Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc: love bombed in the worst way
- In UK cinemas from 24 October 2025, riding high off a huge Japanese and U.S. box office run.
- Starring Kikunosuke Toya as Denji, Reina Ueda as Reze, Tomori Kusunoki as Makima and Shogo Sakata as Aki.
- Feature-length continuation of the anime that turns the Bomb Girl manga arc into a self-contained big-screen story.
- Set between rainy Tokyo streets and storm-lashed coastlines, where a phone booth meet-cute hides a Soviet-trained weapon.
- Explores first love, grooming, state violence and the awful moment you realise the person who made you feel seen was sent to kill you.
Story in one sentence
Denji falls for café girl Reze, only to learn she is the Bomb Devil sent to steal his heart in a war he barely understands.
Setting the scene
Right after season one, but bigger
The film drops in not long after Samurai Sword’s defeat, so it feels like a direct follow-on from the TV anime. Denji is still broke, still hungry and still under Makima’s thumb, but he has a tiny bit more swagger.
There is a quick burst of context for new viewers, yet the movie never pauses for a full recap. If you know the basic “boy with chainsaw powers fights devils for the government” pitch, you can keep up.
A rom-com meet-cute in the rain
The tone shifts when Denji ducks into a phone booth during a sudden downpour and meets Reze. She is funny, flirty and just odd enough that you believe Denji would fall head-first in about three seconds.
Their follow-up scenes in the café feel like a straight romantic comedy. Denji gawps at free food, mangles small talk and keeps stumbling into big feelings he doesn’t have the language for.
Late-night school, pool and fireworks
The night-time school break-in is where the film really hooked me. Watching Denji mess around in the pool while Reze teaches him to swim is tender, silly and loaded with unspoken tension.
Later, the fireworks festival sequence doubles down on that mood. For a while you can almost forget this is Chainsaw Man and not a slightly chaotic teen romance, which is exactly why the later betrayal hurts.
Characters and performances
Denji: idiot, romantic, weapon
Denji is still an absolute clown, but the film finally lets him be properly romantic. He is awkward, crude and constantly distracted by food and sex, yet you see flashes of a kid who desperately wants to be loved.
Kikunosuke Toya leans into that mix of crass and sincere. His line readings swing from pathetic to fierce in a heartbeat, and you always know exactly how much Denji understands of the nightmare he’s in.
Reze: the perfect girl, and a bomb
Reina Ueda walks a tightrope with Reze. At first she plays her as the dream café girl, all warm smiles and gentle teasing, and you believe every second of Denji’s infatuation.
When the switch flips and Reze reveals herself as the Bomb Devil, Ueda’s performance hardens without losing the earlier softness. You can feel the real affection under the mission, which makes her violence scarier, not less.
Makima and the Public Safety pack
Makima hangs over the film like a quiet threat. She gets relatively little screen time, but every calm smile and polite question lands like a blade pressed gently against someone’s neck.
Aki, Angel, Beam and the others get strong supporting beats. Aki and Angel’s partnership, in particular, adds a weary, tragic counterpoint to Denji and Reze’s doomed chemistry.
How the film handles love and violence
Genuine rom-com heart in a bloodbath
The biggest surprise is how sincerely the movie commits to being a romance. The jokes about toilets, dogs and breasts are still there, but they sit alongside real vulnerability and quiet moments on rooftops.
When the violence finally explodes, it feels like a direct violation of that fragile intimacy. You are not just watching devils fight; you are watching a relationship detonate in real time.
Agency, abuse and being “raised as a weapon”
The film doesn’t excuse Reze’s atrocities, yet it is clear she never had much of a choice either. Flashbacks to her Soviet training are brief but nasty, and they echo Denji’s own history of being used by adults.
By the end you are left with two kids who were both weaponised by bigger forces. One chose love too late; the other still hasn’t realised how completely he’s being handled.
Style, action and pacing
Action that actually hurts
MAPPA goes hard on the set-pieces. Every explosion, decapitation and mid-air chainsaw clash feels weighty, with enough grit and smear to keep it from looking like glossy CG soup.
The street chase where Reze blasts through a building and into traffic is a highlight. It is chaotic, readable and properly frightening, with Denji clearly outclassed for most of it.
Visual flourishes that sell the romance
It is not just the gore that looks good. Small touches, like the way fireworks reflect in Reze’s eyes or the framing of Denji watching her through café windows, sell the crush as much as any dialogue.
The colour palette shifts too. Warm oranges and pinks dominate the early dates, then colder blues and sickly greens take over once the Bomb Devil takes the wheel.
Music, sound and that awful silence
The score leans into melancholy guitar and swelling strings, especially in the final stretch. It is shamelessly manipulative, but it works because the story has already earned the emotion.
Sound design is sharp throughout. The wet thud of explosions, the grind of chainsaws and the distant roar of the sea all sit under quieter scenes, reminding you that this world never really relaxes.
Standout moments
That tongue-bite kiss
If you know the manga, you are waiting for it; if you don’t, it blindsides you. The festival kiss that turns into a tongue-bite is shot as both romantic crescendo and horror beat, and the whole cinema winced in unison.
It is the perfect Chainsaw Man moment. Love, pain, shock and comedy all collide in three disgusting, unforgettable seconds.
Denji surfing Beam into battle
The fight where Denji rides Beam like a bloody surfboard through collapsing buildings is pure cinema. It is ridiculous on paper, but the animation sells every leap, spin and impact.
What keeps it grounded is the cost. People are dying off-screen, the city is wrecked, and Denji is clearly hanging on by desperation rather than cool-headed strategy.
The train, the alley and the café that never was
The final sequence with Reze leaving town is brutal in its restraint. You watch her hesitate at the train door, change her mind, and head back towards the café with something like hope.
What happens in the alley with Makima and Angel is quiet, short and devastating. The cut to Denji waiting at the café with flowers he will never give to anyone is the sort of simple image that sticks all day.
What doesn’t quite land
Rough entry point for newcomers
If you have not seen the first season or read the manga, the film will feel dense. Devils, contracts and global politics fly past with minimal hand-holding.
The emotional through-line still works, but some of the nuance around Makima, the Gun Devil and Public Safety will probably slide by on a first watch.
A slightly saggy middle
The stretch between the first big betrayal and the final coastline battle wobbles a little. There is one chase too many, and a couple of exposition-heavy scenes threaten to stall the momentum.
It never fully drags, but you can feel the film catching its breath while it lines everyone up for the finale.
Who this is for – and whether it’s worth a cinema trip
For Chainsaw Man fans
If you already love Chainsaw Man, this is essential. It delivers on the Bomb Girl arc with style, keeps the core beats intact and adds visual and emotional flourishes that genuinely elevate the material.
It also deepens Denji and Makima’s dynamic and gives Reze enough shade to become an instant fan favourite. You will laugh, wince and probably leave a bit wrecked.
For anime-curious horror and romance viewers
If you are anime-curious and can handle gore, this is a surprisingly good entry point. You may miss some lore, but the romance and heartbreak are very easy to read.
As an October 2025 release, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc earns its “most talked-about” status. It is loud, bloody and often very stupid, but underneath the chainsaws and explosions beats a genuinely broken little love story.