Demon Slayer: Why a shortened season 4 and several films is actually the right move, explained

Demon Slayer has been one of the biggest success stories in the anime industry in recent years, and the companies and studios involved in its production want to get the most out of the franchise. This is why, it has been confirmed that the fourth season is going to be shorter, just covering the Hashira Training arc, and that the final portion of the story is going to be adapted into several films.

This, naturally, has led to a lot of fans feeling annoyed and confused about the final arcs being turned into films, considering that an anime season could give them more content. However, there are several reasons that Demon Slayer ending through movies could be the decisive factor for a grand finale for what has been one of the most popular franchises in modern anime.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the Demon Slayer series.

---

Explaining why recent decisions in the Demon Slayer franchise is the right move

Fans now have valid reasons to be frustrated about the lack of Demon Slayer content in the upcoming years. A short season and several films is a lot less than having two or three seasons with fifteen or twenty episodes that can be consumed for longer periods of time, featuring more of Tanjiro, Inosuke, Zenitsu, and the Hashiras.

However, it's also worth pointing out what this means in the grand scheme of things. Ufotable studio has done a borderline legendary job animating the series, taking some moments of the manga to far greater heights, and, considering the level of work exploitation that some studio staff suffer in Japan, they deserve all the comfort they can get.

Therefore, making a shorter season for a "calm" arc like the Hashira Training one and adapting the final portion of the story into movies is a sensible move. It's better to receive a much better product, albeit a shorter one, than getting a substandard one for Tanjiro's story and leaving people with a poor taste in their mouths. It's all about making sure that this anime has top-notch quality across all its seasons and films.

---

The appeal of the films

Demon Slayer's hit 2020 film, Mugen Train, changed the way the anime industry did movies, at least in terms of storytelling. Before this movie, anime films attached to established series were mostly non-canon and therefore did not "matter" to a lot of fans, but this film, accompanied by world-class animation and a solid story that was part of the canon, pioneered that change.

It's also very telling that the first two episodes of the third season of Demon Slayer were released as a film before the season began. Considering how the Swordsmith Village arc didn't receive a lot of praise or was viewed as a downgrade from the two previous seasons, perhaps the people in charge of the anime want to try something different.

This is where the movies come in, offering a more theatrical approach to the series' grand finale and perhaps building more hype because of the experience of people watching it in a theater. Plus, animation studios have a larger budget to work with when it comes to the movies, and seeing the final arc of this franchise with the best animation in the business could be the way to go.

---

Final thoughts

There's much to look forward to with this franchise at the moment (Image via Ufotable).

Demon Slayer has been a colossal hit in recent years, so it makes sense that Ufotable and Aniplex want to get the most out of this franchise.

While fans have reasons to feel frustrated, these companies have done a great job adapting Koyoharu Gotouge's manga, and they deserve a vote of trust in this situation.