Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Arc (First Thoughts and a few notes)
Rebecca and I went to see Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Arc and we were pleased. For those of you who are going to see it this week or have already seen it, you may know this is NOT a movie like Mugen Train, but rather a compilation of three episodes (last two of Entertainment District Arc and one from the new Swordsmith Arc). I saw many comments and even an article that had some saying they were "ripped off" by the movie. I usually keep my personal feelings of comments like these at bay, but to these people I say "it explicitly told you in the trailers what you were getting". And here is what we got.
The movie opens up with the last three openings from the previous arcs and then hits us with the battle the was the climax of the Entertainment District Arc (and boy did it feel like it went on forever while watching that season at first).Seeing a battle like this on the big screen was really cool and made you feel more immersed in the action that was taking place (though I didn't particularly care for a big projection of Tanjiro's broken fingers).This did feel as though we were seeing the battle for the first time and everyone was there for it! We then ended on a somber note of the backstory of the brother and sister demon duo and this perfectly setup the feeling for the brevity of the first episode of the Swordsmith Arc.
To keep this rather brief and not give too many spoilers, I will list a few points for those of you waiting until April to see the first episode of the newest season.
- The animation has been upgraded and it shows in the Infinity Castle scene
- Tanjiro teams up with a new, but yet familiar trio
-Nezuko is still as cute as ever
-We meet the rest of the upper rank demons
- You will laugh out loud at the bathhouse scene
Okay I think I have given you enough to look forward to/remember for episode one of the Swordsmith arc. Please be advised that if you have young children this may not be the anime for them. While the main character is very likeable and is an overall redeeming storyline, it has a lot blood/gore that may not be suitable for younger viewers. If you do let your children watch this series, please watch it with them as it is a key opportunity for discussion about the spiritual aspect especially when it comes to demons.
We really like where this season is going so far. It has a bang'n new intro and the dub is still as superb as it has been in previous seasons. Master Muzan has put together his upper rank demons and who knows what the future will hold for our heroes, we ready to see what happens next. April cannot come soo enough!