Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is finally available worldwide, and it certainly boasts some of the best animation, music, and overall direction of any Ufotable project in recent years. Combined with the excellent storytelling of the original manga, Infinity Castle has more than earned its tremendous success and has all but solidified the Demon Slayer anime’s place as a modern classic.
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Given how effective Infinity Castle is as a film, it’s somewhat surprising that so many changes were made from the original manga arc; it’s a rare case of an adaptation being better because of changes to the source material, but it’s still interesting that the changes were made at all, and each one is worth highlighting.
10) The Demon Slayers’ Entrance Into The Infinity Castle Is More Epic Than The Manga
Following where Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Season 4 left off, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle opened with the Demon Slayers being flung into the Infinity Castle for the final battle against Muzan. That led to a sequence of the characters working to stop themselves from falling to their deaths, followed by everyone fighting off demons before searching for Muzan.
While the Demon Slayer manga kept things brief, the same can’t be said for the Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle movie, as both the falling sequence and the first bits of fighting were far more extensive than what was shown in the manga. That’s nothing new for the Demon Slayer anime, of course, and it worked to create a truly stunning opening sequence.
9) Shinobu & Doma’s Fight Is Much Bigger Than It Was In The Manga
One of the main fights of Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle was the fight between Shinobu and Doma, the Upper-Rank Kizuki who killed her sister, Kanae. Shinobu did her best to avenge Kanae, but with her physical shortcomings and Doma’s overwhelming abilities, Shinobu could barely touch Doma, and the fight ultimately ended in her death.
The Demon Slayer manga didn’t show much of Shinobu and Doma’s fight; the movie added far more context by not only making the fight choreography flashier, but also extending the fight to include Shinobu’s first few attempts at poisoning Doma that the manga skipped over, resulting in a far better sendoff for the Insect Hashira.
8) One of Demon Slayer’s Most Tragic Deaths Is Finally Shown
One of the most notable deaths in Demon Slayer was the death of Kanae Kocho, the former Flower Hashira and Shinobu’s older sister. Kanae’s death was the defining moment that shaped Shinobu into someone who uses kindness to mask her perpetual anger, and as previously mentioned, Shinobu’s attempt at avenging Kanae was the main factor behind her fight with Doma.
Kanae’s death was never fully explored in the manga, but Infinity Castle finally showed how it happened, revealing that Doma killed Kanae in a single hit, despite Kanae launching a sneak attack on him. That bit of expansion perfectly highlighted Doma’s power, and sure enough, it made the tragedy of Shinobu’s death all the more unfortunate.
7) Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Finally Explains A Key Detail About Kaigaku’s Past
One of the main villains of Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is Kaigaku, Zenitsu’s former co-disciple of Thunder Breathing, who became the new Upper-Rank Six Kizuki. While Kaigaku briefly appeared in season 1, he never had a major role in the story before the Infinity Castle arc, and he ended up as one of the least-developed villains in the series.
Fortunately, Infinity Castle did add some depth to Kaigaku; the Demon Slayer databook mentioned that Kaigaku refused to wear the same haori as Zenitsu, and Infinity Castle explained that it was because he felt like Jigoro didn’t respect him by making him and Zenitsu equals, all of which adds a bit of sympathy to Kaigaku that wasn’t in the manga.
6) Zenitsu & Kaigaku’s Conflict Is Far Better On Film Than In The Manga
While Zenitsu and Kaigaku’s fight is supposed to be a major fight in the Infinity Castle arc, the execution of it didn’t do much to support that; between the lack of setup for their fight and how short the fight was in the manga, it was hard to feel invested in anything the fight was trying to do.
That being said, Infinity Castle added far more depth to Zenitsu and Kaigaku’s conflict by making Zenitsu slightly more introspective about their relationship, with Zenitsu remarking that they were meant to support each other as co-inheritors of Thunder Breathing. That made their fight far more engaging compared to the manga, and it was a major highlight because of that.
5) Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Cuts A Key Supporting Character Detail
In Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, Yushiro provides support for the Demon Slayer Corps on the ground floor as they search for Muzan; because most of them weren’t aware of Tamayo’s alliance with the Demon Slayers, Yushiro disguised himself as a human and infiltrated the group, although Murata and others still questioned who he was.
When Yushiro appeared in the manga, the narration explained what he was doing and how he snuck into the Demon Slayer Corps, but those explanations are absent from the film. Granted, it amounted to little more than Yushiro stealing a uniform, so the filmmakers likely trusted viewers to understand things on their own, an overall good move on their part.
4) Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Doesn’t Foreshadow The Final Battle
During the fight with Akaza, it was revealed that Rengoku’s younger brother, Senjuro, sent Tanjiro a letter about what he had uncovered about Yoriichi’s fight with Muzan. Senjuro’s crow couldn’t deliver the letter without getting caught up in the fight, but after Tanjiro receives it, it ends up playing a major part in the final battle against Muzan.
Despite how important Senjuro’s letter was, Infinity Castle completely cut that plot point out, with Senjuro not even so much as being mentioned in the film. That being said, that entire sequence was inserted into the manga rather awkwardly, so it might have been cut to improve the pacing, and it will hopefully appear in one of the follow-up films.
3) One of Demon Slayer’s Best Fights Is Even Better In Infinity Castle
Of all the fights in Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, the biggest of them was Tanjiro and Giyu’s fight with the Upper-Rank Kizuki Akaza. As the first Upper-Rank Kizuki to be introduced and the one who killed Rengoku, Akaza was one of the biggest villains in the series after Muzan, and his fight was singled out as a major highlight from day one.
Akaza’s fight was already big, but Infinity Castle made it even bigger with its flashier choreography and direction, most notably by having everyone constantly moving around the Infinity Castle as opposed to staying in one place like in the manga. The fight ended up covering over half the runtime, but with how great it was, it was more than deserved.
2) Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle Makes Its Biggest Villain Even More Tragic
As villainous as Akaza was, his death revealed him to be a surprisingly tragic figure; Akaza became a demon after spending years watching the people he loved die and not having the strength to save them; it was only thanks to Tanjiro that he finally accepted his own weakness and passed on in peace.
Unsurprisingly, Infinity Castle made Akaza even more tragic by expanding on his time with Koyuki and Kenzo and showing his slaughter of the kendo dojo and random humans after becoming a demon in full, gory detail. All of it greatly heightened the tragedy of Akaza’s story and is probably one of the biggest highlights of the film.
1) Muzan Kibutsuji Makes A Surprising Cameo In Infinity Castle’s Finale
Despite the Infinity Castle arc revolving around the final conflict with Muzan, Muzan was surprisingly absent for most of the story. Following the Hashira Training arc, Muzan formed a cocoon of flesh to expel Tamayo’s poison from his body, and he didn’t reappear until he had evolved into a new form to try to kill the Demon Slayers, himself.
While Muzan was absent for most of the Infinity Castle arc, the movie had him appear in the stinger, where he reiterated that he would kill all the Demon Slayers before sunrise. It was an easy way of emphasizing the overall stakes, and there was no better way to end the first film in the Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle trilogy.
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