Release info here
Synopsis
Denji worked as a Devil Hunter for the yakuza, trying to pay off the debt he inherited from his parents, until the yakuza betrayed him and had him killed. As he was losing consciousness, Denji’s beloved chainsaw-powered devil-dog, Pochita, made a deal with Denji and saved his life. This fused the two together, creating the unstoppable Chainsaw Man. Now, in a brutal war between devils, hunters, and secret enemies, a mysterious girl named Reze has stepped into his world, and Denji faces his deadliest battle yet, fueled by love in a world where survival knows no rules.
Review
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc is the direct follow up from the first season anime back in 2022 and while it’s been quite a wait to see Denji and the Devil Hunters it’s been worth the wait for this next arc.
Picking up right after Season 1, the film follows Denji’s continuing path as a Devil Hunter and the titular Chainsaw Man title. Living with his unhinged partner Power (the Blood Devil) and fellow Devil Hunter/Babysitter Aki. But are all quickly separated once the film kicks off forcing Denji and Aki to be temporarily assigned to new partners in their jobs.
Denji is quickly side tracked however once he crosses paths with a pretty young woman who takes an instant liking to him. Reze is an innocent seeming young lady who causes all sorts of anguish for Denji’s mind. In a funny yet also sad character plot, Denji has never once in his life felt love, and as a 16 year old boy his views on the women now circling his life are shallow but what he thinks is love. The guy does not know how to process attention from these women and has given his heart to his boss Makima and we even see them go on a date (with a touching scene of them shedding a tear during a film) but his body desires Reze which leaves him visually conflicted on how to process her advances.
You’d be forgiven though if you thought the name of the film was ironic however as the first third of this film feels like a sweet romantic anime movie with Reze helping Denji come out of his shell and experience a hint of a normal teenagers life. But once the second and third acts kick in it quickly dumps the romance for body horror.
It does take a few pulls of the cord to get the engine roaring. That much is true and to those eager to get straight to the mayhem, it might feel a bit slow. However, this pacing is deliberate. Danji cannot live the life he wants, he is controlled entirely by the women in his life and manipulated at every turn, something he comes to realise in this arc mid battle. He is a simple character, quite a sad one if you know his backstory from Season 1 but his motivations (shallow as they are) are what keeps his character moving forward. The film also introduces us to some new Devil Hunters in the form of the Angel Devil who can take people’s life spans with a simple touch and turn them into weapons and the Shark Devil called Beam (who happens to be a devout worshiper of Chainsaw Man himself) who has a head of a shark and can swim through solid matter. Aki plays a minor role as his story too progresses in this movie arc, he is hunting the elusive Gun Devil and is training to be strong enough to defeat them when he does, working with the Angel Devil he is going from job to job, taking out other Devils and protecting the people before they are both dragged into the mainline story by the Bomb Devil and Typhoon Devil unleashing their powers at full force.
But let’s move onto the meat of this film, the action!
Once the main conflict ignites, the blades start spinning and Denji’s signature laugh starts to fill the room, the film becomes a colorful, bloody, and absolutely nonstop spectacle of destruction that barrels forward with relentless energy until its explosive climax. The animation captures the series’ unique brand of kinetic, gory chaos perfectly. The battles are not just punches and explosions; they are visceral, creative, and messy sketches sprawling across the screen in glorious chaos!
Chainsaw Man works alongside his new ally Beam and they take on the Typhoon Devil and the Bomb Devil across the city plunging into pure chaos of high winds and blood.
The movie is certainly not for people who are new to the franchise however, following this new anime movie trend of adapting canonical arcs from the manga instead of the previous route of creating an original non canonical ‘hit the reset button at the end’ method to allow a larger audience to view. I’m entirely for this however as it means fans of the franchise can enjoy some of the mainstories biggest battles play out on the big screen and awe us in spectacle.
As a fan of the Chainsaw Man manga and anime, I absolutely loved this movie! It’s been 3 years since the end of Season 1 and while the manga has been keeping us fed with its visual goodness it’s great to see the story in motion again! While newcomers will be left scratching their heads at the plot of the film, the visuals will be loved by everyone with its bright colours and over the top gore that made the first season and even the manga itself so iconic in the first place.
Verdict
For fans of the anime, this is a must watch as this is the next official chapter of the story and also who would not want to see the explosive and city sized battle unfold on the biggest screen they can!?
⭐⭐⭐⭐
