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The Infinity Castle is a terrific stage for the final chapter of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba. For those unfamiliar the Infinity Castle is best described as a pocket dimension consisting of endless hallways, corridors, staircases, and rooms lit by lamps. Gravity follows no rules as demons can walk on walls or ceilings and move in every dimension imaginable. The animation techniques, the changing of vantage point along with the spinning camera creates a dizzying vastness to the realm. It is also the lair of Demon King, Muzan Kibutsuji and is sure to be very disorienting for our slayers (and viewers) and fortunately, technology has reached a point to help the castle to live up to its namesake.

“The first time Infinity Castle appears, I think that was a very impactful scene, Episode 26 actually, with the Unwavering Resolve arc, and then the Swordsmith Village episode was the second time it appears,” Terao-san told Popverse at San Diego Comic-Con. “Now in the film it's gonna be the third time that we really kind of explore this space.”

Six years have passed from the series first arc to the making of the Infinity Castle film trilogy. Demon Slayer has been heralded for their visual style, especially the action sequences where they mix traditional cel techniques with the latest in 3D effects. Terao-san explained to Popverse how far the technology has come as far as being able to expand the visual concept of what the Infinity Castle realm could be.

“Back in episode 26, the maximum we were able to kind of express using 3D was about a 100 meter by 100 meter space. That was all that we could render at the time. In the Swordsmith Village arc (Episode 45), we were able to expand the amount of data we can process so we were able to express and kind of visually paint a background. It was about two kilometers squared, so 100 meters to two kilometers, that really made it bigger. So there's a lot more freedom in terms of what we could show on the screen.”

“Finally for the movie, the rendering speed that we were able to process. That's increased tenfold. That means the operators who are actually manipulating the 3D data can move about 6.5 times faster in terms of the data they process. So our goal was to achieve as close as possible to what the name implies and visually so when the audience is watching what's on screen, it almost looks infinite.”

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu No Yaiba The Movie: Infinity Castle hits US theaters September 12 and remember to take your dramamine!

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