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A pair of youngsters share a private, gentle instant at the neighborhood high school’s open-air pool late at night. While they drift as one, hanging under the night sky in the quietness of the evening, the scene captures the ephemeral, exhilarating thrill of adolescent romance, utterly engrossed in the present, ramifications overlooked.

About 30 minutes into Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, I realized these scenes are the core of the movie. The romantic tale became the focus, and all the contextual information and backstories I had gleaned from the series’ initial episodes proved to be mostly irrelevant. Although it is a canonical installment within the series, Reze Arc provides a more accessible starting place for newcomers — even if they missed its prior content. The approach brings advantages, but it simultaneously limits a portion of the urgency of the film’s story.

Developed by Tatsuki Fujimoto, Chainsaw Man follows Denji, a debt-ridden Devil Hunter in a universe where demons embody particular dangers (ranging from ideas like getting older and Darkness to specific horrors like insects or World War II). When he’s deceived and killed by the yakuza, he forms a contract with his loyal devil-dog, Pochita, and comes back from the deceased as a part-human chainsaw wielder with the ability to permanently erase Devils and the terrors they represent from reality.

Thrust into a violent conflict between devils and hunters, the hero encounters a new character — a charming barista concealing a lethal secret — sparking a tragic clash between the pair where love and survival collide. The movie picks up immediately following the first season, exploring Denji’s relationship with his love interest as he wrestles with his feelings for her and his loyalty to his manipulative superior, his employer, forcing him to choose between passion, loyalty, and self-preservation.

An Independent Romantic Tale Amidst a Broader World

Reze Arc is fundamentally a lovers-to-enemies story, with our fallible protagonist Denji falling for Reze almost immediately upon meeting. He’s a isolated young man looking for love, which makes his heart unreliable and up for grabs 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 self-contained. Director Tatsuya Yoshihara recognizes this and ensures the romantic arc is at the center, instead of bogging it down with filler recaps for the uninitiated, particularly since such details is crucial to the overall plot.

Despite the protagonist’s imperfections, it’s difficult not to feel for him. He’s still a adolescent, fumbling his way through a reality that’s distorted his understanding of morality. His intense craving for affection portrays him like a infatuated puppy, even if he’s prone to barking, biting, and making a mess along the way. Reze is a perfect match for him, an compelling seductive antagonist who finds her prey in our hero. Viewers hope to see the main character earn the affection of his affection, despite Reze is clearly concealing a secret from him. So when her true nature is revealed, audiences can’t help but wish they’ll somehow make it work, although deep down, it is known a happy ending is not truly in the plan. As such, the stakes don’t feel as high as they ought to be since their romance is doomed. It doesn’t help that the movie acts as a direct sequel to the first season, leaving little room for a romance like this amid the more grim events that fans know are coming soon.

Breathtaking Animation and Artistic Execution

The film’s graphics effortlessly combine traditional animation with computer-generated settings, providing stunning visual appeal even before the excitement begins. Including cars to tiny office appliances, 3D models add depth and detail to each scene, allowing the animated figures stand out beautifully. In contrast to Demon Slayer, which frequently highlights its 3D assets and changing backgrounds, Reze Arc uses them less frequently, particularly evident during its explosive climax, where those models, while not unattractive, are more apparent to identify. These fluid, dynamic environments render the film’s fights both spectacular to watch and surprisingly easy to follow. Nonetheless, the technique excels most when it’s unnoticeable, improving the vibrancy and motion of the 2D animation.

Final Thoughts and Broader Considerations

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc serves as a good point of entry, probably leaving first-time audiences pleased, but it also has a drawback. Presenting a standalone story restricts the stakes of what ought to seem like a expansive animated saga. This is an example of why following up a successful television series with a film is not the optimal strategy if it undermines the franchise’s overall storytelling potential.

While Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle succeeded by concluding multiple seasons of animated series with an grand film, and JuJutsu Kaisen 0 avoided the problem completely by serving as a backstory to its popular show, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc advances boldly, maybe a slightly recklessly. But this does not prevent the film from proving to be a enjoyable experience, a excellent point of entry, and a unforgettable romantic tale.