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A pair of youngsters experience a private, tender instant at the local high school’s outdoor swimming pool late at night. As they float together, hanging beneath the stars in the stillness of the evening, the scene captures the fleeting, heady excitement of teenage romance, completely caught up in the moment, ramifications overlooked.

Approximately half an hour into Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, I realized these scenes are the heart of the film. Denji and Reze’s love story became the focus, and all the contextual information and backstories previously known from the anime’s first season proved to be mostly irrelevant. Although it is a canonical installment within the franchise, Reze Arc offers a easier entry point for newcomers — regardless of they missed its single episode. The approach has its benefits, but it also hinders a portion of the tension of the film’s narrative.

Developed by the original creator, Chainsaw Man chronicles Denji, a indebted fiend fighter in a world where Devils embody specific dangers (ranging from ideas like getting older and obscurity to terrifying entities like insects or World War II). When he’s betrayed and killed by the yakuza, Denji makes a pact with his loyal devil-dog, his pet, and returns from the dead as a part-human chainsaw wielder with the power to permanently erase fiends and the terrors they signify from reality.

Thrust into a violent conflict between devils and hunters, Denji meets Reze — a charming coffee server hiding a lethal secret — igniting a tragic clash between the pair where love and existence collide. This film picks up right after the first season, delving into Denji’s connection with his love interest as he wrestles with his feelings for her and his devotion to his controlling superior, his employer, compelling him to decide among passion, faithfulness, and self-preservation.

A Self-Contained Love Story Amidst a Larger Universe

Reze Arc is fundamentally a lovers-to-enemies story, with our imperfect main character the hero falling for his counterpart right away upon introduction. He’s a lonely boy looking for love, which makes his heart vulnerable and easily swayed on a first-come, first-served. Consequently, despite all of Chainsaw Man’s complex lore and its extensive ensemble, Reze Arc is very independent. Director Tatsuya Yoshihara understands this and ensures the love story is at the forefront, instead of bogging it down with filler recaps for the uninitiated, particularly since none of that is crucial to the complete storyline.

Regardless of Denji’s flaws, it’s hard not to feel for him. He’s still a adolescent, stumbling his way through a world that’s distorted his understanding of right and wrong. His intense craving for love makes him come off like a infatuated puppy, even if he’s likely to barking, snapping, and causing chaos along the way. Reze is a ideal match for Denji, an compelling seductive antagonist who targets her mark in our protagonist. Viewers hope to see Denji win the ire of his affection, despite she is clearly concealing something from him. So when her real identity is revealed, you still can’t help but wish they’ll somehow make it work, even though deep down, it is known a happy ending is not truly in the cards. As such, the stakes don’t feel as intense as they ought to be since their romance is fated. It doesn’t help that the movie serves as a immediate follow-up to the first season, leaving little room for a romance like this amid the more grim events that followers are aware are coming soon.

Stunning Visuals and Artistic Craftsmanship

This movie’s graphics effortlessly combine traditional animation with computer-generated settings, providing impressive eye candy even before the action kicks in. Including cars to small office appliances, 3D models enhance realism and detail to every shot, making the animated figures pop beautifully. Unlike Demon Slayer, which often highlights its digital elements and changing settings, Reze Arc uses them less frequently, most noticeably during its explosive finale, where such elements, while not unattractive, are more apparent to spot. Such smooth, ever-shifting environments render the film’s fights both spectacular to watch and remarkably easy to follow. Still, the technique shines brightest when it’s invisible, improving the vibrancy and movement of the hand-drawn art.

Concluding Impressions and Broader Considerations

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc serves as a good point of entry, likely leaving first-time audiences satisfied, but it also has a drawback. Presenting a self-contained narrative limits the stakes of what should feel like a expansive animated saga. It’s an illustration of why continuing a popular television series with a movie isn’t the best strategy if it weakens the series’ general narrative possibilities.

Whereas Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle found success by tying up multiple seasons of animated series with an epic film, and JuJutsu Kaisen 0 sidestepped the problem entirely by serving as a backstory to its popular show, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc charges forward, perhaps a slightly recklessly. However that doesn’t stop the film from being a great time, a terrific point of entry, and a unforgettable love story.