Crunchyroll’s New Dark Anime Movie Has One Big Advantage Over Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle

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After a long wait, *Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle* arrived in theaters globally on September 12th, and the response has been incredible. The film is breaking records and looks set to become one of the best anime movies of all time. It adapts the ‘Infinity Castle’ story arc from the manga, starting the final chapter of the series. The Demon Slayers find themselves trapped within Kibutsuji Muzan’s castle, preparing for a final, intense battle against the main villain. The movie is over two and a half hours long and features three key fight sequences to kick off this epic conclusion.

Although *Infinity Castle* features stunning action sequences and boasts impressive visuals and sound design, it isn’t perfect. The biggest problem is the speed at which the story moves. Showing three battles one after another is overwhelming, and the story jumps around without giving viewers a chance to breathe. This makes it feel more like watching a series of episodes than a movie. Crunchyroll’s upcoming film, *Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc*, seems to understand what audiences want from a movie, and promises a better, more balanced pace.

Crunchyroll’s Upcoming Film Will Have Better Pacing Than Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle

The new movie, *Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc*, arrives in Japan this weekend on September 19th, and will be available internationally starting September 24th in the U.S. The film, which is just over 90 minutes long, adapts a 14-chapter story from the original manga. It centers around a mysterious girl named Reze and how she impacts Denji’s life. This arc is different from what came before, mixing in romance and everyday moments before building to a powerful and emotional showdown between Denji and Reze.

This movie looks and feels like a high-quality cinematic experience, skillfully building tension with its themes of love and personal development, and promising a satisfying final battle – especially considering the talented studio MAPPA is behind it. However, *Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle*, despite being visually impressive, doesn’t quite work as a standalone movie. The filmmakers trimmed a lot of content to fit the story into a film, resulting in a presentation that feels more like a collection of episodes than a fully realized movie.

Watching *Infinity Castle*, I couldn’t help but think it would have flowed much better as another season of the anime. Instead of trimming parts of the story, the studio, Ufotable, could have built upon it, similar to how they handled the Hashira Training Arc – they turned a relatively short story into a whole season. There’s a chance the cut content might return if they re-edit the film for television, like they did with *Mugen Train*. But right now, the pacing feels rushed because of those cuts. That’s why I’m excited about *Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc*; it seems like it’s promising a complete story in theaters, without any missing pieces, three years after the anime first aired.

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2025-09-19 00:11