Why is the Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Train rated R in the Untied States and Canada?

Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Train rated R

After the immense success of the Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba anime on Netflix, the Ufotable animation studio went ahead and made a film based on the anime; Demon Slayer: Mugen Train.

To say it was a success is an understatement. Spirited Away became the highest-grossing Japanese movie of all time in 2001. It retained that title for 20 years until Demon Slayer: Mugen Train went past its $350 million domestic box office earnings. Overall the Demon Slayer media house has collected more than $10 billion in 2023.

The movie could’ve easily gone on to earn way more than the $506 million it raked in, according to the latest reports. There was just one obstacle in its way, the American Motion Picture Association, which rated it R. The problem isn’t the higher rating; the problem is too high a rating. In Australia, the movie was rated PG-15 and PG-16 in Singapore.

A movie that has been rated PG-12 in Japan should’ve been equivalently rated PG-13 in the USA. It should’ve only required parental approval to buy any child under the age of 13 a ticket, but with the R rating, not only can no child under the age of 17 buy the ticket, but they’ll have to be accompanied into the cinema with their legal guardian. Preposterous.

It is preposterous because no matter how popular anime gets in adult demographics across the globe, the majority and the significant viewership still lie in the teens and pre-teens category. So for a movie to become all but inaccessible to its target audience in one of the largest markets of the world is obviously a preposterous thing.

Why is the Demon Slayer movie rated R?

The reason for the R rating has to be the intense, gory, violent scenes. There are more than a few beheadings, corpses, chopped-off limbs here and there, and of course, blood. Lots of blood.

Japan’s national regulator, Eirin, evaluates the films on the sensitivity of the subject matter, the extent of adult language, sexual expression, nudity, violence and gruesome imagery, drugs and restricted substances, and criminality. And Demon Slayer only managed to get a PG-12 rating due to the multiple murder scenes and gore.

So, at the end of the day, it’s actually a cultural thing. In Western societies, children are largely sheltered from any such content that can be triggering at any level, while in Japan, children have access to similarly violent animes and movies.

What happens in Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba: Mugen Train

The movie follows our protagonist Kamado Tanjiro, who had his family killed at the hands of demons, and the only survivor of the attack, his sister Nezuko, has been turned into a demon. The young sword-wielding hero joins the Demon Slayer Corps to learn how to hunt demons and kill those responsible for his family’s death. 

Over time he has to go about killing several other demons. In the movie, Tanjiro gets on a train with his sister (packed into a suitcase) and his friends Zenitsu and the fan-favorite boar-head-wearing Inosuke looking to find the Flame Hashira, Rengoku Kyojuro. 

Kyojuro is a famous demon slayer, and Tanjiro is hoping to become his apprentice. Although Kyojuro is more than happy to take on the three young demon slayers under his wing, what they don’t know is that there is a demon attack imminent on the train. 

One of the Twelve Kizukis, the demon Enmu, is targeting our little band of heroes. Enmu destroys the souls of his targets by trapping them in a utopian world. Tanjiro is trapped in a dream in which he is back with his family, and all of them are alive, and Nezuko isn’t a demon who has to be carried around in a suitcase. And although he’d rather stay there forever, Tanjiro needs to snap out of it and go hunt for Enmu.

Where to watch Demon Slayer -Kimetsu no Yaiba The Movie: Mugen Train

The Demon Slayer movie: Mugen Train is streaming on a number of OTT platforms and websites. Our team of streaming experts has checked several VOD services and created a list which is mentioned below.

In the United States, the Demon Slayer movie: Mugen Train is only streaming on Funimation Now. You can get a free Funimation trial by signing up for the premium plan. After the 14-day free trial, the streaming package will cost you $9.99/m.

You can get the anime movie on rent for $2.99 on Apple iTunes, Amazon Video, and Google Play Movies and purchase a digital copy from the same stores.

Demon Slayer movie: Mugen Train is also available on Funimation in Australia and the United Kingdom. Unfortunately, the Canadian streamers have to wait a little more because the Demon Slayer movie: Mugen Train is not available in the Canadian library of Funimation.

However, with a workable VPN, you can easily change your IP address and watch the Demon Slayer movie: Mugen Train on Funimation Now from Canada. We recommend getting an ExpressVPN subscription to watch the anime in Canada.

Is the Demon Slayer movie: Mugen Train on Netflix?

Demon Slayer movie: Mugen Train is also available on Netflix but not internationally. Due to the copyrights, Mugen Train is not available on American and British Netflix. However, the movie is streaming in Malaysia, Thailand, and Taiwan on Netflix.

We recommend getting an ExpressVPN account to change your IP address and accessing Malaysian Netflix from the US, UK, or Canada to watch Mugen Train on Netflix.

An ExpressVPN account subscription will cost you around $6.67/m with a 30-day money-back guarantee. You can use a single ExpressVPN account on more than five devices simultaneously. It has dedicated applications for Windows, MacOS, iPhone, Linux, and Android devices.

Your best bet to watch the Demon Slayer movie: Mugen Train on Netflix from the United States and Canada is with an ExpressVPN account.

Wrap Up

The Demon Slayer movie is the highest-grossing Japanese anime movie and is considered to be one of the best anime movies of all time. We have thoroughly discussed the reasons behind its ratings. Demon Slayer Mugen Train received an R rating in the United States due to the violent scenes it had that are not suitable for kids.

We have also discussed the synopsis of the anime movie and where you can watch Mugen Train in 2023 after testing it. As per our findings, the best option you have is to watch Mugen Train on Netflix or Funimation Now. The movie is available in Japanese audio and English subs on Netflix and with complete translation on Funimation Now.

Written by Mickel Clark

Mickel is a streaming aficionado who loves nothing more than to pen down his thoughts about the movies, anime and TV shows he has watched and likes sharing hacks on how to stream them online.