Cert – 15, Run-time – 1 hour 40 minutes, Director – Tatsuya Toshihara
Teenager Denji (Kikunosuke Toya) finds himself caught between romantic interests, however the devil form inside him, Chainsaw Man, may have to get involved, if he isn’t already.
On seeing the trailer for Chainsaw Man – The Movie before the latest Demon Slayer feature outing earlier this year I was led to giggling delight at the pure idea of Chainsaw Man. It’s largely what led me to seeing the feature follow-up to the anime series of the same name, which makes it clear early on that the base behind the devil form of teenager Denji (Kikunosuke Toya), and some of his fellow devil hunters, is no laughing matter, although there is humour to be found – watch out for a battle team up involving ‘shark fiend’ Beam (Natsuki Hanae).
In fact, slightly disappointingly, Chainsaw Man himself doesn’t properly appear until around 70-minutes into the 100-minute run-time. Before then the narrative is a relatively simple one. After a seemingly successful date with colleague Makima (Tomori Kusunoki), Denji meets coffee shop worker Reze (Reina Ueda) and a relationship quickly forms between them – despite Denji’s continuing feelings for Makima. There have been accusations towards this feature adaptation that the narrative is all over the place and confusing, largely from those who, like myself, haven’t seen the series (or heard of it until now). However, this general base is the rather simple core of things.
Devils and hunters are seemingly tracking down Denji just as his life is starting to find order, and a new meaning outside of work and Chainsaw Man, and much of this comes to fore in the latter stages of the second act, but a good deal of the film deals simply with the dates and relationships that the central character is exploring. His job and other form quickly explained in a simple line of dialogue or easily pieced together when needed. And even with trailers which have promised action and plenty of the titular figure it’s easy to settle in to the tone and style that the narrative is going for. There are some likable chuckles at the initial awkwardness Denji has when around Reze, and Makima to start with as they go through an entire day going between cinemas and coffee shops, unenthused by anything they see.
When the action kicks in it’s explosive in multiple ways. The already colourful palette gains a new array, even amongst the darker tones of the action as it kicks off. Boosted by the strength and detail of the animation, especially lively during action sequences. The different character forms we see emerge provide their own source of entertainment and a new layer to the fights that are jumped into with a good deal of energy. Maintaining engagement and thrills and managing to slot right into the almost rom-com edges of what’s come before thanks to the build-up of key developments.
Whether the film’s tone is one that fans will recognise from the series, or manga, I don’t personally know (although general response seems to suggest that it’s more than worked). However, for non-fans there’s a likable and entertaining quality to Chainsaw Man through its simple, entertaining and thrillingly explosive narrative.
Simple enough and engaging for non-fans, Chainsaw Man – The Movie has a likable relationship narrative which grows into an explosive and thrilling actioner with plenty of strength and colour in the animation to further fuel it.
Just A Little Bit Random 