Worse
For better or worse, the immediate future of anime series will be in the movie theaters. Franchises like Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, Haikyu!!, and more will push their fans to the movies if they want to see their favorite series fully adapted.
It’s a move that might be more bitter than sweet. The first Infinity Castle film showed both the positives and negatives of anime in the theaters. The positives were obvious: the fights featured in the film were amazing, the overall animation was taken to another level, and the entire scale of the Infinity Castle was fully appreciated on a massive screen.
The negatives, however, might outweigh those few positives. Right away, it was easy to see that the Infinity Castle arc was never meant to be in a movie theater. It’s one of the most backstory-heavy arcs in Demon Slayer, and all of those backstories added to a bloated runtime that killed every bit of momentum that the series was setting up.
Demon Slayer’s massive success at the box office might be doing more harm than good. As anime studios and production companies look to increase their profits, they’re churning out products that would be better as a full series than a movie.
It’s a frustrating path that looks like it’s only just begun, but hopefully studios will learn from the Infinity Castle movie and realize that seasonal anime is the best for a reason.