I like both styles

as you should

that was fun

I loved the slice of life section of this movie, especially when it's obvious of what's going to happen between Reze and Denji.

The first like 30 seconds of the movie being done like 1:1 of the manga in b/w was fire too

Gave me flashbacks of Uzumaki’s first ep

Me in the theater as soon as I noticed the No Country For Old Men reference:

Idk why but it got me hyped I immediately turned to my friend and said I think that's a no country for old men reference in a louder voice than I intended

Finally going to see this Friday. Idk about how people feel about chainsaw man. But I f***ing loved the first season

I mean it is kinda ironic how the “cinematic” art style leaves once it goes to theatres so backwards I fwi tho

I just really enjoy having a protagonist with simple goals and kinda isnt aspiring to be the president of Japan or the master of a 10,000 year old wizard clan or something. Just a guy who wants to see some titties and has insane and dark adventures. Its my s***.

I like that what's happening is f***ing insane but it feels like it could be real by how the characters react.

Got a month of shonen jump to reread chainsaw man and read goodbye eri and fire punch
fujimoto before chainsaw man on prime next week
already watched look back when it came out but may rewatch or read the manga idk
I'm spending my free time going down the fujimoto hole

Let's start off by saying this was my most anticipated anime in 5 years, an adaptation of my favorite arc of chainsaw man, that after seeing mugen train i thought would have been the best and most fitting arc of a mainstream manga to translate into a feature film because of it's structure (then the first slam dunk came out and showed me another great example unexpectedly but that's another story). Because yes, even now i think that it works really well as a standalone film, despite what many would argue. You wouldnt have full context of denji and makima's relationship, or aki's motivations, but the film centers around reze and denji's love story, and for that you don't need any other context that the film itself doesn't already provide imo.
After watching it twice and giving myself a few days to think about it i think i can only have praise for this work that managed to nail every single aspect it was set out to do and then some, somehow elevating the source material that imo was already almost flawless with additions that i never even thought about.

I'll admit that season 1 kinda deflated my enthusiasm a bit, i wont criticize it too much as its still an enjoyable watch but basically i think it goes against Fujimoto's style as a writer and creative. Fujimoto has many nuances to his writing. Yes he's cinematic in his approach, his passion for movies is palpable in every panel and reference he makes, but that's not all there is to it. He's also an artistic anarchist, weirdo, goofy, rebel, sentimental, f***ing crazy, cruel, loves manga, and chainsaw man encapsulates all of this. But season 1 instead takes a very narrow view of his work, only focusing on the cinematic aspects, bringing it to such an extreme that it limits every other aspect of an animation project. Character design is grounded, realistic, resembling of a live action cast. So is the voice acting and the direction. The color grading veers into the cold, there's a lot of greys. The action is also nothing impressive and feels most of the time like a 1 to 1 rip of the manga, in some places being even inferior (aki & curse devil vs katana comes to mind). These restrictions are imo obviously a stylistic choice of the director who probably found a shared kindred with Fujimoto in their love for movies, but in doing so i think he restricted the unlimited potential of the project. It was deflating seeing freelance animators showing disdain for the limitations imposed on them for a project most were heavily anticipating and hyped to work on, and i can see why. As Fujimoto stated in an interview, he wants the anime to be its own version of chainsaw man by using all the aspects that makes animation unique as an art form. Season 1 felt like the director wanted to make a live action adaptation but was instead forced into an animation project.

So when reze arc was announced and from the very first trailer the changes were shown, my anticipation grew tenfold. And now with its release its all i can think about, it got me to stop listening and grieving for D'Angelo too thats how good it was.
Ive been reading some takes that this film reduces the cinematic feel of the first season, and im left confused, because there are so many shots, visual parallels, motifs and metaphor becoming of a feature film. Im guessing these critiques refer to the grounded, realistic approach of s1, but hopefully we can agree animation shouldnt have to be realistic to be cinema.

I wont talk too much about the plot itself, i think its the greatest love story told in a shonen manga, battle or not (may not be a high bar to clear but even if it was im sure it would put up a great fight), this is the look back before look back, the goodbye eri before goodbye eri. Fujimoto shines the brightest with short stories, hes able to encapsulate the human experience and their many shades in a single volume because he does so much with almost nothing. He was able to clearly draw in your mind reze's entire backstory without showing a hint of a flashback or change in perspective. One single line sums up her tragedy.
This arc is the turning point of chainsaw man, the point of the story you realize what this manga really is about, and it all starts with one of the most iconic moments in recent manga and the story itself, the cinema date. First addition i loved was the parallel between the hug in the ballad of the soldier reference (a soviet movie) and reze and denji's hug, and their contrast. The first is a greeting hug after a long absence, the second a goodbye hug. I wonder if makima cried when she saw that too.

There are many parallels thoughout the film i wont get into, all anime only btw, but they're a great storytelling tool especially in a short story and they're all very emotionally effective.
The pool scene is the highlight of the film (and mostly anime only so again, how is this not cinematic again?) and its funny how every theatre had the same reaction, from amusement to dead silence. It was so dreamy and nostalgic in a way, very intimate as well, im struggling to find words to describe it honestly. There's genuine joy in both of them, reze in particular. Before this scene she never felt completely genuine (besides the very few anime only moments where the facade comes off as she learns about denji's horrible conditions) so in a way, kinda tense? But in the pool she feels weightless, happy and true to herself, and the spider symbolism reaffirms that. My interpretation of it is the web being the pool, reze being the spider and denji the posionous butterfly. As she invites denji to the pool, the trap, she bites him but gets poisoned by love, and that will be the end of her, as both the spider and butterfly are shown dead.
Shoutout to the freaky assassin too, they elevated that character so much i actually had forgotten about him in the manga.

The fireworks scene was maybe the only one that didnt completely surpass the manga, but that's such an iconic scene i've had in my head for years that its understandable. The fight that follows more than makes up for it.

I loved the mahou shojo ass transformation a lot, with the accompanying track i tried my hardest not to get up my seat and scream. Also the damn finger snap with that eargasm of a sound effect goddamn i was hype.
The fight itself in its entirety was the greatest spectacle ive witnessed in a battle in too many years honestly. This is what im talking about when criticizing season 1. Leaving aside the feasibility of such scene in seasonal format, the boundless creativity that naturally comes from animation. The closure that the animation director and the different animators perceive differently in the manga create a sequence of cuts that when done right always, and i mean always improves the manga. So yeah the battle itself was improved drastically, and thats not even a dig at the manga. The f***ing music, coreography, dynamism, pacing, crativity. I loved the cut when it gets to reze's first perosn pov, the destruction of tokyo you see so high up in the air from that perspective was so fire. Denji and beam are the highlight and i love how the animators used that insane concept to its full potential, they went as creative as Fujimoto in that regard.
Also, the COLORS as well. Bright, popping, even exaggerated at times, a feast for the eyes, and resembling of Fujimoto's own coloring style. He did study painting after all.

The finale broke me emotionally, from when "in the sea" plays to the credits end. Again, the added touch of her hugging denji so geniunely, as if that was the first hug she gave with intention in her entire life, im tearing up as im writing this.

I cant even think of a glaring issue, something that was clearly done wrong. I can point to the cgi use, but i only clearly noticed it in the cars (apparently some crowds were in cgi as well but they hid it well because i didnt notice it even when looking for it). I guess beam with tanjiro's VA was distracting?
All in all, a fantastic, gut wrenching story that was only made better by clever additions that didnt impact its pacing or narrative depth with useless padding, that understands the original, wants to imprint a new, coherent mark on it, and uses its medium in the best ways it can.

I've seen some lament the plot twist being spoiled by trailers. Imo the plot twist never was reze being bad, but her never going to school either.

TLDR movie is gas

If we want to be hyper specific about the animation, one thing I noticed in the movie that they improved on was the line volume looked noticeably fuller giving the characters a better outline

I did notice the line weight and liked it less, too bold imo

It’s usually always a win if you can make out the thicker outlines, gives the production crew a smoother time for readability, plus not having to draw a gazillion folds in the clothing

The greatest love story in shonen?????

From an ease of production standpoint I see your perspective. Aesthetically it felt less polished more jagged / not as smooth figure - ground relationship. Others like it so it’s a preference. Just noted it on my watch too.

Why you say that as if there was some heavy competition lol

I guess it is a preference, but tbh that approach feels fresh and new rather than something overly touched up, Mob Psycho’s another example where the rough line work matches the energy of not just the original art but the source material as well

I can’t argue with that haha