Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc (2025) arrives at the perfect time. Anime has never been more popular on the big screen. The global release of Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle alone grossed roughly $659 million, making it both the highest-grossing Japanese film ever made and the highest-grossing international film of all time in North America. Therefore, it was only a matter of time until an anime as distinct and popular as the adaptation of mangaka Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man would also get the theatrical treatment.
Directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara and written by Hiroshi Seko, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, on the surface, appears to be a glorified “season 2” or mini-season of the anime in feature-length form. That is not entirely incorrect. Yet, Yoshihara’s film takes on a gorgeous, highly cinematic widescreen canvas with action sequences designed to make one’s eyes pop out of their skull. However, the relationship between the title characters, Denji/Chainsaw Man and Reze, is highly enticing and deserving of such a spotlight. While a slow start and an over-reliance on already having seen the first season of the anime might hamper the proceedings for some, the initiated are in for a ride beyond their wildest, gory dreams.
Chainsaw Man‘s Reze Arc Moves at a Deliberate Pace
If someone said Denji (voiced by Kikunosuke Toya originally, and Ryan Colt Levy in the English dub) was a normal 16-year-old, they would be lying. After merging with his best friend, the dog-like Chainsaw Devil Pochita, Denji became a human/demon hybrid that can sprout a chainsaw head and arms by pulling a cord on his chest. Having slayed many devils as part of Tokyo Public Safety Special Division 4, Denji is now looking for love. Despite his crush on his superior, Makima (Tomori Kusonoki, Suzie Yeung), Denji is allured by the arrival of another teen, Reze (Reina Ueda, Alex Tipton). As it turns out, his new romantic interest is holding a secret that could turn Tokyo upside down.
Courtesy of MAPPA
Hiroshi Seko’s script is highly deliberate, in ways both great and slightly frustrating. Starting with the good, the story takes its time to naturally unfold, allowing the audience to become reacquainted with Denji’s state of mind. Season 1 of the anime crammed so much in its twelve episodes that there was hardly time to soak in the emotional beats. Reze Arc does not have that problem, as viewers get an intimate feel for Denji’s self-doubt and his yearning for someone to love him. An early sequence where Denji and Makima go to the movies and share a tear together is as quietly affecting as the moment they react to.
People Shouldn’t See this Chainsaw Man Movie Without Having Seen the First Season of the Anime
The slow-burning of Denji and Reze’s romance is handled exquisitely. Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc often feels like a charming and sweet coming-of-age story. Then, a major reveal happens, and the mostly action-free first act gives way to a theatrical anime experience that slams down on the gas without letting up. Transforming the almost slice-of-life atmosphere into something frenetic, sinister, and increasingly consequential gives the film a ferocious pace.
Courtesy of MAPPA
Nonetheless, it must be said how this feature-length narrative leaves some aspects by the wayside. Power (Fairouz Ai, Sarah Wiedenheft), a blood fiend who was a major part of season one, doesn’t get enough time to shine. Meanwhile, characters like the Angel Devil (Maaya Uchida, Casey Mongillo) are given disproportionate amounts of screen time, considering their irrelevance to the central plot. Additionally, the elephant in the room is that this movie offers no outside context for newcomers, a notion that even extends to the last 5 minutes, which clearly lead into Chainsaw Man‘s next chapter. Is this a storytelling flaw, or merely a function of theatrical anime going forward?
Studio MAPPA Provides Face-Melting Action Sequences
To be honest, it might not even matter to newer fans when everything looks this good. It’s not enough to say that Japanese animation studio MAPPA have outdone themselves, as Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc is, visually, the animated film to beat this year. Moments like Reze and Denji kissing in front of fireworks offer picturesque beauty. A scene where a pawn of a devil stands in a decrepit bathroom evokes the past work of David Fincher. The design of the main villain, the mysterious Bomb Devil, looks like a nightmarish combination of a xenomorph, a cyborg, and a demented serial killer. Their bomb powers, demonstrated through explosion after explosion after explosion, make for a total face melter.
Courtesy of MAPPA
Few animated movies, anime or not, can top the level of action on display here. Denji vs. the Bomb Devil is a masterpiece of a duel that pits a teenager armed with chainsaws and a will to live against a nearly insurmountable threat. So much color and cinematic fury is on the screen that it almost feels like your theater projector could combust at any moment. A fight where Denji uses his chainsaw blades to ride on a shark-like fiend, only to then swing around a tornado devil like Spider-Man and lay waste to everything in sight, copious blood and all, perfectly encapsulates the “throw all caution to the wind” approach Reze Arc flaunts in its otherworldly action scenes.
Reze is One of the Most Memorable Anime Characters of 2025
Of course, what holds Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc together is the chemistry between Reze and Denji. Two outcasts, albeit for very different reasons, who find comfort in each other. When that comfort is cruelly taken away, Reze Arc becomes far more compelling and emotionally gripping than expected. Voiced impeccably by Kikunosuke Toya and Reina Ueda — as this review is based on the original Japanese version with English subtitles — Denji and Reze carry such incredible weight that, amidst all the action, their emotions are always at the forefront. Reze, in particular, is one of the more dynamic and fascinating female leads in the 2025 anime landscape; she is all that lingers in your mind after the credits roll.
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc might get hit with the dreaded moniker of “made for the fans.” In a way, it’s apt, due to its strict continuity and lack of recap for newcomers. For those already familiar with the anime, though, Tatsuya Yoshihara’s movie is an utter triumph. The masterful animation from MAPPA creates the best visual experience currently in theaters, with action loud and powerful enough to blow the roof off. Moreover, the two leads firmly lock in the film’s heart. This Chainsaw Man film feels like getting pummeled in the face, and you can’t help but keep getting back up to see what happens next.
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc hits theaters on October 24!
Release Date: October 24, 2025.
Directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara.
Screenplay by Hiroshi Seko.
Based on the original story Chainsaw Man by Tatsuki Fujimoto; serialized in Shueisha’s Shonen Jump+
Executive Producer: Makoto Kimura.
Japanese Voice Cast: Kikunosuke Toya, Reina Ueda, Fairouz Ai, Tomori Kusunoki, Shogo Sakata, Shiori Izawa, Karin Takahashi, Maaya Uchida, Natsuki Hanae, & Yūya Uchida.
English Dub Voice Cast: Ryan Colt Levy, Alexis Tipton, Sarah Wiedenheft, Suzie Yeung, Reagan Murdock, Lindsay Seidel, Bryn Apprill, Casey Mongillo, Derick Snow, & Josh Bangle.
Cinematographer: Teppei Ito.
Composer: Kensuke Ushio.
Production Company: MAPPA.
Distributors: Toho (Japan), Crunchyroll & Sony Pictures Releasing (worldwide).
Runtime: 100 minutes.
Rated R.
