Shinobu Kocho deserved better in Demon Slayer, and you can't change my mind

With the Demon Slayer Infinity Castle movie already halfway done and a few more international countries left to be released, fans have already started talking about the ups and downs of the movie. While this was the most highly anticipated movie of 2025, with a lot of hype behind the release, one major segment has seemed to create a sense of disappointment.

The segment in question here is one of the major battles of the movie, the battle between the Upper Rank Two demon Doma and the Insect Hashira Shinobu Kocho. The battle was not just another demon vs human in the series, but something that held a deep lore and a sense of avenging. Ufotable seemed to have missed out on the proper portrayal, leaving some gaps in the story.

Disclaimer: This article contains massive spoilers from the Demon Slayer Infinity Castle movie and reflects the author's opinions.

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Doma vs Shinobu deserved a separate movie by Demon Slayer

One of the most highly anticipated battles from the first Demon Slayer Infinity Castle movie was between Doma and Shinobu. Furthermore, the movie opens with their battle as the main highlight among the three in the first movie.

However, the battle, while undoubtedly well animated and choreographed by Ufotable, left out several key parts that were shown in the manga and felt a bit rushed for the sake of the duration time limit. The whole sequence was supposed to be about Shinobu finally meeting the demon she had been searching for and engaging in an epic battle to avenge her sister, Kanae's death.

However, while Ufotable kept some iconic scenes like Shinobu thrusting Doma to the ceiling and Doma's demonic moves, they rushed to conclude the fight as soon as possible. The main reason behind this could have been the time distribution for the other major fights in the movie- Zenitsu versus Kaigaku, and Giyu and Tanjiro versus Akaza (the main battle of the 1st movie).

Doma's Blood Demon Art as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

During the engagement against Shinobu, only a very minimalistic display of Doma's powerful Blood Demon Art was shown. Furthermore, the movie kept cutting away briefly during the fight, leaving an incomplete feel to the fight. Additionally, only a few sequences of the Insect Breathing were shown in the series, robbing the fans of what could have turned into a beautiful presentation.

To truly portray the battle, Ufotable either needed to allot more time to the sequence or add an entirely different movie for them. A majority of the lore between the sequences was cut off from the battle. Even the battle climax, where Doma absorbs Shinobu as she dies and drops her sword, was done haphazardly and could have been portrayed more dramatically.

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Final thoughts

Shinobu's Insect Breathing as seen in the anime (Image via Ufotable)

Ufotable could have easily built up a movie in the Demon Slayer franchise, something like an Eternal Paradise arc, which could have purely focused on the battle between Shinobu and Doma. The movie did not give the battle between Shinobu and Doma the definition and narrative they needed, which many fans have felt robbed of.

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