Analyzing the Drawbacks of Transforming the Reze Arc in Chainsaw Man into a Movie

The Chainsaw Man Super Stage made its long-awaited arrival at the Jump Festa 2024 convention on Sunday, December 17, 2023, delivering some highly anticipated news. Although not exactly what fans were expecting, a new continuation of the television anime adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s original manga series was announced.

However, this continuation will take the form of a canonical Chainsaw Man movie rather than the anticipated second season or cour of the television anime series. The announcement has caused some division within the series’ community, with fans debating whether a movie adapting the events of the Reze arc will do the story justice.

Chainsaw Man Reze arc film simply won’t do the source material as seen in original manga any justice

The upcoming Chainsaw Man movie will indeed adapt the Reze arc in its entirety, as per the latest updates. However, many are concerned that this decision may not have been the best, considering the length and subject matter of the arc as depicted in the original manga series.

Why the Reze arc film is the wrong decision, explained

Adapting the Reze arc into a film presents a challenge due to the limited dialogue and fast pacing in the Chainsaw Man manga's version of the arc. The overall length of 12 chapters is not conducive to a movie format, especially considering that the first season of the anime series adapted just over three chapters per episode. The Reze arc also lacks extensive dialogue compared to other story arcs in the first season. As a result, it's probable that the anime would have moved through the Reze arc at a pace of roughly four chapters per episode.

As a result, the arc would need to be condensed to roughly 60 minutes of screentime in order to be fully adapted, which is relatively short for a feature-length film. While there is a chance that MAPPA Studios may include some anime-original scenes, this would likely only add a maximum of 20 minutes to the overall runtime. This means that the upcoming Chainsaw Man movie will just barely meet the minimum length requirement for a feature film.

This dilemma raises the question of whether MAPPA should incorporate a substantial number of anime-exclusive scenes or decrease the pace of the arc, or even do both. While the first option may yield positive results, the latter two are more likely to generate issues and a less favorable reception.

Additionally, there is a possibility that Chainsaw Man fans may not react positively to any anime-original scenes added in the film. This is a key reason why adapting the Reze arc into a feature-length film is a significant error on the part of MAPPA. A better approach would have been to incorporate the Reze arc into the second season, leading viewers up to or even into the Gun Devil arc. This would then set the stage for a film that wraps up the first part of the series with the events of the Gun Devil and Control Devil arc. The length of this part of the story would be much more suitable for a feature-length film and would provide a more climactic and justified theatrical experience compared to the Reze arc.

Be sure to keep up with all Chainsaw Man anime, manga, and film news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.

Editor's P/S

As a passionate fan of the Chainsaw Man manga and anime, I have mixed feelings about the decision to adapt the Reze arc into a movie. While I understand the desire to bring this exciting and action-packed arc to life on the big screen, I can't help but feel that it may not be the best choice for this particular story.

One of my main concerns is that the Reze arc is relatively short compared to other arcs in the manga. Adapting it into a full-length movie may require significant padding or cutting of content, which could compromise the overall pacing and impact of the story. The Reze arc is known for its fast-paced action and intense moments, and I worry that condensing it into a shorter runtime may diminish its impact.