🔗 Share this article

A pair of youngsters experience a private, tender moment at the neighborhood secondary school’s outdoor swimming pool late at night. As they float as one, hanging beneath the stars in the stillness of the evening, the sequence portrays the fleeting, exhilarating excitement of teenage romance, completely engrossed in the moment, ramifications overlooked.

Approximately 30 minutes into Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, I realized such moments are the heart of the film. Denji and Reze’s romantic tale became the focus, and all the background details and backstories previously known from the anime’s initial episodes proved to be mostly irrelevant. Despite being a canonical installment within the series, Reze Arc offers a more accessible entry point for first-time viewers — even if they haven’t seen its single episode. The approach has its benefits, but it simultaneously limits some of the urgency of the film’s narrative.

Developed by the original creator, Chainsaw Man chronicles the protagonist, a debt-ridden Devil Hunter in a universe where Devils embody specific dangers (ranging from concepts like Aging and Darkness to specific horrors like cockroaches or World War II). When he’s betrayed and killed by the yakuza, Denji makes a pact with his loyal devil-dog, his pet, and returns from the dead as a chainsaw-human hybrid with the ability to completely destroy Devils and the terrors they signify from existence.

Plunged into a brutal struggle between demons and hunters, the hero encounters Reze — a alluring coffee server hiding a deadly secret — sparking a tragic clash between the two where affection and survival collide. The movie continues right after the first season, delving into Denji’s relationship with his love interest as he wrestles with his emotions for her and his loyalty to his manipulative boss, Makima, compelling him to choose between passion, faithfulness, and survival.

A Self-Contained Love Story Within a Larger Universe

Reze Arc is fundamentally a romance-to-rivalry plot, with our fallible protagonist the hero falling for Reze almost immediately upon introduction. He is a lonely boy looking for affection, which makes his heart unreliable and easily swayed on a first-come basis. Consequently, despite all of Chainsaw Man’s complex mythology and its extensive ensemble, Reze Arc is highly independent. Filmmaker the director recognizes this and guarantees the romantic arc is at the forefront, instead of bogging it down with unnecessary summaries for the uninitiated, especially when such details is crucial to the complete storyline.

Despite the protagonist’s flaws, it’s difficult not to feel for him. He’s still a teenager, stumbling his way through a world that’s distorted his sense of morality. His intense longing for affection makes him come off like a lovesick puppy, although he’s prone to barking, biting, and causing chaos along the way. His love interest is a perfect match for him, an compelling seductive antagonist who targets her mark in our protagonist. Viewers hope to see Denji earn the affection of his love interest, despite she is clearly hiding a secret from him. Thus when her real identity is revealed, audiences can’t help but wish they’ll in some way make it work, although deep down, it is known a happy ending is never really in the cards. Therefore, the tension fail to seem as intense as they ought to be since their relationship is fated. It doesn’t help that the film acts as a direct sequel to the first season, leaving little room for a love story like this amid the more grim developments that fans are aware are coming soon.

Stunning Visuals and Technical Execution

This movie’s graphics effortlessly combine traditional animation with computer-generated settings, delivering stunning visual appeal even before the action kicks in. From cars to small office appliances, 3D models add depth and detail to every shot, allowing the 2D characters pop beautifully. Unlike Demon Slayer, which often highlights its digital elements and shifting backgrounds, Reze Arc uses them more sparingly, most noticeably during its action-packed climax, where such elements, though not unappealing, become easier to identify. These smooth, ever-shifting backgrounds render the film’s battles both visually bombastic and surprisingly easy to understand. Still, the technique excels most when it’s unnoticeable, improving the vibrancy and motion of the 2D animation.

Concluding Impressions and Wider Implications

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc functions as a good starting place, probably resulting in new fans pleased, but it additionally carries a drawback. Telling a self-contained story limits the tension of what ought to seem like a expansive animated saga. This is an example of why following up a popular anime season with a film isn’t the best strategy if it undermines the series’ general narrative possibilities.

While Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle found success by concluding several seasons of animated series with an grand film, and JuJutsu Kaisen 0 sidestepped the issue completely by acting as a prequel to its popular series, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc advances boldly, maybe a slightly recklessly. However that doesn’t stop the film from being a enjoyable time, a terrific point of entry, and a memorable romantic tale.