The Chainsaw Man TV anime was an intriguing experience, yet despite my admiration for Ryu Nakayama’s gritty vision, the persistent gloom and restrictive approach ultimately didn’t resonate with me, especially as it dampened the vibrancy of the story’s outrageous elements. The Tatsuya Yoshihara-directed (Chainsaw Man action director, Black Clover series director [later chief director], Wistoria: Wand and Sword Season 1) Chainsaw Man: The Movie — Reze Arc isn’t an anarchic contrast to its predecessor; it often feels well-crafted but conventional. However, I can confidently say that I appreciated its comparatively greater sense of liberation.
By default, Reze Arc is brighter, more saturated, and a bit shinier than the series. The details of its character designs have been slightly toned down as well. The movie is filled with well-animated character acting, a technical aspect that makes the titular Reze captivating to watch as she interacts with protagonist Denji (Reina Ueda does a commendable job too, making the character feel both sincere and artificial, playfully casual yet cunning), but it avoids being bogged down by an obsession with realism.
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© 藤本タツキ/集英社・MAPPA -
© 藤本タツキ/集英社・MAPPA
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© 藤本タツキ/集英社・MAPPA
© 藤本タツキ/集英社・MAPPA
© 藤本タツキ/集英社・MAPPA
© 藤本タツキ/集英社・MAPPAIf Reze Arc maintained this course from beginning to end, I would still prefer it over the original series, but it could feel somewhat conservative in its own right. Fortunately, there are several scenes that break away to embrace their own distinct styles. One envelops the aftermath of a battle in a striking, blood-red sky, while another saturates a villain’s lair with a sickly, murderous green that ventures into horror/slasher/thriller territory. A nighttime pool scene (which seemed to have faced some cuts by the Malaysian cinema chain I attended, to my dismay) captures a dreamy, otherworldly blue. Later, an action shot drains colors except for the launched attack and anything lit by it, while also providing an inverted look for the monochrome sections. More than two weeks have passed since I viewed the film, yet I still reflect on these scenes and a couple of other similarly inspired segments.
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Though I began this article by comparing Reze Arc with the Chainsaw Man TV anime, I also thought frequently about another anime during my screening: DAN DA DAN. Despite the initial impressions offered by the trailers and promotional visuals, that anime turned out to be quite limited in its expression, assigning a single color to each yokai/alien/otherworldly element, resulting in a quickly repetitive and stale color palette for its action scenes. Reze Arc is not an avant-garde project, but it manages to remind me that, on occasion, embracing the flexibility of being an anime is beneficial.
