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A pair of teenagers share a intimate, tender moment at the local secondary school’s outdoor pool late at night. While they drift as one, hanging beneath the stars in the stillness of the night, the sequence captures the ephemeral, exhilarating thrill of adolescent love, completely caught up in the moment, ramifications forgotten.

Approximately half an hour into The Chainsaw Man Film: Reze Arc, it became clear such moments are the heart of the movie. The love story became the focus, and every bit of contextual information and character histories previously known from the series’ first season turned out to be mostly irrelevant. Despite being a official installment within the franchise, Reze Arc provides a more accessible entry point for newcomers — even if they missed its prior content. This method has its benefits, but it also hinders a portion of the tension of the movie’s narrative.

Developed by Tatsuki Fujimoto, Chainsaw Man chronicles Denji, a debt-ridden fiend fighter in a universe where Devils represent specific evils (including concepts like getting older and Darkness to terrifying entities like insects or World War II). After being betrayed and murdered by the yakuza, he forms a contract with his faithful companion, Pochita, and comes back from the deceased as a part-human chainsaw wielder with the ability to completely destroy Devils and the horrors they represent from existence.

Plunged into a brutal struggle between devils and hunters, the hero meets Reze — a charming coffee server hiding a lethal mystery — sparking a heartbreaking confrontation between the two where affection and existence intersect. The movie picks up right after season 1, delving into Denji’s connection with Reze as he grapples with his emotions for her and his loyalty to his controlling boss, Makima, compelling him to choose between desire, faithfulness, and survival.

An Independent Romantic Tale Within a Larger World

Reze Arc is inherently a romance-to-rivalry plot, with our fallible main character the hero becoming enamored with his counterpart right away upon meeting. He is a lonely boy seeking affection, which makes his heart unreliable and easily swayed on a first-come basis. Consequently, despite all of Chainsaw Man’s complex lore and its large ensemble, Reze Arc is very independent. Filmmaker Tatsuya Yoshihara understands this and guarantees the romantic arc is at the center, instead of bogging it down with filler recaps for the uninitiated, particularly since none of that really matters to the overall plot.

Despite the protagonist’s flaws, it’s hard not to feel for him. He’s still a adolescent, fumbling his way through a world that’s warped his sense of morality. His intense craving for love portrays him like a lovesick puppy, although he’s prone to barking, snapping, and causing chaos along the way. His love interest is a perfect match for Denji, an compelling seductive antagonist who targets her prey in our protagonist. Viewers hope to see Denji earn the affection of his love interest, even if she is clearly concealing a secret from him. Thus when her real identity is unveiled, you still cannot avoid wish they’ll somehow make it work, even though internally, it is known a happy ending is not truly in the plan. As such, the stakes don’t feel as intense as they ought to be since their relationship is fated. This is compounded by that the movie serves as a direct sequel to the first season, allowing little room for a romance like this among the darker developments that followers know are coming soon.

Stunning Visuals and Technical Execution

This movie’s visuals seamlessly blend 2D animation with 3D environments, delivering stunning eye candy even before the action begins. Including cars to small desk fans, digital assets add depth and detail to every shot, making the 2D characters stand out beautifully. In contrast to Demon Slayer, which often showcases its 3D assets and changing settings, Reze Arc uses them less frequently, most noticeably during its explosive finale, where such elements, though not unappealing, become easier to identify. Such smooth, ever-shifting backgrounds make the film’s fights both spectacular to watch and remarkably easy to follow. Still, the technique excels most when it’s invisible, enhancing the vibrancy and movement of the 2D animation.

Concluding Impressions and Broader Implications

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc functions as a solid point of entry, probably leaving first-time audiences pleased, but it also has a downside. Presenting a standalone story restricts the stakes of what ought to seem like a expansive anime epic. It’s an example of why following up a successful anime season with a movie isn’t the best strategy if it weakens the franchise’s general storytelling potential.

While Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle succeeded by tying up several seasons of animated series with an grand movie, and JuJutsu Kaisen 0 avoided the problem completely by acting as a backstory to its well-known series, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc charges forward, maybe a bit recklessly. However that doesn’t stop the movie from being a enjoyable experience, a excellent introduction, and a memorable love story.