Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Swordsmith Village- World Tour has started! This article is the review by the author who went to the cinema on the first day, February 3.
> are considering to watch -To the Swordsmith Village- World Tour.
> want to know if the World Tour is worth watching
Why has the World Tour started on February 3 in Japan ?
It is not a coincidence that the World Tour has started on February 3 in Japan. There is an important reason behind this. February 3, 2023 was the day of “節分 (Setsubun)” in Japan. Setsubun is the sort of spring festival based on the Lunisolar Calendar, accompanied by a number of rituals and traditions to drive away the evils for the year to come. The day is closely related to demons in Japanese culture.
How does the Lunisolar Calendar work?
Currently the Gregorian calendar, one of the solar calendars, is widely accepted as a standard in the world. The solar calendars are based on the Earth’s revolution around the Sun. Simply said, it defines 365 days as 1 year and divides 365 days into 12 months.The lunisolar calendar is the modified version of the lunar calendar, which is based on the phase of the moon. One phase of the moon consists of 29 days or 30 days. So 12 months will be 354 days and 1 year will be shorter than the solar calendar by 11 days. If the difference is left as it is, there will be a mismatch between the calendar and the seasons. So one extra month of “Uruuzuki” is added to fill the gap.
The Tradition of Setsubun in Japan
Setsubun is the day before the beginning of spring in the lunisolar calendar year. It was believed that the evil spirits come around the time when the season changes. In order to drive away the evil spirits, traditionally Japanese people throw roasted soybeans out of the front door of their house, saying “Oni wa soto (Demon out)!” This custom is called Mamemaki.
As February 3 is the day related to Demons, it was the appropriate day to start the World Tour! In Japan, as the start date was related to Setsubun, a card with Tanjiro, Nezuko, Zenitsu and Inosuke doing Mamemaki was distributed at the theater.
How was -To the Swordsmith Village- World Tour?
Coming back to the main subject “How was Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Swordsmith Village- World Tour?”, it is highly recommended.
Highlights Tanjiro Unwavering Resolve Arc and Mugen Train Arc
It was already announced that the movie consists of the last two episodes of the Entertainment District Arc and the first episode of the Swordsmith Village Arc. But the movie actually started with the highlights of Tanjiro Unwavering Resolve Arc accompanied by the opening music of the anime Demon Slayer “Gurenge (紅蓮華)” by LiSA, followed by the highlights of Mugen Train Arc accompanied by the opening music of the anime Demon Slayer “Akeboshi (明け星)” by LiSA.
From Entertainment District Arc to Swordsmith Village Arc
After the highlights and the full Episode 10 and 11 of Entertainment District Arc, the stage moves to the Mugen Castle of Muzan Kibutsuji. The Swordsmith Village Arc finally starts.
As upper rank demons were killed in the Entertainment District Arc, which did not happen for more than 100 years, unhappy Muzan Kibutsuji called all remaining upper ranked demons to the Mugen Castle to make their missions clear.
The battle scene of Tengen Uzui vs Gyutaro is worth watching on a large screen in the cinema. In Japan every visitor got a book on upper rank demons in the cinema. I hope that you will receive the translated version of this in your country.
High Quality Visualizations
In general anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is characterized by high quality pictures and visualizations. This of course is the case for the Swordsmith Village Arc as well.
The Mugen Castle of Muzan Kibutsuji is magnificent. The 3D visualization of the Mugen Castle is certainly worth seeing on a big screen in the cinema. The story takes place in the swordsmith village, where the Nichirin blades are manufactured. It is a hidden place with hot spring spa. The nature of the rural area in Japan is well reproduced and you will feel how the small villages of Japan look like.
In conclusion, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Swordsmith Village- World Tour is worth watching.
The project of Anime Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba seems to be a grand project. It is almost 4 years, since Tanjiro Unwavering Resolve Arc started on TV in April 2019, and it is just halfway now.
The World Tour consists of important highlighting scenes which we should go over before starting watching the Swordsmith Village Arc!
