🔗 Share this article

A pair of teenagers share a intimate, gentle moment at the neighborhood high school’s open-air swimming pool late at night. While they drift as one, suspended beneath the night sky in the quietness of the evening, the scene portrays the fleeting, exhilarating excitement of adolescent love, utterly engrossed in the present, consequences overlooked.

About half an hour into The Chainsaw Man Film: Reze Arc, I realized these scenes are the core of the movie. The romantic tale took center stage, and all the background details and backstories I had gleaned from the series’ first season proved to be mostly irrelevant. Although it is a official installment within the franchise, Reze Arc provides a more accessible starting place for newcomers — regardless of they haven’t seen its prior content. This method has its benefits, but it also hinders some of the urgency of the movie’s story.

Developed by Tatsuki Fujimoto, Chainsaw Man chronicles the protagonist, a debt-ridden fiend fighter in a world where Devils represent specific evils (including concepts like getting older and obscurity to terrifying entities like insects or World War II). After being betrayed and killed by the yakuza, he forms a contract with his faithful companion, his pet, and returns from the deceased as a part-human chainsaw wielder with the ability to completely destroy Devils and the terrors they signify from existence.

Plunged into a violent conflict between demons and hunters, the hero meets a new character — a charming barista hiding a lethal mystery — sparking a heartbreaking confrontation between the pair where love and survival intersect. The movie continues immediately following season 1, delving into Denji’s connection with Reze as he grapples with his emotions for her and his loyalty to his controlling superior, Makima, forcing him to choose between desire, loyalty, and survival.

A Self-Contained Romantic Tale Amidst a Larger Universe

Reze Arc is fundamentally a lovers-to-enemies plot, with our imperfect protagonist the hero falling for Reze almost immediately upon meeting. He is a lonely young man looking for love, which renders him unreliable and easily swayed on a first-come, first-served. Consequently, despite all of Chainsaw Man’s intricate mythology and its extensive cast of characters, Reze Arc is very self-contained. Director Tatsuya Yoshihara recognizes this and ensures the romantic arc is at the forefront, rather than weighing it down with unnecessary summaries for the new viewers, particularly since such details is crucial to the overall storyline.

Despite Denji’s imperfections, it’s hard not to feel for him. He is after all a teenager, fumbling his way through a reality that’s warped his understanding of morality. His desperate craving for love makes him come off like a infatuated dog, although he’s prone to barking, biting, and causing chaos along the way. Reze is a perfect pairing for Denji, an compelling seductive antagonist who finds her prey in our protagonist. Viewers hope to see Denji win the ire of his affection, despite Reze is clearly hiding a secret from him. Thus when her real identity is revealed, you still cannot avoid wish they’ll in some way make it work, although internally, it is known a happy ending is never really in the plan. Therefore, the tension fail to seem as intense as they should be since their relationship is doomed. It doesn’t help that the movie serves as a immediate follow-up to Season 1, allowing minimal space for a romance like this among the darker events that followers are aware are approaching.

Stunning Animation and Artistic Craftsmanship

This movie’s graphics seamlessly blend 2D animation with 3D environments, delivering impressive eye candy even before the excitement begins. From cars to tiny desk fans, digital assets add depth and texture to each scene, making the animated figures stand out beautifully. Unlike Demon Slayer, which often highlights its digital elements and shifting backgrounds, Reze Arc employs them less frequently, particularly evident during its explosive climax, where such elements, while not unattractive, are more apparent to identify. Such fluid, dynamic environments make the film’s battles both visually bombastic and surprisingly easy to follow. Still, the method excels most when it’s invisible, improving the dynamic range and movement of the hand-drawn art.

Concluding Thoughts and Wider Considerations

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc functions as a solid starting place, probably leaving new fans pleased, but it additionally carries a downside. Presenting a standalone story restricts the tension of what should feel like a expansive anime epic. This is an example of why following up a popular anime season with a film isn’t the optimal approach if it undermines the franchise’s overall storytelling potential.

While Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle succeeded by tying up multiple installments of animated series with an grand film, and JuJutsu Kaisen 0 sidestepped the issue entirely by serving as a backstory to its popular show, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc advances boldly, maybe a slightly foolishly. However this does not prevent the film from proving to be a enjoyable time, a excellent introduction, and a unforgettable romantic tale.