Readers of a certain age may remember the '60s anime series Astro Boy, Marine Boy and Speed Racer, which, though Japanese, featured characters with round eyes and dubbed voices that were decidedly not NIpponese. It's almost like they were created for importation to predominately Caucasian markets. (That the anime industry seems to revere European facial features is a source of continuing debate.) The popularity of those series in the U.S. and the U.K. testifies to the creators' strategy.
As a kid, I liked the fanciful stories and the characters' weirdly robotic motions, their
over-emoting and the garish comic panel action effects. They were a gas!
Fifty years later, anime technology has made these TV series and the films based on them some of the most visually arresting -- and expensive -- cinematic experiences around.
Demon Slayer the Movie: Mugen Train was released on April 21 and at this writing has grossed more than $400 million worldwide. For the uninitiated, the story of three young samurai-like warriors battling demons on a deadly passenger train pinballs between gamer weaponry and Zen axioms about fearlessness and dedication. The unfamiliar will likely never get firm footing in Demon Slayer's story space, but all of the color and light is pretty stunning.
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