🔗 Share this article

A pair of youngsters share a intimate, tender moment at the neighborhood secondary school’s open-air swimming pool late at night. As they float as one, suspended under the night sky in the quietness of the night, the sequence portrays the ephemeral, exhilarating thrill of adolescent romance, utterly caught up in the present, ramifications forgotten.

About half an hour into The Chainsaw Man Film: Reze Arc, it became clear such moments are the core of the movie. The romantic tale took center stage, and all the contextual information and character histories I had gleaned from the anime’s initial episodes turned out to be largely irrelevant. Despite being a official entry within the series, Reze Arc offers a more accessible entry point for newcomers — even if they missed its prior content. This method brings advantages, but it also hinders some of the tension of the film’s narrative.

Developed by Tatsuki Fujimoto, Chainsaw Man chronicles Denji, a debt-ridden fiend fighter in a world where demons embody specific evils (including ideas like getting older and obscurity to terrifying entities like cockroaches or historical conflicts). After being deceived and killed by the yakuza, Denji makes a pact with his loyal devil-dog, Pochita, and returns from the dead as a part-human chainsaw wielder with the power to permanently erase Devils and the terrors they signify from reality.

Thrust into a brutal conflict between demons and hunters, Denji meets Reze — a charming barista concealing a deadly mystery — sparking a tragic confrontation between the two where affection and survival collide. This film picks up immediately following season 1, delving into Denji’s relationship with Reze as he grapples with his emotions for her and his devotion to his controlling boss, Makima, compelling him to decide among passion, faithfulness, and survival.

An Independent Romantic Tale Amidst a Larger World

Reze Arc is fundamentally a lovers-to-enemies plot, with our imperfect main character Denji becoming enamored with his counterpart almost immediately upon meeting. He’s a lonely boy looking for love, which makes his heart unreliable and up for grabs on a first-come basis. As a result, in spite of all of Chainsaw Man’s intricate mythology and its extensive ensemble, Reze Arc is very independent. Director the director recognizes this and ensures the romantic arc is at the forefront, instead of bogging it down with filler recaps for the uninitiated, particularly since none of that really matters to the complete storyline.

Despite the protagonist’s flaws, it’s hard not to feel for him. He is still a adolescent, fumbling his way through a world that’s distorted his sense of morality. His intense longing for affection portrays him like a lovesick dog, although he’s prone to barking, snapping, and causing chaos along the way. His love interest is a ideal pairing for Denji, an effective femme fatale who targets her prey in our hero. You want to see the main character earn the affection of his affection, despite she is clearly hiding something from him. So when her true nature is unveiled, you still can’t help but hope they’ll somehow succeed, although internally, you know a happy ending is not truly in the plan. Therefore, the tension don’t feel as high as they ought to be since their romance is doomed. It doesn’t help that the movie serves as a immediate follow-up to the first season, leaving little room for a love story like this amid the more grim events that followers know are approaching.

Stunning Visuals and Artistic Craftsmanship

This movie’s graphics effortlessly combine 2D animation with computer-generated settings, providing stunning eye candy prior to the excitement begins. Including vehicles to tiny desk fans, 3D models add depth and detail to each scene, making the animated figures pop strikingly. In contrast to Demon Slayer, which frequently showcases its digital elements and changing backgrounds, Reze Arc employs them less frequently, particularly evident during its action-packed climax, where such elements, though not unappealing, become easier to spot. Such smooth, dynamic environments make the movie’s battles both visually bombastic and surprisingly easy to follow. Nonetheless, the technique excels most when it’s invisible, improving the vibrancy and movement of the 2D animation.

Final Thoughts and Broader Implications

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc serves as a solid point of entry, likely resulting in new fans pleased, but it additionally carries a drawback. Presenting a standalone narrative restricts the stakes of what ought to seem like a sprawling anime epic. This is an example of why following up a successful television series with a movie is not the optimal approach if it undermines the franchise’s overall narrative possibilities.

Whereas Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle succeeded by concluding multiple installments of animated series with an grand movie, and JuJutsu Kaisen 0 sidestepped the issue completely by serving as a backstory to its popular show, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc advances boldly, perhaps a bit recklessly. However that doesn’t stop the film from being a enjoyable time, a excellent introduction, and a unforgettable romantic tale.