Out this week in Irish cinemas is the next chapter in the acclaimed anime, Chainsaw Man. This cinematic adaptation of the next arc in Chainsaw Man is dubbed Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, and it follows Denji as he meets Reze. When Denji meets Reze, he embarks on an explosive and ultra-violent journey that will leave audiences speechless.
It will come as no surprise to anyone that Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc is violent, outlandishly so. When the third act kicks into gear, the action is nonstop and unrelenting. Like many cinematic outings for anime, this is a love letter to the fans, and this film knows what its fans want: over the top violence, gore and crude humour. What I didn’t expect, but what I absolutely adored from this film, was the emotional throughline within it.
There is a deep sense of tragedy within this film as we learn more about Denji’s life and what Reze could bring to it. She is a girl who seems to adore our resident Chainsaw Man. She shows it in spectacular fashion, with memorable swimming lessons, quiet moments caught in a cosy café, and at a particularly explosive fireworks festival.
Everybody wants the Chainsaw heart
At the end of the day, the plot is simple: another devil is looking for the Chainsaw heart, and Denji has to fight them off. What the film adds to this is a romantic undertone that keeps the narrative from simply being another mindless brawl. Denji isn’t the only character to get more time to develop, though. Aki gets a new partner in the shape of the Angel Devil, and their interactions are fascinating and lend further depth to both characters and the world at large. If you’re a fan of Power, though, she is barely in the film for 5 minutes before she is whisked away off-screen.
New characters introduced, like Beam the Shark fiend and Angel Devil, are interesting. Adding more depth to the team was introduced at the end of season 1. Once again, the MBP (Most Bitchy Player) goes to Makima, who continues to pull the strings from behind a veiled sense of kindness.
Nobody wants Denji’s heart
With all these enjoyable elements, there are issues with Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc. First off, if you’re not a fan of this, it is not for you. There is no recap, no explanations, nothing to ease you into this film. If you see this film in your local cinema and you don’t know what a Chainsaw Man is, avoid. Also, even though the animation is gorgeous, vibrant, and visually bombastic, the CGI is still questionable at times when it comes to the environment. One scene involving Denji standing on a car comes to mind. Some of the animations simply do not gel as well as one might hope.
I enjoyed Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc for its action, its animation and its bonkers score. I fell in love with it for its bittersweet love story and how, by the end of it, I could tell all the characters had grown; this was a pivotal moment in their story.
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc was the usual brutality of the Chainsaw Man anime on a cinematic scope, with a surprisingly emotional throughline that floored me.
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