WARNING: THERE ARE A LOT OF SPOILERS FOR THE ANIME, MOVIE, AND MANGA IN THIS ARTICLE!
The long anticipated wait for anime fans finally ended on Sept. 12, 2025, when “Demon Slayer Infinity Castle” was released in American theatres. Ever since, many Woodward Academy students have rushed to the theaters to watch the movie and had varying opinions about the experience. This movie was rated under three main categories: fight scenes and animation, character development and plot progression.
To start with, “Demon Slayer” is about a boy named Tanjiro Kamado who lives in Japan during the Taisho Period. His family is brutally killed by a demon who is known as the original demon, Muzan Kibutsuji. The only surviving member of his family is his younger sister, Nezuko, who has turned into a demon. He sets out on a journey to be a demon slayer and turn his sister back into a human. The series explores his journey through constant peril, and he meets many new people along the way. “Demon Slayer Infinity Castle” is the first movie of a three part series that is said to conclude the manga adaptation. The movie resumes where the animated show left off and the demon slayers are fighting their way through the Infinity Castle, an alternate demon realm, to kill Muzan Kibutsuji.
Aerin Hall ‘29 explained how she binged the whole five season series in one week before going to watch the movie, so that she could enjoy the experience with her friends.
“[In] the ending of the show, . . . the last episode is a cliffhanger, so if you watched the show and if you enjoyed it, you should watch [the movie],” Aerin said.
“Demon Slayer Infinity Castle” covers 18 chapters of the manga and heavily focuses on three major battles. These battles are Douma vs. Shinobu, Kaigaku vs. Zenitsu and Tanjiro and Giyu vs. Akaza. Many anime fans state that “Demon Slayer” has some of the best fight scenes and animation style. This is often one of the main reasons for watching the series. The school’s average rating for the movie’s fight scenes and animation was a 10 out of 10!
Reagan Fields ‘29 describes the vibrant and eye-catching aspect of the fight scenes that keep your eyes glued to the screen and constantly entertained with bits of humor and constant plot twists.
“Every scene was bright and colorful, but at the same time, the characters moving through the infinity castle really showed how big the infinity castle was,” Reagan said.
Another key feature that the “Demon Slayer” series is known for is explaining every character’s background, from the cruelest demons to the bravest slayers, so we know how they got to where they were and the circumstances that led them there. Viewers specified that there was some character development shown in a few key figures throughout the movie; specifically, Douma, Zenitsu, Shinobu, Tanjiro and most importantly Akaza. The school rating was from 8-9 out of 10.
Quinn Millner ‘27 has a lot to say on the topic and gives an incredibly in-depth viewpoint on Akaza’s personal development throughout the movie, as he originally only wants to kill others and then ends up taking his own life at the end of the movie.
“My rating is primarily for a single character, Akaza, who, before the events of this movie or the manga, is a very hated character due to the fact that he killed another popular and extremely likable character, Kyōjurō Rengoku, at the end of the previous Demon Slayer Movie, ‘Mugen Train,’” Quinn said. “In ‘Demon Slayer,’ the demons are humans who had received blood from the main villain, Muzan, and gained extremely enhanced strength, practical immortality and special powers, which all become stronger the more humans they eat. As Akaza fights the protagonists, he remembers his tragic backstory, which he had forgotten as a result of being a demon for hundreds of years. Akaza’s past is nothing but tragic. As a child, he was forced to steal for his dying father, who would take his own life. Branded as a thief, he is taken in by the master of a dojo and comes to marry the man’s daughter. He ends up having it all ripped away from him, and when the main antagonists find him, Akaza has nothing else to live for, so he becomes a demon without care. It is far better to watch it and see for yourself!”
Reagan provides a more brief opinion on the character development throughout this movie and explains how it reveals new sides of characters that we had never seen before.
“Almost every character with more than 10 minutes of screen time had lots of character development,” Reagan said. “For example, Giyu got his mark, Akaza got his backstory, and Tanjiro understood his father more and the meaning of true strength and fighting spirit.”
While watching, students debated the necessity of the backstories throughout the movie, specifically regarding the length. Some students state that specific backstories, such as Doma’s were randomly inserted into the movie and did not flow while others state that Akaza’s backstory, which was about 24 minutes long, was way too lengthy and took up a good chunk of the movie’s running time. Although it included all of the details illustrated in the manga some viewers feel that it interrupted the climax of the battle against Upper Moon 3.
Navya Thotakura ‘29 went and saw the movie two days after it came out on Sept. 14th and expresses that she believed that the movie was an enjoyable experience overall, but that the plot progression was a lot slower than she liked.
“The plot progression was kind of slow,” Navya said. “I wish that it focused more on the characters’ battles and the actual fighting instead of just Akaza’s backstory. Overall, it was pretty good, but I’m looking forward to the next movie and hoping that there are more fight scenes, instead of mainly working on characters’ backstories.”
Overall, the final ratings given by WA students for the movie ranged from 8-10 out of 10. They felt that the movie was an amazing adaptation of the manga and a great way to continue the anime after it left them with a cliffhanger in the last episode of the series. The graphics of the infinity castle were amazing, and the movie lived up to their expectations.
Nyasha Ferrell ‘29 expresses how Demon Slayer gives you a simple plot that is easy to follow and yet enjoyable at the same time just as much as any other story. She describes the animation as one of a kind and recommends others to watch it.
“Sometimes the simpler things can be better enjoyed because it’s easier to wrap your head around it,” Nyasha said. “it had really good animation and great character designs and fight scenes, so if you’re into that and can handle blood and gore . . . you could watch [and enjoy] this series.”
Note: Even though the plot progression was judged as slow it was adapted almost exactly from the manga, so everything was intentional and accurate.
