With Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc out tomorrow in wide release, this marks a little over three years since the first episode of the anime debuted.
Any boy, was the wait worth it.
Equal parts heart-stopping and heartbreaking, the continuation film of the anime’s first season falls squarely into the series’ next major arc: The Reze/Bomb Girl arc. This film ups the ante at every corner and delivers and explosive climax that left me breathless.
Where are we in Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc?
For those that need a refresher on where this film takes place, this happens at the end of season one of Chainsaw Man. Fresh off the victory in the Katana Man arc (with some notable cast deaths), Denji goes on a date with Makima as Power gets shuffled away to drain her blood and tend to her wounds. It’s in this arc that Denji faces one of his most formidable obstacles in the series: His humanity.
You see, at this point in the series, Denji has simple motivations: eat some grub, touch some boobs. His involvement with Public Safety gets him these things, so he’s on cloud nine. However, the narrative doesn’t shy away from the fact that he is being manipulated for his naivete, something that Makima seems to be taking advantage of a little more.
After his date with Makima (and a trademark Fujimoto discussion on film and emotion), Denji runs into Reze, a female café employee who takes a sudden interest in him. Before, Denji is doing what he does only for Makima, but now that he’s met someone else who’s into him, he starts getting confused.
Meanwhile, while we don’t get much screentime with Power, this arc focuses on deuteragonist Aki and Angel (also the Angel Devil) as they work together tracking down the Gun Devil. These scenes hint at the hidden depths that Angel’s personality include as well as Aki’s resolve to finish his mission of killing the Gun Devil. I love these interactions between the duo, and they were able to expand on more of the scenes later in the film. The inclusion of new ally Beam (who is the Shark Fiend) to replace Power for this film makes for a fun little dynamic between him and Denji. (For once, it seems like Denji’s the straight man and his comrade is the crazy one!)
Like I said in my previous columns, this arc begins to deconstruct Denji as a happy-go-lucky protagonist wanting nothing but his buddy Pochita and his hedonistic goals. There are emotional stakes that develop in Denji as he processes the feelings he receives from Reze, who isn’t as she seems.
The Perfect Entry Point?
Anime films are nothing new, but there’s this trend (see: The recent Demon Slayer films) where the canon adaptation is in the movie itself. Unfortunately, watching the first season or reading Part 1 of the manga is a must before making heads or tails of this movie. This might be a bit confusing, especially since it’s been more than three years since the first season of Chainsaw Man. However, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc is probably the best part to adapt in a film. It moves at a great pace, with the source material only running around 12 chapters, very doable for a 100 minute movie.
I feel like this narrative arc is a perfect blend of silly and serious, with the movie having an excellent tonal shift between its first and second half. It does take some time to build up Denji’s encounter with Reze and dynamic ensuing relationship, but the payoff is worth it. Any other arc after this will need a lot more screentime, so I appreciate how lean this specific story feels.
A Stupendous Spectacle
Something that makes Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc one of the best anime films ever is how well thought out the action in the second half is. The climactic fight between Denji and Bomb is one of the most well-choreographed fights I’ve seen in an anime this decade. A well-timed mix of flashy visuals and timing with attacks make for a summer blockbuster-level action flick. My favorite part is how well Studio Mappa adapted Beam’s Shark Fiend form as Denji rides him to defeat the Typhoon Devil. (Heck, the original manga called that chapter “Sharknado”!) The fights move fluidly, with some totally bonkers sequences that left me gripping my seat for the last half of the film.
If you can watch this on IMAX, please do. I was able to watch my early access screening with my local theater’s enhanced IMAX tech, and it blew me away. Quite literally; the pulse-pounding explosions rang throughout our theater long after the credits rolled.
A Hackin’ Good Time at the Theaters
All in all, my opinion on Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc is this:
Go already! Stop reading this and head to your theater today!
That said, I’m honestly impressed at how wide this release will be this weekend. We already had success with the recent Demon Slayer films, and this one is shaping up to be a similar success. This is one event you need to see on the big screen if you can!
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc opens in North America October 24, with preview screenings available now. Stay tuned for more anime reviews here on Miso!
