“Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Swordsmith Village-” will show Entertainment District Arc Episodes 10 and 11 featuring the fierce battle between Tanjiro, Sound Hashira, Tengen Uzui, and their comrades against Upper Six, Daki and Gyutaro in theaters for the first time. Swordsmith Village Arc Episode 1, featuring the encounter of Mist Hashira, Muichiro Tokito and Love Hashira, Mitsuri Kanroji at their newly assigned dispatch location and Upper Rank Demons assembled at the Infinity Castle, will also be shown for the first time.
*This will be a special spoiler and spoiler-free review article. This review will contains spoilers for the last two episodes of season 2; however, I’ll keep the details for season 3 to a minimum.
Season 3 Tease
With Demon Slayer season 2 concluded in 2022, fans all over the world await to see the next story arc, the Swordsmith Village Arc, animated. With the recent movie Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train and season 2 consisting with two arcs, Mugen Train and the Entertainment Arc, it would be a surprise if the anime just ended here. Starting the year this year in 2023, Aniplex and Ufotable made a major announcement involving Demon Slayer. Fans would get more than a sneak peak of the third season, but rather, they will get a two episode recap followed with an episode of the Swordsmith Village arc. It would be labeled as movie titled Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village and this movie would feature the last two episodes of the Entertainment Arc (episodes 10 and 11) and the first episode of the Swordsmith Village arc. While the new season won’t begin this April, fans can anticipate what to expect with a recap and a preview for what to expect for Tanjiro and Nezuko. The movie had a world tour event for select theaters for worldwide fans before getting a public screening in theaters.
As I mentioned earlier, I will mention both arcs, but I will refrain details involving season 3. I will assume you finished season 2 and I will briefly discuss the last episodes.
Story
Season 2 – Demon Fight Finale!
The fight with the upper demon siblings Gyutaro and Daki continues in this final battle as Tanjiro is the only one still standing while everyone is down for the count. Battered and slashed Tanjiro tries to muster all of his strength for his breathing techniques and fight the demons that not even the Hashira Tengen Uzui could defeat. While fighting, Gyutaro and Daki’s human life is revealed and we get to see their tragic beginning as humans before becoming a full fledged demon.
Season 3 – Upper Demons on the Horizon! Tanjiro journey to the hidden village!
After the fight with the entertainment district, Tanjiro awakens from his coma and seeks help to repair his sword. The Kakushi,a brigade of people who work as attendants for the Demon Slayer Corps, guides Tanjiro and Nezuko to a hidden village where swords are prepared and made for the Demon Slayer Corps. As they arrive, Tanjiro encounters another Hashira named Mitsuri Kanroji also titled as the Love Hashira. Meanwhile, with the waking news of Gyutaro and Daki’s death, all the Upper Demons assemble and discuss what to do with this situation. Led by the leader Muzan Kibutsuji, the Upper Demons plot out their next move and prepare to strike against the Demon Slayer Corps.
Review – Demon Slayer Season 2.9
While this may be called a movie, it didn’t feel like a movie. Before I went to see this movie, I recently finished the Entertainment arc before seeing this movie premier. Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village movie feels as if I was watching three episodes of Demon Slayer. 2/3 of the movie is one long episode of ten and eleven combined into one while the last part of the movie is episode one of the new arc. You even get the OP and ED song for the Entertainment District arc. As far as I know, I didn’t see much alterations to the movie and it felt like they kept all the iconic scenes intact. If you seen the anime like myself and decide to watch this part of the movie, you already know what to expect and what happens to Tanjiro and his friends.
Despite the movie showing us what we know, I did like the recap intro of the movie showcasing season 1 and the first half of seasons 2 of Mugen Train. We got to see some iconic scenes within five minutes along with the OP songs from both anime seasons. In regards to the new season preview, it was worth watching. The beginning of the episode featured all the Upper Demons and we got see the fury of head demon Muzan Kibutsuji. It was a nice treat to see all these high ranked demons get together. With the new season focusing solely on Tanjiro and Nezuko this time, it’s a nice change of pace. We also get to be introduced by two new Hashira named Muichiro and Mitsuri, but Mitsuri steals the spotlight. The first episode of this arc starts off fresh and gives us some comedical moments after what we went through with Daki and Gyutaro in the previous arc. The last episode leaves us on a cliffhanger and makes us want an episode 2. We end this arc with the introduction to the arc’s new anime OP song titled “Kizuna no Kiseki” collabed and performed by MAN WITH A MISSION and milet.
Conclusion
Does this movie served a purpose for season three’s hype? If you are a die-hard Demon Slayer fan, you will enjoy it. Fans will be able to enjoy the final two episodes of the Entertainment District arc as one whole episode with an addition of getting a head-start on the Swordsmith Village. For me, I was mostly looking forward to seeing the new arc. I did enjoy the the last two episodes, but since I already finished this arc, I felt like it didn’t make much of a difference compared to watching it at home. I did enjoy seeing the recap intro in the beginning of the movie. Regardless of this, it was nice to rewatch the climatic battle with the demon brother and sister and we got to see what to expect for Tanjiro’s next adventure. The new season/arc begins in April.
If you seen this movie, what did you think of it? I want to know your experience. I’ll see you guys in April.
Matt-in-the-Hat 