“Burn your heart.” Just like that catchphrase, the passion of the fans has not cooled down. So, it makes one curious whether this re-release will write a new chapter of surprises. Re-released on May 10, <Demon Slayer: Mugen Train> surpassed 2 million viewers after its release in January 2021. It is rare for an animated film, especially one based on a TV series, to succeed at the box office. Yet, <Demon Slayer> has earned that honor. It was the strength of <Demon Slayer: Mugen Train>. After completing 4K remastering, <Demon Slayer: Mugen Train> returns to theaters, and this time, the voice actor of Rengoku, Satoshi Hino, will also step on Korean soil to ‘burn his heart’. In celebration of the re-release, we will cover TMI related to <Demon Slayer: Mugen Train> and <Demon Slayer>.
Life is like Gotouge, retiring with just one long piece
When talking about <Demon Slayer>, one cannot overlook Koyoharu Gotouge, the author of the original manga. The current trend in the Japanese manga industry can be summarized as ‘short and impactful’. Although past masterpieces were drawn, many authors had to extend their series due to popularity and editorial pressure, leading to health issues for some veteran authors. This has led to a trend where recently debuted authors generally publish only as much as they have planned and maximize media mix opportunities. Additionally, more authors are hiding their real names, faces, and personal information to prevent privacy invasion. Koyoharu Gotouge is a representative figure of this entire trend.
Gotouge debuted with a short story in 2013 and serialized <Demon Slayer> in 2016. This work was adapted into an anime by the production company Ufotable and aired in 2019. The popularity exploded with this anime, yet Gotouge did not forcefully extend the work and concluded it in 2020. After that, Gotouge stated a desire to ‘return home’ and has not released any separate works since. There are reactions suggesting a de facto retirement since the real name has not even been disclosed. However, it is true that Gotouge is still involved in the inspection of <Demon Slayer> related merchandise. Regardless, Koyoharu Gotouge is remembered as an author who made a mark in the manga world with this ‘short and impactful’ approach.
The results created by 17 Umais
Whenever a famous work emerges, a catchphrase tends to arise. In that sense, if the main story of <Demon Slayer> is ‘Hekireki-issenn’, then <Demon Slayer: Mugen Train> is ‘Umai!’ (delicious!). This everyday exclamation spread like a catchphrase thanks to the boisterous personality of the key character, Rengoku Kyoujurou, and the performance of voice actor Satoshi Hino. When the protagonist Tanjiro and his group first meet Rengoku on the train, his scene of exclaiming ‘Umai!’ while devouring numerous lunch boxes is unforgettable for anyone who has seen it. Rengoku Kyoujurou exclaimed Umai a total of 17 times in this movie, so Satoshi Hino probably exclaimed it even more. Perhaps he will receive numerous ‘Umai requests’ during this visit as well.
Even with low numbers, first place is first place
Earlier, I mentioned the domestic box office success of <Demon Slayer: Mugen Train>, which attracted a total of 2.18 million viewers, ranking 5th among Japanese animated films released domestically. Excluding beloved works from Studio Ghibli and director Makoto Shinkai, it is among the successful theatrical adaptations of popular TV anime series, alongside <The First Slam Dunk> (4.9 million viewers) and <Crayon Shin-chan: The Legend Called Buri Buri Kingdom and Almost Four Heroes> (940,000 viewers). Considering that the most successful <The First Slam Dunk> is close to a remake, it can be seen as a first-place achievement. Thus, at the time of its release, it earned the nickname ‘Box Office Train’ due to its box office power.
Looking at it this way, it may seem like only Korea was enthusiastic, but <Demon Slayer: Mugen Train> was the highest-grossing film of 2020. It ranked first in the worldwide box office in 2020. Although theaters worldwide were in a standstill due to COVID-19 pandemic measures, it surpassed both Hollywood and Chinese films. The final box office result was $500 million. While it was certainly a year with fewer theatrical successes compared to other years where films surpass $1 billion, it undeniably achieved the highest results in the history of Japanese animation. In fact, thanks to this success, the production company Ufotable produced additional original episodes and re-edited <Demon Slayer: Mugen Train> into a 7-part TV series, which was released in October 2021.
There is some TMI related to the North American release, specifically the subtitle. The North American release title is <Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba - The Movie: Mugen Train>. It is natural to include the Japanese pronunciation and English title of <Demon Slayer>, but the term Mugen is uniquely combined with the Japanese pronunciation of ‘infinity’ and the word ‘train’. This was done to avoid confusion with the title ‘Infinity Train’, which is an existing American animation. To avoid confusion, the title was created as ‘Mugen Train’ by mixing the Japanese pronunciation and English word. Additionally, while it was rated PG-12 in Japan and PG-15 in Korea, it was released with an R rating in North America due to depictions of blood and violence.
Finally, here’s a really important TMI. <Demon Slayer: Mugen Train> will be released on Saturday, May 10. Typically, movies are released on Wednesdays or Thursdays, but Saturday was chosen as the re-release date. The reason is that May 10 is Rengoku Kyoujurou’s birthday.
Cineplay reporter Seong Chan-eol
