The Chainsaw Man Film Acts as Perfect Entry Point for Newcomers, Yet Could Disappoint Devotees Experiencing Discontented
Two teenagers experience a intimate, gentle moment at the neighborhood high school’s open-air pool late at night. As they float as one, suspended beneath the stars in the quietness of the night, the scene portrays the ephemeral, heady thrill of teenage love, utterly caught up in the moment, consequences forgotten.
About half an hour into The Chainsaw Man Film: Reze Arc, it became clear such moments are the core of the movie. The love story took center stage, and all the background details and backstories I had gleaned from the anime’s first season proved to be mostly unnecessary. Despite being a canonical installment within the franchise, Reze Arc offers a easier entry point for newcomers — regardless of they missed its single episode. This method brings advantages, but it also hinders a portion of the urgency of the film’s narrative.
Created by the original creator, Chainsaw Man chronicles Denji, a debt-ridden Devil Hunter in a universe where Devils embody specific dangers (including ideas like getting older and obscurity to terrifying entities like insects or World War II). When he’s deceived and murdered by the yakuza, Denji makes a pact with his loyal devil-dog, his pet, and returns from the deceased as a part-human chainsaw wielder with the ability to permanently erase fiends and the horrors they represent from reality.
Thrust into a violent conflict between devils and hunters, the hero meets a new character — a charming coffee server hiding a deadly mystery — igniting a tragic clash between the two where affection and existence collide. The movie picks up immediately following the first season, delving into the main character’s connection with his love interest as he grapples with his emotions for her and his loyalty to his manipulative boss, Makima, compelling him to choose between passion, loyalty, and survival.
A Self-Contained Love Story Within a Broader Universe
Reze Arc is inherently a romance-to-rivalry plot, with our imperfect main character the hero becoming enamored with Reze almost immediately upon introduction. He is a lonely boy looking for affection, which renders him unreliable and easily swayed on a first-come basis. As a result, in spite of all of Chainsaw Man’s complex mythology and its large cast of characters, Reze Arc is highly self-contained. Filmmaker Tatsuya Yoshihara recognizes this and guarantees the romantic arc is at the center, instead of weighing it down with filler recaps for the new viewers, especially when such details really matters to the complete storyline.
Regardless of Denji’s flaws, it’s difficult not to sympathize with him. He is still a adolescent, fumbling his way through a reality that’s distorted his understanding of morality. His intense craving for love portrays him like a lovesick puppy, although he’s prone to growling, biting, and making a mess along the way. Reze is a perfect pairing for Denji, an compelling femme fatale who targets her prey in our protagonist. Viewers hope to see Denji earn the affection of his affection, even if Reze is clearly hiding something from him. So when her real identity is unveiled, audiences cannot avoid hope they’ll somehow make it work, even though internally, you know a positive outcome is never really in the plan. Therefore, the tension don’t feel as intense as they should be since their romance is fated. It doesn’t help that the movie acts as a direct sequel to Season 1, allowing minimal space for a romance like this among the darker developments that fans are aware are approaching.
Breathtaking Animation and Artistic Execution
The film’s visuals effortlessly combine 2D animation with computer-generated settings, providing stunning eye candy prior to the action kicks in. Including vehicles to tiny office appliances, 3D models enhance realism and detail to each scene, making the 2D characters pop strikingly. Unlike Demon Slayer, which often highlights its 3D assets and changing backgrounds, Reze Arc employs them more sparingly, most noticeably during its action-packed climax, where those models, though not unappealing, are more apparent to spot. Such smooth, dynamic backgrounds render the film’s battles both spectacular to watch and surprisingly simple to follow. Nonetheless, the technique excels most when it’s invisible, improving the vibrancy and motion of the 2D animation.
Final Impressions and Broader Considerations
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc serves as a good point of entry, likely resulting in first-time audiences satisfied, but it additionally carries a downside. Telling a self-contained story limits the tension of what should feel like a expansive animated saga. This is an example of why continuing a successful television series with a movie is not the optimal strategy if it weakens the franchise’s overall storytelling potential.
While Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle succeeded by tying up several installments of animated series with an grand film, and JuJutsu Kaisen 0 avoided the problem completely by serving as a backstory to its popular show, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc charges forward, maybe a bit recklessly. But this does not prevent the film from being a enjoyable time, a excellent point of entry, and a unforgettable love story.
