If you haven’t seen it, watch it. It just came out in theaters in the US. This movie was everything that I expected it to be, more or less from reading the manga in advance. Ufotable did an incredible job once again at animating this. Watching this in a theater gave an immersive experience with amazing sounds and stunning visualization.
Mugen Train was ideal for movie format since it was essentially a giant fight sequence. My one gripe with the manga is that there are chapter cuts and even volume cuts mid-fight. This is obviously a constraint of the medium; however, having an uninterrupted conclusive fight is a nice thing. What sets Mugen Train apart from other anime movies from My Hero Academia, Full Metal Alchemist, and Hunter X Hunter is that this movie is canon and is critical to the main plot. Most anime movies associated with a series are typically just a side quest with no consequence to the main plot. Maybe with the major success of Demon Slayer, there will be more movies like this. Demon Slayer definitely will set an example for the upcoming Jujutsu Kaisen and Attack on Titan movies.
Like I discussed in my prior post on Demon Slayer, this is an unapologetic shounen title. The premise and story are straightforward. Demons = bad; boys slay demons. But, what sets Demon Slayer apart from other shounen titles like Bleach is the flawless focused execution. The characters are balanced; there is funny banter; the fight sequences are phenomenal. Demon Slayer doesn’t need a deep or unique story to carry it.
Mugen Train is like an Avenger move: visually stunning, face-paced, and guaranteed to be a mainstream hit.