By Isabella Ardetto, Contributor 

[Ufotable; 2025]

Rating: 8/10 

Picking up directly after the anime’s fourth season, Demon Slayer’s Infinity Castle arc launches the series into its thrilling final moments, which will span across a trilogy of films. Tanjiro, the Kamaboku squad (minus Nezuko), the Demon Slayer Corp and the Hashira find themselves caught in a deadly trap: Muzan Kibutsuji’s nightmarish, demon-infested Infinity Castle. There, our heroes face off against their greatest enemy one last time, determined to free the world from Muzan’s reign of terror. 

Read more: Movie Review: Hell of a Summer 

Following the massive success of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Mugen Train, the highest-grossing film of 2020, I had high expectations for Infinity Castle, and it absolutely delivered. With stunning animation, a stellar voice cast (I refer to the dubbed cast throughout this review) and beautifully choreographed fight sequences the nearly three-hour long runtime flies by. The film is so immersive and engaging that it seemed to leave the audience craving more even as the credits rolled. 

As always, Ufotable delivers jaw-dropping animation in Infinity Castle. Every frame is a visual masterpiece so striking that it could be paused, printed and displayed as a poster. Like the anime series, the rich, vibrant colors of this movie bring the fantastical world of Demon Slayer to life in stunning detail. The studio’s dedication to faithfully adapting the manga is also clear, as they transform its panels into dynamic, emotionally charged scenes through masterful use of color, motion and atmosphere. 

While Ufotable clearly made a strong effort to adapt the manga faithfully, I felt that the pacing overall was off, which is one of my biggest criticisms of the film. Since Infinity Castle is part of a three-film finale, it’s clear that the luxury of slowly unfolding the story over multiple episodes is no longer on the table. One character introduction, in particular, felt especially rushed: Zenitsu’s rival, Kaigaku. For anime-only viewers, this is the first time we’re meeting him. The film jumps straight into their confrontation: they fight, there’s a slew of flashbacks and then the fight is over. What should have been a deeply emotional and layered battle between the two foils ends up feeling extremely compressed and hard to fully absorb. 

Despite the pacing issues, the emotional impact the studio manages to pack into each scene is remarkable. Ufotable is able to infuse even the most fast-paced, fleeting moments with a surprising amount of heart. And while the film does jump between storylines quickly, each beat still manages to land, leaving you stunned at how deeply you’ve connected with a character you only just met. Remember everybody’s favorite Hashira, Kyojuro Rengoku, who was known by the main cast for less than 24 hours and yet still captured their (and our) hearts? Yeah, it’s that all over again. The studio’s commitment to storytelling and their precise choices in adapting key moments deserve endless praise as they bring the anime’s finale to life in as satisfying a way as they can. 

Overall, this film marks yet another triumph for the powerhouse that is the Demon Slayer franchise. It’s visually engaging, captivating story-wise and heart-wrenchingly sad (and happy), leaving audiences, anime-only and manga readers alike, on the edge of their seats eager to see what comes next.