At long last, the Demon Slayer: Mugen Train film is confirmed for Australian and New Zealand cinema release on 25 February 2021! The film will be available at 150 locations in Aus and 39 in NZ. The NZ locations have been announced but us Aussies will need to wait a while longer until the cinemas are confirmed. However, as Event Cinemas and Hoyts have previously hosted anime film releases, I wouldn’t be surprised if those will be our go-to for this film. The film will be shown in Japanese with English subtitles. But, according to the website, English dub screenings will be confirmed at a later date. 

While you could argue that Demon Slayer is a series that needs no introduction, it’s getting one anyway. Tanjiro Kamado returns home to find his family slaughtered, the only survivor his younger sister who has  turned into a flesh-eating demon. Desperate to save his only remaining family, Tanjiro goes on a quest to find a cure. The anime series finished around chapter 52 of the manga, leaving off Tanjiro and the other demon slayers as they finish recuperating from extensive injuries. In Mugen Train, the demon slaying gang are all set to embark on a new adventure. This time, their mission is on a train where over forty people have mysteriously disappeared. But they’re not the only slayers on board, and even with their new fiery companion this demon won’t go down easy.

The Demon Slayer anime series premiered in April 2019 and has since exploded in popularity. The manga series currently has over 100 million copies in circulation in Japan, and the film itself was number 1 at the Japanese box office rankings for 12 weeks straight. I feel like it’s almost everyday some new collaboration or merchandise is announced, but I’m definitely not complaining. I’ve got quite a few Demon Slayer figurines in my collection and many, many more on pre-order. So it goes without saying that I’m absolutely pumped for this release. 

However, I do tend to be a little cinema shy. Late last year when Sentai Filmworks released Twittering Birds Never Fly: The Clouds Gather they had ‘digital screenings’ of the film. You purchase a ticket (~12.99 USD), and you get access to a stream of the film which you have to watch within 24 hours. I was hoping that Demon Slayer: Mugen Train would do something similar as cinema going can be a bit of a hit or miss experience. I’ve sat in movies with people talking non-stop around me, phones ringing, I even had someone watching youtube videos next to me! So if we had that option to watch it in the comfort of our home that would have been amazing. However, I will still be grabbing my ticket when they go on sale, and keep my fingers crossed that the show’s fans will make it an enjoyable experience.

Tickets will be on sale from Monday February 8 2021. Check out the Madman website for further details! 

Information from Madman Anime Group Press Release

Image credit ©Kyoharu Gotoge / SHUEISHA, Aniplex, ufotable