Mugen Train: should you watch the film or the series?

You have just finished season 1, and you come across a question every fan has asked: should you watch the Mugen Train film, or the episodes of the same name that open season 2? The platforms do not help, some offer one, others the other, and nobody wants to watch the same story twice.

The short answer: one version is enough. The long answer is here, with what each one contains, the differences scene by scene, and our advice depending on how you watch. The place of this arc in the series is explained on our page Demon Slayer in what order, seasons and films.

What does the Mugen Train tell?

The Mugen Train follows straight on from the end of season 1. Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke board a night train on which more than forty passengers have disappeared. There they join Kyojuro Rengoku, the Flame Hashira, sent to investigate.

The culprit is Enmu, Lower Moon One, a demon who puts his prey to sleep and locks them in their most beautiful dreams. Tanjiro finds his family alive again, Zenitsu sees himself at Nezuko’s side, and meanwhile Enmu fuses with the locomotive to devour the two hundred passengers at once.

In the early morning, when everything seems over, a second demon appears: Akaza, Upper Moon Three, far more powerful. His duel with Rengoku takes up the last third of the story and remains one of the most famous fights in the whole series. Our portraits of Enmu, Lower Moon One and of Akaza, Upper Moon Three present the two opponents.

This arc adapts chapters 54 to 66 of the manga, a little more than one volume. It is the first in which a Hashira takes centre stage, and the one that made Rengoku one of the most loved characters in the series. Our portrait of Kyojuro Rengoku, the Flame Hashira explains why.

The characters of the Mugen Train

The arc rests on a handful of characters, and each one lives a key moment in it. That is also what makes it so easy to love, even for someone new to the series.

Rengoku is the heart of this arc. His principles, his family and his last words left their mark on a generation of fans, and his figure comes back throughout the rest of the series. Our page on the nine Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps places him among his peers, and our article on Shinjuro Rengoku, his father tells of the family he leaves behind.

The two demons, for their part, open the door to the Twelve Kizuki, Muzan’s inner guard. Our page devoted to Muzan and the Twelve Kizuki presents their whole hierarchy, from the weakest to the most formidable.

The film: a story in a single sitting

The film was released in Japan on 16 October 2020, in the middle of the pandemic, and in France on 19 May 2021, the day cinemas reopened. It runs 1 hour 57 minutes and tells the whole arc without interruption, from the train’s departure to sunrise.

That is its strength. The story builds tension without ad breaks or end-of-episode credits, and the final fight arrives just when you are most caught up in the story. Many viewers discovered Demon Slayer through this film, in the cinema, and came out with red eyes.

The film’s song, Homura, is performed by LiSA, already the voice of the series’ first opening. It won the grand prize at the Japan Record Awards in 2020, one of the highest musical honours in Japan. Our article on the Demon Slayer theme songs tells of this song and the others.

On the practical side, the film is on Crunchyroll in France, with the French dub and in the subtitled original. Our article on the platforms where you can watch Demon Slayer sets out what each service offers.

The series: seven episodes and a brand-new episode

The series version aired in Japan from 10 October to 28 November 2021, in seven episodes. It opens season 2, just before the Entertainment District. On Netflix, it even forms a season of its own.

Its great asset is the first episode, entirely new. It follows Rengoku before he boards the train, during his investigation into the disappearances, and shows him among the people he protects. It is not essential to the story, but it gives the character a depth that makes the ending even stronger.

The following six episodes take up the film’s images, divided into episodes, with a few added scenes and new theme songs: Akeboshi as the opening and Shirogane as the ending, both sung by LiSA.

If you watch the series on Netflix or Crunchyroll, you move on effortlessly to the Entertainment District, without changing platform or format. Our article on how many seasons Demon Slayer has explains how each service numbers them.

Rengoku’s orange blade lights up along its whole length on the character’s LED katana, presented in the LED katanas collection and in the complete Kyojuro Rengoku collection.

The differences between the film and the series

The two versions tell the same events, with images that are almost always identical. The differences come down to a few additions and to the way you watch.

Tanjiro’s dream, in which he finds his mother and his brothers and sisters again, is one of the most touching passages in both versions. The series gives these scenes more time, the film moves through them faster. Our article on the Kamado family presents those Tanjiro sees again in his dream.

The final fight, for its part, is identical. Fans who have seen both confirm it: it is the same scene, and it has the same effect.

One detail matters for the French dub: Tanjiro keeps Enzo Ratsito’s voice in the film as in the series, and until the end of the Entertainment District. So you will not be thrown when switching from one to the other. The hero’s voice change only comes with season 3, which often surprises viewers who watch everything in one go. Our article on the French voice actors of Demon Slayer presents the whole cast.

Film or series: which one to choose?

It all depends on how you watch and where you are in the series. Here is our advice depending on your profile.

With children, the series has a practical advantage: you can stop at the end of an episode, and avoid going straight into the final fight just before bedtime. Enmu’s dream can disturb the youngest, as our article on the recommended age for Demon Slayer points out.

If you have already seen the film, do not redo the whole arc as a series: you know the ending, and the wait would be long before the new scenes. Watch only the brand-new episode, the first of season 2, then go straight to the Entertainment District, from episode 8.

For evenings on the sofa, Rengoku’s flame wearable blanket wraps you from hood to knees; it is filed in the throws and wearable blankets collection, with the shop’s gift ideas.

A film that broke every record

The Mugen Train is not just a good animated film. It is the biggest success in the history of Japanese cinema: it overtook Spirited Away at the Japanese box office at the end of 2020, and it was the highest-grossing film in the world that year, carried by a release in the middle of the pandemic, when cinemas were short of American films.

In Japan, viewers went back several times, and the film brought back to cinemas an audience that no longer went. It also sent sales of the manga and merchandise soaring, Rengoku first. Our article on Demon Slayer’s box office records gives the figures, film by film.

Its success also explains what followed. When the studio ufotable chose to adapt the Infinity Castle as three films rather than a season, it was partly because the Mugen Train had proved that Demon Slayer filled cinemas. Our article on ufotable, the studio behind the animation tells this story.

Enmu, the demon of dreams, also comes as a pop figure, white face and green tears, in the pop figures collection, with the rest of the demon figures.

And after the Mugen Train?

The direct sequel is the Entertainment District, the second part of season 2, in eleven episodes. Tanjiro, Zenitsu and Inosuke follow Tengen Uzui, the Sound Hashira, into the Yoshiwara district, in search of his three missing wives.

If you have seen the film, start season 2 at episode 8, or season 3 on Netflix, which numbers differently. If you have seen the series, simply carry on. Our article on season 2 and the Entertainment District presents this sequel, and our page tracing all the Demon Slayer arcs puts it back in the overall picture.

On the reading side, the Mugen Train ends at chapter 66, in volume 8 of the manga. Our article on the chapter to pick up from after the anime gives the exact page for each season.