Unlike the previous film, which was produced specifically for a theatrical release, To the Swordsmith Village acts as a compilation film to the anime television series, incorporating footage from the last two episodes of the second season and the first episode of the third season, which was yet to broadcast at the time of the film's release.
Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Swordsmith Village was released in Japan on February 3, 2023, by Toho and Aniplex. It received generally positive reviews and grossed over $56 million worldwide. A sequel set after the previous events of the third season, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Hashira Training, was released on February 2, 2024.
Plot
As Tanjiro Kamado, Zenitsu Agatsuma, and Inosuke Hashibira assist the Sound Hashira Tengen Uzui against the sibling demons Gyutaro and Daki, holders of Upper Six of the Twelve Kizuki,[N 1] they realize that the only way to kill the siblings is to behead them simultaneously. The trio coordinates their attacks to decapitate Daki but Tengen is severely injured by Gyutaro, who then stabs Inosuke from behind with a poisoned sickle to retrieve his sister's head. Zenitsu pushes Tanjiro off a roof to save him from Daki's obi slashes, after which Gyutaro arrives to mock Tanjiro for his inability to save his friends and protect his demonic younger sister, Nezuko.
Gyutaro attempts to persuade Tanjiro to turn into a demon but Tanjiro head-butts him, secretly stabbing the demon with a poisoned kunai. Gyutaro is immobilized and Tanjiro attempts to behead him. Before Daki can intervene, she is attacked by Zenitsu, using the last of his strength to reach her neck as Inosuke joins him, having survived by moving his internal organs upon being stabbed. Gyutaro removes the kunai and recovers; he almost kills Tanjiro but Tengen intervenes and battles Gyutaro. Tanjiro summons his remaining strength, causing a strange mark to appear on his forehead and slashes Gyutaro's neck while Zenitsu and Inosuke cut through Daki's.
Together, the Demon Slayers behead the siblings, whose heads roll close to each other. Tengen warns a heavily-poisoned Tanjiro to run away just as Gyutaro's body explodes into waves of blood blades that destroy the entire city. However, Nezuko uses her Blood Demon Art to burn the blades and save her brother from the poison. She also burns away Gyutaro's poison from Inosuke and Tengen, saving their lives. Tanjiro finds a dying Gyutaro and Daki arguing about their defeat and insulting their relationship.
Tanjiro intervenes, pressing for them to make amends with each other as all they will have left after all the horrors they committed will be each other just as Daki disintegrates first, while Gyutaro remembers their human lives before being transformed into demons as he disintegrates as well. In the afterlife, Gyutaro and Daki reconcile upon remembering the promise they made to never be apart again before they walk together into Hell. Serpent Hashira Obanai Iguro arrives and commends Tengen for killing Upper Six of the Twelve Kizuki but Tengen informs him about his retirement from the Demon Slayers as well as Tanjiro's potential to become a Hashira.
Meanwhile, demon king Muzan Kibutsuji summons the remaining five Upper Rank demons – Akaza, Gyokko, Hantengu, Doma and Kokushibo – to inform them about Gyutaro's death. He admonishes them for their failures and lack of purpose, before sending Gyokko and Hantengu on a joint mission to cripple the Demon Slayer Corps.
Two months later, Tanjiro has a dream about his ancestor's encounter with a Demon Slayer from the past that saved their family and wore the same earrings as Tanjiro, before waking up from a coma, still recovering from his injuries while Zenitsu and Inosuke are summoned to individual missions. Because his swordsmith Hotaru Haganezuka had refused to forge him a new sword due to Tanjiro breaking his previous ones, Tanjiro is told to meet him at the Swordsmith Village to discuss the matter with him in person. He arrives with Nezuko and meets the Love Hashira (Mitsuri Kanroji) and the village's chief Tecchin Tecchikawahara, who assures Tanjiro he will bring Hotaru back to build the sword.
While relaxing in hot springs, Tanjiro and Nezuko encounter Genya, Wind Hashira Sanemi Shinazugawa's younger brother and fellow Demon Slayer, who angrily strikes Tanjiro and storms off. Back at the village, Mitsuri hints at Tanjiro about a "secret weapon" hidden in the village that can make him stronger and bids farewell to the siblings. The next day, while searching for the secret weapon, Tanjiro meets with (Mist Hashira) Muichiro Tokito and sees that seemingly with him is the same figure from his dream.
The film was released theatrically in Japan on February 3, 2023.[3] The film opened in 418 cinemas total within the country. The film had a very staggered international release, being released from as early as March 2, 2023, in Italy, Australia, South Korea, and New Zealand, to as late as March 10, 2023, in Mexico and Norway.[4] In India the film was released on March 17, 2023.[5]
Reception
Box office
As of April 14, 2023[update], Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Swordsmith Village has grossed $10.1 million in the United States and Canada, and $46.2 million in other territories, for a worldwide total of $56.3 million.[1][2]
In the United States and Canada, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – To the Swordsmith Village was released alongside Creed III and Operation Fortune: Ruse de Guerre, was projected to gross $7.5–10 million from 1,774 theaters in its opening weekend.[6] It ended up debuting to $10.1 million, finishing fourth at the box office.[7]
Critical response
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 75% of 8 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.5/10.[8] Audiences surveyed by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "B+" on an A+ to F scale, while those polled by PostTrak gave it a 74% positive score, with 61% saying they would definitely recommend it.[7]
Jasmine Lane of The Austin Chronicle gave the film 2 out of 5 stars, and wrote "While first film Mugen Train was a box-office smash and a rare instance of using the movie format to more succinctly and dynamically tell the next arc of the Demon Slayer story, To the Swordsmith Village is – and I can't stress this enough – just a music videoesque recap of the first couple seasons followed by three episodes sloppily jammed together, with even their intro and outro segments still fully intact."[9]
Notes
^As depicted in the final two episodes of the second season of the anime series.
