Tatsuya Yoshihara’s artfully drawn film “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is based on the fifth story beat (arc) from Tatsuki Fujimoto’s popular manga of the same name (previously adapted into a series in late 2022).
The animated feature plays out the meet-cute and subsequent betrayal between Denji, a naïve youth turned Fiend employed by a demon-hunter agency, and Reze, a beautiful stranger and powerful Devil in hiding. It’s part moony romance, part heart-wrenching revenge, which you don’t want to miss out on.
The movie dives deeper into Denji’s character, showing not only his wild and chaotic personality, but also his vulnerability, innocence and longing for something as simple as love. Reze’s introduction is handled beautifully: she’s charming, mysterious and unforgettable. Their chemistry feels so natural that you can’t help but root for them, even as you sense the tragedy lurking in the shadows.
The film explores emotional themes such as longing, manipulation, as well as asking some harder questions about love and lust. What do you do when you fall for someone while your heart is already set on another? What feels more right to you?
Reze as a character signals a perspective shift in romance for Denji. Previously having had his heart stricken by Makima, the leader of Toyko’s “Public Safety” devil hunting agency, who promised herself to him if he could find and kill the Gun Devil in the previous arc.
Reze’s emergence cuts Denji’s tunnel vision for Makima in half, the two forming a tangible emotional connection over the first half of the arc, with him actively pursuing a relationship with this crush, the likes of which he has never gotten to experience before.
All escalating into one of the most chaotic conflicts in the entire storyline.
Despite hesitation from select readers of the manga, the film artfully translates some of the more confusing panels from this arc onto the big screen in a comprehensible and digestible way, with the largest fight of the film being one of them.
Through Yoshihara’s intentional direction with the team at MAPPA in tandem with Kensuke Ushio’s composition, the film captures some of the best moments from the manga in motion, and animates them for all manner of fans to awe at.
With love and loss, “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” is an explosive romance you must-see.
