Demon Slayer: Mugen Train Cliffhanger Leaves One Villain’s Status in Question

Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train features a major cliffhanger that leaves the status of one of the film’s major villains in question. Picking up right after the final moments of the anime’s first season, the Mugen Train film adapts the titular “Mugen Train” arc of Koyoharu Gotouge’s original manga series. This means that its events line up directly with how it played out in the manga, and that unfortunately leads to a pretty notable cliffhanger. With a second season of the anime confirmed to be on the way, it’s going to need to answer some big questions.

Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train features a final climactic fight between the two new additions to the anime with this film, Kyojuro Rengoku and the third rank Upper Moon Akaza. This fight between the two of them unfortunately results in a winner that many fans will likely be upset with, but it also leaves the winner in a strange grey area as the series gets ready for the second season.

Although Rengoku was able to successfully help and essentially save the people on the titular Mugen Train, that was nowhere near the end of the fights this mission. Out of nowhere, Akaza appears and challenges the Flame Hashira. Attempting to get Rengoku to turn into a demon (in order to best exploit the burning spirit and fighting ability he recognizes in the Hashira), Akaza fights Rengoku at full force.

This fight ends with Rengoku’s loss, and ultimately leads to his death. As for Akaza, he stands victorious without any real wounds due to his quick healing demonic body. Tanjiro tries to challenge him to a fight as well, but with daylight fast approaching Akaza decides to run off into the forest as well. Tanjiro calls him a coward for running (and even manages to throw his sword straight through Akaza’s chest), but we don’t see Akaza getting away.

This leaves Akaza’s own fate in a grey area heading into the second season of the anime. Given how strong he is here, and given the fact that even Rengoku couldn’t win against him, he’s going to be a strong opponent in the future. This means that Tanjiro and his crew are going to need to be much stronger to face the Upper Ranks, something Tanjiro himself is desperately aware of.

What did you think of this fight between Akaza and Rengoku? Do you think we’ll see the demon in Season 2? Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba- The Movie: Mugen Train is now screening in theaters, and you can check out our full review of the film here. Let us know your thoughts in the comments or you can even reach out to me directly about all things animated and other cool stuff @Valdezology on Twitter!