‘Chainsaw Man’ Anime Ditches Second Season, Announces Story Will Continue In Explosive ‘Chainsaw Man -The Movie: Reze Arc’
Of the many announcements to come out of this years Jump Festa preview event, perhaps none was bigger nor more controversial than the reveal that rather than a long-awaited second season, the story of studio MAPPA’s animated adaptation of Tatusku Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man would continue on in the form of an theatrical outing.
The film, titled Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, was first unveiled to fans on December 17th during the aforementioned Shueisha-hosted event.
Therein, the anime’s primary cast of Denji (CV: Kikunosuke Toya – Fubuki in The Elusive Samurai), Aki Hayakawa (CV: Shogo Sakata – Jun Shirosaki in Love Is Indivisible by Twins), Makima (CV: Tomori Kusunoki – Karen Kohiruimaki in Sword Art Online Alternative: Gun Gale Online), and Power (Ai Fairouz – Kikoru Shinomiya in Kaiju No. 8) made a special appearance to introduce the film’s very first teaser trailer and visual.
With a still image of a mutilated Chainsaw Man serving as its backdrop, the teaser trailer presents a montage of iconic moments from the fan-favorite arc including the eponymous Reze (CV: Reina Ueda – Chinatsu Kano in Blue Box) teaching Denji math, the duo skinny dipping, and a shot of the flower Denji gave Reze when they first met.
MAPPA’s cinematic adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man manga’s bloody and heartbreaking fifth arc will see Denji falling head over heels for the titular Bomb Devil Hybrid and main antagonist Reze (CV: Reina Ueda – Chinatsu Kano in Blue Box).
However, as his relationship with the Russian femme fatale blossoms, Denji finds himself becoming more and more emotionally conflicted as he comes to realize that his heart still belongs to Makima.
Further, little does Denji know that the woman currently setting his heart ablaze is, in reality, a USSR-trained super soldier-slash-Devil hybrid sent by the Soviets to literally steal Chainsaw Man’s heart – literally – by any means necessary.
Following the teaser’s reveal, a special message penned by Fujimoto himself regarding the film’s announcement, was read aloud to fans.
“The motif behind Denji and Reze, who are both expendable and being used by others, is based on the main characters of the animated movie Jin-Roh[: The Wolf Brigade],” Fujimoto explained of the upcoming arc, per a transcript provided by comicbook.com. “I think there are a lot of imperfections in their composition, so I recommend you check out Jin-Roh as well.”
At the time of this article’s writing, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc has entered production.
However, despite being given the green light, MAPPA remains tight lipped on the film’s production team – including whether or not, as rumors have claimed, controversial Season 1 director Ryu Nakayama has been removed from the series – as well as its release window.
All 12 episodes of the Chainsaw Man anime’s first season are available to stream on Crunchyroll. New chapters of the Chainsaw Man manga are released every Tuesday on Manga Plus and Viz Media at 10 AM EST/7 AM PST.
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