| Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Swordsmith Village Fri Jul 07, 2023 8:56 pm | |
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Unlike the previous film which was produced specifically for a theatrical release, To the Swordsmith Village acts as a compilation film to the television series, incorporating footage from the last two episodes of the second season and the first episode of the third season, which was yet to broadcast at the time of the film's release.
The film premiered on February 3, 2023, in Japan, by Toho (in partnership with Aniplex); and was released throughout March 2023 internationally. It received praise for its storytelling, animation and fight sequences, and has grossed $56.1 million worldwide.
Plot
As Tanjiro Kamado, Zenitsu Agatsuma, and Inosuke Hashibira assist the Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui against the sibling demons Gyutaro and Daki, holders of Upper Six of the Twelve Kizuki,[N 1] they realize that the only way to kill the siblings is to behead them simultaneously. The trio coordinates their attacks to decapitate Daki but Tengen is severely injured by Gyutaro, who then stabs Inosuke from behind with poison to retrieve his sister's head. Zenitsu pushes Tanjiro off a roof to save him from Daki's obi sashes just as Gyutaro arrives to mock Tanjiro for his inability to save his friends.
(Gyutaro) persuades Tanjiro to turn into a demon but Tanjiro head-butts him, secretly stabbing the demon with a poisoned kunai. Gyutaro is immobilized and Tanjiro attempts to behead him. Before Daki can intervene, she is attacked by Zenitsu, using the last of his strength to reach her neck as Inosuke joins him, having survived by moving his internal organs upon being stabbed. Gyutaro removes the kunai and recovers; he almost kills Tanjiro but Tengen intervenes and battles Gyutaro. Tanjiro summons his remaining strength and slashes Gyutaro's neck while Zenitsu and Inosuke cut through Daki's.
Together, the Demon Slayers behead the siblings, whose heads roll close to each other. Tengen warns a heavily-poisoned Tanjiro to run away just as Gyutaro's body explodes into waves of blood blades that destroy the entire city. However, Tanjiro's demonic younger sister Nezuko uses her Blood Demon Art to burn the blades and save her brother from the poison. She also burns away Gyutaro's poison from Inosuke and Tengen, saving their lives. Tanjiro finds a dying Gyutaro and Daki arguing about their defeat and insulting their relationship.
Tanjiro intervenes, pressing for them to make amends with each other just as Daki disintegrates first, while Gyutaro remembers their human lives before being transformed into demons as he disintegrates as well. In the afterlife, Gyutaro and Daki reconcile upon remembering the promise they made to never be apart again before they walk together into Hell. Serpent Hashira Obanai Iguro arrives and commends Tengen for killing Upper Six of the Twelve Kizuki but Tengen informs him about his retirement from the Demon Slayers as well as Tanjiro's potential to become a Hashira.
Meanwhile, demon king Muzan Kibutsuji summons the remaining five Upper Rank demons – Akaza, Gyokko, Hantengu, Doma and Kokushibo – to inform them about Gyutaro's death. He admonishes them for their failures and lack of purpose, before sending Gyokko and Hantengu on a joint mission.
Two months later, Tanjiro is still recovering from his injuries when Zenitsu and Inosuke are summoned to individual missions. Because his swordsmith Hotaru Haganezuka had refused to forge him a new sword due to breaking his previous ones, Tanjiro is told to meet him at the Swordsmith Village to discuss with him in person. He arrives with Nezuko and meets the Love Hashira Mitsuri Kanroji and the village's chief Tecchin Tecchikawahara, who assures Tanjiro he will bring Hotaru back to build the sword.
While relaxing in hot springs, Tanjiro and Nezuko encounter Genya, Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa's younger brother and fellow Demon Slayer, who angrily strikes Tanjiro and storms off. Back at the village, Mitsuri hints at Tanjiro about a "secret weapon" hidden in the village that can make him stronger and bids farewell to the siblings. The next day, while searching for Hotaru, Tanjiro meets with Mist Hashira Muichiro Tokito and sees that seemingly with him is a figure from his dreams.
While eavesdropping, Tanjiro watches as Muichiro threatens the young swordsmith he was arguing with. He tries to defend him but the indifferent Hashira knocks him out for interfering. After waking up, the boy, named Kotetsu, explains that the "man" he saw is actually an advanced mechanical training doll, built after a swordsman who lived over 300 years ago. He explains the doll was made by his ancestors, and as he lacks a family, it is all he has to pass on to the next generation. Tanjiro agrees to protect it, but Muichiro appears, having finished his training session and causing extensive damage. However, after Kotetsu discovers it is still functional, he tells Tanjiro to train with it in order to become stronger than the arrogant Muichiro. However, training proves harsh as Kotetsu denies Tanjiro food and water when he fails to connect hits on the doll. When Tanjiro eventually faints from exhaustion, he imagines himself in the afterlife and sees a peculiar stone in the Sanzu River, enabling him to detect a scent faster than the Opening Thread. He uses this to his advantage, eventually landing a powerful strike on the doll's head, which shatters and reveals a concealed sword inside.
To Tanjiro's and Kotetsu's disappointment, the sword is tarnished. Hotaru suddenly arrives, now extremely muscular from solitary training to be able to forge a better sword for Tanjiro. Intending to restore the ancient sword, he gives Tanjiro a spare in the meantime. The next day, he attempts to befriend Genya but is rebuffed, though he notices he had regrown a lost tooth. Unbeknownst to all, Gyokko and Hantengu have infiltrated the Swordsmith Village. Hantengu finds Tanjiro, Nezuko, and Muichiro, who quickly beheads him. Two new demons then grow from the severed body and head. One of them, Karaku, blasts Muichiro away with his wind-based uchiwa, and the other, Sekido, nearly electrocutes Tanjiro with his khakkhara. Genya then appears and beheads them both with a sawed-off shotgun and a Nichirin wakizashi. However, the demons split again, now totaling four demons; one of them, Urogi, hits Tanjiro with a sonic shriek as Nezuko tries to defend Genya from the other, Aizetsu, who wields a yari. Muichiro runs back to assist them but finds Kotetsu being attacked by a fish-like demon. Initially electing not to help him, he saves him before he is eaten after remembering Tanjiro's words about helping others eventually helping him.
Though Muichiro beheads the fish demon, it does not die until he slashes the vase on its back. When Kotetsu begs him to save Hotaru and fellow swordsmith Kozo Kanamori, Muichiro initially ignores him to protect the village until he remembers Kagaya's advice about trivial events triggering his memories to come back, prompting him to take Kotetsu and find the two swordsmiths. Tanjiro realizes that each of the four demons represents an emotion: joy (Urogi), anger (Sekido), pleasure (Karaku), and sorrow (Aizetsu). Genya confuses Sekido and Aizetsu with his unusual durability against fatal wounds while Nezuko burns Karaku with her blood and uses his own uchiwa against him, blasting him away. Sekido immobilizes Nezuko by stabbing her neck and shocking her. Tanjiro is able to use Urogi's flight to reach Nezuko and Genya; he avoids Sekido's attacks by using Urogi's foot, which cannot conduct the electricity being made with the same cells. He frees Nezuko, who protects him from Sekido, but both are incapacitated when Karaku returns and hits them with his winds. More fish demons attack the village as Mitsuri makes her way to rescue the swordsmiths. |
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