Gotta Catch The Train

It's not often we get to see anime movie premiers in theaters, though they are happening more the more popular an anime gets. Even still, you have to catch the experience while you can.

Demon Slayer- the 2020 winner of Anime of the Year. We got hit last year with a killer series and have been eagerly waiting for what comes next. Well, it's here. 'But Allison, anime movies have no canonical effect on a series.' I am aware of the unspoken anime rules, peanut gallery- this time, the rule does not apply. What does that mean? It's quite simple really: you will not be able to move on to season 2 if you don't watch the movie. Bold move production team...bold move.

I have NEVER seen anything like this: An anime movie that is actually relevant. For those that have not partook in anime cinema, let me explain. Popular anime series sometimes get a movie, however these movies never actually have anything to do with the series' main story line. They mostly serve as a bonus of sorts for fans. Just more time for you to spend with characters you love. They are usually so far removed that some people *cough cough* James *cough cough* don't even consider the contents of the movie as canon. I very much disagree with that view, but can see where fans can sometimes be frustrated by the lack of substance in the content. You have to consider the reason why the writers don't include hard content in these movies. Simply put: it's to make sure they aren't excluding fans. You see, it used to be pretty hard to get your hands on anime movies. The shows would air on tv, but the movies were hard copy releases only. Meaning the movies never had as many views as their television series counterparts. To keep it fair to fans who couldn't see the movies, the movies wouldn't contain anything critical to the show's development. This would stop any spread of confusion that might happen due to the disconnect.

An example of this would be the Inuyasha movies. There are four in total. Though they all reference events happening in the show, they had no real impact on it. Likewise, the show would nod to things that happened in the movies, but never in such a blatant way that viewers felt confused or as if they were missing something. They were well balanced (content wise) in that way, but that was back in times when anime didn't have a popular standing in society, and the only access people had were through cable television and VHS/DVD's. All of which are more or less obsolete now that we are in a streaming age, as well as a very welcoming age of the nerd. You'd thing with all the popularization of these things that we wouldn't be surprised by an anime movie actually having concrete content that plays directly into the core of a series. Yet here I am, still in shock almost a week after seeing it with my own eyes.

To simply call this an anime movie would be a WILD understatement. In actuality, what I saw on opening night was an entire season of Demon Slayer condensed into one sitting, in a large theater where they slapped a title on it calling it a movie. It was like a bingers dream! The movie picks up on the EXACT scene where season 1 leaves off. It is because of that fact that I can't tell you anything else about the movie- Other than of course, you have to see it. No, I mean it, you HAVE to see it before anything else happens with the series. It is still in theaters (both Subbed and Dubbed) and should be available to stream at home in the near future.

I guess I can't really call this a review when I can't even tell you anything about the movie, but what I can tell you is that this movie is getting a very warm reception from the fans. 5 stars on RottenTomato, 4 1/2 stars on IMDB, and 8.71 score on MyAnimeList. I think it is safe to say that if you are a fan of the series so far, you won't be disappointed.

This gets me more than excited for season 2, I can't wait to see what they do next. After a stunt like this, I am expecting big things from this team, let's hold them to it!

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Thank you for joining me for this wildly unhelpful installment of Nerdom. I hope your week is going well! Let's finish strong and make it to the weekend! If you're struggling, watch some anime, read a comic, dive into your own nerdom for a little escape. Then I hope to see you back Sunday for The Mess! In the meantime, stay safe, stay nerdy, and stay messy otaku!