It’s been nearly three years to the day since Chainsaw Man season 1 first started airing on Japanese TV, and after years of anticipation and speculation, it’s finally back in theatrical form.
This delay was due to Japanese fan outcry about the more realistic, CGI heavy look of the series compared to Tatsuki Fujimoto’s hyperkinetic art and neon drenched covers of the source manga. The final straw for this campaign to have the anime rebooted, included not only the usual death threats to the director and the online petition to have the entire first season re-animated, but it was the sales figures on the first season blu-ray in a country, where physical media is a huge ancillary income for animation studios to force the studio’s hand. Whereas most similar shonen shows like Jujutsu Kaisen and Demon Slayer sell about 28,000 units per release, Chainsaw Man sold a mere 1,700 copies. The odd thing was creator Tatsuki Fujimoto was heavily involved in the development of the show and approved of the look, but fandom is going to fandom and here we are three years later with the look and feel of the property having been completely redeveloped, with a new director at the helm as well.
For those not familiar with Chainsaw Man it’s the story of Denji, a poor 17 year-old who was killed by the Yakuza and brought back to life by his pet chainsaw devil and only friend Pochita. In exchange for giving Denji life, the adorable orange pug like creature with a chainsaw nose, wanted only for his best friend to realize his humble dreams of three square meals a day and touching boobs. Devils in the world of Chainsaw Man are an odd commodity – anything can really have a devil, like a tomato, and that is essentially their power. Depending on how much they are feared is how powerful that particular devil is. The first season had Denji being recruited by the mysterious Makima leader of public safety and put to work as a devil hunter in Tokyo. The real hook here is after combining with Pochita not only is he essentially indestructible with a Wolverine like healing factor, but he can protrude chainsaws from his head, arms and legs, hence he is the titular Chainsaw Man.
Since this is based on a shonen manga there’s also a big bad driving the story, and that’s the Gun Devil who in series lore only really appeared once and in that brief five minutes killed 1.2 million people and has been elusive since. He’s VERY interested in Denji for his heart or Pochita, and last season ended with not only a massacre of most of public safety but Denji fighting the katana version of himself – a human/sword devil hybrid or simply a “hybrid”, who was sent by the Gun Devil. “The Reze Arc” presented here in film form works as a great proof of concept to hopefully appease fans of the property with its new look, because it is exactly as the name implies an arc with a very clear beginning, middle and end. Since the film was well received by Japanese audiences and US for that matter, hopefully it won’t be three years for another season.
The film starts shortly after Denji’s showdown with Katana, where he by chance meets an awkward girl named Reze, who works at a small cafe as a barista. Reze and Denji quickly begin dating and just as Chainsaw Man begins to enter the dreaded Shonen love triangle, a thug looking to kidnap Reze to get to Denji sets off a series of events – that involves both the assassin and the Bomb Devil, battling to steal Denji’s heart. This not only compounds the mysteries around Denji and Pochita’s union, but in doing battle with the Bomb Devil, Denji ends up demolishing a good ol’ chunk of Tokyo in the process. The film is essentially a Tatsuki Fujimoto love story, as Denji spends the majority of the film as any 17 year old boys would, a prisoner to his hormones, while the women of Chainsaw Man decide his fate. If it’s one thing Fujimoto proves here is his talent for writing complex female characters and not simply relegating them to set dressing while the boys fight.
I should probably start with the art, since that was the biggest contention from that first season. It is a huge departure from the first season’s more grounded and exacting style, which was looking to mimic the films that inspired it. There’s a visceral energy to the line work with no visible CGI that feeds off the action onscreen and in the bigger action setpieces has the characters and their very outlines fighting at times to retain their shape. It’s something that comes directly from Fujimoto’s own line work and is perfectly represented here. The action is truly a sight to behold in this new iteration, there’s raw kinetic power to the set-pieces that are charged with an emotional resonance that just explodes off screen. Of course the other big complaint was the more restrained color palette of the series and that has definitely been addressed as well, with neon splashes used to highlight action, and blood of the devils. There’s even a great keyframe that mimics the first cover of the first volume of Chainsaw Man in a great hero moment.
While part of the charm of Chainsaw Man is the typical shonen trope of Denji being a hormonally charged 17 year old boy attempting to navigate not only having this fantastical power, but also the opposite sex. This is the first time he’s showing an interest in someone who’s not only his own age, but not his boss. There’s a maternalness to Reze that is instantly endearing, and the scene where she teaches Denji to swim, while both are nude – perfectly illustrates how truly lost, emotionally naked and lonely our protagonist truly is. While I was a bit disappointed Power was out of the mix and sidelined for this particular adventure, I understand it was intentional because of not only Beam’s enthusiasm and energy, but the shark fiend’s loyalty to Denji, because Power probably would definitely have run out on Denji, as several of his comrades very understandably do.
ALSO, it’s completely badass to have Chainsaw Man ride a shark!
I caught the film in 3D and 4DX, because not only am I a sucker for a novelty format, but as a long time anime fan there’s still something a bit surreal about seeing something that came out in Japanese theaters a month ago in American theaters in a format reserved exclusively for the blockbusters du jour. The 3D was interesting given the style of the film, it’s of course used for depth, but along with the 4DX helps put you in the action. While the first two acts the use of movement and water are subtle, like there’s water effects when Denji is stuck in the rain, once the battle starts all bets are off. While I thought Twisters was a rough ride, it has got NOTHING on the battle between Chainsaw Man and Bomb. I was nearly thrown from my seat at least three times and smoke started emitting from the screen due to all the explosions on the screen. The theater was full of giddy screams and laughter and it was indeed “absolute cinema” as one patron yelled as the credits rolled.
So was it worth the wait? I would venture to say so. New director Tatsuya Yoshihara has cracked Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga delivering his own animated masterwork that explodes on screen. To see the anime brought to life again in this new style, that while not the hand drawn art of Studio Ghibli, still captured that organic and emotionally charged feel was nothing short of breathtaking. The story definitely lived up to its reputation as one of the most popular arcs of the series further imbuing Denji and those around him with the kind of humanity any creator could spend their entire career attempting to craft. It also shows a bit more growth for our protagonist Denji who in the last season was defending his choice to fight Devils for Makima and Public Safety and here he’s learned enough to actually begin to question that choice himself thanks to Reze. The 3D 4DX presentation, while not a necessity, is HIGHLY recommended and totally worked to immerse me in this story as I bounced around my seat in time with the action on screen, struggling to hold on for dear life.
