So. Last year, I watched the prequel to this movie and I was immediately intrigued by the storyline and the characters. I remember looking for more information on the characters and storyline after having watched the movie, so when I saw the sequel was out this week, I made a last minute decision to go and see it at the cinema on Wednesday.
What was really good was that there was something of a recap before the movie actually began. That really helped to get me back into the mindset of the world of the movie…and also helped because, when the movie actually started, it picked up right in the middle of a fight scene; one where the main characters were in pretty serious trouble and it looked like at least one of them was dead.
One of the main things I liked about this movie was that, even though the main characters are strong and powerful, they can still get hurt. And they still need recovery time. So the battle with the two demons actually felt like there were truly high stakes.
I have to say, the character of Zenitsu is one that really intrigues me. I find the idea of a character being a formiddable fighter when he’s unconscious, but not while awake, to be a really intriguing one! Since Zenitsu has no memory of the actions he takes while unconscious, and he’s much more serious compared to how he is awake, it almost seems like he has a split personality. I’m particularly interested to see if those two sides of Zenitsu ever get reconciled in future episodes.
Inosuke was the strangest character to me in the previous movie, though he made a lot more sense to me when I realised he did in fact have a human head! I loved his confidence and his strength, although there were certainly times during the movie I found myself wondering why he wasn’t actually dead.
It was good to have the opportunity to see more of the history of the demons. It was really good to see Gyutatro’s history as a human. Everything he went through made his character seem much more sympathetic and I could fully understand his decision to become a demon. I couldn’t really empathise with Daki to the same extent, although I did find myself tearing up when they were arguing and Tanjiro intervened.
One really powerful moment in the movie did strike me towards the beginning, where Tanjiro seems to experience a memory with Nezuko during the initial fight. Nezuko tells Tanjiro she wishes he’d understand how she feels, which almost seemed to relate to the present Nezuko, transferred to a demon. I would have liked to see more explored with that possibility.
The movie did end on something of a cliffhanger, although part of the storyline did get resolved. There were some really good moments of humour in this movie, along with the action and the more intense, emotional scenes. There was a really nice balance in this movie and the main characters were really easy to care about. This was definitely a movie I’d enjoy seeing again in the future…and I hope that there will be more movies released in the cinema, hopefully much sooner than another year’s wait.
If you like Japanese anime, I definitely think this is one to check out. It probably helps to have some knowledge of the series beforehand, but I found both movies pretty easy to follow without having had any prior knowledge.
Ink of Blood 