Six years ago, a boy in a checkered green and black cloak found the dead bodies of most of his family members, murdered by the demon Muzan Kibutsuji (voiced by Toshihiko Seki). His sister Nezuko (Akari Kitô), the sole survivor of the massacre, was turned into a demon. That boy, Tanjiro Kamado (Natsuki Hanae), vowed to turn his sister human again.

That first 2019 episode of the anime “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba,” based on the 23-volume shōnen manga by Koyoharu Gotouge and available to stream on Netflix and Crunchyroll, was the first cog that led to the events of “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle.” The film is the first of three highly anticipated blockbusters that will conclude the five-arc, 63-episode, 27-hour Japanese anime franchise about the battle for survival between humans and demons. Since Tanjiro lost his family, he’s joined and risen in the elite ranks of Demon Slayers, most of whom share similarly tragic backstories that motivated them to train and fight through bruises, lacerations and broken bones.

“Infinity Castle” starts off where the 2024 eight-episode “Hashira Training Arc” ends: Muzan is captured in an elaborate trap. But just as Tanjiro and the most powerful demon slayers prepare to strike Muzan, the demon sends all of the Demon Slayer Corps members to another underground realm through trap doors that lead inside a bottomless demon hideout.

Whereas “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — The Movie: Mugen Train” (2020), the previous movie in the franchise, animated a train that murdered people as they slept, “Infinity Castle” is a roller coaster, an animated amusement park ride from hell. It’s the elevator in Tower of Terror, suddenly dropping characters through a dizzying array of floors, lights and pulsating buildings into endless battles with demon swarms (which sometimes happen in midair). It’s a visual spectacle, a 155-minute fight-to-the-death battle anime held together by a series of emotional lows told in flashbacks covering the worst demons in each hero and villain’s past.

This ride has three main floors: On one floor, you have the demon slayer Shinobu Kocho (Saori Hayami) facing Doma (Mamoru Miyano), the powerful demon who killed Shinobu’s sister. On another floor, you have unexpectedly serious demon slayer Zenitsu Agatsuma (Hiro Shimono), who seems more somber and out of character since receiving a mysterious letter; he fights an upper rank human-turned-demon he once respected as an older brother. The main attraction, however, is Tanjiro and Giyu Tomioka’s (Takahiro Sakurai) hour-and-a-half-long battle with the demon Akaza (Akira Ishida), who killed one of Tanjiro’s mentors in the “Mugen Train” movie.

While animation studio ufotable’s colorful gladiator fight sequences are the main draw of “Infinity Castle,” the real emotional engine of this roller coaster are the flashbacks, which humanize both monster and men. Hikaru Kondô’s screenplay excels at highlighting each character’s motivations. Can they surpass their heroes in power and character and succeed in a way their role models could not? What promises would make a human persevere past the point of debilitating pain and enter an arena they know they are unlikely to survive?

“Infinity Castle” isn’t an entirely satisfying movie. It throws you in the middle of action and then leaves you at the precipice of another drop. You know that not everyone will leave this adrenaline-filled thrill ride alive. Then the speed of the back-to-back battles doesn’t allow you enough time to grieve, mourn and process. But despite that, you still believe in the Davids among the impossible battle against immortal, regenerating, bloodsucking Goliaths. That’s what “Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle” excels at: capturing the undying human spirit and its ability to persevere against adversity — to float instead of fall if only for a moment.

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'DEMON SLAYER: KIMETSU NO YAIBA INFINITY CASTLE'

(In Japanese with English subtitles)

3 stars (out of 4)

MPA rating: R (for bloody violence throughout)

Running time: 2:35

How to watch: Now in theaters

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