Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle, 2025 - ★★★★
Thursday, August 14, 2025
I was captivated by the visual style and animation of Infinity Castle. The concept of the Infinity Castle itself feels immense and awe-inspiring, with every frame packed with detail and creativity. The action scenes are flashy, fluid, and incredibly dynamic, making every battle a thrilling spectacle. Characters come to life vividly through their emotions and movements. All of this truly showcases how far the animation industry has come.
Complementing the visuals is a fantastic sound design and musical score that heighten the emotional weight of each scene. The voice cast delivers stellar performances, bringing deep characterization that moved me even though I had to read subtitles. It's no surprise that Demon Slayer has achieved such monumental success with this animation team behind it—they truly brought their A-game for this story.
That said, ironically, the film's most significant flaw is its attempt to stay true to the source material. The story doesn't seem tailored for a movie format, but rather translated directly from the manga's pacing. As a result, each scene often resembles a separate chapter each scene often feels like a separate chapter instead of forming cohesively into a single, unified narrative. This issue is compounded by the fact that this is the first part of a trilogy, leaving many arcs and storylines hanging unresolved.
While staying true to the source material is commendable, there are times when the narrative should be adjusted to suit the medium—especially in movies that require tight pacing and a complete arc. Because of this, the film suffers from awkward pacing, disrupted narrative flow, and excessive details that feel out of place in this format.
The middle section, in particular, drags to the point where I felt like giving up. The narrative momentum is frequently interrupted by excessive flashbacks and subplots that test the viewer's patience. However, the final act pulls everything together wonderfully, delivering a powerful and emotionally satisfying conclusion that almost redeems the pacing flaws.
I couldn't help but wonder how much stronger this film might have been if its narrative flow were specifically crafted as a cohesive movie rather than a serialized manga adaptation. Still, despite its structural shortcomings, the movie remains an enjoyable experience—beautifully executed and emotionally impactful.
In my opinion, the film's most successful aspect is how each character has their own arc and development, making the audience root for every character, even the demons! While tightening up the story could have made it so much better, honestly, it's worth watching just for the last act alone. What a moving story!