Released weekly from Oct. 10, 2021, to Feb. 13, 2022, Demon Slayer’s Mugen Train Arc and Entertainment District Arc are the latest installments in the Demon Slayer series. Animated and produced by Ufotable and Aniplex studios, and directed by Haruo Sotozaki, the series streamed every Sunday on platforms such as Crunchyroll and Netflix (certain regions only). Returning voice actors include Natsuki Hanae (starring Tanjiro Kamado), Akari Kito (Nezuko Kamado), Hiro Shimono (Zenitsu Agatsuma), and Yoshitsugu Matsuoka (Inosuke Hashibira). 

Set in Japan’s Taisho Era from 1912 to 1926, the anime follows protagonist Tanjiro Kamado, who finds that his family has been killed by a man-eating demon, Muzan Kibutsuji, who has turned Tanjiro’s younger sister Nezuko into a demon as well. On a mission to turn his sister back to being human, Tanjiro sets on a quest to join the Demon Slayer Corps, an organization set on eradicating demons from existence. 

Season 2 (Mugen Train Arc), begins with an episode-based remake of the Demon Slayer movie (which was received well and made $500 million), and focuses around the team and the demon slayer and Flame Hashira (the highest-ranking demon slayer position) Rengoku’s fight against the formidable Lower Rank 1, a demon who is part of Muzan’s Twelve Demon Moons, and the strongest demon the team has fought up until this point.

Reeling from the Mugen Train’s events and resolved to get stronger, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke rest and train, becoming stronger than before. When the Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui, invites the group on a mission to catch demons hiding in Yoshiwara’s Entertainment District. The district is the perfect place to be a demon—awake at night, there is little risk of getting caught. In this covert operation, Tanjiro, Zenitsu, and Inosuke, disguised as brothel workers, enter the district prepared to find what is amiss and bring order to the area.

The visuals throughout the anime are simply stunning. Seamlessly blending in CGI, the animation brings out the best in characters, adding to already dynamic movements and action. During fight sequences, details are drawn out especially well, adding to clarity within the narrative. Such work is nothing new for the series, but through this season especially, the attention to animation accentuates an already acclaimed story. Stills of the actual Entertainment District as well, are kept lively and constantly moving, taking the viewers right into the setting of this season. 

In addition, the plot has been crafted to bring out much more of the characters’ personality traits. Viewers are able to laugh at Inosuke’s punchy dialogue, admire Uzui’s charming flair, and marvel at Tanjiro and Nezuko’s willpower and hard work. Furthermore, the plot delves into each character’s involvement within the arc and makes their appearance significant, ensuring that there are no ‘useless characters.’ 

Despite its many remarkable traits, the entire season is prone to pacing problems. Because it heavily follows what is written in the manga by Koyoharu Gotouge, the anime tends to slow down in especially crucial scenes. Where a manga reader goes through the narration of a fight scene, anime viewers do as well, being narrated the scene as they watch characters fight. As a result, it can be easy to tune out of the show, despite its compelling build-up until that point. Had the show been better adapted in such scenes, the anime would have improved greatly.

In addition, the Mugen Train Arc simply being a retelling of the movie, makes it less intriguing to watch. Still, because this was expected from Ufotable’s past announcement, the arc was still fun to watch and admire combat scenes as well as visuals.

Ultimately, with a simple, yet detailed narrative, Demon Slayer’s second season literally slays. It is bold, dynamic, and cinematic, and adapts the manga into an animated masterpiece. 

Rating: 4.5/5