This is a battle manga serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump from issue 11 of 2016 to issue 24 of 2020, and the author is Koyoharu Gotouge. At first glance, his name makes him seem like a man, but Gotouge is actually a woman.
The TV anime aired from April to September 2019, and the sequel, the "Mugen Train Arc", is scheduled to be released as a movie on October 16, 2020.
The protagonist, Tanjiro Kamado, lives peacefully with his family deep in the mountains, but when he returns home from town, he finds a gruesome scene.
His family has been brutally murdered by demons, and Tanjiro descends the mountain with his sister Nezuko, who is barely alive.
However, on the way, Nezuko is transformed into a demon. Tanjiro is saved by Giyu Tomioka, a member of the Demon Slayer Corps, and sets out on a journey to turn Nezuko back into a human.
The first season of the anime covers up to the middle of volume 7 of the manga. The movie version of "Mugen Train" continues from there up to volume 8, so this time I would like to introduce the first part of the plot.
This article contains spoilers, so please be careful if you haven't seen it yet or if you're not going to watch the original until the movie version! !
Episode 54: Good evening, Rengoku-san
Tanjiro asks Shinobu Kocho about "Hinokami Kagura". Hearing that Rengoku Kyojuro, the Flame Pillar, might know something, Tanjiro, Inosuke, and Zenitsu board the Mugen Train to meet Rengoku.
The three search for Rengoku with Tanjiro's help. As the smell draws closer, they see Rengoku eating a bento box. Tanjiro asks about "Hinokami Kagura," but the conversation ends with a simple "I don't know!" (lol)
Rengoku ends the conversation refreshingly decisively, but he also shows his caring side by teaching the three the history of Flame Breathing and training them himself.
Tanjiro and his friends are enjoying themselves, but the mood changes when the conductor comes to check their tickets. While the conductor is checking their tickets, a demon appears.
Rengoku cuts the demon down in an instant, and just when they think they can breathe a sigh of relief, Tanjiro and his friends suddenly fall asleep.
Derivation of Breathing Styles
According to Rengoku, the basic breathing styles are fire, water, wind, rock, and thunder. From there, various breathing styles have been derived. Here, it is said that Mist is derived from wind, but in addition, Snake and Flower breathing styles are derived from Water breathing, and Insect breathing is a derivative of Flower breathing. Love breathing is a derivative of fire, and Sound breathing is a derivative of thunder. By the way, although Inosuke's Beast Breathing style is derived from wind, it was invented by Inosuke alone and no one else can use it. And the basis of all these breathing techniques is the Breath of the Sun that Tanjiro uses. However, Rengoku does not know this fact, so there is no explanation for it here.
Episode 55: Infinite Dream Train
Enmu, the sleep demon who controlled the train, used the conductor to make the train passengers fall asleep when they punched their tickets.
Enmu, who was preparing something in the front car, used children as well as the conductor to invade Tanjiro and the others' dreams and prevent them from waking up.
Zenitsu spends a fun time with Nezuko, Inosuke explores a cave with his subordinates, Rengoku reminisces about his beloved father and brother, and Tanjiro spends time with his now deceased family.
Everyone begins to have fun dreams that are different from reality and falls into a deeper sleep.
The title of the movie is derived from the title of this part, "Infinite Dream Train."
Zenitsu and Inosuke's Dream
Tanjiro and the others, who were put to sleep by the Enmu technique, each fell into a dream world. Enmu's dreams are designed to make them feel comfortable, so they are worlds they never want to leave.
Zenitsu is running around a flower field holding hands with his beloved Nezuko. This is a dream world for Zenitsu! Meanwhile, Inosuke is exploring a cave, not with Tanjiro and Zenitsu... but with Ponjiro and Chuitsu (lol). Inosuke being the boss of his minions must make him feel good.
Episode 6: Wake Up
The children enter the dream world through the rope Enmu made. The dreams Enmu shows are circular, with the viewer at the center, and the unconscious world spreads outside the dream world.
In this world, there is a "core of the mind," and if this is destroyed, the owner will become an invalid. Enmu had the children enter the dream world in order to destroy this "core of the mind."
The passenger girl who had invaded Rengoku's dream reaches his "spiritual core", but at the last moment, Rengoku stops her by strangling the girl in the real world.
Rengoku has not woken up from his sleep, but his instincts tell him that his "spiritual core" must not be destroyed. Meanwhile, Tanjiro feels something is wrong with his dream and realizes that it is not real, but he does not know how to wake up from it.
Then Nezuko, who is still asleep, headbutts Tanjiro, giving him the opportunity to wake up.
Episode 57: Hold the Blade
Tanjiro, who has grasped the trigger to awaken, shakes off the kind words of his family and moves forward toward awakening. The children who entered Zenitsu and Inosuke's dreams encounter them in the unconscious realm.
Normally, there is no one in the unconscious realm, but it seems that there may be people in the unconscious realm of those with strong consciousness. It may be natural for the strong-willed Zenitsu and Inosuke (lol)
Tanjiro, who still cannot find a way to awaken, sees an instinctual warning in the form of his father. "There is already something to be slashed." The answer he derived from these words... was to slash his own neck.
Memories of a bright and fun family
Tanjiro, who is under the spell of Enmu, reunites with his family in his dreams. His mother prepares meals, Nezuko goes to pick wild vegetables, and Tanjiro takes care of his younger brothers. Tanjiro seems to be living a very happy life, but he feels something is off about Nezuko being outside during the day. It seems that he still has some memories of reality. If the demon hadn't killed his family, Tanjiro would still be living happily with his family without having to go through such dangerous situations. Tanjiro wants to be with Nezuko in human form, his mother, and his brothers forever, but he decides to return to the real world, thinking that this is a dream.
Episode 58: Good Morning
When Tanjiro wakes up from his dream, he realizes that he was put to sleep when the ticket was cut and that everyone's wrists are tied with ropes. Tanjiro intuitively decides that it is not a good idea to cut the rope around his wrist with a Nichirin sword, so he tells Nezuko to burn the rope. If the rope is cut with a Nichirin sword, those who are not the master of the dream will never regain consciousness. In other words, the children who entered Enmu's dream at Enmu's command will never be able to return. There is no way they would notice this, right?
I don't know why it's okay to burn them with fire... (laughs) This is a scene that shows Tanjiro's amazing intuition!! The boy who had been invading Tanjiro's dream met the dwarf of light, an incarnation of Tanjiro's kindness, and regained his kindness.
The dwarf of light resides in the boy's heart, and he regains his kindness in the real world. The children who had been attacking Tanjiro and his friends in order to get Enmu to let them dream, but they regain their sanity after being touched by Tanjiro's kindness.
Tanjiro is seen off by the boy and heads to another car. There, he found Enmu, the one who had been deceiving the children and making them dream.
Episode 59: Insult
Enmu, who loved the distorted faces and misfortune of humans, was a very cautious demon.
Enmu carefully prepared to avoid Tanjiro realizing that he was dreaming, soaking the ticket with his own blood so that the spell would not be discovered, activating the spell when the conductor stamped the ticket, and using disposable children to destroy the "spiritual core." He was surprised that Tanjiro had realized the awakening conditions in such a short time and was now in front of him. Tanjiro would not forgive Enmu for being a despicable and cowardly man who tramples into people's hearts with dirty feet. Enmu casts spells on Tanjiro multiple times as he comes to retrieve his head. Enmu is surprised that Tanjiro is not affected by the spell, but rather, when he is, he immediately commits suicide and wakes up. Enmu gives Tanjiro a nightmare. A nightmare in which his family blames him for everything. For Tanjiro, who values his family above all else, this is an unbearable dream, but Tanjiro, who believes in the bonds of family, is angered by this nightmare. "Don't you dare insult my family!" cried Tanjiro in a rage as he cut off Enmu's head, but there was no effect.
While Tanjiro and the others were sleeping, Enmu had been preparing... to fuse with the train and turn the entire train into his own body. Tanjiro has taken about 200 passengers hostage.
If things continue like this, many will be killed... Just as he is in a desperate situation, he hears a familiar scream from afar... Enter the reckless Inosuke!!
"Ryuten"
With his anger towards Enmu at its peak, Tanjiro unleashes the Water Breathing technique, Form 10, "Ryuten". Form 10 is the most powerful of the Water Breathing techniques, and is essentially a secret technique of the Water Breathing technique.
However, "Ryuten" becomes more powerful with each successive attack, so a certain number of successive attacks are required to fully unleash its power. At this time, Tanjiro unleashes a powerful attack, but since it is not a successive attack, the power of "Ryuten" is not fully unleashed. Another reason why Tanjiro cannot draw out the full force of the breath is probably because his body is not suited to the Water Breathing technique.
Either way, Enmu had already merged with the train at this point and was no longer his real body, so he was unable to cut off his neck...
Episode 60: Protecting 200 People
Tanjiro tells Inosuke about the current situation and that the entire train has turned into demons.
Inosuke, who had been thinking of the land's lord and was going to fight it from the first time he saw the train, turned out to be right in the end (lol). As each of them fought the demons, Zenitsu rushed to Nezuko's aid when she was in trouble.
He made an incredibly cool entrance, unleashing six consecutive "bolt flashes," but the fact that he was using his skills meant that... he was asleep (lol).
Rengoku woke up and appeared in front of Tanjiro, who was too busy trying to help the people in front of him to grasp the situation. He instantly assessed the situation and told him what he needed to do. From the way he spoke and the way he looked, he seemed careless, but he's definitely one of the pillars!!
Inosuke, who has a keen sense of touch, had already found Enmu's weak spot, and he and Tanjiro headed to the front car.
Inosuke feels responsible as a boss
Inosuke, who came to Tanjiro's aid, learns that Enmu has merged with the train. Inosuke, who understands that the train is the enemy, feels responsible as a boss and wishes he had trusted his prediction and defeated the train.
...? Since when did Inosuke become a boss? He was still dragging around the fact that he had brought Ponjiro and Chuitsu with him in Enmu's dream (lol) However, Inosuke protects the passengers with this mistaken sense of responsibility. By the way, the Beast Breathing Technique used at this time, Fifth Fang "Mad Slash", is a technique that cuts in all directions, making it ideal for when surrounded by enemies. I have the impression that he uses this technique quite a bit later on.
Episode 61: Attack and Defense in a Narrow Space
Tanjiro and Inosuke finally find the location of Enmu's neck, which has become one with the train. The two launch successive attacks to sever the bone protected by flesh, but Enmu's magic makes it difficult for Tanjiro to distinguish between dream and reality.
Tanjiro nearly cuts off his own neck in reality, but he is saved by Inosuke, who is less susceptible to the magic thanks to the boar skin he is wearing.
Inosuke's swift successive attacks expose Enmu's neck bone, and Tanjiro fires the Hinokami Kagura "Hekira no Ten" that he learned from his father.
Summary of the first part of the Mugen Train arc, a continuation of the first season of the anime (spoiler alert!!)
What did you think?
Accompanying Rengoku, a pillar, and fighting new demons. This concludes the first part of the Mugen Train arc, which is full of interesting developments.
We would like to introduce the next part in the second part, so please be sure to check it out! !
