Alright, so Chainsaw Man: The Movie: Reze Arc not only adapted the manga of the same name by Tatsuki Fujimoto, it straight-up became it. According to a recent interview by Anime News Network, the studio MAPPA and director Tatsuya Yoshihara made a definitive and deliberate decision to give a look to every single frame as if that came straight from the author’s drawing.
It was all about accepting the chaotic, sketched, emotional, and messy stuff that originally made Chainsaw Man a god-tier manga. And you know what? It really did work. Starting from Reze’s tragic smile to the typhoon fight, which will literally blow your brain out of your skull, this movie demonstrates that if you possess enough courage, perseverance, and grit, animation can indeed feel like manga.
How Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Captures Fujimoto’s Art Style
Taking over Chainsaw Man – Reze Arc was no easy feat. The director Tatsuya Yoshihara (the mad genius behind the show’s best episodes), along with the assistant director Masato Nakazono (the chief director of the TV version), all knew that they were stepping into a very sacred place.
Yoshihara admitted he ‘struggled with the decision,’ but his devotion to the series made him go for it. He explained:
I struggled with the decision, but I also saw it as a tremendous opportunity. More than anything, I wanted to live up to the expectations of the fans, so I decided to take on the challenge and give it my all. I also just love Chainsaw Man and really wanted to help make it even more exciting.
The same case as Nakazono? He took on the role of the director’s right-hand man to ensure that the entire process was smoother than Denji’s chainsaw pull.
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The three of them resolved that this movie would not only be ‘more Chainsaw Man,’ it would be like Fujimoto’s manga had come to life: uncut, edgy, and with a heavy emotional charge.
What was the first major shift? It was changing the common anime beauty with a rougher and more manga-like art style. Yoshihara and the animation team, led by character designer Kazutaka Sugiyama, went into full detective mode, studying Fujimoto’s scratchy, expressive lines to determine how they could be animated.
In addition, they created an internal design bible with directives such as ‘remove eye highlights’, ‘reduce shading’, and ‘keep wrinkles natural.’ They wanted the visuals to breathe like ink on paper, rather than on glossy pixels.
Different color combinations also had a remarkable effect. Makima’s hair has been changed to a more intense, blood-red; Power’s color is more vivid. What is the outcome? A visual that screams Chainsaw Man, not just another high-budget anime movie.
Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc Movie Marks a Bold New Era for MAPPA
Yoshihara and Nakazono didn’t just want to animate Fujimoto’s panels; they also wanted to recreate the feeling of flipping through the manga. The movie didn’t give such fast-paced anime all the time, but it knew when to take a breath in between.
There were times when it was just calm and the visuals were cinematic, other times it felt like the impact of the devil’s truck hitting you. The emotional equilibrium of the scene and the action made the Reze story feel deeply human, right before it rips your heart out.
In the end, Yoshihara spoke out loud and clear that the original artwork is so amazing that it should be left unchanged. The Reze Arc takes directly from Volumes 5 and 6, thus keeping the story close, tragic, and genuinely true to its roots. No filler, no unnecessary stuff, just the vision of Fujimoto amplified through MAPPA’s highly skilled production.
And then there’s the action. When Yoshihara appointed Sota Shigetsugu as action director, he instructed him to turn the typhoon battle ‘even more epic.’ Shigetsugu didn’t just fulfil the expectation; he exploded it. The whole range of sounds from the punches, explosions, and blood-filled frames is meant to be viewed on the large screen.
Some scenes were so over-the-top that they had to be cut in editing, but the end result was still filled with spectacle. In the end, when Yoshihara says the film ‘represents a culmination of all our efforts,’ you will not hesitate to trust him.
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc is not only a testament to MAPPA’s capabilities but also a confirmation that the manga’s energy can still be seen in the film without losing its sharpness. So did Chainsaw Man’s Reze Arc movie live up to Fujimoto’s chaos or miss the mark? Share your thoughts in the comments section below.
Chainsaw Man anime is currently available to watch on Crunchyroll.
