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A pair of youngsters share a intimate, gentle moment at the neighborhood secondary school’s open-air swimming pool after hours. While they drift as one, suspended beneath the night sky in the stillness of the evening, the scene portrays the ephemeral, heady thrill of adolescent romance, completely caught up in the moment, consequences overlooked.

About 30 minutes into Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, it became clear these scenes are the core of the film. Denji and Reze’s romantic tale became the focus, and all the contextual information and character histories I had gleaned from the anime’s first season proved to be largely irrelevant. Although it is a official entry within the franchise, Reze Arc provides a easier starting place for first-time viewers — regardless of they haven’t seen its single episode. This method brings advantages, but it simultaneously limits some of the tension of the film’s story.

Developed by Tatsuki Fujimoto, Chainsaw Man follows the protagonist, a debt-ridden Devil Hunter in a world where Devils embody specific evils (including concepts like Aging and Darkness to specific horrors like insects or historical conflicts). After being betrayed and killed by the yakuza, Denji forms a contract with his loyal companion, his pet, and returns from the dead as a part-human chainsaw wielder with the power to permanently erase Devils and the horrors they signify from reality.

Plunged into a brutal struggle between devils and hunters, the hero meets a new character — a alluring coffee server concealing a lethal mystery — igniting a tragic confrontation between the pair where love and survival intersect. The movie picks up right after season 1, exploring Denji’s connection with his love interest as he wrestles with his emotions for her and his devotion to his manipulative boss, his employer, compelling him to choose between desire, loyalty, and self-preservation.

An Independent Love Story Amidst a Larger World

Reze Arc is fundamentally a romance-to-rivalry plot, with our imperfect main character Denji falling for his counterpart right away upon meeting. He’s a lonely young man seeking affection, which makes his heart vulnerable and easily swayed on a first-come basis. Consequently, despite all of Chainsaw Man’s complex lore and its extensive ensemble, Reze Arc is highly self-contained. Director the director recognizes this and guarantees the love story is at the forefront, instead of bogging it down with unnecessary summaries for the new viewers, especially when none of that is crucial to the complete plot.

Despite the protagonist’s imperfections, it’s hard not to feel for him. He is still a teenager, stumbling his way through a reality that’s distorted his sense of right and wrong. His intense craving for affection portrays him like a infatuated puppy, although he’s prone to barking, biting, and making a mess along the way. His love interest is a perfect pairing for Denji, an compelling femme fatale who finds her mark in our hero. Viewers hope to see Denji earn the affection of his affection, despite she is obviously concealing something from him. So when her true nature is unveiled, audiences can’t help but hope they’ll somehow make it work, although internally, it is known a positive outcome is never really in the plan. As such, the tension fail to seem as intense as they should be since their romance is fated. It doesn’t help that the film serves as a direct sequel to the first season, leaving minimal space for a romance like this amid the more grim events that followers are aware are approaching.

Breathtaking Animation and Technical Craftsmanship

The film’s visuals seamlessly blend 2D animation with 3D environments, delivering impressive visual appeal prior to the action begins. Including vehicles to tiny office appliances, 3D models add depth and texture to each shot, allowing the animated figures pop strikingly. Unlike Demon Slayer, which frequently showcases its digital elements and shifting backgrounds, Reze Arc employs them more sparingly, most noticeably during its explosive finale, where such elements, while not unattractive, are more apparent to identify. These fluid, dynamic environments render the movie’s battles both spectacular to watch and surprisingly simple to follow. Nonetheless, the method shines brightest when it’s unnoticeable, enhancing the vibrancy and movement of the 2D animation.

Concluding Impressions and Wider Considerations

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc functions as a solid starting place, likely resulting in first-time audiences pleased, but it additionally carries a downside. Presenting a self-contained story restricts the tension of what should feel like a sprawling animated saga. It’s an example of why continuing a successful anime season with a movie is not the best strategy if it weakens the franchise’s overall storytelling potential.

While Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle found success by tying up multiple seasons of animated series with an epic movie, and JuJutsu Kaisen 0 avoided the issue entirely by serving as a prequel to its popular show, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc charges forward, maybe a bit foolishly. However that doesn’t stop the movie from being a enjoyable experience, a terrific introduction, and a memorable love story.