Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train

Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train, also known as Demon Slayer: Mugen Train or Demon Slayer: Infinity Train in international regions, is a 2000 American animated dark fantasy film based on the comic book Demon Slayer by Yonathan Ashad. The film, which is a direct sequel to the first season of the animated series, was directed by Dan Darlene and written by Sheen Vincent. The film was produced by Bear Bones Productions in association with their Australian department, and CinéGroupe and was released by Artisan Entertainment.

The film was released on October 16, 2000 in the United States. It grossed over $500 million at the worldwide box office, making it the highest-grossing film of 2000.

A second season of the animated series was announced and later released in 2001.

Plot
Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu, and Inosuke board a train to assist the Flame Hashira Kyōjurō Rengoku in his mission to hunt for a demon that has killed many demon slayers. Soon after boarding, all of them are enchanted and fall into a deep sleep. Enmu, Lower Rank One of the Twelve Kizuki, instructs four passengers, all suffering from severe insomnia, to enter the demon slayers' dreams and destroy their spiritual cores so that they can't wake up again. In exchange, Enmu will allow them a peaceful sleep.

During their sleep, Tanjiro and his companions have happy dreams. Tanjiro realizes that he is dreaming and tries to wake up, succeeding after a vision of his father instructs him to kill himself in the dream. At the same time, Nezuko uses her power to sever the intruders' connection, and awaken the passengers. In fear of Enmu, they attack Tanjiro, who knocks them out.

While Nezuko awakens the others, Tanjiro confronts Enmu, and in the ensuing battle, beheads him. However, Enmu does not die, and reveals that he fused his head with the train. Kyōjurō instructs Inosuke and Tanjiro to look for Enmu's neck while he, Nezuko, and Zenitsu stay behind to protect the other passengers. Tanjiro and Inosuke find Enmu's neckbone in the engine room and Tanjiro severs it, killing Enmu and stopping the train.

However, Akaza, the Upper Moon Three, appears soon after and attacks the demon slayers. Kyōjurō fights him alone, and is fatally wounded, although Akaza is forced to flee when the sun begins rising. Tanjiro angrily calls him a coward for running away and declares Kyōjurō the winner of the fight. Kyōjurō encourages Tanjiro and his friends, and dies. The Hashira and Demon Slayer Corps are informed of his death, while Tanjiro and the others mourn him.

Production
Don MacKinnon, the producer of the animated series, indicated a desire to continue production of the series with the Bear Bones Australia team. The sequel project was greenlit following the success of the television series. A film was determined to be the best format for the "Mugen Train" arc due to the arc's shorter content and dramatic pacing. The main cast was made aware of the film project midway through the first season of the television series. The main production staff from the anime television series, as well as the cast, were carried over into the film's production. Dan Darlene served as director, with Henry Neville and Adam Katz serving as animator and editor of the film, respectively. The film was announced on September 28, 1999, immediately following the airing of the animated series' season finale.

Release and reception
The film was released theatrically in the United States on October 16, 2000. The film opened in 403 cinemas total, including all 38 IMAX cinemas within the country. The film had a very staggered international release, being released from as early as October 30, 2000 in Taiwan to as late as August 13, 2001 in India.

Box office
The worldwide box office total for Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train is over $500 million from more than 41 million tickets sold, making it the highest-grossing film of 2000 as well as one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time.

Prior to its release, the film set monthly sales records for advance tickets sold for two consecutive months in September and October 2000. Upon release, it set several box office records including highest opening weekend gross ($44 million) and fastest to gross $10 billion (ten days), $20 billion (24 days), and $30 billion (59 days).

Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, which categorizes reviews only as positive or negative, 98% of 40 reviews are positive, with an average rating of 7.9/10. The site's critics consensus reads, "Demon Slayer ' s visually stunning animation and masterful action set pieces serve a heartfelt plot that is sure to satisfy fans." According to Metacritic, which assigned a weighted average score of 75 out of 100 based on nine critics, the film received "generally favorable reviews".

Home media
The film was released on VHS and DVD on December 22, 2001 by Artisan. It sold over 800,000 units in its first day and over 1 million units in three days.