Chainsaw Man: The Movie-Reze Arc

Just when Denji didn’t think his bizarre life could get any crazier, he meets Reze: a beautiful girl who seems truly interested in him.  But fate conspires against Denji once more as the truth of Reze is revealed: She is the Bomb Devil, as powerful and brutal as she is beautiful and she’s after the heart of the Chainsaw Demon’s heart.  Fueled by fury and heartache, Denji engages in his biggest and craziest battle yet.  Hell hath no fury like a Chainsaw Devil scorned.

2025’s proven to be an exciting year for Anime Feature Films, especially the Shonen ones.  Just after Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle took the rest of the world by storm, Chainsaw Man makes its triumphant return after a very long, three year wait.  While I don’t expect it to make Demon Slayer level dollars here in the States, the film adaptation of the Reze Arc might just end up being better than the first part of Infinity Castle, and this is coming from a guy who mostly likes Demon Slayer more than Chainsaw Man. This is thanks to a greater focus on the core story and characters while also allowing MAPPA to let itself off the leash and remind us why despite theyre one of the most in demand Anime studios today.  In short, the Chainsaw Man movie is well worth the wait. 
 
When Chainsaw Man first exploded onto the scene in 2022, I watched maybe half of the first season before I fell off of it.  Not that I disliked it, other priorities kind of just took over.  But I knew the general gist and knowing said gist did make jumping into the Reze Arc easier than expected.  The movie picks up right after the end of Season One and as such might not be the most newbie friendly entry point.  While a lot of the shows key players like Denji, Aki and Makima are present, several supporting characters are either in blink or you’ll miss capacities or just straight up gone for most of the movie (yeah if you’re a Power fan she’s barely featured, sorry guys).  There’s also no catching up on the story so far.  If you’ve been here from the get to, great.  If not, it’s natural to be lost but the Reze Arc still manages to be engaging regardless.
 
The movie wouldn’t work at all if the titular beauty that is Reze herself didn’t work.  It’s rare to see a movie where a brand new character endears themselves so quickly to the audience.  But Reze is so damn cute and likeable that you can fall for her even faster than Denji.  It’s also a credit that for being billed as an insanely epic Shonen action film, the Reze Arc takes its time to really give viewers a reason to care about Denji and Reze’s growing relationship.  It not only makes the inevitable betrayal hurt that much more but strangely not make you hate Reze when it comes along.  You could point to her design, her abilities or how crazy powerful she is, Reze might be a character who is almost impossible to hate, even when she’s leaving dozens of bodies in her wake.  And I think a lot of that comes from still wanting things to work out for her and Denji in spite of it all.  The dude deserves some happiness and Reze is the closest we’ve seen our hero come to it in a long time.
 
Once Reze’s true colors appear, hoooo boy the movie kicks it into overdrive.  MAPPA has been making a name for itself the last few years with its approach to action in Anime.  Ironically, it’s the fact that it’s so experimental and inconsistent that produces its charm.  The action scenes in Reze Arc are ridiculously amazing it made my jaw drop multiple times and I’ve see their master work powers in play in Jujutsu Kaisen.  Different animation styles only fuel the gorgeous insanity of it all.  It’s like if you blink there’s a new art style being applied and its just gives the feel that every animator had a chance to put their own spin on the big title match between Chainsaw Devil and Bomb Devil.  And so I can gush over our tortured would be lovers a bit more, when Denji and Reze go full Chainsaw and Bomb respecitvley, their Devilish attitudes are so much fun, especially Denji.  The way he puts his Chainsaw powers to use got some of the biggest laughs out of me in the theater, points for creativity, even if not as intended.  Much like Infinity Castle, this is an action extravaganza that deserves to be seen on the biggest screen possible (with interactive rumble too, even though I wasn’t in one of those chairs even I was feeling it, wow). 
 
It's surprising how much Chainsaw Man: The Movie-Reze Arc works as both a continuation of the series and a stand alone feature.  Yes some major developments are made and new faces are sure to pop up again in the future.  But the film narrows its focus to two souls made for/to destroy each other and you can love them in either scenario.  There’s plenty of time for emotional resonance as there is going “HOLY S***” during the action scenes and ultimately, it left this not a die hard fan saying one thing: Demon Slayer might have all the money…but I’m pretty sure Chainsaw Man overall had the better movie.  Now to go back and get caught up on all the soul crushing insanity of Season One.
 
9/10