The premiere of last night’s episode of Demon Slayer: Hashira Training Arc has everyone pumped for what lies ahead this season. Despite Tengen and the other Hashiras prepping the young trio for the long battle ahead with Muzan, they still have another task upon their hands- Learning how Nezuko fully embraced the sun and was left unscathed.
As emotional a moment this was for us all, and especially Tanjiro, many fans have often compared the weight of this scene with another prominent mark in Demon Slayer— Rengoku’s death.
The Mugen Train movie took the world by storm in more ways than one. Punching through box office records and Rengoku alike, the final minutes of the arc had us all crying with our favorite boar boy. With such a strong record, To the Hashira Training had a mountain to climb.
The Hashiras are left catching up to the Mugen Train
Holding the record for the highest-grossing Japanese animated film at the global box office, the most emotional arc of Kimetsu no Yaiba, thus far, left the world in awe of Ufotable’s animation benchmark. Bearing the emotional burden of having to animate Rengoku’s “gut-wrenching” demise, Ufotable went above and beyond anyone’s expectations.
Opening to $31,825,358 at the Japanese box office, Mugen Train then went on to top the global box office collection of Hayao Miyazaki‘s Spirited Away which charted $357,561,772.
It wasn’t necessarily the case with the latest Hashira Training Arc, however. Hitting just above the $44 million mark, the box office success of the latest cour pales in comparison to Ufotable’s chart-topping venture.
With a global collection of $453,230,408, there were many reasons for this emotional arc of Kimetsu no Yaiba‘s phenomenal success; Ufotable’s stellar effort playing just one part in it.
Demon Slayer: Mugen Train‘s domination
The seventh arc of the series underwent the movie treatment, and perhaps it was the right call. Having weebs watch their favorite Hashira on the big screen was a genius move, as Ufotable could go all in to animate Rengoku’s final dance with the demons. Maybe they should have stopped there, but noticing the record-shattering numbers, 2 more movies have followed.
And that’s where the problem has stemmed for fans. Instead of an entire arc fitted into a movie, the last 2 outings have been a disappointment because they’ve been 1.5 hours of the previous seasons’ final episodes, and only 30 minutes of the newest arc. So, it’s fair that fans feel these new movies have only felt like a blatant cash-grab.
Aside from this, the timing of the Mugen Train Arc was important. When the world was struck by the pandemic and cinema was at an all-time low in footfall, this movie came to everyone’s rescue. Providing entertainment and sealing a place in viewers’ hearts, Demon Slayer onboarded new fans as well.
While we can hope that fans won’t be forced into another movie that’s merely a cash-grab, we do have the option to wait it out and let the seasons premiere on their own time.
The latest arc has now begun and is available to watch on Crunchyroll, with weekly episodes dropping in every Sunday.
