Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc released this year. We loved it at a regular rate. And since it hit digital platforms, Mappa’s adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s madcap manga about a boy with a saw for arms and a head feels almost illegal to own and watch whenever you want.
Naturally, after rewatching the film about 10 times (chump numbers, we know), we’ve picked up little details that make an already amazing film even better on rewatches. So here are five little details about The Reze Arc which have our brains in an endless loop of producing happy and melancholic chemicals.
All the cues, cheeky animation sequences, and frames have a great effect
The Reze Arc it fits many times in both innocent and public places. The key between them good references to Fujimoto’s other works, Goodbye Eri and one image of him 17-21 as posters during the opening song; impact frames showing the face of Pochita’s large orange dog; and black and white sequence that for damn sure put the Uzumaki One good anime episode to be ashamed of.
Somehow, the film manages to go above and beyond with a barrage of movie references without feeling out of place, while also honoring Fujimoto’s unbridled love of cinema—something that the opening of the 2022 anime did very well. In the middle The Reze ArcPop culture references point to:
- Constantine
- Bande à part
- Us
- 28 days later
- Sallie Gardner in Gallop
- Saving Private Ryan
- Sharknado
- Blue Spring
- Leon: Expert
- No Country for Old Men
- Battle Royale
Reze’s reluctance to fight Denji to the death
You don’t have to be a genius to understand that the Bomb Devil, aka Reze, does a lot of explosions in the area. The Chainsaw Man the movie. It’s an obvious point of the film that the official X/Twitter account posted a screenshot showing how many fireworks he used. Since the real bombast in animation is the main selling point of the impact frame and sakuga lovers of anime, Fujimoto shared small details in the companion book for the Japanese audience that he actually feels a lot of pain whenever there is an explosion, and that he prefers to avoid conflict, adding a new layer of texture to him as a character.
If you can watch it over and over again, the explosion is LIMITLESS.
Be the first to bring home an anime event that audiences are drooling over. Sub and minor versions of Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc are (continued) pic.twitter.com/0u1vtiZMw2
— Chainsaw Man EN (@Chainsaw_EN) December 9, 2025
With that context in mind, when he pulls out a pin from his necklace, it explodes in his Devil Bomb form (a character design the manga has yet to come up with); it progresses to a fiery explosion; or blow his head to throw it like a bomb, it is the most painful act of Reze’s love.
Since all of that is fueled by his feeling of rejection by risking himself, knowing that he is working for the devil hunters, and asking Denji to run away with him—plus Makima (whose motives are not revealed in the anime, but the movie reveals that they are very dangerous) is the reason why Reze hurts himself to at least kill his lover—and falls in love with him. And boy, does he put Denji in a blender the whole movie.
But in the tense moments of the film where he runs a lot with Denji, Mappa goes out of his way to show that Reze still avoided hurting Denji even if he beat his ass from ass to stomach until he tried to restart his engine, believing that he was cooked prematurely.
He kicks it in his legs, using the palms of his hands many times which will really hurt, but he knows that he can’t regenerate, the only thing that will kill him is to take his heart. In the impact frame, we see that he avoids piercing even when he turns his fist into an arrow, piercing his rib. It’s all very romantic, we swear.
Pool area
The pool area will probably be prepared to be insulated until the heat kills the entire area. A close scene where Reze teaches Denji how to swim, a life skill that will help him survive. Aside from that raw scene where they’re skinny-dipping, it also leans towards vulnerability every time—the moment she drops her manic pixie dream girl veneer to express genuine sadness about Denji being happy with her thin existence. You were there, remember, that you also feel trapped in them like a child soldier.
That, coupled with their moment of being linked by the image of a spider holding a butterfly in a web (a clever analogue for their entire relationship), only to have them both killed in a tsunami, is as on-the-nose a metaphor for their summer romance as any. Seeing Denji take a moment to smell the chlorine on his skin, a feeling he’s never felt before because he’s never been in a pool, it’s always fun to watch.
And despite Reze saying at the end of the movie that he learned to be shy and that his flirting was all an act, he willingly chose to put himself in a vulnerable position, throwing himself into the water, so he couldn’t transform into a Bomb Devil to kill Denji as he said he intended all along. However, for a while, the scene, which was perfected by series creator Kensuke Ushio, was perfect for Reze and Denji.
Counting down
You know how office buildings in cities sometimes use lights to spell out a holiday message for people to see as they drive by? Well, The Reze Arc he did that again, in a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it way. Towards the end of the film, Denji and Reze have a scene where the feuding couple raise their arms as we keep cutting back and forth to them.
In the background, a large building counts towards its great “painting” period. It even stays at zero as Denji does his harebrained chain to defeat Reze. It’s probably one of the smallest details in the movie that makes no sense, as the entire city descends into disaster movie pandemonium. One doesn’t think that office workers would be lonely enough to do this while a giant tsunami engulfs the city. Still, it thrives that the animators at Mappa obviously had fun thinking of every way to improve the film’s cool element.
Lyrics and performance of Kenshi Yonezu and Hikaru Utada’s song ‘Jane Doe’
The thought of The Chainsaw Man opening theme singer Kenshi Yonezu and J-pop boss Hikaru Utada work together on “Jane Doe,” the ending theme The Reze Arcit can cause an anime fan’s brain to explode. Their song features Yonezu’s sonorous voice as Denji, while Utada’s restrained but touching vocals portray Reze. As the film’s final note, the deep love song continues to resonate with the emotional pain and longing of its doomed lovers, and learning more about Utada and Yonezu’s music only adds a layer of beauty to the film’s final theme.
Things I’ve learned while willingly injuring myself scrolling through YouTube videos of professional singers breaking down the science and art of their songs: the call and response in its bridge is less coherent and more like contrasting alphabets. A moment after agreeing, Yonezu continues alone, just like Denji did at the end of the film.
Where are you? (I’m here)
What are you doing? (I’ve been watching you)
Let’s fill the world with mistakes
Sit next to me, let’s go have fun
Where are you?
Another thing I learned is that Utada used a vocal technique called the “pop scoop” (or vocal scoop), where the player sings a note below and aims for his voice to slide up. Musically, their decision perfectly captures what Reze will look like before he breaks down his walls and comes to terms with his feelings for Denji.
Accordingly, Yonezu used what is called a head voice, a high register, while occasionally crying out in a mixed voice (a combination of head and chest voice) when he delivered his emotional lyrics throughout the song.
This, in turn, is a perfect representation of Denji’s struggle to release the dangerous emotions swelling in his heart through Reze, his attempt to match his voice, and his piercing of his uncontrollable emotions. For a character who questioned whether he had a heart or a mind of his own, Yonezu did an excellent job of singing those dirty feelings.
Of course, this is just a glimpse of the little details we covered in our review The Reze Arc. Feel free to comment on any neat details from the movie that you’re currently obsessed with while we wait The Chainsaw Man‘s second season.
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