Metacritic-Rezensionen

Series veterans may rue the lack of certain supporting players (the hot-headed Inosuke is largely absent, while usual comic foil Zenitsu is all gritted teeth and gripped swords here) and the lack of levity may sting in a series renowned for its malleable tone and endless charm, but Infinity Castle achieves the impossible by roaring past Mugen Train as Demon Slayer's best adventure yet.

It’s punctuated by the landscape of the demon slayers’ past, through their memories. Idyllic lakes and streams; gently falling snow; a small village. “Infinity Castle,” then, is a place of potential redemption and reclamation, of souls and reputations and a sense of one’s inner self.

It’s a visual spectacle, a 155-minute fight-to-the-death battle anime held together by a series of emotional lows told in flashbacks covering the worst demons in each hero and villain’s past.

While it nearly wears out its welcome with a repetitive cycle of encounter, flashback, reflection and fight, its mix of vibrant visuals, melodrama and low-key comedy kick the story into gear in the final hour.

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

It could take a lifetime, or at least the sustained attention of an aficionado, to untangle all the lore. But the themes — solidarity and self-interest, allegiance and betrayal, love and loathing — are easy to follow. For the casual fan, the chief reason to seek out “Infinity Castle” is for its visuals, which position passionately emotive characters over impressionistic backdrops.

“Infinity Castle” doesn’t feel like a movie so much as a wobbly, but often entertaining, first third of a season of television. Mileage will vary if we should grade on a curve knowing it’s the first part of a planned trilogy, but for my money, if you pay for a movie ticket, you deserve a movie ticket ending.

For a franchise that’s so frenzied and kinetic in general, “Infinity Castle” effectively sets the tone for what’s to come, promising diehard fans the spectacle they’ve been craving which newcomers will also find enjoyable, if somewhat confusing at times.

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle offers plenty of action and some emotional flashbacks, but it suffers from an overuse of flashbacks that undermine the story's pacing.

The film’s humor doesn’t necessarily translate, and the animation style doesn’t come close to the medium’s most artistic work. Beyond the sheer inventiveness of the movie’s made-up martial arts, that leaves the tragic elements, which can be disarmingly effective in giving audiences reason to feel invested in the battles — battles that have only just begun.