With the ending of the Demon Slayer anime adaptation finally in motion with the release of the Infinity Castle movie, we already knew from our review that fans were going to be pleased, but now the man behind the protagonist Tanjiro himself says audiences are in for some intense emotions.

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Ahead of Infinity Castle’s release on 12th September, we spoke to Tanjiro Kamado voice actor Zach Aguilar and the voice of Giyu, Johnny Yong Bosch.

After watching the movie for the first time ourselves, we had some key questions to ask the big-name voice actors as we process the start of the Demon Slayer Corps's final battle against Muzan Kibutsuji and his remaining Upper Rank demon minions in the titular Demon Castle, following the ending of season 4.

When asking about the two’s feelings about both the film’s ending and what’s ahead — as this Infinity Castle film is the first of a trilogy, with the next instalment’s release date yet to be announced — Aguilar couldn’t help but reflect on these particular times with this role he’s played for so long, including the 2021 English dub of the incredibly successful Mugen Train movie.

Tanjiro close-up in the Gyomei Himejima in the Demon Slayer Infinity Castle movie
Tanjiro in the Demon Slayer Infinity Castle movie. Crunchyroll

“[It] blew my mind recording it…” Aguilar told RadioTimes.com. “I always feel so privileged. I felt so privileged recording Mugen Train when I did that one, because I'm like, wow, I can't believe I'm watching this movie now, I can see the moments in the theatre, like, where people will freak out, like, ‘oh, no way!'

"And then the moments where they cry. Demon Slayer just has that awesome formula, and they bring it every time, so I'm just… hyped to see everything that's to come. They keep stepping it up every time.”

Without going too heavily into spoilers, the fight with Akaza is "incredible”, as he also mentions. It definitely makes for some intense, emotional moments.

A close-up of Akaza smiling in the Demon Slayer Infinity Castle movie
Akaza ready to keep fighting in the Demon Slayer Infinity Castle movie. Crunchyroll

There are, of course, other battles going on as hinted in this first movie’s trailer, too, including a couple with Zenitsu and Shinobu, but Akaza’s reunion with Tanjiro and what follows it is the standout.

After all, Infinity Castle marks the first time Akaza has faced any Demon Slayers since killing Rengoku in Mugen Train, and Tanjiro — who was sadly not in a position to stop it happening, but has been mourning the loss of his friend since — just happens to be among the very first he counters, with Bosch’s Giyu by his side.

It goes a lot saying that a lot of strong feelings will be at play for cinema goers who’ve been patiently waiting for their follow-up.

Tanjiro and Akaza Demon Slayer Infinity Castle movie
Tanjiro and Akaza battling in a poster for Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle. Crunchyroll

Still, the actor bringing the English-speaking version of our favourite Sun Breathing user to life has laid it out to us how he’s been giving it more than his all in the face of Infinity Castle’s higher stakes in this part of the Demon Slayer story — enough to even impact his voice.

Aguilar explained, “I knew how big of a deal this is, I knew the audience that it was gonna reach, I mean, I know this is the final battle of Demon Slayer, so I'm here to bring my all in every capacity. Every scream, every bit of emotion that comes out of Tanjiro, I truly poured my heart and soul into it…

"So much so that I was doing some of the scenes, and I actually lost my voice, because I kept saying to the director, I'm like ‘wait, I have another one, I have a different idea, let me do it again, one more time’ so any scream that I have done, you are… I can assure you, you are getting 120% of my ability watching it in the theatre.”

A still from the Zenitsu in the Demon Slayer Infinity Castle movie showing a close-up of Giyu Tomioka
Giyu Tomioka in the Demon Slayer Infinity Castle movie. Crunchyroll

What’s more, it isn’t just the voice cast who’ve been stepping things up even further — it’s Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle’s visual quality too, with the heightened work of the franchise’s longtime anime studio, Ufotable.

The previous anime seasons already had a cinematic-level quality that made them top our previous ‘best anime’ list, but the new movie kicked it up a few notches with higher fidelity and astounding effects.

While excited to play Giyu again, with the Water Hashira “not really been at the forefront” for a long time, Johnny Yong Bosch also expressed how he’s blown away at Ufotable’s continued efforts.

“I feel like each time, they've raised the bar again, you know?” said Bosch.

“And, I just, you know, even working on this and dubbing, you get lost in the animation, and you go, ‘oh, hang on, I'm supposed to be working!’ But it's so beautiful to watch that you just get drawn in. So, yeah, really, I'm sure they're just gonna keep doing better and better. It's really awesome to be a part of it, too.”

Aguilar also mentioned how excited he was “to team up with Johnny and get to have these awesome, epic moments”, and now, it’s not too long until you can go experience those for yourself, with Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle’s release date getting closer by the minute.

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle part 1 is in UK cinemas from 12th September.

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Check out more of our Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide and Streaming Guide to find out what's on. For more TV recommendations and reviews, listen to The Radio Times Podcast.

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