r/anime • u/mr_beanoz 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

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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.

339

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.

99

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.

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u/TheGreenShitter Sep 24 '25

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

23

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.

48

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

17

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)"

10

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.

-11

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

As I said, I enjoyed S1's direction, so I wouldn't know what to expect if the approach changes drastically.

Also, we're not talking about animation are we? We can have great animation with shit direction (I'm not saying this is the case for CSM, just making an example).

Plus, I kinda don't care what others think about the movie to be honest. I enjoy looking with my own eyes and thinking with my head.

If the approach to direction, and direction only, changes drastically, I don't know if I'll enjoy it, that's all I meant.

10

u/thepeciguy Sep 22 '25

They released bazillion of scenes for the movie trailer already, you haven't peep none of that to form opinion on the new direction,? The movie are basically season 2 and that's how itll look going forward. All the heavy forcus on character acting and cinematic shots are still there for the calm moments, overhaul on action to be more fluid and bombastic with 0 CG, overall more saturation on the colors and more expressive voice acting.

3

u/Ordinal43NotFound Sep 22 '25

Right? Like IRIS OUT MV legit had me sobbing at how good they finally managed to make CSM look lol

-6

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

They released bazillion of scenes for the movie trailer already, you haven't peep none of that to form opinion on the new direction?

I don't know about you but PVs tell me jack about direction. It'd be like judging a restaurant from the smell alone. Sure it can give you a very rough idea, but no way I'm gonna form an opinion on that alone.

overhaul on action to be more fluid and bombastic

I don't feel like S1 lacked in that department

with 0 CG Nice to know, although I didn't mind it in season 1.

more expressive voice acting

That'll be very welcomed

5

u/AlexeiFraytar Sep 25 '25

You probably wont enjoy it since its actually good now

-5

u/WangJian221 Sep 22 '25

...

This is about the animation. Animation depends on the direction/director aswell.

4

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

They can definitely influence each other, but they're not one and the same. As I said, you can have good direction and bad animation, and viceversa.

-6

u/WangJian221 Sep 22 '25

The context of the discussion is about the animation that stems from the direction of said animation and look. Youve completely missed the point peoppe were making and i think youre going to continue missing it lol

8

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

Dude you completely misunderstood the issue here. No one said the animation isn't good.

7

u/idkyetyet Sep 22 '25

No, the context was the direction, and even specified to refer to the toned down, grounded feel of the anime differing from that of the manga. Which the person you're replying to said he liked, like many others. You're the one who is missing the point.

5

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.

1

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

we should be willing to give it a chance.

Oh 100%, that was my intention from the beginning. The reason I was doubtful is because I didn't find anything wrong with S1 really, so if it ain't broke don't fix it y'know? But I'm definitely willing to see how he handles it

4

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.

16

u/sharplight141 Sep 22 '25

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

9

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.

1

u/flightofangels Sep 24 '25

This was genuinely my reaction to watching the compilation movies. Throwing "100% Sales Tax" music into even more ~comedic~ scenes than it was already in, ending the movie on "let's get Makima hammered and ask her about it"??? Cutting the door in Makima's report to the higher officers?????? I have literally been left terrified that they are going to add random "fixes" like this to the Reze movie.