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‘Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc’ Review — A Beautifully Chaotic Anime
Denji falls hard for Makima in Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc. Power is taken out of the equation by Makima because her strength and excess blood have gotten out of control. She assigns Denji a new partner—the Shark Fiend named Beam; a massive fanboy of Chainsaw who considers it an honor to team up with him.
Denji and Makima go on a date, spending the entire day at the movie theater and discussing each film between screenings. Denji feels like, after all this, Makima is the one who makes him realize he has a heart and that it belongs to her.
Deep in thought about how he’s going to save himself for Makima, Denji has a random encounter with another beautiful girl on a rainy afternoon. Her name is Reze and she works at a coffee cafe. Denji finds himself emotionally saving himself for Makima, but physically unable to resist spending time with Reze. Their bond becomes incredibly close until the Bomb Devil shows up.
Meanwhile, Aki Hayakawa is forced to team up with the Angel Devil; one of the most powerful devils around who is lazy and never wants to work. He also has a thing for watching humans suffer. After gaining Future Sight from his fight with the Future Devil, Aki is cursed with what he knows about the future, including his own death. All this pales in comparison to how insufferable he finds Angel.
Chainsaw Man gives the false impression of a simple animation style. Animation studio MAPPA (Jujutsu Kaisen, Lazarus, Dorohedoro) is behind bringing Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga to life, but the character design is simple, with few complex details. The craziness is held back and unleashed during the action sequences.
Those who weren’t fans of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle, with how much time was spent making you feel some sort of way about the demons instead of diving headfirst into the action, should give the Chainsaw Man Movie a shot.
At 100 minutes, the Chainsaw Man Movie is almost an hour shorter than Infinity Castle, and it gets the same point across. The first hour is spent showing Denji and Reze getting to know each other as pieces slowly fall into place for the chaotic second half of the film. The last 40 minutes are essentially all action.
The Chainsaw Man Movie has one of the best and relatable sequences about why movie lovers watch movies. Denji and Makima watch five movies over the course of a day, and four of them are mediocre or flat-out trash.
The last film, which was shown in an empty theater to them, was not only the best of the day but also a potential all-time favorite for each of them. Makima states that, out of 10 films, only 1 is ever good, but that one film can change your life.
The first half of the Chainsaw Man Movie is mostly silly and touching, almost like a slice-of-life anime. Denji’s reactions to flowers and not one but two girls being into him are incredibly entertaining.
Once the Bomb Devil is introduced, the film switches gears. Tongues are bitten off, limbs are severed, decapitated heads are thrown and used as bombs, and the animation goes completely bonkers. When Denji realizes he can’t just swing his chainsaws around and be done with it, he’s forced to get creative with his chains. He has Beam transform into a shark and rides him into a tornado that eventually fills with swirling blood.
The enjoyable aspect of these new anime films from well-known franchises is that they’re best enjoyed by fans who have kept up with everything, but they’re structured in a way that allows newcomers to enjoy them as well.
Yes, films like the Chainsaw Man Movie and Infinity Castle are continuations or are technically the next arc in the series, but you can also go in blind and enjoy the well-developed characters and fantastic animation with infectious seeds of a worthwhile story that will hopefully make you a fan and seek out the rest of the series regardless.
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc delivers a one-of-a-kind anime film with frenetic animation, blood-soaked insanity, and heartfelt characters that want to feel something human, whether they’re a devil or not. It is a film that is unequivocally worth your time, whether you’ve seen the first season of Chainsaw Man or not.
NEXT: ‘Black Phone 2’ Review — Hell Is A Time Machine On Ice Skates
Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc (2025), MAPPA/Sony Pictures Releasing
PROS
- Meaningful character development.
- Bonkers action.
- Wild animation that shines in its second half.
- Fun attempts at humor.
CONS
- The absence of a long-term villain.
- Missing the after-credits sequence.
