Is the New ‘Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village’ Movie a Recap? (& Do You Need to Watch It?)

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is a manga series written and illustrated by Koyoharu Gotōge, whose publication began on February 15, 2016, in Shūeisha’s weekly Shūkan Shōnen Jump magazine. An anime series adaptation was released on April 6, 2019, and ended on September 28 of that same year. The continuation of the story was adapted into a film titled Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Ressha-hen; it opened on October 16, 2020, in Japan. A second season of the anime began airing in November 2021. A third season has been announced and confirmed for a 2023 release, with a movie arriving before the series actually premieres. In this article, we will tell you whether the upcoming Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village movie is a recap movie and whether you need to watch it.

As it is officially known, Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village will be both a recap movie and the new season’s premiere. Namely, the movie will recap the final episodes of the previous arc (in enhanced 4K quality) and also show us the first episode of the upcoming third season of the series. Since the first episode is going to air anyway, the movie is not necessary, but it will probably have some additional scenes, and we recommend you see it if you can.

The rest of this article will bring you all the known and unknown information related to the upcoming Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village movie and how it ties into the announced third season of the anime. You’ll find out the necessary production information and the basic plot info you need to know before watching either of the works.

Is the Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village movie a recap?

Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba is headed to the historic Orpheum Theatre in downtown Los Angeles on February 18th for a premiere event featuring special appearances by Natsuki Hanae, the Japanese voice of main character Tanjiro Kamado, Aniplex producer Yuma Takahashi, plus a breathtaking performance by Aimer, as part of the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Swordsmith Village- World Tour.

The star-studded red carpet event will include the North American premiere of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Swordsmith Village-, a feature-length cut of Episode 10 and 11 of Entertainment District Arc, and the extended Episode 1 of the highly anticipated Swordsmith Village Arc in 4K with remastered audio.

Aniplex of America and Crunchyroll will partner together to bring Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Swordsmith Village- to the big screens in the United States and Canada on March 3rd in both Japanese with English subtitles, as well as dubbed in English.

Kicking off the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba -To the Swordsmith Village- World Tour will be a two-day event in Tokyo, followed by events in Los Angeles, Paris, Berlin, Mexico City, Seoul, and Taipei.

(Credit: demonslayer-anime.com)

This is the official information we received about the upcoming movie, as well as the world tour that will see it shown in theaters around the world. But what is the movie going to be about, exactly? Well, as the announcement said, the movie is going to be “a feature-length cut of Episode 10 and 11 of Entertainment District Arc, and the extended Episode 1 of the highly anticipated Swordsmith Village Arc“, which means that the movie is going to contain the final two episodes of the second season of the anime series, now in 4K and on a larger screen, as well as an extended version of the first episode of the upcoming third season of Demon Slayer.

To answer your question, yes, Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village is a recap movie as it recaps the final two episodes of season two. Still, it is also a preview of the upcoming season as it contains an extended version of the first episode of season three. We shall now tell you whether you must watch the movie.

Do you need to watch the Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village movie?

Well, the answer to this question depends on how you want to approach the series. Namely, we now know that the Demon Slayer: To the Swordsmith Village will be a recap of the last two episodes of the previous season and a premiere of the first episode of the upcoming season. This means that 2/3 of the content will be a simple recap, and only 1/3 will be something new. In terms of numbers, it doesn’t really pay off, especially if you consider that the first episode – the same one shown in the movie – will air on television (or Crunchyroll) anyway.

This, ultimately, means that the movie is definitely not a must-see in terms of the plot. If you skip it, you won’t miss out on anything because you’ve already seen 2/3 of the movie, and you will see the remaining third quite soon. Like with Mugen Train, there will probably be some additional scenes, but overall, their number is never so large that they would disrupt watching the new season once it starts airing worldwide.

But, despite all of these facts, we would still advise you to see the movie if possible. In that way, you will get the complete viewing experience from every possible aspect and you will be able to enjoy the whole series fully. It is not mandatory, and you won’t miss out on anything, but it would be a good thing to do and a way of supporting the project very nicely.