Ufotable is on a slippery slope with Demon Slayer movies and it becomes clearer every year

The Demon Slayer movies seem to be the topic of discussion among fans after the release of To the Hashira Training film. The anime series has managed to create a style of films that might be unique, but the fans certainly don’t seem all that pleased with how it has turned out.

The animation studio Ufotable created a name for itself after the first season was released. Fans were worried that the animation quality wouldn’t be consistent. However, the studio did a fantastic job of maintaining the standards and went above and beyond with how the third season was animated.

However, the studio's reputation seems to be downgraded due to the recent Demon Slayer movies. There are plenty of reasons why fans are unhappy with the studio and hope that this trend does not continue.

Demon Slayer movies don’t offer much in terms of value for fans who flock to theaters

Key visual from the recent Demon Slayer movie (Image via Ufotable)

One of the biggest problems with the recent Demon Slayer movies is that they don’t particularly offer anything new. For example, To the Hashira Training was a movie that many fans did not enjoy because there wasn’t any original content they had to show. Half of the movie was just two consecutive episodes from the Swordsmith Village arc, while the other half gave fans an early glimpse of the first episode from the upcoming season.

People are effectively spending money to watch the first episode of the upcoming season, which lasts just one hour. The theatrical release doesn’t do anything special in particular either. The animation studio could have included some anime-original scenes that deviated from the main storyline.

This way, the Demon Slayer movies would give fans an incentive to watch the film. Fans realize this is just a way for Ufotable to make more money by releasing the Demon Slayer movies in this format. Fans are upset because Ufotable had a good rapport with the fanbase, but the relationship has soured with the release of the recent Demon Slayer movies.

Comment byu/dannytranvan from discussion inKimetsuNoYaiba

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However, this can be fixed if Ufotable can take some accountability. The upcoming season will cover the Hashira Training arc, which is relatively small. Following this, the Infinity Castle arc and the Sunrise Countdown arcs will be adapted, and each story arc will contain enough content for each arc to receive an entire season. With this in mind, Ufotable could either discard this format of films or create anime-original scenes that could act as a transitionary point between two story arcs.

This way, fans who visit the theaters can expect some original content, and the first episode of the following season would be enjoyable to watch. The one-hour special has lost its charm since the contents of the said episode are already covered in the film. The Infinity Castle arc has a ton of fight scenes, and animating these will help the studio rebuild its relationship with fans.

Stay tuned for more anime and manga news as 2024 progresses.