Demon Slayer: Why Is Season Two Redoing the Mugen Train Arc?

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is one of the most successful anime series in history, and its second season just got started. You can understand why all eyes are on Tanjiro right now as fans are curious whether the show's streak will live on. So far, season two is delivering as promised, but there are plenty of fans scratching their heads about season two. After all, Demon Slayer's first movie dealt with the Mugen Train arc, so why is this new season redoing everything?

Well, we have to break down a few things to find an answer. And to be honest, there are several answers to the question. Demon Slayer has been off television for over a year now, and its box office success cannot be overlooked in this discussion. If you do not know, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - Mugen Train made nearly $500 million at the global box office. Not only is the film the highest-grossing movie in Japan to date, but it is the highest-grossing anime feature worldwide. Not even Studio Ghibli could withstand the franchise's might, and that money speaks volumes. 

After all, Demon Slayer is insanely profitable, and the team at ufotable knows it. The studio wants to capitalize on the series considering its unbelievable popularity. By redoing the Mugen Train arc, the studio will likely encourage fans to check out the movie if they've not already for comparison. And for all the fans who have seen the film, you know they will want to see whether the TV adaptation does the arc justice. 

This double-dipping gives Demon Slayer the opportunity to make more profits, and when it comes to anime, executives do boil things down to money. The team can earn more money by repeating the arc, and that is not all. Demon Slayer is a limited manga as creator Koyoharu Gotouge did wrap the series a couple years back. The anime is living on borrowed time, so the team wants to extend its life as much as possible. By repeating the Mugen Train arc, season two is extending the life as expected, so that will bring more profits to the anime's committee in the long term. 

And finally, the simplest answer boils down to continuity. For years, anime films were often considered non-canon, so netizens weren't always keen on watching them. It seems like most everyone in Japan knows about Demon Slayer's film, but there are plenty who aren't in the loop both overseas and domestically. By redoing the Mugen Train arc, fans will be able to enjoy the entire story through the TV series alone, and this will benefit fans in the coming years. Films aren't as accessible as anime TV series, so the redo is forward-thinking to those fans in the future who may not even know a movie exists. So while it seems very redundant to netizens today, the show's executives know that profits and continuity would suffer without redoing the Mugen Trian arc this season. 

What do you think about season two's decision to redo Mugen Train? Did Demon Slayer need to revisit the arc? Share your thoughts with us in the comments section below or hit me up on Twitter @MeganPetersCB.