by Andrew Auclair ’29 on November 6, 2025
A&E - Gaming
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc premiered in the U.S. for the first time on Friday, Oct. 24, and simply put, was nothing short of a work of art. As a manga reader myself, I was already familiar with the tragic story this movie was set to adapt; however, my expectations were exceeded, and I was utterly mystified by the amount of effort and love poured into this feature-length animated movie. For a bit of critical background, the story of Chainsaw Man is often censured for being too grotesque and needlessly inappropriate at times, leading many potential fans to stay away from it in fear of being made uncomfortable. Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc is disturbing on purpose and is meant to portray the life of a deprived teenager who is suddenly exposed to excessive violence and manipulation. I feel that every beat of heavy subject matter in Chainsaw Man is properly treated with genuine respect in the end, and that its author, Tatsuki Fujimoto, was in the right headspace when dealing with such weighty topics.
Before the high praises I am about to shower this movie with, I feel that I should address some initially negative thoughts I had while watching this movie in theaters. There is a scene where two supposedly 16-year-olds decide to go swimming in a school pool after one urges the other into doing so. I felt a little bit uncomfortable watching this scene, as the two characters are shown to be swimming nude, in school, nonetheless, and as minors. However, now that I reflect on this movie as a whole, I believe that Studio MAPPA, the team behind the animation, handled this scene the best they could. The characters’ figures were represented by a rough outline and didn’t show any alarmingly lewd details. So, looking back, I think that they properly conveyed the themes the original manga was going for without making the general audience too uncomfortable. This scene actually turned out to be utterly magical, through the stunning visuals and simply beautiful score, “in the pool” composed by Kensuke Ushio.
To move on from my one single gripe with the movie, let me talk about how much Ioved this film. Waiting three years for the next installment in the Chainsaw Man animated series after the first installment was well worth the wait. This film takes the pure essence of what makes the original manga special—the zany humor and incredible action choreography—and translates that into an insane explosion of color and lights sure to capture the eyes of any viewer. Throughout the entire movie, my eyes were gripped to the intense visuals and very detailed scenes hand-drawn by Studio MAPPA.
This movie didn’t just look pretty, its subject matter and themes hit heavy and left me thinking for days after I saw it. For example, the iconic scene from the manga where Denji and Makima go theater hopping was adapted into film incredibly. The fact that Makima and Denji only felt emotion and began to cry during a seemingly unimportant scene really got to me, especially when I left the theaters and realized that the same had happened to me. In the falling action of the movie, there is a scene where Denji is shown safe and sound in his apartment once again. Approaching the door to leave, his roommate’s cat, Meowy, follows him and catches Denji’s eye. As Denji walks out the door and closes it behind him, the cat lets out a soft meow, possibly wishing him luck or simply asking for attention. Regardless, this scene caused me to shed a tear alone in the theatre. Something about this seemingly mundane encounter being placed after the insanity and high-octane action that the climax of the story held caused me to start sobbing, especially knowing what story comes next in the manga. I don’t cry often at movies, so I always find that a piece of work really moved me in some way when I do.
I don’t want to say much more about the story, as I was already familiar with the incredible narrative Fujimoto cooked up; also, because I don’t want to spoil anything else about this movie. Please, I beg, if you’re open to watching an animated film, give this movie the time of day. It is incredible and is sure to change your perspective on anime in film forever.
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc was truly emotional, colorful, and an absolute cinematic masterpiece.