I want to be scolded to 'not lose my nerve' when I'm in a crisis (Thoughts on the Demon Slayer movie)

…Perhaps that is the case.
I watched 'Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle'.
I want to jot down my thoughts before I forget them.
Since I follow Demon Slayer through the visuals, I went to see it on the second day of release to avoid spoilers.
It was a night screening, but it was almost full. By the way, I went a little past the start time thinking there would be commercials before the movie, but it had already started, so I hurried to my seat.
People like me were probably trickling in for about 15 minutes after the start.
(I forgot that commercial times vary by theater. I apologize for entering halfway through.)

That kindness and severity are the same thing

In the first half after it started, my impression was that it really depicts universal moral values.
When Shinobu Kocho confronts the enemy and falls, her older sister, the only family she had and whom she adored, appears as a phantom. Although she was killed by a demon, she scolds Shinobu, who was about to be defeated by the same demon.
She appears before Shinobu as a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, telling her to stand up and not be weak.
She continues to speak harshly to her younger sister, whose ribs and collarbone are broken, whose lungs are crushed, and who is in a near-death state.
Shinobu expresses her weakness, but her sister encourages her by saying, 'You are the Insect Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps.'
Demon Slayer is a work that appeals throughout to 'do what must be done,' and this can be seen throughout this film as well.
Encouraged by her sister's words, Shinobu gathers her final strength and heads toward the enemy.

There are times when everyone has to do something, and what you want at those times is not comfort.
Speaking harsh words means trusting the other person.
Kindness and severity are the same thingThis movie makes you realize that.

By the way, the words that the Demon Slayer Corps and other characters use toward the protagonist and other characters are strong and harsh, and many would be avoided in modern times.
But for some reason, they resonate in the heart and don't feel unpleasant.
I think that's because they are words from someone they truly trust, and the person using those words is also facing the other person with sincerity.
It's because they themselves are sincerely convinced, have thought deeply, and believe with resolve that it is the best course of action.
I think that's because the viewers are receiving the essence of the characters' feelings from those actions and words.

The form of resolve

The final scene of the Ubuyashiki master was deeply moving, and I thought it was a one-of-a-kind scene, but I wondered why I thought it was so cool.
Depending on how you look at it, it's a quite extreme scene where he involves his wife Amane and their two children in his own strategy and has them die with him.
I wondered if it was okay to say I liked such a scene... even though two children also died...
But through the work, you understand that the act is based on the will of each of the four individuals.
Here too,the resolve to 'do what must be done'was depicted.
In this movie, the master's three surviving children are working hard to support the fight against the demons. Inheriting the will of their deceased parents and sisters, they work desperately to make the most of the chance to defeat the demons that they connected for them.

Various emotions well up in the scene where the master and his family die as decoys.
But in the end, the'resolve itself'of the four remains strongly in the memory.
Becoming a decoy for the demons and blowing themselves up along with the mansion expresses their resolve in a visible formitself.
That's why it leaves an impression and doesn't feel out of place. You are convinced without being able to say otherwise.

About inheritance

Starting with the master's three remaining children, all the characters are inheriting someone's will.
Even when people die, they continue to live on in those left behind, and their will is inheritedis shown throughout the story.

Demon Slayer depicts many things that you cannot do anything about yourself.
Facts and cruelty that cannot be filled by effort. Illness, physical weakness, body type, etc., each character carries various difficulties.
Taking Shinobu Kocho as an example, she has a small body and, unlike other corps members, does not have the strength to cut off a demon's head. Even so, she acquired the technique to defeat demons with poison through constant effort. She climbed up to become a Hashira of the Demon Slayer Corps.
But it doesn't work in front of the overwhelming power of the enemy. Her strength is not enough, and she is killed by a demon.

No matter how much you try, there is a reality that is cruelly unchangeable.
It depicts that fact calmly and sincerely.
No matter how much you wish for it, there are times when your wishes are crushed by the difference in power.
It has nothing to do with the person's will or effort.

However, this work teaches us that even if the ending is not what the person wanted, it has meaning.
It is surely passed on to the next.
Starting with Shinobu, people influence everyone they were involved with while they were alive.
To those who lived with her, those who were saved by her, and those who fought with her.
Just by existing, and by trying desperately with both kindness and severity, she influences the world just by being alive. It teaches us that.

Akaza's end

In this work, the battle with Akaza, Tanjiro's fated opponent, and his past and salvation are the main themes.
At the end of the story, Akaza's past is revealed, and it is understood that his tattoos were proof of being a criminal.
He repeatedly picked pockets, and when he was human, he killed many people.
Even after becoming a demon, he is depicted as not thinking anything of killing people, including the Demon Slayer Corps.
Such a cruel Akaza, but when I saw his end, I thought, 'I'm glad for him.' Has he finally been saved... I'm glad...

In dramas, manga, and various scenes, the salvation of people who committed crimes in the past has been depicted. Among them, there are times when there is an intense sense of discomfort.
Endings where you think, 'The person might be fine, but aren't you thinking about the victims who were hurt?' or where it's as if the crime never happened and it's wiped clean.
Sometimes they act as if the victims are absent.
This time, too, it certainly doesn't feel like he is facing the victims.

However, by fighting Tanjiro and Giyu, Akaza gradually remembers his own past.
That he had someone precious to him, that he couldn't protect the person he wanted to protect even at the cost of his life, and that he killed people in revenge.
He remembers that the reason he wanted to become strong was to protect the person precious to him.
But the precious person had died when he wasn't there. He experiences that twice.
The first time, his father committed suicide worrying about his son's crimes, and the second time, the family that took him in was poisoned to death out of spite.
Akaza killed the culprits who poisoned them, was found by Muzan, and became a demon.

His past is truly painful and unsalvageable. His remorse, helplessness, and the cruelty of reality are depicted with painstaking care.
Remembering that, Akaza gets irritated. He suffers because a past he didn't even want to remember was dug up.
At such a time, a phantom of the precious person speaks to Akaza.
In the dialogue with the dead, Akaza chooses death himself and is saved.

Internalizing others

In Demon Slayer, at key points, the precious people the characters have lost speak to them.
But the dead are not really speaking.
The characters are having a dialogue with the precious people they have internalized.
The precious person they loved from the heart appears as a fantasy, thinking about how they would behave if they were here now.
No, perhaps it's not a fantasy, butthey are truly there as a reality. That is what it means to 'exist' here.

It seems like they are facing themselves to the end, but at the same time, they are infinitely conversing with others.
That creates salvation and moves the hearts of those watching.

Depicting the essence

The pasts of the demons are things that, while you wouldn't want them to happen, definitely exist. Things you can't help yourself, sins you want to erase, or things you can never return from no matter how much you regret them.
For example, like accidentally killing someone in a sudden car accident; it's painful, but something that could happen to anyone.
When it hasn't become reality, you can live your life unrelated to it, but it is something that definitely exists.
It shows every possible pattern of what happens when that occurs.
It depicts an overwhelming reality.
And it depicts how to live after that happens. It shows through many characters that you must keep living, that you can never go back to before it happened, and how to live on after that.
There are stories that apply to me and that I can empathize with, and others that allow me to experience things vicariously through the characters.
Because it depicts the essence, it definitely strikes a chord with the audience.

What I think through Demon Slayer is that it depicts the universal essence of humanity.
Do not stray from the path of humanity
Kindness is overwhelming strength
Fulfill the duties imposed upon you
Do what you can with the maximum of your power for the sake of others
...

Many pleasant people appear in the work.
I want to keep watching them, and I want them to stay by my side forever.
I want to be acknowledged by them, and I want to act in a way that doesn't shame them.
That's how I feel when I watch Demon Slayer.
Through the movie, the audience is also facing themselves.
The feeling that I have changed a little after finishing it.
Every time I watch a Demon Slayer work, I realize that.
That is why I go to see it many times, and I think that is why it is such a huge hit.

A few thoughts below

・Regarding nursing and caregiving
In Demon Slayer, there are many scenes with futons. There are many conversations with those suffering from illness, those whose hearts are closed off, and those lying on futons.
Issues of caregiving and nursing also arise. Some people commit suicide due to caregiving burnout, while others continue to provide devoted care.
And even when they fall ill, they continue to interact with those around them with an overwhelming presence.

・It's amazing that the state of selflessness is transparent. Does that mean enlightenment...????
It's amazing how it handles the unconscious and connects the story to fundamental human questions throughout.

・What are demons... what are they...

・Many directing techniques I'm seeing for the first time
The music is incredibly cool
Various sounds are ringing out
Sounds I've never heard before are playing, and they make the scenes memorable
It's cool the whole time
The action and visuals are amazing
I thought that the most amazing action movies in Japan right now are anime works like Demon Slayer
Maybe it's always been that way
I can't take my eyes off it because of the fresh surprise of visuals and music I've never seen before

・It's very good that Shinobu-san honestly speaks out when she is angry. Anger is very important
Personally, I'm not good at expressing anger, so I thought I wanted to cherish my own anger

・Succession is not just about having children

・There are various forms of family. The process of becoming a family like this is also depicted, and it is precious

・Very Japanese moral views are depicted, but since each person acts of their own will, it doesn't feel unpleasant. No, maybe it doesn't feel unpleasant because people who resist that are also depicted... I'll think about it a bit more