Name: The movie continues the plot of an annoying loser MC but keeps and expands on the way the anime made it interesting+fun
Item: Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc
Rating: 77
Author: Gruesomnia

Waifra

The movie continues the plot of an annoying loser MC but keeps and expands on the way the anime made it interesting+fun · Waifora

I was torn apart between giving this a 7 or an 8. Good thing that AniList provides me with a 1-100 score system for the review.

On one hand, the movie was rather short, I didn't like the opening song and the amount of cringe the characters spit out was too much for my tastes. It's the standard type of idiocy that a lot of authors seem to be very enthusiastic about to the point I wouldn't have enough fingers to count each anime like that and I don't even watch it that much.

On the other hand, there's a lot in the movie that would make it worth your time. Makima keeps the charm of a mysterious character that has yet to reveal her powers, which makes you lock in each time she's in the frame to make sure you don't miss on any hints from the author about what she is capable of. Also, secretly glazing at a girl you're hanging out with at the cinema is relatable. At least for me. I hope I'm not the only one like that.

Spoiler, click to view

I also appreciated how Reze actually acts as a normal character instead of being a "pickme" girl that falls in crush with the main character only because he's a loser and stuff. Because that's the type of guys girls actually want to be around with, just like some shows make it up only to cater to their audience. I believe the end scene only further proves it because Reze's hangouts with Denji over the course of a considerably long time genuinely could've build a relationship that is needed in order for something to "click" between two people.

It breaks my heart to realize how good Reze's backstory actually is because a significant part of it being Reze's song was completely lost in Ukrainian dub. It's a shame we don't have an option to watch the anime subbed but with original voice acting. In Ukrainian dub the only thing that tells the viewer about Reze's origin are a few replicas of another character.

The small screen time that was given to Power is rather insulting to such an iconic character. Even though this movie is called Reze arc for a reason, even though it must be about Reze. I bet that if you do a survey about this, more people would recall Power first than the name of the main character. That's a half-joke, of course.

The art style keeps the bar high. Something that is becoming more and more the norm in the industry. I hope the animators get paid well.

I should also mention how good the soundtrack is. It fully accomplishes its role of supporting the visuals to relay certain feelings and emotions and is one of the few ones I will be listening to afterwards. A lot of the tracks have fitting and interesting transitions to accompany the general twisted atmosphere where throughout the movie Denji caters to whoever treats him well instead of choosing a side in the conflict, unlike everyone else. The everyone else part is often reminded to us as the viewer, though. The last track, "the city mouse and the country mouse", is a perfect example of it.