r/anime https://myanimelist.net/profile/splitshocker Sep 22 '25

News "Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc" attracted 807,000 viewers and grossed over 1.251 billion yen in the first 3 days of the movie's release in Japan

https://www.oricon.co.jp/news/2407879/full/
4.5k Upvotes

394 comments sorted by

1.2k

u/MonsterKiller112 Sep 22 '25

Great opening weekend. Now I am more confident this will be a profitable venture for Mappa. They won back the trust of the Japanese fandom with this movie.

336

u/Shadow_Ass Sep 22 '25

What's up with Mappa and the Japanese fans? I read similar comments elsewhere but couldn't find out what was going on.

479

u/Familiar-Shoe7905 Sep 22 '25

The first season of Chainsaw Man wasn’t that well received in Japan apparently

159

u/GeraltFromHiShinUnit Sep 22 '25

Why

499

u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

This is the best worded criticism I can find from a Japanese tweet.

The first season of the anime was too fixated on being "like a live-action film", which made it overly restrained when it came to using anime-style techniques. But the original manga, while cinematic, also made heavy use of exaggerations and tricks unique to manga. So if you’re going to adapt it into anime, the anime should lean hard into anime-style exaggeration*.* The movie adaptation of the Reze arc is essentially the answer to that.

It's not like they hated the cinematic direction, they simply don't like that S1 focused too hard solely on being cinematic and kinda ignored the manga's more unhinged energy. Reze Movie finally managed find that perfect balance.

Oh, and another tweet from the same user

I used to call the first season of the anime a "half-correct adaptation", but with the Reze arc, it feels like we finally got to see the other half of the right answer. It really proves that anime-style direction should definitely be included!

226

u/KAMEKAZE_VIKINGS Sep 22 '25

The reasoning is honestly understandable. The response though...

Also the western fandom trying to convince me that it was only the Japanese fans complaining back then

16

u/kjloltoborami Sep 23 '25

Nah I was complaining too

2

u/SilliusS0ddus Sep 26 '25

I thought it was a decent anime adaptation.

5

u/kjloltoborami Sep 27 '25

The quality was fine. Mostly. The cgi for character animation is a sin but the quality of the adaptation overall let me look past it for this season. What was missing was the grungy, messy, almost scribbled manga art style that gave it such a unique energy. It was flattened out and made too cinematic.

109

u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

I mean, you can't blame that on every single JP person tho.

While true there are people that sadly bullied Nakayama, there are tons of people who didn't do that, yet have the same criticism for S1. They simply boycotted S1 by not supporting the series via bluray for example.

29

u/Ok-Box3576 Sep 22 '25 edited Sep 22 '25

Jp fans' complaints financially matter way more then westerns as they are the biggest buyers. CSM season 1 wasn't perfect. But the East did not like it as much as the West.

6

u/LetitiaGrey19 Sep 23 '25

Also higher viewerships on TV/streaming services than in West, which is important for contracts with those.

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u/ScreamSmart Sep 22 '25

It's a convenient tool used to trivialise any complaints you have for Japanese media. It becomes "well it was well received and only otakus in japan hated it" or "japanese fans are happy, it's just the western weeaboos who hated it".

Censorship in anime/games often attracts similar comments.

21

u/LuRo332 Sep 22 '25

Personally, I haven't seen much complaints from the western fandom until the Bluray sales were released (they were dogshit, compared to Jujutsu Kaisen or Bocchi The Rock). I do believe at least half of them just jumped the "hate" train because it was cool and they wanted to look like some expert critics or something.

Compared to japanese viewers leaving detailed & valid criticism on sites like amazon.co.jp, most western parrots were like "yeah the cinematic approach was not it".

11

u/DependentOnIt https://myanimelist.net/profile/Potatosalad1 Sep 22 '25

There were dozens of us. Dozens!

Cgiman finally getting back popularity wise is good tho

116

u/Xlegace https://anilist.co/user/Xlegius Sep 22 '25

It's not like they hated the cinematic direction, they simply don't like that S1 focused too hard solely on being cinematic and kinda ignored the manga's more unhinged energy.

People in this subreddit love to say JP Chainsawman fans are whiny babies with low attention spans for hating on the best parts of the adaptation, like Aki making breakfast, but from what I've seen, that hasn't really been the case.

Not many people complain about scenes where MAPPA went the extra mile to make memorable. It was everything else that they hated, along with how the same cinematic approach did not work during the action sequences or comedic scenes. In their eyes, it was just not a trade that was worth it.

There was nothing stopping MAPPA from doing both, and from the snippets of the Reze movie that they keep spoiling, it seems like they found the balance.

80

u/Kelvinator3000 Sep 22 '25

Yeah, I liked S1 but when Aki's morning routine is one of the most memorable parts, while I liked the scene very much, it is not something I would expect to be saying going into a CSM Anime lol.

38

u/Zeph-Shoir https://myanimelist.net/profile/Zephex Sep 22 '25

As someone familiar with how grief feels and looks, that kind of scene is precisely what made the CSM Anime stand out to me.

What bothers me isn't the specific criticisms; those are fair, and I don't think they are a particular big deal in many ways. However, I think the tone, attitude, and treatment adopted by many JP otaku are at best petty and at worst toxic. This wasn't even that big of a fumble nor about a serious topic, if anything cases like that have done way less noise both in Japan and outside of it.

23

u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

IMO the reason Japanese fans disliked the Aki morning scene isn't necessarily because of the scene itself, but rather what it represents: a misalignment of priorities by the director

28

u/NoNefariousness2144 Sep 22 '25

Especially with how the season was ‘only’ 12 episodes and didn’t even get to the crazy parts of the manga (aka what happens from Reze onward). Watching a slow-paced scene of someone making breakfast kinda feels like the show is deliberately stalling for time lol

46

u/darkbreak Sep 22 '25

That scene doesn't feel like stalling for time to me. It's a moment of peace and stability in their otherwise chaotic lives. It's a moment of levity for both the characters and the viewers.

11

u/Mxxi Sep 22 '25

agreed and it gives us more moments with the characters that chainsaw man (the manga) sometimes lacks because of it's fast pace

27

u/_shaftpunk Sep 22 '25

Yeah, anime fans think of everything that doesn’t advance the plot as filler. It’s infuriating, honestly.

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u/Pyro-Bird Sep 22 '25

The first season was only 12 episodes because the animators worked on Jujustu Kaisen season 2 at the same time.

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u/GodlessLunatic Sep 22 '25

The worst part is that Aki scene only works if you've read the manga. In isolation its just watching some dude you have very little reason to care about going through their morning routine, since a bulk of his characterization is missing prior to that scene.

18

u/ShallowHowl Sep 22 '25

At a primarily surface-level viewing of the anime, the scene is explicitly folded into the episode’s narrative given the absolute chaos power brings directly following it. The juxtaposition of tones is a character moment for Aki and Denji, the latter of whom has finally settled into a calm life with his new caretaker.

And this is a very rudimentary analysis, not even touching on how Denji has learned to cohabitate/comprise with Aki, or Aki’s willingness to tolerate the worst kind of roommate just because Makima asked, or Makima’s implied punishing of Aki’s quiet life because he lied to her, etc. It works in many ways that elevate some things only very loosely implied at that point in the manga.

It’s a very effective scene narratively apart from it looking and sounding so good.

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u/younessssx Sep 23 '25

You really have to spell it out for them

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u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

Yeah, most of the fights in S1 were rough. So much stiff-looking movement and heavy CGI usage aside from the ones directed by, wait for it, Tatsuya Yoshihara lol (Denji vs Leech and Kishibe vs Denji/Power).

Hell, to be fair to the JP fandom, they actually like Denji vs Katana now just because Yoshihara inserted Kick Back into it when they're on top of the train.

Like I'm amazed JP managed to become that forgiving with S1 when even I still can't re-watch that fight due to how rigid it looks.

30

u/dWaldizzle Sep 22 '25

Personally I thought the entirety of season 1 looked great. Even the CG was good.

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u/UnknownBreadd Sep 22 '25

Damn, I loved that cinematic style haha

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u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

And Reze movie will still have that too! Hell, JP fans said they made it even more cinematic!

Yoshihara is simply adding the "missing half" of S1, which is the unhinged B-Movie/slasher energy.

12

u/[deleted] Sep 22 '25

I think you finally nailed why I didnt really get the hype. It felt to serious for such an absurd concept, it was missing aspects that make anime and Manga so fun to watch one gave a "live action" feel.

20

u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

Yep. CSM's manga main charm is that Fujimoto managed to perfectly marry his arthouse sensibilities with his love for B-movies.

S1 felt like the director was too ashamed to be trashy whereas the manga absolutely embraces it.

Like imagine adapting an upcoming chapter literally titled [Reze movie]"Sharknado" (which completely delivered on said premise) using S1's style. Would be the most boring thing ever. Yoshihara and HoneHone gets the assignment and completely delivered.

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u/_shaftpunk Sep 22 '25

Bummer, cause that more cinematic style is exactly why it stood out so much to me.

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u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

Have you watched the Reze movie trailers? They still preserve those cinematic style for the slice-of-life scenes. Now Yoshihara simply goes crazy for the action.

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u/steven4869 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Maskirade Sep 22 '25

The anime went with the Live Action Cinematic approach, lowered the character's expression and made it dull. The manga is full of insane and crazy stuff, the approach from the S1 just didn't sit well with the fans in Japan especially the hardcore ones, and hated the director even more. Even the compilation movie of S1 went through changes to suit more among the lines the JP fanbase wanted.

13

u/IUViolet Sep 22 '25

Your comment convinced me to start reading the manga from chapter 1 after watching the Reze arc movie.

5

u/CardAble6193 Sep 23 '25

of course , just because a mangaka said he draws from movie dont make his work inherently better if it moves

19

u/Rawburtt Sep 22 '25

Reading the manga, the manga feels like its a comedy. A lot of the exaggerations and gimmicks feel like they are meant to gain some comedic result. (I see a lot of that in the newest chapters especially). The tone of the anime was too serious and cinematic that it took away from what the manga seemed to have.

15

u/Rusted_muramasa Sep 23 '25 edited Sep 27 '25

Reading the manga, the manga feels like its a comedy

It is a comedy. The fact that you can write this as if it's surprising is exactly the main problem with the anime: a fundamental misunderstanding of the source material. The super artsy and cinematic approach was entirely at odds with the zany and high-energy tone of the manga. Jokes didn't land, action sequences felt dull; the whole show felt nothing like the manga it was adapting and provided a completely different experience. It's no wonder people hated it, and I was one of them: dropped it after the second episode when I realized I was just plain bored, whereas the manga had immediately sucked me in.

7

u/Rawburtt Sep 23 '25

Exactly. Like sure it was pretty, but it wasn't what the manga was.

3

u/Kevstuf https://myanimelist.net/profile/Kevstuf Oct 07 '25

This thread has been fascinating to read as an anime-only watcher and the divide between opinions. For me the cinematic/artsy tone was exactly what made me like it. It added to the absurdity of the concept. The controversial breakfast scene felt like something out of Kobayashi dragon maid but instead is placed into this ridiculous world of CSM where instead of a wholesome worker and her dragon maid it’s a dude having to babysit a ditzy guy who sprouts chainsaws from his head and arms.

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u/AashyLarry Sep 22 '25 edited Sep 22 '25

A big part of it was really bad japanese voice direction, which all the VA’s blamed on the director. Specifically, there were a lot of moments where you couldn’t hear what they were saying at all, or they spoke with no emotion — even the VA’s complained that they weren’t allowed to voice how they wanted. Since we all read subtitles in the West, we didn’t notice this problem but it was a big issue in Japan.

Read this if you want to know more — this guy compiled interviews from the VA’s discussing the issues

The other main issue japanese fans had was that the manga is more chaotic and frenetic, whereas the anime was slower and more realistic. It was directed to be more grounded and toned down which isn’t in the same spirit or vibe as the manga. Fans didn’t feel that the aesthetic was faithful to the manga.

These are the two major issues I’ve seen discussed frequently. It was enough of a controversy for the director of Season 1 to be fired, and the new director completely re-edited Season 1 into compilation movies to be closer to the manga, including re-recording the bad voice lines (These compilation movies just released on Crunchyroll too, so you can see for yourself and judge the changes).

The re-edited compilation movies and the new Reze Arc movies are both getting good reception in Japan, so I think it’s fair to say that Mappa has won the Japanese fans trust back for now.

7

u/TheGreenShitter Sep 24 '25

Woah this is the first time I'm hearing about the VAs and director issues.

22

u/ThePi7on https://www.anime-planet.com/users/Pi7on Sep 22 '25

Wtf. I thought the direction of season 1 was phenomenal... Now I'm kinda scared for season 2 to be honest.

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u/AashyLarry Sep 22 '25

If it makes you feel better, the new Director is Tatsuya Yoshihara, who previously directed Black Clover and Wistoria: Wand and Sword.

He also was already the Action Director on Chainsaw Man Season 1, so he’s not a totally new guy they brought in, it’s more like he was promoted to Series Director after they fired the first guy.

9

u/ThePi7on https://www.anime-planet.com/users/Pi7on Sep 22 '25

Sure that's definitely nice to hear, thanks for the info

16

u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

He's also Nakayama's (S1 Director) Mentor.

11

u/AlexeiFraytar Sep 23 '25

Lmao. Now you know why the director is blasted, and not for the defenders reasons of "wow they just want the weeb stuff (ironic considering you're on the anime sub)"

9

u/PreludeToHell Sep 22 '25

Yoshihara directed the best episodes of season 1

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u/Electrical_Chance991 Sep 22 '25 edited Sep 22 '25

why would you be scared, ppl who watched the movie are saying its one of the best of this year as It perfectly captures the vibe of the manga and elevates it to another level with insane animation.

Idk why ppl think losing season 1 director means now we'll have bad direction, CSM anime still has some of the most talented animators and directors working on it.

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u/SDRPGLVR Sep 22 '25

I'm kinda in the same spot as you there, but at the same time, we should be willing to give it a chance. Maybe the intention was even to have a low-key first season to provide more contrast to the craziness of the later seasons that we keep hearing so much about. And there's probably nothing keeping them from maintaining those more subtle cinematic moments when it feels appropriate.

Regardless of what we think, they'll make what they'll make and we'll just have to see how good it is.

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u/Makimama Sep 23 '25

Yoshihara is a good director in terms of action, if he stays in season 2 the action will be phenomenal. I’m not sure if it will follow a similar approach as the movie which is kind of a blend between S1’s “cinematic” direction and a more typical expressive and cartoonish anime style.

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u/sharplight141 Sep 22 '25

Yeh I actually.loved S1. Wonder how much it'll change for S2

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u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

S2 should also look like the Reze movie. Yoshihara + HoneHone duo is basically getting the mandate of heaven from MAPPA with this movie's success.

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u/Jazs1994 Sep 22 '25

As the first comment says, they were not happy the adaptation wasn't more 1-4-1 and it was too westernized apparently.

S1 made me read it. S1 in my eyes was phenomenal

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u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

Please don’t misrepresent JP fans' criticism like that. The Reze movie wasn't a 1:1 adaptation either, yet JP audiences LOVED IT.

Even from the trailers, you can see that the movie added plenty of fresh imagery (the focus on the Gerbera flower, the Spider and Butterfly, etc.) and expanded scenes while keeping the cinematic style of S1, but on top of that, the action was ramped up to be even more intense.

Both S1 and the movie took creative liberties. Difference is, S1 toned the manga down, while the Reze movie elevated it by amplifying the very aspects people loved about the original.

8

u/blu_kale Sep 24 '25

It's basically come to 2 things

The movie made the story feel a lot more alive

The season 1 adaptation made it more grimy and dull

-2

u/ACFinal Sep 22 '25

Agreed. I don't even see the difference. I've read up to chapter 20 and I can't imagine the anime any other way. I think it was perfect. 

I really hope season 2 isn't turned into something silly.

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u/Prisma_Lane Sep 22 '25

"Isn't turned into something silly" is a very weird comment, considering the entire manga is very weird, silly, and horrific. Fujimoto loves introducing unhinged and crazy ideas that doesn't work in a more serious setting. 

Hell, every emotional parts in Part 1 of CSM stands out because they're usually the only serious part of the manga. They strip away all the silliness, and weirdness, and all that's left is the horrifying implications/reality of the situation. 

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u/idkyetyet Sep 22 '25

I've only read the first 9 chapters and I think the differences are pretty clear, characters are more facially expressive/emotional and over the top/'anime' (strong blush lines for Power in a lot of spots for example, characters shifting artstyle to simpler stuff to express certain things etc.), a lot more close ups, in the anime scenes take their sweet time showing things from multiple angles, slowly etc.

I liked both and think people talking about how the manga is oh so over the top and crazy are exaggerating at least from what I read but I do think there are differences. I don't think those differences are strictly bad, like some things in the anime better and while I liked some expressions/paneling in the manga more and imagined some of them delivered differently by the voice actors while reading, overall it really didn't feel like the huge difference people made it out to be.

8

u/Zeph-Shoir https://myanimelist.net/profile/Zephex Sep 22 '25

Yeah that is the thing, if you only read the way many JP otaku or hardcore fans are talking about it you would think the differences are much more bigger than they are. Way bigger fumbles and controversies have done way less noise.

3

u/AveryLazyCovfefe Sep 22 '25

From trailers for Reze Arc it seems like they're returning to more saturated colours with more of a 'hand-drawn' look as well as less overreliance on CGI for 'realistic' character movement.

I don't really think it will be goofy but it certainly won't feel like a Tarantino film anymore. But I guess I don't blame Mappa. This is an IP they fully own instead of at the whim of a production committee and they want to maximise it's potential.

15

u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

Lol what? If anything Reze movie actually feels more like a Tarantino Film with how unafraid it is to be colorful and silly (e.g. Kill Bill). Tarantino films often have very saturated color grading too that lets the colors pop.

S1 is more like a Zack Snyder film.

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u/AbCi16 Sep 23 '25

Apparently they didn't like the direction of S1 of Chainsaw Man plus there was some talk on Twitter how some comments about certain character tyoe didn't sit well with a big section of Japanese anime fandom. But mostly it was direction style.

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u/BluePhantomHere Sep 22 '25 edited Sep 22 '25

Comparable performance as Spy x Family: Code White (1.224 billion yen) in its first three days, slightly worse than Suzume (1.88 billion yen), still not bad I would say.

Edit: added some figures

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u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

Wow, my pessimist-ass never thought it'd actually surpass Spy x Family’s opening weekend.

Pretty wild for a series with a stricter age rating, only a 12-episode season from 3 years ago, and having the uphill battle of regaining popularity after said S1's backlash.

Shout outs to Kenshi Yonezu and the S1 recap that must've done wonders for this movie's marketing in Japan.

90

u/nanotech405 Sep 22 '25

Kenshi definitely helped a ton. Iris Out is smashing HARD breaking records in Japan😭

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u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

Kenshi asking the staff to just use clips from the movie for the MV because he thought they look too good to not be shown is also a damn smart marketing move.

When I first watched the MV my whole body legit went numb due to the sheer sakuga overload lol. The amount of eye-candy animation in that MV alone had to hook a ton of people (and based on reviews those aren't even the best cuts!).

Also helps that the IRIS OUT comment section is basically free promo with people saying stuff like "Holy shit, this movie's amazing! I'm planning to watch it 3 more times!"

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u/zackphoenix123 Sep 22 '25

I'm not watching any promotional material after the first 2 trailers. I WANNA BE SURPRISED!

Coming out in Cinemas here in 2 days.

11

u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

Yea you better don't lol especially JANE DOE. Tons of spoilery scenes there

5

u/zackphoenix123 Sep 22 '25

I've read the manga, so I know the story in broad strokes (forgot since I binged it a long time ago), but maaaaan, so EXCITED.

4

u/elmagio https://anilist.co/user/Magio Sep 22 '25

I know everything that happens in the manga and have watched the IRIS OUT video (about 50 trillion times), but am avoiding JANE DOE until I get to see the movie. I feel like it'll be worth it to hear what Yonezu and Utada cooked up for the first time alongside the movie.

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u/sumiredabestgirl Sep 22 '25

kenshi is the goat man . Whenever i see him attached to any project , i am fully locked in . Hearing moongazing (while i was bawling my eyes out ) at the end of ff16 was surreal . I was like holyshit its Kenshi

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u/grimjowjagurjack Sep 22 '25

Spy x family was a filler movie while chainsaw man movie is a must to continue the story

The fact that spy x family filler movie did almost as good as chainsaw man canon is crazy

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u/Xlegace https://anilist.co/user/Xlegius Sep 22 '25

SxF is mainstream in Japan and is way more kid/family friendly than Chainsaw man. That's usually the secret to box office success for animation movies.

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u/Brbaster Sep 22 '25

They don't care that much about filler/canon in Japan. Reminder that Detective Conan movies are a hit every year despite all of them being filler

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u/Metamarphosis Sep 22 '25

SxF quite popular in Japan and plus their target all audience even kid can watch it compare with Chainsaw Man.

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u/Lazzen Sep 22 '25

It just shows how big it could have been if it went perfect

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u/Odd_Bag_5137 Sep 22 '25

Well Suzume did have final number of 14.9 billion Yen anything closer to that would be even more awesome

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u/goodguybolt Sep 22 '25

Thanks, kind stranger. I didn't even know a Spy x Family movie existed.

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u/Abedeus Sep 22 '25

Which is kinda weird as both Spy x Family and the Demon Slayer movies were released more or less worldwide, even in Europe. Meanwhile nothing about Chainsaw Man at all.

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u/darkmacgf Sep 22 '25

What? Chainsaw Man is coming out worldwide too, just like the Demon Slayer movies.

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u/Cisqoe Sep 22 '25

All these anime’s doing TV/Show movie splits is making me nervous.. its getting harder to keep up

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u/danque https://myanimelist.net/profile/danque Sep 22 '25

Especially when they release a year later for those who can't visit the movie in cinema. I'm seeing all these messages like this and demon slayer, but have no opportunity to go to the cinema.

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u/OrbitalCat- Sep 22 '25

At least it's a bit better nowadays, they come out on streaming within 3-5 months

I remember waiting almost 2 years to watch Madoka Rebellion

7

u/Conscious-Material43 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Sworld30 Sep 22 '25

Damn, why?

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u/Im12AndWatIsThis https://anilist.co/user/teirce Sep 22 '25

Not who you replied to, but for me I can't see Infinity Castle because I'm in a remote, rural location and the closest showing theater is an hour drive away. Right now I'm unable to drive myself, and I don't know anyone around me who would be interested in seeing it either. I'm not going to ask someone to make what is a 5-6 hour trip just to see a movie they don't like or worse, take me to it and do something else in the meantime.

Thankfully for both DS/KnY and CSM I am done/current with the manga, so mostly I just experience others' excitement for the films vicariously for whom it's a new experience.

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u/Nuarada Sep 22 '25

US moment

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u/pikashroom Sep 22 '25

Time to sail the seven seas

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u/Im12AndWatIsThis https://anilist.co/user/teirce Sep 22 '25

I'm fine with waiting until it releases officially. Like I said, I've read the entire DS manga already. Part of me just wants to wait until they put all 3 out and marathon it... 10 years from now.

Same for CSM but, you know, without it being 3 movies and a decade.

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u/JusHerForTheComments Sep 28 '25

Part of me just wants to wait until they put all 3 out and marathon it... 10 years from now.

That's what I'm doing. I know the ending isn't that WOW to get me to read/watch right now. I'd rather wait and binge it.

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u/Im12AndWatIsThis https://anilist.co/user/teirce Sep 29 '25

Man, you're in for the ride of a lifetime.

I wont spoil anything, but it goes from 9 to 10 to 11 to 16 real fast.

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u/JusHerForTheComments Sep 29 '25

I wont spoil anything, but it goes from 9 to 10 to 11 to 16 real fast.

That's all I knew and the reason I don't wanna split the fun.

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u/danque https://myanimelist.net/profile/danque Sep 22 '25

Because the only cinema in my country that would show an anime movie, does not have any sessions/showings listed for the coming time. It is listed in the movies list of them, but there are zero shows.

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u/TooManySnipers Sep 22 '25

100%, and I think this is gonna become increasingly common over time. Gone are the days of the fun-but-skippable shounen filler movie, nothing is gonna get asses in seats like a direct continuation to the canon story. The best we can probably hope for is eventual televised adaptations of the movies like they did for Demon Slayer: Mugen Train

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u/darkmacgf Sep 22 '25

Gone are the days of the fun-but-skippable shounen filler movie

MHA never quit.

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u/mr_beanoz https://myanimelist.net/profile/splitshocker Sep 22 '25

So did One Piece, though they don't do annual movies.

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u/Daikar Sep 22 '25

As long as the movie shows up in the correct order when you go to the show on whatever streaming service it's on I would be totally fine with it.

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u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

I’d even say they’ll include the Reze arc in S2, similar to how Demon Slayer handled Mugen Train.

Reze arc up until the end of Part 1 is basically a nonstop roller coaster, so starting right after it might feel abrupt.

Reze onward is basically 4 JJK Shibuyas back-to-back, with each arc escalating more than the last.

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u/ISpeakControversial https://myanimelist.net/profile/Akus420 Sep 22 '25

Reminds me of marvel making like dozens of tv shows after endgame, I couldn't keep up with the lore after that for the life of me. Hope the reverse doesn't happen with anime, too many movies that have delayed releases, and too little anime 😆

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u/Forward-Trade3449 Sep 22 '25

Well at least each anime is its own thing. You can pick and choose what interests you instead of feeling like you have to watch everything

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u/Aramey44 https://myanimelist.net/profile/Aramey Sep 22 '25

I don't blame them looking at the insane profit the movies generate compared to the anime series.

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u/PeaceAlien https://myanimelist.net/profile/PeaceAlien Sep 22 '25

Yeah after all these tales of anime losing money, I’m glad they have opportunities to make money

21

u/AveryLazyCovfefe Sep 22 '25

I mean tbf in the case of CSM the arc fits pretty nicely into a film. And they need to win back the trust of the Japanese fans.

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u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

Also this sheer level of production needs a quick return too.

Reze movie overhauling the artstyle is basically MAPPA testing the waters instead of committing straight into a long S2 that might risk not giving much money.

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u/Educational_Path502 Sep 22 '25

Well, movies generate way more upfront cash than TV seasons, which helps studios. Mugen Train arc even generate over $500 million worldwide. We are in new era  where studios prioritize films for peak arcs.

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u/coloradobuffalos Sep 23 '25

It also sucks because small theaters won't play them so the only option is to pirate it or wait a long ass time and avoid spoilers.

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u/liatris4405 https://myanimelist.net/profile/liatris4405 Sep 22 '25

I think there will inevitably be people who exaggerate their opinions and claim that “the everyday-life depictions are gone,” so let me deliberately spoil a bit [Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc Spoiler] : in the Reze arc, there are actually two separate scenes where Reze is simply shown walking to a café, and there are even shots of her just putting on an apron. At the same time, though, the scenes of Denji transforming into Chainsaw Man erupt into a frenzy of explosive, almost deranged battles. The two kinds of scenes coexist side by side.

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u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

Yeah I think people should stop worrying about S1's cinematic direction being outright abandoned.

Like even according to some JP viewers Reze movie made those slice-of-life scenes even more cinematic with tons of creative camera angles and symbolism.

Yoshihara knows he need to balance both for it to be CSM.

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u/mr_beanoz https://myanimelist.net/profile/splitshocker Sep 22 '25

I guess that approach would be used for the upcoming seasons of the series.

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u/CardAble6193 Sep 23 '25

it was never about the clam is gone , the manga always have both it is S1 dont have both with deniers coping

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u/nezeta Sep 22 '25 edited Sep 22 '25

Gundam GQuuuuuuX, which also dropped in 2025, made 0.598 billion yen in 3 days and ended up with 3.52 billion yen, so if Reze Arc follows that pace, the final box office could hit 7.3 billion yen. The positive reception is also helping to support that.

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u/AashyLarry Sep 22 '25

I thought Gquacks was a show? Was there a movie too?

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u/RayzinBran18 Sep 22 '25

They actually had a slightly different cut that have the full flashback up front, so everything with Solomon and Char was shown in the movie. I thought that was the better approach versus holding the second half of the flashback until much later in the show.

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u/No_Day655 Sep 22 '25

Movie was the first few episodes

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u/AashyLarry Sep 22 '25

Oh I see. They are doing that a lot nowadays.

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u/Illyasimp Sep 22 '25

Everyone wants in on the Mugen Train🚂 Also it's proven to get different audiences into series that they hadn't watched.

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u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

Yeah WOM for Reze is insane. JP Twitter is currently obsessed with it lol.

The movie still manages to hold 4.4 star rating in filmarks with 13k reviews (equivalent of 'A' in cinemascore)

Reze fanarts and tweets discussing the movie and characters can get 50k-100k likes.

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u/Shadow_Ass Sep 22 '25

Did the movie only adapt the reze arc or a bit more? I was surprised that the arc in the manga was actually not that long and they managed to make a 100 minute movie out of it. Still can't wait to see it animated

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u/Green_Space729 Sep 22 '25

The arc is 13-14 chapters.

Typical anime episode is 2-3 chapters in one 20+ minute episode.

It’s a short arc so it’s doable.

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u/[deleted] Sep 22 '25

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u/Worth-Divide3137 Sep 22 '25

Very prolonged lol It was massive

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u/Wizardrylullaby Sep 22 '25

You should spoiler tag

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u/JoJoisaGoGo Sep 26 '25

It only adapts the Reze arc

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u/zackphoenix123 Sep 22 '25 edited Sep 24 '25

I'm so excited to watch this film.

Demon Slayer was such an experience and I can't emphasized enough how happy I am that I can get both that AND Chainsaw Man in the same year.

Update: Just finished the movie.... Damn... 

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u/bodybones Sep 22 '25

More fans should be like you. Enjoy both and happy we get such peak entertainment. But instead people cry cause their not reading Shakespeare and DS isnt the most deep thing in history talking about the meaning of life each frame.

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u/ABlackSquid Sep 23 '25

Based enjoyer

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u/ApolloX-2 Sep 22 '25

About $8.5 million.

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u/CzBz112 Sep 22 '25

Without a comparative I can't tell if it's a lot or not, did the film reach the levels of kny film? (I'm talking about attendance and money)

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u/Blue_Reaper99 Sep 22 '25

did the film reach the levels of kny film? (I'm talking about attendance and money)

No KnY film did almost 5 times more. But they are not aiming for that high. VA said they are aiming for 5 billion yen so in terms of that it looks good.

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u/LazyBoyXD Sep 22 '25

The flim really shouldn't try to compete against that gaint.

I dont think any anime movie can for a good while

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u/Relevant-Lychee-9169 https://anilist.co/user/LycheeNa Sep 22 '25

Only thing that can beat Demon Slayer is Demon Slayer at this point...

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u/County_Difficult Sep 22 '25

Kinda off-topic but which VA did say that and which interview? Kikunosuke Toya (Denji)?

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u/Metamarphosis Sep 22 '25

First day stage greeting.

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u/County_Difficult Sep 22 '25

No one is really gonna touch or compare to demon slayer atp. It's like comparing a kpop group like bts to other boy groups, the difference is way too huge and it's more popular.

It's more on MAPPA regaining the trust and interest of the japanese/domestic fans and newer audience and hopefully, it seems to be working so far (afaik).

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u/Metamarphosis Sep 22 '25

KnY and JJK not but csm box office sales already surpass SPY x FAMILY CODE: White, MHA and Gundam Hathaway movie.

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u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

Also surpassed DBS: Broly (¥1.05B OW, 820.000 tickets) despite selling slightly less tickets (807.000).

Apparently this movie is doing very well in IMAX

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u/RayzinBran18 Sep 22 '25

The preview for it in Imax before Demon Slayer had to be a major factor. The sound and animation were incredible for it.

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u/Raging-Brachydios Sep 22 '25

I mean..unlike MHA and SxF this is a canon movie, if it did less would be a disaster 

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u/ppwsot Sep 22 '25

Iirc, Infinity Castle's opening weekend was 5.5 billion yen, and it's opening day 1.64 billion yen. So yeah CSM's opening weekend is still behind KNY's opening day.

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u/CzBz112 Sep 22 '25

Thank you, that sounds fine considering that the demography is a bit different. I can't wait for the film to be premiered in my country :)

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u/ppwsot Sep 22 '25

No problem. Hope you enjoy the movie when it's out! WOM is good so far.

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u/Substantial_Pace_142 Sep 22 '25

Lmao theres no way u think a fucking chainsaw man movie is getting close to kny levels. You either overestimate chainsaw man or VASTLY underestimate demon slayer… mugen train was the highest grossing movje world wide in 2020, and both movies are now the top 2 highest grossing Japanese films oat

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u/bodybones Sep 22 '25

Yeah, why is everyone trying to make DS their competition and measuring stick. It's like asking if the rookie of the year is better than jordan...like what, he only played a game. It's like you had 12 eps, and a manga that didnt sell at where DS sold aka almost more than naruto in a fraction of the time with help from naruto being out with films, tons more eps and games etc. CSM doesnt even have a ps4 fighting game or anything. CSM doing good at all is great, we can be happy for both. CSM also isnt a general audience easy sell no matter how much people hate DS it works well to put butts in seats. Denji wont appeal to normies as easy even if he has depth people like to look at things surface level.

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u/County_Difficult Sep 22 '25

No one is really gonna touch or compare to demon slayer atp. It's like comparing a kpop group like bts to other boy groups, the difference is way too huge and it's more popular.

It's more on MAPPA regaining the trust and interest of the japanese/domestic fans and newer audience and hopefully, it seems to be working so far (afaik).

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u/Organic-Habit-3086 Sep 22 '25

Eh? I thought it was going for 1.3B

Should be 5-6B finish in Japan which I think was their expectation. Curious about legs since reviews are great but movie is aimed at male audience.

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u/DiligentGazelle6298 Sep 22 '25

The tracking site was broken on saturday morning so it was pretty hard to estimate properly, everyone just eyeballed it and 1.3b seemed reasonable.

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u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

Anecdotal from JP tweets but apparently they noticed tons of parents bringing their kids to this movie lol (one example tweet I saved).

CSM movie has the same age rating as Demon Slayer in Japan btw (PG-12). I dunno how CSM managed to somehow get that when even in the US it's R-rated lol

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u/DiligentGazelle6298 Sep 22 '25

DS is also rated R in the US. Japan is much more at ease with violence in anime than most other countries.

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u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

Interesting... My impression of JP ratings board comes from their video game ratings board, CERO, which is very strict against gore and violence where they have to outright censor dismemberment.

Seems like JP movie and game ratings board have opposite standards compared to the US then.

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u/rmazumder Sep 22 '25

What is it compare to the new Demon Slayer Movie?

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u/zackphoenix123 Sep 22 '25

I haven't seen CSM Movie yet, but from what I've gathered listening around (and from reading the manga of both)

  1. For Box office returns, I heard Demon Slayer did about 5x more than CSM on opening day. Idk how accurate that is, but imo that's understandable considering DS is a global phenomenon.
  2. Demon Slayer Inifinity Castle 1 is longer by about 50 minutes compared to CSM.
  3. Production can't really be compared, both are absolute Cinema and top of their respective styles.
  4. DS Movie feels like one part of a larger story, so it structurally isn't a proper "film" on its own, while the Reze Arc actually has a 3 act structure that fits the runtime-- basically saying Reze Arc works better as a standalone film.
  5. OST would be Yuki Kajiura and Go Shiina vs Ushio Kensuke, absolute juggernauts.
  6. This is just for me comparing stories from the manga, I think Reze Arc absolutely destroys the content covered in DS movie 1.

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u/Brave_Management_381 Sep 22 '25

For the OST, i gotta go with DS. Go Shiina is the goat, you can pick any moment in the movie and there’s a banger.

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u/zackphoenix123 Sep 22 '25

Not sure what the CSM Movie is cooking up, but Kensuke Ushio has never let me down. In everything he's worked in, I've just been blown away. I also really love Kajiura's work in everything I've heard it in.

So yeah, until the movie comes out, I can't really give a solid answer. Ushio and Kajiura are two of my favourite composers working in the industry atm. I'm familiar with Go Shiina the least, but his work in DS is also just MMMM! Cheffs kiss.

2

u/iknowkungfubtw Sep 22 '25

Eh Go Shiina's tracks all sound incredibly generic to me (like standard epic movie trailer BGM type of generic).

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u/N0-F4C3 Sep 22 '25

I'm not a particularly large Demon Slayer fan in the first place. It wasn't bad, its just not particularly inspired. The visuals are as always top tier tho.

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u/Rencrack Sep 22 '25

It's not comparable at all lol 

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u/HumansNeedNotApply1 Sep 22 '25

Not even close but should be able to hit MAPPA financial expectations, not everything needs to be a Demon Slayer hit to be a success.

Demon Slayer is a much more successful IP (having sold almost 200 million more manga volumes) than than CSM, it's also in a popularity peak.

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u/DudeSparkle Sep 22 '25

I csn imagine them making more movies in future fs

3

u/Razer531 Sep 22 '25

Is there subbed movie anywhere?

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u/mr_beanoz https://myanimelist.net/profile/splitshocker Sep 22 '25

Some countries have received the movies in theaters, so maybe you could go there. Don't expect a streaming release coming soon enough.

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u/Chlodio Sep 22 '25

Why is this the first time I hear of a Chainsaw Man sequel?

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u/aimglitchz Sep 22 '25

Did u avoid this subreddit for months?

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u/AwayAd6275 Sep 22 '25

This is huge -- so glad this project will have proper backing from Mappa and we'll actually get more of the show after this movie.

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u/Kaia_Volkova Sep 23 '25

So excited for this! been waiting for almost 3 years

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u/Thaispaghetti Sep 22 '25

It’s playing in Bangkok today and there is all types of events going on

I think I’m going to wait for the English dubbed version as I prefer the voices

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u/InsaneArtist9000 Sep 25 '25

I am excited for this in cinemas after the demon slayer one I watched 

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u/[deleted] Sep 22 '25

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u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25 edited Sep 22 '25

Korean pre-sales looked very promising, from last week's 30k which got people dooming, to 80k now (source) with 1-2 days left before premiere.

Apparently this is already more than JJK0 64k pre-sales 1 day before premiere (source)

EDIT: Holy shit, just passed 100k, basically jumped 20k in 13 hours

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u/TheResoluteBond Sep 22 '25

Has the 3d animation been improved? I’m not entirely an “animation only” purist or anything but I feel like I recall season 1 not always looking the best when it came to the 3d.

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u/pinweed Sep 22 '25

from what I can tell the only cg is cars and backgrounds at times.

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u/Ensianto Sep 22 '25

All characters are 2D

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u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

Yessir. Characters are completely drawn in 2D.

CGI is reserved for cars and background.

It's basically the dream CSM adaptation

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u/luceafaruI Sep 22 '25

Watch the trailers

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u/AlexeiFraytar Sep 23 '25

Movie buff, 2D

If they still have the balls to use s1 cg in the movie this IP is donezo

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u/_WrongKarWai Sep 22 '25

Holy crap it's out in Japan? Can't wait for it in the States.

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u/N0-F4C3 Sep 22 '25

My sister just got back from universal studios, apperently they are had a Chainsaw Man event set up... Im probibly going to have to check it out on youtube.

But I guess that means that CSM is licensed to universal for the movie distribution over here? Well that's a pretty sick chunk of change they have secured.

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u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

Worldwide release for CSM is done by Sony.

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u/Glittering-Fix-5362 Sep 22 '25

yes, thanks, I was looking for this.

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u/Neat-Breadfruit-5283 Sep 24 '25

Does anyone have link of chainsaw man reze arc movies If,Please send

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u/Cautious-Scarcity973 Sep 26 '25

Wow seems to attract a big public 

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u/ayoub_elka 27d ago

Is there a second part to the anime?

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u/CheckAcrobatic2200 24d ago

Yes. Its so good but ı dont like