“Burn your heart.” Just like that catchphrase, the passion of the fans has not cooled down. So, it is 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. At that time, it was rare for an animated film, especially a theatrical version of a TV anime, to succeed at the box office. However, <Demon Slayer> achieved that honour. It was the strength of <Demon Slayer: Mugen Train>. After completing 4K remastering, <Demon Slayer: Mugen Train> returns to theatres, 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 of the same name. The current trend in the Japanese manga world can be summarised as ‘short and thick’. Although past masterpieces were created, due to popularity and the power of the editorial department, there were cases where long serialisations were unavoidable, and seeing the precedents of senior authors who ultimately lost their health due to long serialisations, recently debuted authors generally work by serialising only as much as they have decided and maximising the media mix of that. Also, to prevent invasion of privacy, more and more authors are hiding their real names, faces, and personal information. And Koyoharu Gotouge is a representative figure of all these trends.
Gotouge debuted with a short story in 2013 and began serialising <Demon Slayer> in 2016. This work was animated 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. Since then, they have stated their intention to ‘return home’ and have not announced any separate works until now. It is true that there are reactions suggesting a de facto retirement since they took a break without even revealing their real name. However, it is said that they are still involved in the inspection of <Demon Slayer> related merchandise. In any case, Koyoharu Gotouge is remembered as an author who made a mark in the manga world with this ‘short and thick’ approach.
The results created by 17 Umais
Whenever a famous work emerges, regardless of the medium, a catchphrase tends to arise. In that sense, if the main story of <Demon Slayer> is ‘Hekireki Issen’, then <Demon Slayer: Mugen Train> is ‘Umai!’ (delicious!). This everyday exclamation spread like a catchphrase thanks to the boisterous personality of the main 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 shouting ‘Umai!’ while devouring numerous lunch boxes is unforgettable for anyone who has seen it. Rengoku Kyoujurou shouted ‘Umai!’ a total of 17 times in this film, so Satoshi Hino probably shouted it even more. Perhaps he will receive numerous ‘Umai requests’ during this visit as well.
Even with low figures, first place is first place
Earlier, I mentioned the domestic box office of <Demon Slayer: Mugen Train>, which attracted a total of 2.18 million viewers, ranking 5th among Japanese animated films released domestically. Excluding the beloved Studio Ghibli and works by director Makoto Shinkai, it is a box office success among theatrical versions of popular TV anime series, alongside <The First Slam Dunk> (4.9 million viewers) and <Crayon Shin-chan: The Storm Called: The Battle of the Super Powers ~Fly, Handmade Gimbap~> (940,000 viewers). Considering that the most successful <The First Slam Dunk> is close to a remake, it can be seen as first place. Therefore, at the time of its release, it was nicknamed the ‘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 all theatres worldwide were in a state of shutdown due to COVID-19 pandemic measures at that time, it surpassed both Hollywood and Chinese films. The final box office result was $500 million. Compared to other years where films crossing the $1 billion mark are common, it was indeed a year with fewer box office successes, but it undoubtedly achieved the best results in the history of Japanese animation. In fact, thanks to this success, the production company Ufotable produced additional original episodes and released <Demon Slayer: Mugen Train> re-edited as a 7-episode TV series 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 Train’ is uniquely a combination of the Japanese pronunciation of infinity ‘Mugen’ and the word for train ‘Train’. This was because using the direct translation ‘Infinity Train’ would conflict with an existing American animated title. To avoid confusion, the title was created as ‘Mugen Train’ by mixing the Japanese pronunciation and English word. Additionally, unlike its release in Japan rated for ages 12 and in Korea rated for ages 15, it was released in North America with an R rating due to depictions of blood and violence.
Finally, I will add a truly important TMI. <Demon Slayer: Mugen Train> will be released on Saturday, May 10. Typically, films are released on Wednesdays or Thursdays, but Saturday was chosen as the re-release date. The reason is that May 10 is the birthday of Rengoku Kyoujurou.
Cineplay reporter Seong Chan-eol
