The Dark Herald Recommends Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc
Back in the 1990s my Japanese girlfriend would drag me out to some very weird-ass movies. She was an odd one herself. Very artsy and had minimalist tattoos. Ink on a girl was a big no-no in 1990s Japan. The country is still uncool with it today, but 30 years ago was a different and much more dire beast. Hell, she was even dating a gai-jin – me. She dragged me out to see showings of The Red Spectacles and Tetsuo II: Bodyhammer, a movie about a guy who had weapons exploding out of his body in incredibly gory fashion. When she broke up with me, it was surprisingly traditional, a very distinct, indirect, and unmistakable gesture. I knew it was over, I thanked her and faded out of her life.
I was reminded of all these things this weekend when I saw Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc.
A Continuation, Not an Introduction
This anime movie is a continuation of a TV series that is currently in production, like Demon Slayer and Spy X Family. And like those films, this one is a jump in the deep end. Unless you already know what’s going on, then you won’t know what’s going on.
The established characters, their (now) advanced relationships, the setting, and the supernatural rules of their world. You have to know all of that to get much of anything out of Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc. If you don’t, this review is over for you - The Dark Herald Does Not Recommend.
However, if you are already into the series, then this is for you.
SPOILER ALERT for all the good that will do. If you’re a fan, you know the famous Reze Arc already.
Quick Refresher Because I’m Obligated
Chainsaw Man, as the name implies, is not the feel-good hit of the year. It’s a mixture of jet-black comedy, extensive body-horror, a little but not much in the way in the way of sex-appeal, and quite of bit of melancholy. It’s meant to speak to young people who feel isolated because they are.
First the setting: Everyone in this world knows that the supernatural is real because it is frequently trying to kill you. There is no attempt to keep it quiet by the authorities.
Country Mouse, City Mouse
The movie uses Aesop’s fable of the Country Mouse and City Mouse extensively. If you’re familiar with this story, then you know the main protagonist, Denji, is the country mouse. He started life in about as deep a poverty pit as you can find, and then he dies. His pet chainsaw devil puppy bonds with him, bringing him back to life and giving him chainsaw-based superpowers. When he pulls the rip cord on his chest, chainsaws explode out of his body. It’s punk body horror.
He’s lonely and wants love. The girls in his life aren’t great for this. One of them is undead and insane. One is overpowered and hyper-controlling. One is a devil who looks like an angel – and it turns out he’s a dude and he’s not into that. They are all government employees whose job is hunting devils. Their job sucks because most of them, like Denji, are laboring under a sword of Damocles. If they quit, they will be “retired” in the Bladerunner sense of the word.
The tone is brutal comedy, wrapped by tragic nihilism. The central theme is exploitation as the price of survival. It’s a huge hit with Gen Z – Who’d have guessed?!?!
Why Theatrical?
The Reze Arc was just what the name implies, a story arc from the manga that would have been a three-episode run on the TV show, but was filled out with some extended action scenes and got shoveled into the theaters. No recaps, no primers, if you don’t know what’s going on - you won’t know what’s going on. It’s a continuation, not an intro.
This is now a pretty typical stratedgy by the anime companies, and it’s absolutely brutal on the production staff. But it does make sense. In the old days, a TV show would stay in constant production with no seasonal break for reruns. Now, there are seasons with about a year or so in between them, but that means you have to rebuild interest that wandered off. In America, they just spend a shit ton on marketing to make the return an event, like you’re seeing with Wednesday and Stranger Things. This is a straight loss. The anime studios grind out a 90-minute episode and shove it in the theaters. They still have to spend money on the marketing, but it’s not a straight loss. It might even turn a profit, although something like Infinity Castle is an outlier.
There are some big-screen benefits. The sound of Denji’s chainsaws revving into life now feels like feels like muscle car’s V8 thundering at you. It finally has real weight to it.
The Plot
Denji gets caught in a downpour and ducks out of it. An apparently random girl ducks in with him. She is one of those very offbeat but quite vivacious Japanese girls that it’s hard not to have an instant crush on (the 1990s Dark Herald empathizes).
She invites him to the coffee shop where she waitresses. He starts hanging out with her daily.
This is a famous arc from the manga because it’s the closest thing to a normal romance Denji ever had. His adolescence was stolen from him, first by his extreme poverty and then by being drafted into a fight against oni.
The manga’s Reza Arc also dipped a toe into ero-guro, but the eroticism here is strongly and strangely muted. Fair enough, the rest of the title isn’t known for it. And it distracts from the main plot arc. Denji’s romance with this girl is doomed from the start. It was never going to work out for him. Even if she had been a normal girl, if he tried to leave the Organization to live a normal life, they would have to execute him.
Of course, Reze wasn’t a normal girl. She was a spider drawing him into her web.
The Carnage Arrives
It does take a while to get to the ultraviolent Tokyo battlefield, but it doesn’t disappoint. If you’re a fan of the show, this is why you paid for your ticket.
The punk body horror is incredibly graphic; David Cronenberg would be proud of his children. Explosions and chainsaw revs will make fillings drop out of your teeth.
At the end, he’s still in love with Reze, even though she betrayed him and did her level best to kill him.
What happened to Denji is a by-product of the growing trust the Organization has been showing him. He had enough rope to hang himself. But he now has friends that are willing to risk their lives to protect him. Which is the only reason he survives when Reze tries to literally, instead of just metaphorically — tear out his heart.
Supporting Cast
Aki is still the nice guy cursed to tragedy. Beam (the shark-dude) is introduced in this movie. He is as portrayed in the manga, comically loyal to Denji, almost more dog than person. The girl, Power, is almost completely absent in this film, sorry if she’s your favorite.
Makima is also not in this in any film in any serious way. Although she does show up at the end.
Reze had actually fallen for Denji, too. She was running to the cafe to meet up with him so they could go off together. And Makima caught up with her - she was, as ever, sympathetic as she ripped Reze apart; killing with kindness is her nastiest weapon.
Box Office & Release Context
Chainsaw Man topped the box office charts this weekend at $18 million. For an anime film with no real advertising budget, that’s pretty impressive. Disney’s Tron Ares came in fifth. It’s an impressive start, but it’s not going to beat Demon Slayer – In fairness, no one thought it would.
After Code White and Infinity Castle, it is becoming obvious that fall has become anime season at American movie theaters.
Direction & Execution
The direction was a mixed bag. The action scenes, which are the movie’s primary reason for existence, are strong, thundering, and kinetic. It is also high-impact body horror with gore spread far and wide.
The romance is very slow-paced. Enough so that it becomes a drag on the film during the middle. It feels like it was being drawn out to fill-in for a theatrical run time.
And some of the directorial choices didn’t land. It would have worked better if Reze had been shown shoulders-on-up during her skinny dipping scene, rather than going full topless but not drawing the nipples. The choice was off-putting and distracting.
Regardless, the action and body horror is why the audience showed up, and that didn’t disappoint. And the CG integration was surprisingly smooth.
In Summary
This movie did touch me more than I expected. It reminded me of my own doomed Japanese romance — the girl was strange, beautiful, and just intriguing enough that I didn’t notice I was falling until I’d already hit rock bottom. The inevitable ending was baked in from the start.
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc is a continuation, not an introduction, to the gleeful grotesqueries of Denji and his blood-splattered buddies in the Public Safety Devil Hunters. If you’re not already invested, the movie will make zero effort to catch you up — the plot logic, character bonds, and supernatural rules are assumed knowledge. But if you are a fan, this arc delivers exactly what it promised on the page: a tragic, almost-romance, a cruel reminder that Denji isn’t allowed nice things, and a showcase of punk body horror loud enough to rattle your molars. The chainsaws roar like hot rods, the fights are kinetic carnage, and Beam — the shark dude — steals the show with his deranged, unearned, and absolute loyalty to Denji.
Pacing issues surface during the slower, drawn-out romantic setup, and censor-bait body shots feel oddly prudish for a movie that is a viscera fest. Yet when the battlefield erupts, the film hits hard — flying limbs-and-viscera hard — and the final blow lands with exactly the cold brutality that defines Chainsaw Man. This is not for the faint-hearted or the uninitiated. But for fans of the series, this is a don’t miss.
The Dark Herald Recommends: With Confidence (3.9 / 5)
Finally got to see Code White the other day - loved it. Though the one we saw had enough of a recap over the basics I think even someone not in the know of SXF could grasp the basics.
I'll admit I've seen chainsaw man season 1 and I'm still not sure I understand the rules of the world. I won't deny it's entertaining, but I definitely feel a generation gap in this one.
Interestingly enough, this movie shot up to #2 most highly rated all-time on My Anime List (only behind Frieren, and above longtime former #1 Full Metal Alchemist: Brotherhood), so this must have struck a chord with some real anime nerds.