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Two teenagers experience a intimate, tender moment at the local high school’s open-air swimming pool after hours. As they float as one, suspended under the night sky in the quietness of the evening, the sequence captures the ephemeral, heady excitement of teenage love, utterly caught up in the moment, consequences forgotten.

Approximately half an hour into Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, I realized these scenes are the core of the film. Denji and Reze’s romantic tale took center stage, and every bit of contextual information and backstories previously known from the series’ first season turned out to be mostly irrelevant. Although it is a canonical entry within the franchise, Reze Arc provides a easier starting place for first-time viewers — regardless of they haven’t seen its prior content. This method has its benefits, but it simultaneously limits a portion of the tension of the movie’s story.

Developed by the original creator, Chainsaw Man chronicles Denji, a debt-ridden Devil Hunter in a universe where demons embody specific dangers (ranging from concepts like getting older and Darkness to specific horrors like cockroaches or World War II). After being betrayed and killed by the criminal syndicate, Denji makes a pact with his faithful devil-dog, his pet, and returns from the dead as a chainsaw-human hybrid with the power to completely destroy fiends and the terrors they signify from reality.

Plunged into a violent conflict between devils and hunters, Denji encounters a new character — a alluring barista concealing a lethal mystery — sparking a tragic clash between the two where love and survival collide. The movie continues right after season 1, delving into the main character’s relationship with Reze as he wrestles with his emotions for her and his devotion to his manipulative boss, Makima, forcing him to choose between desire, loyalty, and survival.

A Self-Contained Love Story Amidst a Larger Universe

Reze Arc is inherently a romance-to-rivalry plot, with our fallible main character Denji becoming enamored with Reze right away upon meeting. He’s a isolated young man looking for love, which makes his heart unreliable and up for grabs on a first-come basis. Consequently, despite all of Chainsaw Man’s complex lore and its large cast of characters, Reze Arc is very self-contained. Director the director understands this and guarantees the love story is at the center, rather than bogging it down with unnecessary summaries for the uninitiated, especially when such details really matters to the overall plot.

Despite the protagonist’s imperfections, it’s hard not to sympathize with him. He is still a teenager, stumbling his way through a world that’s distorted his understanding of right and wrong. His intense craving for affection portrays him like a lovesick puppy, even if he’s likely to barking, biting, and causing chaos along the way. His love interest is a ideal match for Denji, an compelling femme fatale who targets her mark in our protagonist. Viewers hope to see the main character earn the affection of his affection, even if she is clearly hiding a secret from him. So when her real identity is unveiled, audiences 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 plan. As such, the stakes don’t feel as high 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, allowing little room for a romance like this amid the darker developments that followers are aware are coming soon.

Breathtaking Visuals and Artistic Execution

The film’s visuals effortlessly combine traditional animation with 3D environments, providing impressive eye candy prior to the action kicks in. From cars to small office appliances, digital assets enhance realism and texture to every scene, making the 2D characters pop strikingly. In contrast to Demon Slayer, which often showcases its digital elements and changing backgrounds, Reze Arc uses them less frequently, particularly evident during its explosive climax, where such elements, though not unappealing, are more apparent to identify. Such smooth, dynamic backgrounds render the film’s fights both visually bombastic and surprisingly easy to understand. Nonetheless, the technique shines brightest when it’s unnoticeable, improving the dynamic range and motion of the 2D animation.

Final Thoughts and Broader Implications

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc functions as a solid starting place, likely leaving first-time audiences pleased, but it also has a drawback. Presenting a standalone story restricts the tension of what should feel like a sprawling animated saga. It’s an illustration of why following up a successful television series with a movie isn’t the best strategy if it undermines the series’ general storytelling potential.

Whereas Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle succeeded by tying up multiple seasons of anime television with an grand film, and JuJutsu Kaisen 0 sidestepped the issue entirely by serving as a prequel to its well-known show, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc advances boldly, perhaps a slightly foolishly. However this does not prevent the movie from proving to be a great experience, a terrific point of entry, and a unforgettable romantic tale.