As season four of Demon Slayer nears, I’m sure many will be foaming at the mouth at the chance to preview what’s to come, especially after the emotional finale of season three. Thankfully, Anime News Network was able to watch the red carpet premiere of this new arc, Hashira Training Arc, in New York City.
(L-R) Hiro Shimono and Zenitsu Agatsuma attend the World Tour Of Crunchyroll’Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba-To The Hashira Training-‘Premiere at Regal Union Square on February 10, 2024 in New York City .
©Craig Barritt/Getty Images for Crunchyroll
The event included special guests Natsuki Hanae, the Japanese voices of Tanjiro Kamado, Hiro Shimono and Aleks Le, the Japanese and English voices of Zenitsu Agatsuma, and Demon Slayer producer Yūma Takahashi. Walking down the red carpet, they all made it clear that they were making the most of their time in New York, enjoying the food and sights. My favorite part of the event was seeing Le overwhelmed by having his photo taken with Hiro Shimono. But Natsuki Hanae, Hiro Shimono, and Yūma Takahashi made it clear that they also want to make sure fans can fully enjoy what Demon Slayer has to offer them next.
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There wasn’t much time for questions, but I asked the Japanese guests what they hoped fans would learn from this film. After joking about being afraid of my Muzan cosplay, they all agreed that the overall animation quality and presentation is always a sight to behold. While Demon Slayer is largely a television series that you can watch on most digital devices, Hanae notes how viewers can appreciate the spectacle presented when they watch on the big screen. .
Hanae’s point of view is evident in the first half of the “drama” Arc Hashira, as this premiere only has two longer-than-usual episodes stitched together. The first half is the finale of season three, while the second half is the first episode of season four. Watching the season four finale in a packed movie theater evokes stronger emotions than watching the finale alone at home. The franchise still occasionally showcases film-quality animation, which complements sitting in a packed theater.
©Koyoharu Gotoge/SHUEISHA, Aniplex, ufotable
While perhaps not the most important arc, the Swordsmith Village Arc has one of the more important finales of the series, when Nezuko discovers that she is immune to sunlight. The way things are directed and paced evokes a lot of emotion at the time but also serves as an inciting incident for one of the series’ final installments. Now, Muzan will sneak out and do everything he can to capture Nezuko so he can also become a daywalker. Before it gets worse, however, the story has to make sure all the characters are ready, leading to the appropriately named training section.
Natsuki Hanae, Hiro Shimono and Yūma Takahashi made it clear that the second half was much slower than the first. They weren’t kidding because the second half of this movie is all about exposition. There’s some pretty cute comedy, especially when it comes to moments like when Zenitsu meets Nezuko in the sunlight for the first time, and pretty much everything with Tanjiro in the infirmary is hilarious. But most of the training time is just the main characters sitting and talking. There’s plenty of foreshadowing and even some cleverly integrated summaries of specific events, but it’s not compelling. If anything, it seems like there’s a lot of promise of more exciting events to come in the future, but I wonder how well the show can deliver on that promise. Practice sequences are a staple of shōnen and can be enjoyable in some cases.
It’s possible that training won’t be the main focus of the upcoming season and there will be a lot of preparation for Muzan to amass his demons. There’s some tension between some of the current Hashira members, and we even get the return of some old members, like Tengen, to assist with training. But I’m not sure if this part will lead to any definitive conclusion or if it’s just an alternate part before we move on to the next main part. Only time will tell.