The latest entry in the popular Demon Slayer franchise, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle, is finally coming to U.S. theaters after already breaking box office records in Japan. The dark fantasy franchise has long been popular, from the lauded manga Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba to the anime adaptation that originally ran four seasons, from April 2019 through June 30, 2024. The film Demon Slayer: Mugen Train holds the record for the highest-grossing film in Japan, but Infinity Castle has hit Japanese box office milestones even faster than Mugen Train. Demon Slayer has been widely lauded for its tragic and dramatic storytelling, embrace of horror, and top-shelf action sequences. Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is an excellent continuation of these traditions as an action-packed, intense, dark animated outing with great visuals, but the narrative and structure suffer when considered as a standalone film.

What Is ‘Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle’ About?

Infinity Castle is the first entry in a film trilogy intended to conclude the Demon Slayer anime. The film starts exactly where Season 4 wrapped, with the Demon Slayer Corp. separated and surrounded by demons within the throes of the M.C. Escher-esque castle of the Demon King Muzan Kibutsuji (Greg Chun). The story essentially centers around a trilogy of battles, the first of which involves insect-breathing master Shinobu (Erika Harlacher) fatefully squaring off against the Upper Rank Two demon / Eternal Paradise Faith leader Doma (Stephen Fu). It’s followed by Zenitsu (Aleks Le)’s battle against his adoptive brother-turned-demon Kaigaku (Alejandro Saab), followed by protagonist Tanjiro (Zach Aguilar) receiving a rematch versus Upper Rank Three demon Akaza (Lucien Dodge). Fair warning: as a continuation of Season 4 and wrapping up several long-running story arcs, Infinity Castle is far from a standalone film. Audiences will benefit from being caught up with the series.

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Builds a Solid Film With Excellent Action and Creepy Demon Villainy

Infinity Castle is a fine showcase of much of what makes the Demon Slayer franchise great. First and foremost, it boasts exceptional and continually interesting combat, making full use of the various styles and techniques of different combatants. Tanjiro’s Water Breathing techniques, Shinobu’s Insect Breathing, and various other breathing styles look gorgeous on-screen. The backdrop of the ever-moving castle makes for a stellar arena for the various battles. Just like the breathing techniques, which constantly evolve and build with stunningly different visual designs, so does the castle shift and change. Between the interesting and wildly different matchups and the constantly adapting setting, it’s sure to make series’ fans content. The series’ horror leanings are also intact, with brutal combat, frightening demon designs that look, move, and attack with uniqueness, and a great sense of claustrophobic danger within the castle.

The performances are excellent in the film’s English-language dub. Zach Aguilar’s gives considerable emotion and range to Tanjiro, while Erika Harlacher delivers a beautifully emotive Shinobu, full of fury and complicated emotions. Some of the most notable performances belong to the demons, however. Doma’s superficial but monomaniacal kindness, a thin veneer covering raw predation, is eerily delivered by Stephen Fu. A wildly different kind of horror seethes through Lucien Dodge‘s performance as Akaza. Vicious and dedicated but complex, there’s a well-captured maliciousness in the performance that translates the demonic villainy well. Dodge also gives a remarkably vulnerable performance in the substantial flashback memories of Akaza’s prior human life as Hakuji, adding memorable tragedy and layers to his journey in a great showcase of the character. As Hakuji’s mentor Kaizo, Channing Tatum does sound like, well, himself, but the inherent warmth to his voice fits the character perfectly. It’s an excellent cast of vocal talent overall that capably sells the intensity of the scenes.

Infinity Castle is a tense and enjoyable outing, but it does have an unusual structure by traditional Hollywood standards. The film is a genuine series of battles paying off long-developed arcs, punctuated by flashbacks and pauses for analysis and voice-over exposition, to move the story along. It’s satisfying if one thinks of the feature as a contribution to the series’ overall narrative, whose function is to set up the end (which it is), but that’s an issue for a film considered as a feature in its own right. It’s almost impossible to enter into Infinity Castle and make sense of it without an in-depth knowledge of what’s come before. That’s somewhat fine given what the film is intended to be, but as a feature, it would nonetheless benefit from more of an introduction, some structural changes, and context that doesn’t rely on flashbacks.

Infinity Castle Is A Great Set of Episodes, But Somewhat of a Frankenfilm

Image via Adult Swim

There are many excellent moments in Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, with strong and diverse combat between interesting and powerful characters in visually memorable settings. The ever-changing nature of these elements allows the film to keep it continually fresh as the story progresses. The animation is beautifully designed and rendered throughout, with gorgeous vistas, horror-worthy carnage, well-choreographed action, and complementing rich character work. It has talented vocal performers who give life to distinct characters, including some adeptly performed, horror-laced demonic portrayals.

Lucien Dodge is perhaps the cast’s secret weapon, receiving a lifetime’s worth of a dedicated flashback that builds empathy for Hakuji’s fall from grace and turn to the demonic. As the final story in the somewhat episodic film, it’s a great finale that ends Infinity Castle on a strong note. That said, the structure of Infinity Castle is a little lacking when considered as a feature. It would benefit from a less episodic structure, a real introduction, and other tweaks to make it feel less like a series of episodes and more like a feature. As a film, it’s lacking, but it’s a solid contribution to the series’ overall end.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle comes to theaters on September 12.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle boasts stellar action, animation, and some wonderful performances, but it would be better as episodes than as a standalone film.

Release Date

July 18, 2025

Runtime

155 Minutes

Director

Haruo Sotozaki, Hikaru Kondo

Writers

Koyoharu Gotouge, Hikaru Kondo

• 

  Natsuki Hanae

  Tanjiro Kamado (voice)

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  Akari Kito

  Nezuko Kamado (voice)

Pros & Cons

• The animation style is gorgeous, delivering excellent combat, stunning attacks and brutality, and eerie moments of horror.
• The voice cast is excellent, with Lucien Dodge as one of a few standouts.
• There are a number of great stories, and it ends on one of the best in Hakuji’s fall from grace.

• The episodic structure feels better adapted to a series of episodes than as a singular film.
• When major events happen, context (if it happens) often happens after the event, creating an unusual and repetitive storytelling mode.