Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc (2025) Review

Fans of Japanese anime are in for a great time with Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, a relentless and hugely enjoyable adventure which never backs down when it comes to sheer action and brutality. Director Tatsuya Yoshihara, who also helmed several episodes of the Chainsaw Man anime TV series and episodes of Black Clover, has delivered a film which stays true to Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga source material while also being completely unique in its own right. Yoshihara wrote the screenplay for Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, and the film was produced by MAPPA, which also produced the Chainsaw Man anime series and the fourth season of Attack on Titan.

However, although Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc offers a very fun and fast-paced viewing experience, it needs to be said that newcomers who are unfamiliar with the Chainsaw Man franchise are likely to have a hard time following the plot. Especially since the film takes place after the first season of the anime and offers little in the way of a recap, so first timers to the franchise are likely to be lost. Either way, the story introduces us to Denji, a young man who begins dating a young woman named Makima, before demons attempt to kill them both. However, Denji has the ability to transform into Chainsaw Man, a superpowered, almost invulnerable being with chainsaws in place of his hands and head, so he clearly does not go down without a fight.

There was also a subplot involving angelic and demonic beings fighting monsters and something about the world being at risk from an emerging demon threat, but those who are already confused by the main plotline will probably just view this as a distraction. However, despite the unquestionably confusing story, Denji still proved to be a likably awkward protagonist who just wants to fit in, and his relationship with Reze unfolded in a natural and believable way, with the pair seeming like two oddly mismatched individuals who deserved to be together. Denji seems to want to spend every waking moment in the café where Reze works, much to the amusing annoyance of her boss, and Reze enjoys teasing Denji in a fun and playful way, even referring to him with a profane term on a blackboard in a farcical English lesson, with the playful insight completely going over the likable naïve Denji’s head. Moments like these helped to cement the pair’s romance as genuine and sincere, making Denji’s determination to protect Reze seem all the more genuine. Deni and Reze are respectively voiced by Kikunosuke Toya and Reina Ueda, and the chemistry between the performers was believable enough to shine through, even in the form of animation.

Needless to say, the action scenes featured in Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc were just as exhilarating and downright preposterous as you would expect, with blockbuster-level set-pieces being on display as Denji demolishes his foes, with huge levels of city-wide destruction being on display as the superpowered beings stop at nothing to obliterate each other. This is a film where a man with chainsaws for hands rides a giant flying shark into battle, so anyone who enjoys ludicrously enjoyable action spectacles will be in for a great time, and the suitably bombastic score also ensures that your senses will be constantly assaulted in a way which no doubt adds to the overall experience. Although the majority of the animation is hand-drawn, digital effects are still used throughout some of the action scenes to make it seem as though the camera was following the combatants with long shots without cutting away, and the effect was stunning to say the least. And, as you would expect for a film with the word ‘Chainsaw’ in its title, blood and gore was the order of the day. Dismemberments and fountains of exaggerated blood spray are shown at regular intervals, so horror fans will certainly get their fix.

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Arc never tries to be anything truly deep or profound, with the somewhat overly convoluted plotline essentially boiling down to a love story between two awkward individuals, with hugely ridiculous and uproarious action scenes which turn the level of mayhem up to eleven. Although the plot may be difficult to follow for newcomers to the series, the deliberately nonsensical action set-pieces and the convincing romance between the two lead characters ensured that Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc is an anime film which viewers will never forget.

Movie Rating:

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