On Saturday, Comic-Con attendees were treated to a special Hall H panel devoted to Toho/Aniplex’s upcoming Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle feature, which is set to be released by Crunchyroll and Sony Pictures Entertainment on Sept. 12 (including IMAX and premium large format engagements in the U.S. and Canada). Director Haruo Sotozaki, DP Yuichi Terao and voice actors Natsuki Hanae and Aleks Le discussed the making of the first outing in the new trilogy, the challenges and the emotional heights of the Infinity Castle saga.
Sotozaki revealed how meticulous the process was in translating the manga to the screen. “I paid very close attention to the lines, the thickness of the lines. I wanted to make sure that information was preserved when we adapted the manga to the anime,” Sotozaki noted as he discussed the process of translating Koyoharu Gotouge’s manga to the screen. He mentioned that the production was inspired by ancient Japanese ukiy-e style artwork to create the water-breathing technique. “We first made the waves using 3D models, but then we had to translate that and add some 2D key frames on top of it to ultimately land on the type of visual expression you see.”
Terao discussed the challenge of raising the bar in creating epic, beautiful anime for the fans. “When you try to make the imagery too gorgeous some of the original lines that the animators had drawn get kind of blended into the background, and they don’t stand out,” he explains. “And then that’s when Sotozaki-san and [Akira] Matsushima-san, our chief animation director, came to my desk and said, ‘Hey, where did all of our lines go?”
Discussing the new visual released for the event which features Tanjiro and Giyu battling Akaza, Sotozki said, “We drew a lot of inspiration from the movie itself to come up with the composition.” Tanjiro’s voice actor Natsuki Hanae added, “I can’t really tell you what’s going to happen in the movie, but perhaps that visual gave us a few hints, you know, maybe Tanjiro is going to go up against Akaza. I know in Mugen Train, Tanjiro couldn’t do anything, so it’s going to be a spectacle to see how much Tanjiro has grown since the last film.”
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle opened in Japan last weekend, breaking three box office opening weekend records, including the highest opening day, first day, and single day results of all time for Japan! The film, distributed by Toho and Aniplex, generated 7.31 billion yen (US$49.55 million) in the box office revenue in the first four-days of release. Tickets for the N. American screenings go on sale on Aug. 15.
“As the Demon Slayer Corps members and Hashira engaged in a group strength training program, the Hashira Training, in preparation for the forthcoming battle against the demons, Muzan Kibutsuji appears at the Ubuyashiki Mansion. With the head of the Demon Corps in danger, Tanjiro and the Hashira rush to the headquarters but are plunged into a deep descent to a mysterious space by the hands of Muzan Kibutsuji.
“The destination of where Tanjiro and Demon Slayer Corps have fallen is the demons’ stronghold – the Infinity Castle. And so, the battleground is set as the final battle between the Demon Slayer Corps and the demons ignites.”
The Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba series is currently available to stream on Crunchyroll. Four albums from the series and four orchestral concerts are currently available on global music streaming platforms.
For more detailed information, visit the Crunchyroll article and the website demonslayer-anime.com
Sources: Crunchyroll, Nerdreactor.com
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