The Hashira Training Arc in Demon Slayer should just be a movie like Mugen Train and you can't change my mind
Demon Slayer's Hashira Training Arc only had eight chapters in the manga, so how would ufotable use that as material for an entire season?
Ufotable has finally dropped the trailer for the much awaited new entry to the hit dark fantasy shounen anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba!
Slated to be released in February 2024, the special Demon Slayer: To the Hashira Training Arc, will feature the last episode of the "Swordsmith Village Arc" as well as a look at the first episode of the upcoming season, which will be released in Spring 2024.
If you haven't seen the promotional reel yet, check it out below.
Demon Slayer fans can expect to see this special in movie theatres worldwide, much like the previous Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba -To The Swordsmith Village-.
But is there anything to get excited about?
But here's the thing, I'm not excited about this special.
I'm not even looking forward to season 4.
Besides the fact that the "special" is just a repeat of the last episode of Swordsmith Village melded together with the new season's first episode, I don't think that the Hashira Training Arc, which only had eight chapters in the manga, should even get a season.
I know, I know, it's a controversial opinion. But Mugen Train's arc — which was 12 chapters in the manga — was condensed into a (really, really, really) great 1 hour and 56 minutes, giving the Flame Pillar Rengoku his time to shine as one of the best and most lovable Demon Slayer characters ever.
If ufotable could make a movie out of 12 chapters, why not the measly eight chapters of the whole Demon Slayer Corps being trained to hell and back by the remaining Hashiras to see if they could manifest the Demon Slayer mark?
The arc in the manga boasts no interactions between Muzan's Demon Moons and the Corps, which means we likely won't get any god-tier fight animations like in seasons past.
How long could the Hashira Training Arc be in the anime?
Sure, there will be the welcome benefit of finally getting to know (albeit barely) the other Hashiras like Gyomei, Sanemi, and Iguro, as well as another close look at Giyuu's character and his impostor syndrome, but I can't see how ufotable is going to get enough material to expand eight chapters into a season.
That got me thinking, how long of a season exactly? Will this upcoming season be similar to Demon Slayer's second season, which was separated into two parts?
But even then, the first cour, which recompiled the Mugen Train Arc movie, also featured a special anime-only episode that delved deeper into Rengoku's character, and only lasted seven episodes before going into the Entertainment District Arc.
I don't think ufotable can milk out any more content from the established Hashira Training arc to turn it into 7 episodes, unless we get more original anime-only content. Or they somehow pluck out the backstories of the remaining Hashiras from the final arc and stick it in there somewhere as a montage in between their training regimens.
Nevertheless, I believe that the Hashira Training Arc could have been better shown as a movie before the final Infinity Castle Arc, which features the ultimate and long-awaited showdown between the Demon King Muzan and the entire Demon Slayer Corps.
Yan Ku is a full-time dog parent, part-time (gacha) gamer, and part-time writer.
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