‘Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc’ is the bomb

By Owen Glancy

Arts & Features Editor

Watching anime rapidly rise in popularity since the COVID-19 pandemic has been a truly surreal experience. Seeing the medium go from a niche, nerdy sub-culture to a true mainstay of popular culture has been as satisfying as it has been odd. 

This feeling culminated for me when during my screening of “Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc,” I overheard two people next to me talking about their film backgrounds and how they had never even seen the show this movie is a sequel to, only for them to end up loving it anyway. 

That power to win over even people who have never watched anime before is honestly all that needs to be said about “Reze Arc’s” quality. In an absolutely stacked year for anime films, where this movie had to compete against giants like “Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle” and “Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution,” “Reze Arc” manages to come out on top of them all. 

The film follows Denji and the rest of his friends after the events of the TV show as Denji now finally feels at place in the Public Safety Devil Hunters, only for that to be interrupted when he meets a girl named Reze, who is secretly the bomb devil in disguise. 

Denji and Reze are the two main standouts here, as their chemistry feels natural and fun. Even after it’s revealed that Reze was manipulating him, you can still see that not all of their interactions were built on falsehoods - these two are still very similar. 

They aren’t the only great characters however, as Beam and the Angel Devil really get the time to shine they weren’t afforded in the show. Beam’s chaotic worship of Denji despite Denji’s obvious stupidity is hilarious and Angel’s attempts to use apathy to mask their true feelings is reminiscent of Aki’s character arc from earlier in the series. This dynamic in particular leads to an emotional scene between Aki and Angel that acts as one of the most underrated scenes in the film, and one that offers a nice break from the nearly non-stop action of the second half. 

For all the excellent characters in this film, the one that surprised me the most was Makima. In the show she fills this role of mysterious caretaker of the employees of Section 4. She’s undoubtedly kind to those under her, but she has this aura of menace to her seen in small glimpses. 

Whether it be the way she looks at someone for just a little too long, or her unsettling manner of aiding the main characters in fights from far away, or just how much everyone seems to either unconditionally love or fear her, Makima was an intentionally vague character. However, the first act of this film really peels back some of her layers. 

She and Denji’s date is basically just Makima forcing Denji to do what she wants, not really giving any thought to Denji’s own opinions. However, it’s through this movie marathon where we see Makima start to crack. She cries at such a simple scene, one that while not bombastic or grand, touched something inside her, something she doesn’t often show to others. Something that shows that while she is still vastly mysterious and may not even necessarily be on the side of the heroes, she at the very least feels and has some motivation lying underneath it all. 

While the characters are undeniably the backbone of the film, the action and animation also do their fair share of heavy lifting. From the serenely beautiful backgrounds and small character movements of the first half, to the abject chaos and insanity of the second half’s action scenes, every single frame of this film looks stunning. 

This is the rare instance of an anime film that truly goes beyond both of its source materials (the anime and manga) and reaches a level of quality so high that it leaves you wondering, “how could they possibly go any further than this?” 

“Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc” is the quintessential anime film based on an existing franchise that both elevates, and advertises the source material. Even if you’ve never watched anime, or “Chainsaw Man,” you should give this film a shot!

Rating: A+

A total BLAST