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Two teenagers experience a intimate, tender instant at the neighborhood high school’s outdoor swimming pool late at night. While they drift as one, suspended beneath the stars in the quietness of the evening, the scene portrays the fleeting, exhilarating excitement of teenage romance, utterly caught up in the moment, consequences overlooked.

Approximately 30 minutes into Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, it became clear such moments are the heart of the film. The romantic tale took center stage, and every bit of contextual information and backstories previously known from the series’ initial episodes turned out to be mostly irrelevant. Despite being a official entry within the series, Reze Arc provides a easier starting place for first-time viewers — even if they haven’t seen its single episode. This method brings advantages, but it also hinders a portion of the urgency of the movie’s narrative.

Created by the original creator, Chainsaw Man follows the protagonist, a debt-ridden Devil Hunter in a universe where Devils represent specific evils (including concepts like Aging and Darkness to specific horrors like insects or historical conflicts). After being betrayed and murdered by the criminal syndicate, he makes a pact with his faithful companion, Pochita, and comes back from the deceased as a part-human chainsaw wielder with the power to completely destroy Devils and the horrors they signify from reality.

Thrust into a brutal struggle between devils and hunters, Denji encounters a new character — a alluring coffee server concealing a deadly secret — sparking a tragic clash between the two where affection and survival collide. The movie continues right after the first season, exploring Denji’s connection with Reze as he wrestles with his feelings for her and his devotion to his manipulative boss, Makima, compelling him to decide among desire, loyalty, and self-preservation.

An Independent Love Story Amidst a Broader Universe

Reze Arc is inherently a lovers-to-enemies plot, with our imperfect main character Denji becoming enamored with his counterpart right away upon meeting. He is a isolated boy seeking love, which makes his heart unreliable and up for grabs on a first-come, first-served. Consequently, despite all of Chainsaw Man’s intricate mythology and its extensive cast of characters, Reze Arc is highly independent. Filmmaker Tatsuya Yoshihara recognizes this and ensures the romantic arc is at the forefront, instead of bogging it down with filler recaps for the uninitiated, especially when none of that is crucial to the overall plot.

Regardless of Denji’s imperfections, it’s difficult not to feel for him. He’s after all a teenager, fumbling his way through a reality that’s distorted his sense of morality. His desperate longing for affection makes him come off like a lovesick puppy, even if he’s likely to growling, biting, and making a mess along the way. His love interest is a perfect match for him, an effective femme fatale who finds her prey in our protagonist. Viewers hope to see the main character win the ire of his affection, despite Reze is obviously hiding something from him. Thus when her true nature is unveiled, you still cannot avoid hope they’ll in some way make it work, although deep down, it is known a happy ending is never really in the plan. As such, the tension fail to seem as intense as they ought to be since their romance is fated. It doesn’t help that the film acts as a direct sequel to Season 1, leaving minimal space for a romance like this amid the more grim developments that fans know are approaching.

Stunning Animation and Artistic Execution

The film’s visuals seamlessly blend traditional animation with computer-generated settings, providing impressive visual appeal prior to the action kicks in. Including cars to tiny desk fans, digital assets add depth and texture to every shot, allowing the animated figures stand out strikingly. In contrast to Demon Slayer, which often highlights its 3D assets and shifting backgrounds, Reze Arc uses them more sparingly, most noticeably during its action-packed finale, where such elements, while not unattractive, become easier to identify. Such smooth, dynamic backgrounds make the movie’s fights both spectacular to watch and surprisingly easy to follow. Nonetheless, the technique shines brightest when it’s unnoticeable, enhancing the dynamic range and motion of the 2D animation.

Concluding Thoughts and Wider Considerations

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc serves as a solid point of entry, likely resulting in new fans pleased, but it additionally carries a drawback. Telling a standalone story limits the stakes of what should feel like a sprawling anime epic. This is an illustration of why continuing a successful television series with a film isn’t the optimal strategy if it weakens the series’ general narrative possibilities.

While Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle found success by tying up multiple installments of anime television with an epic film, and JuJutsu Kaisen 0 avoided the problem entirely by acting as a prequel to its popular show, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc charges forward, perhaps a bit recklessly. But this does not prevent the film from proving to be a great experience, a terrific introduction, and a memorable romantic tale.