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A pair of youngsters share a private, gentle instant at the local high school’s outdoor swimming pool after hours. As they float together, hanging beneath the night sky in the stillness of the night, the sequence captures the fleeting, heady thrill of adolescent romance, completely engrossed in the present, ramifications forgotten.

Approximately half an hour into The Chainsaw Man Film: Reze Arc, it became clear these scenes are the core of the movie. The romantic tale took center stage, and every bit of background details and backstories I had gleaned from the anime’s first season proved to be largely unnecessary. Despite being a canonical entry within the franchise, Reze Arc provides a more accessible entry point for newcomers — regardless of they missed its prior content. The approach has its benefits, but it also hinders a portion of the tension of the movie’s narrative.

Developed by Tatsuki Fujimoto, Chainsaw Man follows the protagonist, a indebted Devil Hunter in a universe where Devils embody specific dangers (including ideas like getting older and obscurity to terrifying entities like insects or World War II). When he’s deceived and murdered by the criminal syndicate, he makes a pact with his faithful devil-dog, his pet, and comes back from the dead as a part-human chainsaw wielder with the ability to completely destroy Devils and the horrors they represent from existence.

Thrust into a violent conflict between devils and hunters, the hero encounters Reze — a alluring barista concealing a deadly mystery — sparking a tragic confrontation between the pair where affection and existence collide. The movie picks up right after the first season, delving into Denji’s relationship with Reze as he wrestles with his feelings for her and his devotion to his controlling superior, Makima, forcing him to choose between passion, faithfulness, and self-preservation.

A Self-Contained Love Story Amidst a Broader Universe

Reze Arc is fundamentally a lovers-to-enemies story, with our fallible main character the hero becoming enamored with Reze right away upon introduction. He is a isolated boy looking for affection, which renders him unreliable and easily swayed on a first-come, first-served. Consequently, despite all of Chainsaw Man’s complex mythology and its extensive cast of characters, Reze Arc is highly independent. Filmmaker the director understands this and ensures the romantic arc is at the forefront, rather than bogging it down with unnecessary summaries for the uninitiated, particularly since such details is crucial to the overall storyline.

Regardless of the protagonist’s flaws, it’s hard not to sympathize with him. He is after all a teenager, fumbling his way through a reality that’s warped his understanding of morality. His desperate craving for affection makes him come off like a lovesick puppy, even if he’s prone to barking, biting, and causing chaos along the way. His love interest is a perfect pairing for him, an effective femme fatale who finds her prey in our hero. Viewers hope to see the main character earn the affection of his love interest, even if she is clearly hiding a secret from him. So when her true nature is revealed, audiences cannot avoid wish they’ll in some way succeed, even though deep down, you know a positive outcome is not truly in the plan. As such, the tension don’t feel as intense as they should be since their romance is fated. It doesn’t help that the film serves as a immediate follow-up to Season 1, allowing minimal space for a romance like this amid the more grim events that followers are aware are coming soon.

Stunning Animation and Technical Craftsmanship

The film’s visuals effortlessly combine traditional animation with computer-generated settings, providing stunning eye candy even before the action kicks in. From vehicles to small desk fans, 3D models add depth and texture to each scene, allowing the animated figures stand out strikingly. Unlike Demon Slayer, which frequently showcases its 3D assets and shifting settings, Reze Arc employs them more sparingly, particularly evident during its action-packed finale, where such elements, though not unappealing, become easier to spot. Such smooth, dynamic backgrounds render the film’s fights both spectacular to watch and remarkably easy to follow. Nonetheless, the technique excels most when it’s unnoticeable, improving the vibrancy and movement of the hand-drawn art.

Final Thoughts and Wider Considerations

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc functions as a solid starting place, probably resulting in first-time audiences satisfied, but it also has a downside. Telling a standalone story restricts the stakes of what should feel like a expansive anime epic. It’s an example of why continuing a popular television series with a movie is not the optimal strategy if it undermines the series’ general storytelling potential.

Whereas Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle found success by concluding multiple installments of anime television with an grand movie, and JuJutsu Kaisen 0 sidestepped the problem entirely by serving as a backstory to its well-known series, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc advances boldly, maybe a slightly foolishly. However that doesn’t stop the film from proving to be a enjoyable time, a excellent introduction, and a memorable love story.