【ACG MOVIE】Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc – Blood and Romance, Absurdity and Art

The beloved manga artist Tatsuki Fujimoto, hailed as a genius, has finally brought his masterwork Chainsaw Man to the big screen with “Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc” (劇場版『チェンソーマン レゼ篇』). This arc represents one of the most critically acclaimed chapters from the original manga, serving as a crucial turning point in the first part of the Chainsaw Man story structure and marking a significant growth phase for protagonist Denji. It’s a chapter where the absurd coexists with pure love, where cruelty and tenderness intertwine. The film has already surpassed 2 billion yen at the Japanese box office and is targeting 5 billion yen, while its theme song “IRIS OUT” has dominated music charts with overwhelming momentum.

At the time of writing, the film holds an 8.83 rating on MyAnimeList, 8.7 on IMDB, 4.1/5 stars on Eiga.com, 8.3 on Bangumi, and 8.3 on our local WMOOV platform. The film has received consistently high ratings across major film review platforms.

Most importantly, the movie version rectified the mistakes of the first season TV anime and truly grasped the essence of Chainsaw Man’s appeal. While Chainsaw Man’s storyboarding, pacing, and narrative all resemble bloody B-grade films, it is not merely that – treating it like a conventional movie completely misses the point. This film version replaced the director with Tatsuya Yoshihara, who successfully captured the “cinematic storyboarding with manga pacing” combined with a touch of “roughness,” plus theater-grade action sequences. Finally, the flavor was right.

Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga possesses a unique “jumpiness” in its narrative rhythm – something that’s both cinematic yet not cinematic, subtle in its approach. That sudden burst of surprise/shock is precisely the charm of his work, and this film version excellently captures this quality. Initially, viewers might feel “Huh? Did something get skipped here?” but once you adapt to this technique and its lightning-fast disconnected pacing, it becomes irresistibly addictive – a high-speed aesthetic belonging to our era.

[Spoilers ahead]

The Reze Arc’s core theme lies in deeply analyzing Denji’s inner world. From initially seeking mere survival, he gained employment, recognition, and housemates with whom he had complicated but subtly affectionate relationships (Power and Aki Hayakawa), achieving the “normal life” he had always craved. Denji’s life aspirations had evolved. In the Reze Arc, it becomes a choice of pure love, somewhat resembling Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs – once people secure basic food and survival safety, they turn their attention to higher-level needs: love, belonging, and intimate relationships.

The chapter’s core line is Denji’s: “Everyone wants the Chainsaw Devil’s heart, but no one wants my heart.” Ironically, in the Reze Arc, there appears someone who, initially approaching him for mission purposes, ultimately genuinely wants his heart. Although Reze never directly reveals her feelings in the end, many viewers, like myself, felt during the scene where she turns back to the café that she had truly fallen in love with Denji. Of course, this was something a certain someone wouldn’t allow, resulting in an ending that seems sudden but makes perfect sense within the overall story.

Bloody, cruel, full of scheming romantic traps, yet at its core lies the most genuine and pure love story. Despite being a B-grade bloody film plot, it carries a strong literary and romantic sensibility, perfectly showcasing the appeal of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s original work.

Voice actress Reina Ueda was truly the perfect choice for Reze – this prolific performer genuinely suits this role that combines madness with tenderness. I doubt anyone would want to hear other language dubs. I’d also like to discuss Tomori Kusunoki – when she was cast as Denji’s voice in the TV version, there was considerable controversy, even though her casting was reportedly approved by Tatsuki Fujimoto himself. The result was that even in the TV version, she was genuinely well-suited, but the TV version’s production issues were unfortunate. Her performance in this film version is also excellent, though she was completely overshadowed by Reina Ueda’s performance. After all, Reze is the main character of this arc – there’s no helping it.