The film begins with a recap of Demon Slayer's 4 arcs, encompassing 55 episodes, a feat which would require a trilogy of films for the also widely successful anime One Piece (over 1000 episodes across 20 seasons). The recap was helpful for a casual fan like myself but, unexpectedly, the film then showed the final episode of season 3 before, finally, showing the first episode of the upcoming season 4, to be released in the Spring of 2024.
Whilst I expected the film to act as a kind of prequel for season 4, I didn't expect half the film to be dedicated to the previous season. This is perhaps my fault for not watching a trailer of the film, but I usually choose not to watch these as they can sometimes provide too many spoilers. Based off reviews I've seen online, other people who didn't know this information in advance, feel the same way with many commenting that the combining of two episodes makes the film feel like more of a cash grab than an actual movie.
"There is a promise of an exciting journey ahead for their favourite characters"
This merging of episodes to make a film also occurs in 2008's Star Wars: The Clone Wars, which was met with negative reviews as fans realised they could watch the action on the small screen for free in the near future.
Should fans feel compelled to see something on the big screen that they have already seen and will eventually see?
I'm not a huge fan of Demon Slayer but was excited to see an extension to the Demon Slayer story and to see the acclaimed anime on the big screen. Demon Slayer: To the Hashira Training was, for me, sadly, a disappointment but for more devoted fans who eagerly await the next season, a promise of an exciting journey ahead for their favourite characters.