by Alice-Ginevra Micheli, Contributing Writer
We all have that feeling. You know the one: You finish watching a movie and something about it hits you in just the right spot.
Whether it was the theme, the story, or even the characters, there was a quality about it that almost makes you want to turn around and go back a second, third, or even fourth time!
Bar the reality of living in the movie theater for the rest of your days, you turn to the rest of pop culture and start to look for other avenues where you can find that same feeling.
Well I’m here to make this plight easier for all. Each month, I take a piece of pop culture that was prevalent in the social consciousness — whether it is a movie, TV show, or something else — and then recommend other forms of media for those who want to stay in that world a little bit longer.
Welcome to your One Stop Pop!
In the past couple of years, there’s been a steady increase in the presence of anime films making their way into western theaters, and completely dominating their weeks at the box office. It’s not really a surprise, given how many millennials and gen Z have grown up watching a deluge of this type of storytelling, and now get to support their favorites when the films get released.
So it’s not a shock to see that one of the biggest names in manga and anime resulted in one of the biggest box office draws in September. Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba — The Movie: Infinity Castle sees this epic about family, loyalty, and — as it says in the name — slaying of demons, finally come to a thrilling conclusion in this final arc, and culmination of the hugely popular award-winning anime shonen series.
Spanning three arcs, and 155 minutes of world-bending storytelling, this movie has captured the hearts and financial success of many a domestic and international audience. Therefore, it makes sense to dive a little deeper into all the elements that make this show — and now movie — so appealing, and to recommend something else to enjoy if you’re desperately looking for more.
Book: The Warded Man by Peter V. Brett
The obvious recommendation here is to go with one of the many, many, many shonen manga options that already exist out there, lots of which also centre around the slaying of demons in a similar way.
However, that would be too easy, and it’s likely that fans would have already searched the shelves prior to reading this column. So let’s look at something a little different.
The Warded Man is the first in a quintet of novels — with an additional four companion novels to boot — which introduces the reader into one of the most expansive fantastical demon-centered epics ever set to the page.
At the centre of tragedy are the Corelings, demons whose fight is fueled by their burning hatred for humanity, and all they represent. They have terrorized the waking world for years, culling the human population in the dead of night, and driving them toward the relative safety that lies behind magical wards. That is until three young survivors decide to finally pick up the fight once more, stepping beyond the fragile wards, and into the night that has sworn to obliterate everything they are. Will these three be the hope needed for the future? Or will they meet the same fate as many before them?
With every novel growing in intensity, stakes, and world building, Demon Slayer fans might find themselves growing attached to a new group of ragtag fighters who stand against the evils of demons for no other reason than having no other choice.
TV Show: Hellbound
Moving away from Japan and Western literature, and toward another recent megalith of media, South Korea has been delivering on great concepts in film, and television especially, in recent years.
With some titles becoming household names, it’s no surprise that there’s also a recently released series that might also attract those who have a bit of a hole in their heart following the Infinity Castle saga.
Hellbound is almost self-explanatory with its name. Set in an almost post-apocalyptic world, an “angel” arrives on Earth with a prophecy declaring that some people have been marked for Hell, and will be soon killed and taken for judgment. As part of this proclamation, a group of religious zealots rise up to support, heralding this divine justice as a necessary part of goodness. However, things take a major turn when a baby is named for death, and people start questioning the righteousness of this “angel” and their demon warriors.
When this was released, it broke many records, drawing in a giant audience due to its compelling plot and intriguing character play. There are religious metaphors and societal commentary, as well as plenty of supernatural violence that is sure to entertain anyone curious enough to give it a go.
While it’s not as much about the slaying of demons as it is the surviving and questioning of authority, this show is a philosophical look at the supernatural that might just intrigue the odd Demon Slayer fan over to its waves.
Podcast: Shonen Flop
Well, we’ve moved away from anime and the format of Demon Slayer long enough, so it’s time for us to veer a little closer to the genre with our next category.
Recommending an anime, and/or manga podcast is no small feat. There are plenty of people who watch a slew of shows, read a bunch of volumes, and think that their opinions of it are the most worthy of listening to — and fair enough, but it does make for a vast catalogue. So for a touch of uniqueness, let’s go to a show that does talk about this type of media, even the specific genre that Demon Slayer resides in, but in a unique way.
Shonen Flop is hosted by friends David and Jordan as they explore the wide world of shonen, a.k.a. typically fantastical stories targeted at younger adolescent males — whose opposite is often seen as the magical girl genre of shoujo. Their difference? They look at and analyze series that didn’t hit it off with audiences, and were steadily cut down soon after their release.
The variety is certainly there, from detective stories, to crime dramas to an exorcist themed tale, every episode sees the hosts look at a different one to see whether these are hidden gems that weren’t given the perfect chance to shine, or whether they did deserve their disastrous fate.
It’s fun, conversational, and a great way to break up the norm. Shonen Flop is certain to entertain even the most practiced of anime fans, and to bring up some stories that even they might not know.
Video Game: A Plague Tale: Innocence
A key element of the Demon Slayer saga, from the very beginning really, is the core sibling relationship between Tanjiro, and Nezuko. Tanjiro gets into what becomes his mission, in order to help save his sister from a dark possession fate, and therein lies many manga volumes, anime episodes, and movies worth of battle, evolution, and transcendence into becoming warriors.
As fans of the series, it might then make sense to play a game where a similarly skewed relationship is at its center, in just as dangerous of a time.
Of the survival-horror genre, A Plague Tale: Innocence follows siblings Amicia de Rune and her little brother Hugo in their escape set during the Hundred Years’ War in 14th century France. Fleeing from the French Inquisition, soldiers, mercenaries, and Black Plague-spreading zombie rats, the player must help our siblings to safety, while also uncovering the curse that Hugo is suffering from, and determining whether it’s too late to help him.
Trigger warning if you can’t handle gore, hygiene-testing boundaries, or even lots, and lots of rats, as this is not an experience for the squeamish at heart. The story, though, is one set against an evocative historical background, drawing in the player to this magic realism interpretation of the plague, while incorporating elements of corruption, conspiracy, and, you guessed it, a loss of innocence.
Goosebump-inducing, the intermixing between the story, unique play, and haunting music makes this a game to experience for yourself, especially if you finished Infinity Castle, and felt like going back to those first couple seasons of the anime.
We just dove into the highs and lows of epic anime moviemaking, and pulled apart different elements that may have made this particular one enticing to its multitude of fans. After walking out of the theater, did you want to jump back into an epic demon-disaster tale, explore more of the mythological roots behind the magic, experience more things anime, or felt touched by the sibling relationship at its center?
If you landed in any of these categories, hopefully one of my suggestions has hit you right in that sweet spot.
We will return next month to see what’s struck the right chord with audiences. Until then thank you for visiting SiftPop’s One Stop Pop — we hope to see you again soon!
You can read more from Alice-Ginevra Micheli, and follow her on Instagram and Letterboxd