The Small Particulars in ‘Chainsaw Man

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc launched this 12 months. We beloved it a normal amount. And ever because it hit digital platforms, Mappa’s adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s madcap manga a couple of boy with a chainsaw for arms and a head has felt virtually unlawful to personal and watch everytime you need.

Naturally, after rewatching the movie roughly 10 instances (chump numbers, we all know), we’ve uncovered small particulars that make an already phenomenal movie actually even higher upon rewatch. So listed here are 5 small particulars about Reze Arc which have our brains in a perpetual loop of manufacturing joyful and melancholic chemical substances.

All of the references, cheeky animation sequences, and cute influence frames

Reze Arc suits a bunch of rad moments in each innocuous and apparent locations. Key amongst them are neat references to Fujimoto’s other works, Goodbye Eri and his one-shot 17-21 as posters throughout the opening music; influence frames displaying Pochita’s giant orange doggo face; and a black-and-white sequence that for rattling positive put the Uzumaki anime’s one good episode to shame.

In some way, the movie manages to go above and past with a litany of film references with out feeling spinoff, whereas additionally honoring Fujimoto’s unbridled love of cinema—one thing the 2022 anime’s opening did brilliantly. Amongst Reze Arc‘s popular culture references are nods to:

• Constantine
• Bande à half
• Us
• 28 Days Later
• Sallie Gardner at a Gallop
• Saving Non-public Ryan
• Sharknado
• Blue Spring
• Leon: The Skilled
• No Nation for Previous Males
• Battle Royale

Reze’s reluctance to battle Denji to the dying

You don’t must be a genius to discern that the Bomb Satan, aka Reze, makes lots of explosions within the Chainsaw Man film. It’s such an apparent level of the movie that the official X/Twitter account posted a teaser displaying simply what number of explosions she used. With literal bombast in animation being a key promoting level for influence body and sakuga lovers of anime, Fujimoto sharing the small element within the companion booklet for Japanese audiences that she really feels immense pain whenever she explodes, and that she prefers to keep away from battle, provides an entire new layer of texture to her as a personality.

When you may watch it time and again, the explosions are UNLIMITED.

Be one of many first to convey residence the anime occasion that audiences are raving about. Sub and dub variations of Chainsaw Man – The Film: Reze Arc are (cont) https://t.co/3naL4DMY5v pic.twitter.com/0u1vtiZMw2

— Chainsaw Man EN (@Chainsaw_EN) December 9, 2025

With that context in thoughts, when she pulls the pin from her choker necklace, exploding herself into her Bomb Satan type (a personality design the manga has but to prime); propels herself ahead in combustive bursts; or blows her head off to throw like a grenade, it’s an immensely painful act of ardour for Reze.

Having that every one be spurred by her feeling rejected for placing herself in danger, understanding he labored for satan hunters, and asking Denji to run away along with her—with the added sting that Makima (whose motives the anime has but to disclose, however the film hints at being probably the most untoward) is the rationale why Reze would harm herself to not less than kill her darling—is romantic in a messed-up approach. And boy, does she put Denji in a blender all the film.

However in freeze-framing moments of the movie the place she’s working the handfuls with Denji, Mappa went out of its option to showcase that Reze was nonetheless avoiding hurting Denji even when she was beating his ass from ass to urge for food to the purpose the place he’d attempt to rev his engine, believing he was cooked preemptively.

She’s kicking him in his legs, utilizing her forearms and the palms of her fingers in lots of situations that’ll absolutely harm, however understanding he can regenerate, the one factor that’ll kill him is taking his coronary heart. In an influence body, we will see that she avoids piercing even when she transforms her fist right into a missile, piercing his ribcage. It’s all very romantic, we swear.

The pool scene

The pool scene will most likely be primed for dissection till the warmth dying of the universe. It’s an intimate scene during which Reze teaches Denji how one can swim, a life ability that’ll assist him survive. Apart from it being a racy scene the place they skinny dipped, it additionally leans into the vulnerability of the entire second—a second during which she drops her manic pixie dream lady veneer to voice real disappointment about Denji being pleased with a bare-minimum existence. An existence, thoughts you, that she additionally feels trapped in as a baby soldier.

That, coupled with their second being juxtaposed by the picture of a spider ensnaring a butterfly in its internet (a intelligent analogue of their entire relationship), just for each to be killed by a tsunami, is as on-the-nose a metaphor for his or her summer time romance as any. Seeing Denji take a second to smell the chlorine on his pores and skin, a sensation he’s by no means felt earlier than as a result of he’s by no means been in a pool, is heartwarming to rewatch each time.

And regardless of Reze claiming on the finish of the movie that she realized to blush and that her flirting was all an act, she nonetheless voluntarily selected to place herself in a weakened state, drenching herself in water, so she couldn’t rework into the Bomb Satan to kill Denji like she claims she was out to do the entire time. Nonetheless, for a second, the scene, scored to perfection by series composer Kensuke Ushio, was good for Reze and Denji.

The countdown

You know the way workplace buildings in cities typically use their lights to jot down a vacation message for people to see as they drive by? Effectively, Reze Arc did that too, in probably the most blink-and-you’ll-miss-it approach doable. Towards the movie’s climax, Denji and Reze have a standoff the place the pair of jilted lovers slowly elevate their arms as we frantically lower forwards and backwards to them.

Within the background, an enormous constructing is counting down towards their huge “draw” second. It even stays at zero as Denji does his harebrained chain maneuver to defeat Reze. It’s most likely one of many extra minor particulars within the movie that doesn’t make logical sense, as the entire metropolis descends into disaster-film pandemonium. One can’t assume workplace employees can be cheeky sufficient to do that whereas an enormous child engulfs the city in a tsunami. Nonetheless, it’s a flourish the place the animators at Mappa clearly had enjoyable considering of each doable option to elevate the movie’s cool issue.

The lyrics and efficiency of Kenshi Yonezu and Hikaru Utada’s ‘Jane Doe’

The considered Chainsaw Man opening theme artist Kenshi Yonezu and J-pop regent Hikaru Utada working collectively on “Jane Doe,” the ending theme of Reze Arc, may trigger an anime fan’s mind to blow up. Their music options Yonezu’s gruffer voice as Denji, whereas Utada’s restrained but emotional vocals painting Reze. Because the movie’s ultimate word, the pensive love music continues to resonate with the core emotional anguish and craving of its doomed lovers, and studying extra in regards to the musicality of Utada and Yonezu’s music solely provides a layer of magnificence to the movie’s ending theme.

Issues I realized whereas voluntarily hurting myself scrolling via YouTube movies {of professional} musicians breaking down the science and artistry of their songs: the call-and-response in its bridge is much less of a duet and extra like lyrics that brush up in opposition to one another. The second after they harmonize, Yonezu continues alone, similar to Denji does on the finish of the movie.

The place are you? (I’m right here)
What are you doing? (I’ve all the time been watching over you)
Let’s fill this world with errors
Keep by my facet, let’s go have some enjoyable
The place are you?

One other factor I realized is that Utada used a vocal approach referred to as a “pop scoop” (or vocal scoop), during which a performer sings a word under the place they intend their pitch to slip up towards. Musically, their determination completely captures how Reze will placed on a shallow entrance earlier than inevitably breaking down her partitions and being earnest about her emotions for Denji.

Likewise, Yonezu would use one thing referred to as a head voice, the excessive register, whereas sometimes cracking right into a blended voice (a mix of head and a richer chest voice) when belting out his emotional lyrics all through the music.

This, too, is an ideal illustration of Denji’s wrestle to suss out the harmful emotions swelling in his coronary heart for Reze, his try and match her cadence, and his barreling into his unbridled emotional expression of them. For a personality questioning whether or not he has a coronary heart or a thoughts to assume for himself, Yonezu did an excellent job placing these messy emotions to music.

In fact, these are simply the tip of the iceberg of small particulars we’ve made a mountain out of from our rewatches of Reze Arc. Be happy to pontificate within the feedback with any neat particulars from the movie you’re presently infatuated with as we await Chainsaw Man‘s second season.

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