Demon Slayer - Mugen Train Arc [SUB] (2021) Review

 Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Arc [SUB] (2021) 8.5/10

[THIS WILL CONTAIN SPOILERS! READ AT YOUR OWN RISK!]

Hello everyone and welcome back to another anime review. I just got done rewatching Demon Slayer season 1, so here we are with the start of season 2. Season 2 is split up into 2 arcs: Mugen Train (a retelling of the movie) and Entertainment District Arc. For this review, I’ll be going over Mugen Train exclusively. Mugen Train arc aired from October 10 - November 28, 2021 with the story arc clocking in at 7 episodes long. I’m gonna try and keep this short, so let’s begin.

The story here is exactly like the movie. However, in this version, they added scenes and more information to pad out the story. This is not a bad thing at all. Although the pacing for the movie was good, I felt that Rengoku didn’t get enough development. This version remedies that. Immediately after the events of season 1, Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke board the Mugen Train to accompany the Flame Hashira Rengoku Kyujuro. Their mission is to investigate a string of disappearances that may involve a demon. As the story progresses, we learn that, in fact, a demon is responsible. One of the members of the Kizuki, the demon of Mugen Train sets his sights on devouring all 200 passengers. It’s up to Tanjiro and everyone else to kill the demon before it’s too late.

Like I said, this is just a retelling of the movie’s story. Honestly, I liked the extra information we got in this version. I feel like Rengoku got the extra set of development he needed to make his death all the more impactful. Solid story continuation, solid pacing, and excellent writing for the new villains of the arc. Enmu had a lot of charisma and I enjoyed his character a lot more than previous demons. Akaza was a surprise for the story arc. I do find it annoying that they don’t even try to hide him in this version. I remember for the movie, his appearance was kept hidden as a surprise for the audience. Here, he’s in the marketing poster as well as in the OP animation. Akaza is a straight up monster. Even though he only had like 40 minutes of screen time, you got to learn a lot about him. His obsession with reaching power and strength. How he has honed his skills for centuries, making him a complete boss. I am still annoyed that he survived at the end, but I understand how he survived. He’s still a coward though.

Surprisingly, the art direction and animation is on par with the film. Very rarely do you see this occur. Ufotable really is on another level when it comes to animation. All the characters look great, no animation errors with movement and frames. All of the attacks from the Demon Slayers was smooth as fuck and the coloring adds onto this. Demon Slayer in general looks fucking great. Also, I just wanted to point out that I’m pretty sure Ufotable reused assists from the movie. Not really complaining as it all looks good, but it would’ve been nice to get some different angles for shots and what not.

Music is just as good as season 1, which I am very happy about. The new OP “Akeboshi” is great, but not as good as “Gurenge” from season 1. Honestly I got some Arab/Middle Eastern vibes from the song, which is weird. The ED “Shirogane” is sadly forgettable. The special ED “Homura” for episode 7 was really good. Excellent eulogy (idk if that’s the right word) for our boy Rengoku.

Voice acting is just as good as the previous season. Shout out to Natsuki Hanae (Tanjiro), Hiro Shimono (Zenitsu), Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Inosuke), Satoshi Hino (Rengoku), Daisuke Hirakawa (Enma), and Akira Ishida (Akaza).

Overall, this was a great story arc and is better than the movie version. You can honestly just skip the movie and watch this instead. I am excited about getting into the next arc, Entertainment District, and I will be getting into that pretty soon. Until my next review, stay safe out there.

Thanks for reading and I’ll see you next time.

This is Zorgak, signing off.