Review: Chainsaw Man slashes his way to the big screen with lots of blood (and heart)

I spent the past couple weeks catching up on Chainsaw Man, the popular anime series that debuted a few years ago. I knew the movie was coming out, and since there were only twelve episodes to catch up on, I decided to do my due diligence rather than jump in blind like I have with some recent theatrical anime movies from the likes of Blue Lock and Haikyu!. 

The show follows a sixteen year-old boy named Denji who's been dealt a shit hand, and whose luck (maybe) turns around once he fuses with his chainsaw-dog devil friend and becomes the titular hero. Now, Denji is immortal (or close to it), with the ability to grow chainsaws out of his head and arms, which he uses to fight against devils, which are monsters that cause havoc, kill people, etc. He joins a special task force led by the beautiful and mysterious Makima. He works alongside the stoic swordsman Aki, who can catch small glimpses of the future, and the hot-headed devil-girl Power, who loves to torture him at every turn.

It's a super fun show, and an often gnarly one. As you might expect, a chainsaw-limbed hero causes a lot of blood to flow, and he faces off with so many creative foes who have similarly wild powers, which means a lot of explosive action scenes with limbs flying, people dying, and other violent shenanigans.

I don't know why the show hasn't continued until now, or why a movie was the next step, but I'm happy to report that Chainsaw Man -- The Movie: Reze Arc is a fantastic continuation of the franchise, a solid jumping-in point for newcomers, and one of my favorite movies of the year. It does a great job of delivering plenty of what makes the show so great while also doing enough to make the movie stand on its own. This is a complete arc, so you don't feel like it could've or should've just been dumped as a few episodes; it works well as a movie, and feels like a movie. And the story it's telling is on a different wavelength from what's come before, while still feeling like an organic next narrative step.

Smartly, shortly after the movie begins, the core dynamic of the show is broken up. Usually, Denji and Power are partnered up, but in one of the film's first scenes, Power is sidelined. Yes, this is a bummer because she's one of the standouts of the show. Of course I missed her during. But it's important to get her out of the way so the movie can tell this story and, while doing so, give Denji room to grow as a character.

You see, Denji and Power have a pretty contentious relationship. At the end of the day, I think you can call them buddies, but they are so quick to butt heads, fight, bicker, and even full-out attack each other, that when they're sharing the screen, there isn't much oxygen left in the room for anyone else. Watching them together is one of the top-line joys of the show, and that the movie works so well without it shows how much thought went into crafting this story, and just how good Chainsaw Man is even beyond the Denji-Power pairing.

While Power is being looked over by Makima, Denij pairs up with Beam, the Shark Fiend who appeared briefly toward the end of the show. Beam is a fun alternative to Power in that he worships the ground Denji walks on. A far cry from Power's constant bullying.

While out on a patrol, Denji and Beam get caught in a downpour. Denji dashes into a phonebooth, where he's shortly joined by a bubbly and kawaii girl named Reze, who works at a cafe down the street. An important thing to know about Denji, who, again, is sixteen, is that he is a very horny guy. So much of his motivation comes from wanting to go on dates, touch boobs, kiss, have sex, etc. Almost all of his motivation, really. Very true to teenage reality. And he's hopelessly devoted to Makima, who's really taken him under her wing, and helped him to realize that he still has a heart, despite being a newborn devil.

But also, when another attractive woman starts showing him attention, he is basically powerless before that force.

Now, as soon as Reze showed up on screen, I perked up, like, wait...why is this movie named after her? Of course, I started spinning theories, some of which panned out, some of which didn't, but I'll just say she's a great character, and watching her relationship with Denji develop is really sweet. I was pleasantly surprised by how emotional this movie was. One of the main things driving the bad guys in Chainsaw Man is the desire to take possession of Chainsaw's heart (why, we don't yet know). In this movie, Denji, in his human form, is wondering why no one wants his heart. For all his shortcomings -- maybe too horny, pretty dumb, etc. -- he's a good guy, super sweet, and worthy of love. Here, apart from Power and in the glow of a new crush, he starts to believe that himself, maybe.

Of course, a big-screen anime movie can't all be kisses and flowers, and sure enough, there's a big new baddie for Denji and crew to face off with: the Bomb Devil, one of the lackeys of the still-unseen biggest-bad, the Gun Devil. It feels like the whole series is an arc leading to the Gun Devil, so the Bomb Devil feels like an important step along the way.

And she's an extremely threatening one. She kind of looks like a boobie-licious Xenomorph who uses explosions to fly around like she's wearing jet boots. She isn't alone, also getting an assist from an extremely hideous monstrosity known as Typhoon, which is like a giant octopus/baby thing that can control the weather? It's so gross to look at.

But Denji isn't alone either. Along with Beam, whose shark antics are so much fun in action, Aki is along for the ride, along with the Angel Devil, a really compelling character who really gets to shine here. He has a tragic past himself, and isn't sure if he wants to stick with Division 4 in their fight against devils, or if he would rather just die himself. He's a bit detached, hard to read, but by the end of the movie, you have more of a feel for him, and I hope to see more in the future.

As you might expect, this has a pretty spectacular action finale, and the gorgeous animation goes to eleven and beyond as the fight crescendoes and intensifies. This movie is fucking gorgeous, accompanied by chest-bursting music, perfect sound design, everything is just completely right. And the final fight is so well-structured, with various stages and combinations of participants, always upping the stakes, the ante. It's thrilling.

And, once the dust settles, the film allows itself to end on a well-earned emotional note, one that really ties this up as a truly self-contained arc, one that anyone can jump in on and follow easily enough, although I obviously would recommend watching the show first.

I'm so glad to have been baptized into the Chainsaw Man fandom this month, and I'm glad that this movie -- my motivation to catch up -- proved to be worth it. Now I join everyone else in impatiently awaiting what's next.