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Two youngsters experience a intimate, gentle moment at the neighborhood high school’s outdoor pool late at night. As they float as one, suspended under the stars in the quietness of the evening, the scene portrays the ephemeral, heady thrill of adolescent love, utterly engrossed in the moment, consequences forgotten.

Approximately half an hour into Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, it became clear these scenes are the core of the film. Denji and Reze’s love story became the focus, and all the contextual information and character histories I had gleaned from the anime’s initial episodes proved to be largely irrelevant. Despite being a official installment within the franchise, Reze Arc offers a easier starting place for newcomers — regardless of they missed its prior content. This method has its benefits, but it simultaneously limits some of the tension of the film’s narrative.

Developed by the original creator, Chainsaw Man follows the protagonist, a debt-ridden Devil Hunter in a universe where Devils embody specific evils (ranging from ideas like Aging and Darkness to specific horrors like cockroaches or World War II). When he’s deceived and killed by the criminal syndicate, Denji makes a pact with his loyal devil-dog, Pochita, and returns from the deceased as a chainsaw-human hybrid with the ability to completely destroy Devils and the horrors they signify from existence.

Plunged into a violent conflict between demons and hunters, Denji meets a new character — a charming coffee server concealing a deadly mystery — igniting a tragic confrontation between the two where love and existence intersect. This film picks up right after season 1, exploring the main character’s connection with Reze as he wrestles with his feelings for her and his loyalty to his controlling superior, Makima, compelling him to decide among passion, faithfulness, and survival.

An Independent Love Story Within a Broader Universe

Reze Arc is inherently a romance-to-rivalry story, with our fallible main character Denji falling for his counterpart right away upon introduction. He is a isolated young man looking for affection, which renders him vulnerable and up for grabs on a first-come basis. As a result, despite all of Chainsaw Man’s complex lore and its large cast of characters, Reze Arc is highly self-contained. Filmmaker the director understands this and guarantees the love story is at the center, instead of bogging it down with filler recaps for the new viewers, particularly since such details is crucial to the complete plot.

Regardless of the protagonist’s imperfections, it’s hard not to feel for him. He’s still a teenager, fumbling his way through a reality that’s warped his understanding of morality. His intense longing for love portrays him like a infatuated puppy, although he’s likely to barking, snapping, and making a mess along the way. His love interest is a ideal pairing for him, an effective seductive antagonist who finds her prey in our protagonist. You want to see the main character earn the affection of his love interest, even if she is clearly hiding a secret from him. Thus when her true nature is unveiled, you still cannot avoid hope they’ll in some way succeed, although internally, it is known a positive outcome is not truly in the cards. Therefore, the stakes don’t feel as high as they should be since their relationship is fated. This is compounded by that the movie serves as a immediate follow-up to the first season, leaving minimal space for a romance like this amid the more grim developments that followers know are approaching.

Stunning Animation and Artistic Craftsmanship

This movie’s visuals seamlessly blend traditional animation with 3D environments, providing stunning visual appeal even before the action begins. From cars to small desk fans, digital assets add depth and texture to every scene, allowing the 2D characters stand out beautifully. Unlike Demon Slayer, which often highlights its digital elements and changing backgrounds, Reze Arc uses them less frequently, particularly evident during its explosive finale, where such elements, while not unattractive, are more apparent to spot. These smooth, ever-shifting backgrounds render the film’s fights both visually bombastic and remarkably simple to understand. Still, the technique shines brightest when it’s unnoticeable, enhancing the dynamic range and motion of the hand-drawn art.

Final Thoughts and Wider Considerations

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc functions as a solid starting place, likely resulting in new fans pleased, but it also has a drawback. Presenting a standalone narrative restricts the tension of what should feel like a expansive animated saga. It’s an example of why continuing a successful television series with a film is not the best approach if it undermines the franchise’s overall narrative possibilities.

While Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle found success by concluding multiple installments of animated series with an grand film, and JuJutsu Kaisen 0 sidestepped the issue completely by acting as a prequel to its well-known series, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc charges forward, maybe a bit recklessly. But this does not prevent the movie from being a enjoyable experience, a excellent point of entry, and a memorable love story.