The Japanese anime movie "Ghost Blade Of Infinite Trains" recently landed on the Netflix platform, triggering cheers from anime fans around the world. Known as a phenomenon blockbuster, the film has grossed $365 million at the local box office since its release in October 2020, surpassing Miyazaki's classic Spirited Away to top the Japanese film box office charts. At present, the film has exceeded 500 million US dollars at the global box office.
Ghost Blade doesn't have an overly bizarre plot. The manga, serialized in Weekly Shonen Jump magazine from 2016 to 2020, tells the story of a "teenager fighting monsters." During the Taisho period, man-eating demons were infested. The family of Tanjiro, a teenager in Yamamura, was unfortunately killed by a ghost, and the only surviving sister became a "ghost" because of the infection of ghost blood. In order to find the antidote to turn his sister back into a human, in order to protect more people from being harmed by evil spirits, Tanjiro joined the "ghost killing team" with his sister on his back, and from then on embarked on a long journey of killing ghosts and fighting monsters. Adapted from a chapter in the manga of the same name, Infinity Train tells the story of Tanjiro and his party boarding a spooky train and working with ghost squad general Purgatory Apricot Shouro to protect passengers and fight the evil ghosts.
Wonderful fight screens, top voice actors joining, and large-scale publicity are certainly sharp weapons for box office sales, but from the perspective of the explosive success of "Infinite Train", the time and place are indispensable.
The original comic received a mediocre response in the early days of publication, and then slowly accumulated popularity. The first wave of support came from the 2019 "Ghost Annihilation" TV animation "Stove Gate Tanjiro Aspire". The show's critical acclaim after its broadcast has led to a surge in the circulation of a small number of popular comic books, becoming the number one comic book sales in 2019. Subsequently, due to the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, people spent more time at home, which promoted the continuous increase in sales of "Ghost Incest". As of December 2020, the cumulative circulation of GhostBuster has exceeded 120 million copies, and there is even a phenomenon that the sales list is completely occupied by the various volumes of Ghostbuster.
The foundation is laid out enough. At this time, the "Infinite Train Chapter", which immediately followed the TV animation plot, landed in the theater, and coincided with the lack of new films during the epidemic, and anime fans flocked to it, and the box office exceeded 1 billion yen on the first day of release. The derivatives market reacted quickly, and as soon as the joint models such as clothing, electrical appliances, and toys were listed, they triggered a rush to buy. All aspects of the industrial chain complement each other, and the box office of "Infinite Train" began to snowball.
However, if it can break the age limit and become a social phenomenon, the circle of "Infinite Train" is still unique. Unlike the general bloody battle anime, "Infinite Train" has a large part to describe the love, desire and fear of human beings, which can resonate with ordinary audiences.
Tanjiro is also controlled by the evil ghost to enter the dream space, allowing him to relive the warm moments of the family reunion. Affection is the most impressive. But dreams are ultimately illusory, and to control desires and return to real life requires strong willpower and courage to face pain. The audience has a special sense of substitution in the "Dream" section, they feel Tanjiro's joy at seeing his family, and they will also cry for his determination to leave the dream.
The character setting of Purgatory Apricot Shou lang can also grab the audience. This character, similar to his predecessors, appeared majestically and skillfully, and was a strong backing for Tanjiro and his party. However, the battle situation was ups and downs, and in the case of his strength being inferior to that of the evil ghost, Xingshou Lang exchanged his life for his life in order to protect the whole car. This back-and-forth turn has a strong impact and a strong tragic color, but it also gives people unlimited inspiration and courage.
"Aging and death are the beauty of this short-lived creature of human beings, and it is precisely because of aging and death that people become lovely and noble." "No matter how many lives a ghost takes, the will of mankind will not be defeated!" "Infinite Train" acknowledges that human beings are weak, but as long as there is a strong belief, we can see the dawn of victory. In the current era of epidemic ups and downs, this theme is gentle and powerful, so that the audience who is uneasy in their hearts has been healed.
Perhaps this is the ultimate weapon of "Infinite Train" out of the circle. (Lin Wei)
Source: China Youth Daily