Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc
Theatrical release poster
Japanese name
Kanji 劇場版 チェンソーマン レゼ篇
Transcriptions
Revised Hepburn Gekijō-ban Chensō Man Reze-hen
Directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara
Screenplay by Hiroshi Seko
Based on Chainsaw Man
by Tatsuki Fujimoto
Starring
  • Kikunosuke Toya
  • Reina Ueda
  • Fairouz Ai
  • Tomori Kusunoki
  • Shogo Sakata
Cinematography Teppei Ito
Edited by Masato Yoshitake
Music by Kensuke Ushio
Production
company
MAPPA
Distributed by Toho (Japan)
Crunchyroll (through Sony Pictures Releasing; worldwide)
Release date
  • September 19, 2025 (2025-09-19)
Running time
100 minutes[1]
Country Japan
Language Japanese
Box office $174.2 million[2]

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc (Japanese: 劇場版 チェンソーマン レゼ篇, Hepburn: Gekijō-ban Chensō Man Reze-hen), also known simply as Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc, is a 2025 Japanese animated romantic action horror comedy film based on Tatsuki Fujimoto's manga series Chainsaw Man. Produced by MAPPA, directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara, and written by Hiroshi Seko, the film is a direct sequel to the first season of the anime television series and adapts events covered by the original manga's fifth and sixth volumes. It is storyboarded by Daisuke Tokudo, Masato Nakazono, Sōta Shigetsugu, Takuya Niinuma, Tatsuya Yoshihara and Yuzuru Tachikawa.

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc was released in Japan on September 19, 2025, by Toho. As of December 2025, the film has grossed over $174.7 million worldwide making it one of the highest-grossing Japanese films of all time and received positive reviews from critics. The film was nominated for Best Animation Film at the 49th Japan Academy Film Prize.

Plot

Following Katana Man's defeat,[a] Public Safety division leader Makima assigns the fanatical shark devil Beam as temporary partner to the devil hunter Denji (Chainsaw Man) while his regular partner Power has her excess blood drained. Makima takes Denji on a six-film movie marathon date; both dislike all but the final film in the program, which moves them to tears. During the date, Makima reassures Denji that he has a heart capable of feeling.

Denji is caught in a storm while patrolling and takes shelter in a phone booth, where he meets a girl named Reze and later visits her at the café where she works. Her behavior leads Denji to think she has feelings for him, though he is conflicted over his simultaneous attraction to Makima. Meanwhile, devil hunter Aki Hayakawa is assigned the Angel Devil as his new partner, whose touch shortens the lifespan of mortals. Angel's laziness and apathy towards humans become sources of mutual tension.

Denji and Reze sneak into her school at night, where they skinny dip in the outdoor pool and she teaches him to swim. While separated from Denji, Reze is suddenly ambushed by an assassin who aims to torture her to control Denji; she feigns weakness before quickly killing the man and allying with his partnered devil, the Typhoon Devil. The day after, while watching fireworks at a festival, Reze asks Denji to run away with her. He hesitates, leading to her realization that there's another woman in Denji's life. Reze then kisses him, bites out his tongue, and incapacitates him revealing her true identity as the Bomb Devil.

Beam retreats with the injured Denji to a Public Safety office, where they find Aki and Angel; the four escape by car as Reze slaughters the other hunters. As she chases them through the streets, a revived Denji retaliates but is easily defeated. Aki and the Violence Fiend fend off Reze, but the Typhoon Devil arrives to assist her. Denji is revived by Angel using the blood of a nearby casualty and Beam suggests using his chainsaw abilities tactically in the fight, giving Denji the idea to ride Beam's shark form in the battle. Amidst the fight, the Typhoon Devil's winds pull in Angel before Aki catches his shirt. Intent on dying, Angel begs him to let go but Aki secures him by grabbing his bare hand, taking two months off his remaining two-year lifespan.

Denji and Beam kill the Typhoon Devil, though Reze severely injures Beam. The confrontation leads them to the coastline, where Denji uses his chains to bind Reze to him and jumps into the water, preventing her from using her abilities as they sink to the seabed. All three wash ashore the following morning, where Reze concedes that her mission has failed and she never had feelings for Denji. He replies that if that were truly the case, she would not have taught him to swim. Denji then reciprocates Reze's offer to run away together and asks her to meet at the café the next day.

In the aftermath of the battle, devil hunter Kishibe informs Aki that Reze was a Soviet agent experimented on as a child. Reze prepares to board a train before having a change of heart and deciding to meet with Denji. However, she is intercepted by Makima and attacked by Angel in the alley leading to the café. As she bleeds out, Reze wonders why she did not try to kill Denji when they first met and admits never having gone to school either.

In a post-credits scene, Denji holds a flower bouquet and appears depressed as Reze never showed up. Power arrives instead and asks if the flowers are a gift for her. He considers giving her the bouquet before eating it instead, causing them to squabble.

Voice cast

See also: List of Chainsaw Man characters
Character Japanese[3] English[4]
Denji (デンジ) Kikunosuke Toya Ryan Colt Levy
Reze (レゼ) Reina Ueda Alexis Tipton
Makima (マキマ) Tomori Kusunoki Suzie Yeung
Aki Hayakawa (早川アキ, Hayakawa Aki) Shogo Sakata Reagan Murdock
Beam (ビーム, Bīmu) Natsuki Hanae Derick Snow
Angel Devil (天使の悪魔, Tenshi no Akuma) Maaya Uchida Casey Mongillo
Power (パワー, Pawā) Fairouz Ai Sarah Wiedenheft
Violence Fiend (暴力の魔人, Bōryoku no Majin) Yūya Uchida Josh Bangle
Typhoon Devil (台風の悪魔, Taifū no Akuma) Eri Kitamura Reshel Mae
Nomo (野茂) Kenji Akabane Ryan Negrón
Kishibe (岸辺) Kenjiro Tsuda Jason Douglas
Kobeni Higashiyama (東山 コベニ, Higashiyama Kobeni) Karin Takahashi Bryn Apprill
Pochita (ポチタ) Shiori Izawa Lindsay Seidel
Fox Devil (狐の悪魔, Kitsune no Akuma) Yūko Kaida Natalie Van Sistine

Production

On December 17, 2023, at the Jump Festa '24 event, an anime film entitled Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc (劇場版 チェンソーマン レゼ篇, Gekijō-ban Chensō Man Reze-hen), was announced.[5] The film was announced again on December 22, 2024, at the Jump Festa '25 event for a 2025 premiere in Japan and Toho as the distributor.[6]

It was announced that the cast from the anime series would return to their respective roles for the film, but there were some staff changes. Tatsuya Yoshihara was confirmed to direct the film, replacing Ryu Nakayama, who directed the first season of the anime. Sota Shigetsugu joined the production as Action Director, the role Yoshihara served in for the first season of the anime.[7]

The majority of the core staff, however, remained unchanged, with Kazutaka Sugiyama returning as character designer. Sugiyama stated on X, formerly known as Twitter, that he, Yoshihara, and other core staff members collaborated to modify the character designs for the film to better reflect the style of Tatsuki Fujimoto's manga series Chainsaw Man. In turn, the film's visual approach differed from the anime's first season, with the majority of the audience responding positively to the film's new style.[8]

Music

Kensuke Ushio returned from the anime series to compose the film's music.[7] Kenshi Yonezu performed the film's theme song "Iris Out" while the ending theme song is "Jane Doe" by Yonezu and Hikaru Utada.[9] Yonezu also returned to the franchise after previously providing "Kick Back", the opening theme song for the first season of the anime.[10]

Release

Distributed in Japan by Toho, the film was theatrically released in the country on September 19, 2025, and screened in 75 countries in standard, RealD 3D and IMAX formats, with screenings in the MX4D, 4DX, and Dolby Cinema formats exclusively releasing in selected cinemas on October 4, 2025.[11][12][13] Originally set to be distributed internationally by Sony Pictures Releasing via Columbia Pictures, the film's international distribution rights were transferred to Crunchyroll, with Sony Pictures Releasing retaining its international distribution rights for the film and releasing it in theaters in more than 80 countries from September 24, 2025, and released the film in the United States and other non-Asian markets from October 24, 2025 moving up 5 days from its original release date of October 29, 2025. The film was confirmed to release in IMAX, 4DX, Dolby Cinema and RealD 3D premium formats worldwide, with the latter being released outside of Japan and Asia.[14][15] Both the subbed and dubbed versions of the film were released on digital platforms by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment on December 9, 2025.[16]

Reception

Box office

The film sold over 272,000 tickets for over ¥420 million (US$2.8 million) in its opening day in Japan.[17] It sold 807,000 tickets for ¥1.251 billion (US$8.46 million) in its opening weekend, debuting at first place in the Japanese box office, which was previously topped for nine weeks straight by Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba – The Movie: Infinity Castle.[18] In South Korea, the film topped the box office for a second consecutive weekend, earning approximately US$1.8 million.[19] The film topped the U.S. opening weekend in 3,003 North American theaters, earning US$18 million at the box office.[20] According to Polygon, the film's U.S. opening weekend brought in approximately US$17.2 million and helped push its global box-office over the US$100 million mark.[21] As of December 2025, the film has grossed over $174.7 million worldwide.[2]

Critical response

On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 96% of 46 critics' reviews are positive. The website's consensus reads: "Revving up the carnage while maintaining a perversely sweet emotional core, Chainsaw Man's big screen debut is a bloody feast rendered in eye-popping animation."[22] Metacritic, which uses a weighted average, assigned the film a score of 71 out of 100, based on 13 critics, indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[23] Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "A" on an A+ to F scale.[24]

Richard Eisenbeis of Anime News Network graded the film an A, praising its animation, visuals, action sequences, music, and story, while noting that Denji and Reze's deep bittersweet love story is what makes the film "worth watching".[25] IndieWire writer Wilson Chapman gave the film a B+, commending the animation, action sequences, characters, story, and voice acting. He concluded that "[the film] probably won't have the same effect on most viewers, but it's one of the best films in the recent crop of anime TV expansions, and its bittersweet teen love story is certainly potent enough to make you cry."[26] Rafael Motamayor of /Film wrote that the film was "the best rom-com of 2025".[27]

Accolades

Award Date of ceremony Category Recipient(s) Result Ref.
Annie Awards February 21, 2026 Best Direction – Feature Tatsuya Yoshihara Nominated [28]
Japan Academy Film Prize March 13, 2026 Best Animation Film Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Pending [29]
Puerto Rico Critics Association January 2, 2026 Best Animated Feature Nominated [30]
Saturn Awards March 8, 2026 Best International Animated Film Pending [31]

Notes

  1. ^ As depicted in the finale of Chainsaw Man

References

  1. ^ "Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc [MA 15+]". Australian Classification Board. September 23, 2025. Retrieved September 30, 2025.
  2. ^ a b "Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc". The Numbers. Retrieved December 9, 2025.
  3. ^ "STAFF/CAST". chainsawman.dog/movie_reze (in Japanese). Archived from the original on January 8, 2025. Retrieved January 8, 2025.
  4. ^ "Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc – English Dub Cast". Behind the Voice Actors. Retrieved November 8, 2025.
  5. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (December 17, 2023). "Chainsaw Man Anime Gets 'Reze Arc' Film". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 17, 2023. Retrieved December 17, 2023.
  6. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (December 21, 2024). "Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Anime Reveals 2025 Debut in New Trailer". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 22, 2024. Retrieved December 22, 2024.
  7. ^ a b "Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Staff List". Retrieved November 11, 2025.
  8. ^ ととす [@tt_totos] (March 25, 2025). 本編ルックや影つけ等も大体3人と監督で意見出し合って決めてます。1期と絵が変わったなぁ、、、と思った部分は4人で話し合ってこっちの方がよりチェンソーマンの絵じゃないか！？と選択をしているからです。もし喜んでもらえたら嬉しいです。これからも頑張ります。 (Tweet) (in Japanese). Retrieved November 3, 2025 – via Twitter.
  9. ^ Kajiwara (August 13, 2025). "米津玄師 × 宇多田ヒカル、コラボ曲「JANE DOE」が劇場版『チェンソーマン レゼ篇』エンディングテーマに決定" [Kenshi Yonezu x Hikaru Utada's collaboration song "JANE DOE" will be the ending theme for the movie "Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc"]. Barks (in Japanese). Retrieved August 13, 2025.
  10. ^ Hodgkins, Crystalyn (July 3, 2025). "Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Anime Reveals Kenshi Yonezu's Theme Song in Trailer". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on July 4, 2025. Retrieved July 4, 2025.
  11. ^ 東宝が2025年の作品ラインナップを発表「アニメーションが充実」、細田守の新作など. Eiga Natalie (in Japanese). Natasha, Inc. December 23, 2024. Archived from the original on January 3, 2025. Retrieved January 3, 2025.
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  13. ^ Cayanan, Joanna (August 26, 2025). "Crunchyroll to Stream 2-Part Chainsaw Man Anime Compilation Film in September". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on August 27, 2025. Retrieved August 27, 2025.
  14. ^ Pineda, Rafael Antonio (March 31, 2025). "Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Opens in the U.S. on October 29". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on April 2, 2025. Retrieved April 2, 2025.
  15. ^ Mateo, Alex (September 10, 2025). "Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Anime's Dubbed/Subbed Trailers Reveal New October 24 Premiere in U.S." Anime News Network. Archived from the original on September 10, 2025. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  16. ^ Hazra, Adriana (December 7, 2025). "Sony Releases Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc Film on Digital on December 9". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on December 17, 2025. Retrieved December 17, 2025.
  17. ^ Loo, Egan (September 20, 2025). "Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Sells Over 272,000 Tickets on Day 1". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on September 20, 2025. Retrieved September 20, 2025.
  18. ^ Cayanan, Joanna (September 22, 2025). "Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Tops Japan Box Office in Opening Weekend". Anime News Network. Archived from the original on September 22, 2025. Retrieved September 22, 2025.
  19. ^ Ramachandran, Naman (October 20, 2025). "Korea Box Office: 'Chainsaw Man the Movie: Reze Arc' Tops for Second Week as 'Jujutsu Kaisen' Debuts Strong". Variety. Variety Media, LLC. Archived from the original on October 23, 2025. Retrieved October 23, 2025.
  20. ^ Scott, Ryan (October 27, 2025). "5 Reasons Why Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc Ruled The Box Office". SlashFilm. Retrieved October 29, 2025.
  21. ^ Rouse, Isaac (October 28, 2025). "Chainsaw Man dominates the U.S. box office in its opening weekend". Polygon.
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  28. ^ Lewis, Hilary (January 5, 2026). "2026 Annie Awards Nominations: 'Elio,' 'KPop Demon Hunters' Lead Film Nods". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved January 5, 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: deprecated archival service (link)
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  30. ^ Neglia, Matt (January 2, 2026). "The 2025 Puerto Rico Critics Association (PRCA) Winners". Next Best Picture. Archived from the original on January 2, 2026. Retrieved January 2, 2026.
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