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Chainsaw Man is making a significant impact, largely due to its cinematic release. Dominating Japan’s box office for seven consecutive weeks, topping Apple TV charts, debuting with a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes, and boasting the most-liked tweet on X, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc is capturing everyone’s attention.
While Chainsaw Man is currently a hot topic, many viewers might not fully appreciate all the intricate details packed into its film adaptation. With its digital release now available and streaming on Crunchyroll just around the corner, fans have unprecedented access to uncover the movie’s hidden layers, subtle references, and cleverly placed Easter Eggs.
During the opening sequence of the film, set to Kenshi Yonezu’s “Iris Out,” there’s a whimsical scene where Pochita playfully dances behind Denji amidst vibrant entrails. Although it appears lighthearted, this moment cleverly hints at future developments, adding a layer of depth to the film’s narrative.
Pochita’s Fun Dance in The Reze Arc’s Opening Isn’t Purely For Fan Service
In the OP sequence for the film, as Kenshi Yonezu’s Iris Out plays, there’s a humerous and seemingly harmless scene in which Pochita is shown dancing behind Denji with colorful entrails hanging around them. It’s a playful shot, but what’s particularly notable about it is that it also contains a bit of subtle foreshadowing.
As Pochita dances around Denji, Dance Dance Revolution combos begin to show in front of him, calling back to Pochita’s iconic ‘date’ with Kobeni toward the end of Part 1 in the Chainsaw Man manga. In Chainsaw Man Chapter 86, “Date Chainsaw,” Pochita, in his Black Chainsaw Man form, takes Kobeni to an arcade where he forces her to “vance” on a Dance Dance Revolution arcade set.
While a funny moment at the time, it carries with it dark connotations as a particularly tragic period in Denji’s life. Doubling down on this reference, the opening later shows Kobeni dropping a hamburger in the street, again calling back to the moment that started it all, when Kobeni dropped Pochita’s “vamvavaa” at the restaurant where she worked.
Attack On Titan Exists in the Chainsaw Man Universe
One of the earliest Easter Eggs in the Chainsaw Man film comes during Denji’s date with Makima at the movie theater. As the couple watches the first film in their all-night movie marathon, one of the members of the audience is shown wearing a t-shirt decorated with the Survey Corps logo from Attack on Titan. Interestingly, the man also sports a haircut that’s quite similar to Connie’s in AOT.
Of course, considering the latter seasons of AOT were produced by MAPPA, the same company that made the Reze Arc film, an Easter Egg referring to their own work shouldn’t be surprising. While it’s definitely a fun detail, it actually makes very little sense for Attack on Titan to exist in the Chainsaw Man universe, considering CSM’s story takes place in the 1990s, way before Attack on Titan ever existed.
Reze Was Ready to Kill Denji When They First Met
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc is an incredibly faithful adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga to the point that many scenes in the film that weren’t in the original source material nonetheless feel like they were always there in the background. One such minor addition comes in the iconic scene where Denji and Reze first meet in the telephone booth early in the movie.
As Reze runs inside to hide from the rain, viewers may notice that she has her hand holding her neck. Anime-only viewers might not think anything of it, but Reze’s subtle hand-placement is actually indicative of her secret identity as the Bomb Devil Hybrid. Reze is known to transform into the Bomb Devil by pulling the pin from her neck, so her having her hand on her neck shows she approached Denji with every intention of completing her mission quickly.
Reze only lowers her guard after realizing how harmless and innocent Denji is, and things spiral for her from there. The small added detail of Reze’s initial malicious intent gives an entirely new meaning to her musing in Makima’s arms at the end of the film: “Denji, I wonder why I didn’t kill you the first time we met.”
Reze’s Rooftop Strangling Scene is a Reference to an Iconic Tarantino Movie
In Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc, that unforgettable moment when Reze strangles her attacker on the high school roof is truly the point of no return for the movie. It’s a powerful scene that reveals the extent of Reze’s ability and the secret identity which she hid from Denji.
Interestingly, this scene is also a direct reference to the classic Coen Brothers film No Country For Old Men. In particular, it’s an exact replica of the scene in No Country For Old Men when the main villain of the film, Anton Chigurh, strangles a man in cold blood with a psychopathic look of emptiness in his eyes.
This isn’t even the first time the Chainsaw Man anime has referenced No Country For Old Men specifically.
The opening sequence for Chainsaw Man Season 1 depicted a scene of the Violence Fiend taking off his shoes in a hotel room that was an exact replica to how Anton does the same in No Country For Old Men.
Pochita’s Face Appears in an Unexpected Place During the Fight With Reze
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc is full of fun hidden Easter Eggs in subliminal scenes that fans will definitely miss on their first watch-through. That’s especially the case during the explosive action that makes up Denji’s fight with Reze. One of the coolest hidden details comes in the latter half of the fight.
After Denji is revived by Angel and Beam, he calls out his chainsaws in a triumphant new burst of energy. If viewers pause the film in this moment, at around the 1 hour, 9 minutes and 41 second mark, they can catch a glimpse of Pochita’s face emerging from the explosion right before the blood splatters from Denji’s arm. It only lasts for about a frame or two at most, making this Easter Egg one of the most difficult to catch.
MAPPA’s Offices Take Another Hit in Chainsaw Man’s Big Battle Scene
During Reze and Denji’s climactic fight in the city, the main building they repeatedly return to and which ultimately gets blown up by Reze’s explosives is actually a replica of the MAPPA HQ building in Nakano, Tokyo. MAPPA has turned this particular Waster Egg into something of a tradition now, considering it also infamously happened during the big fight between Sukuna and Mahoraga in Jujutsu Kaisen Season 2.
The destruction of the MAPPA building offices was considered an act of rebellion in JJK Season 2 in response to the animators’ infamously poor working conditions. While that controversy has faded into the background in the year since the Sukuna vs Mahoraga fight ended, MAPPA’s latest artistic assault on its offices shows that the staff don’t want audiences to forget the message.
Notably, this isn’t the only time Denji has helped destroy MAPPA property. At MAPPA’s upcoming Jump Festa booth (where, presumably, Chainsaw Man Season 2 will be announced), Denji can be seen standing on top of the MAPPA logo, having completely sliced it in half. The extent of the damage can be seen in MAPPA’s recent X post of the scenes from their booth (it’s at the top right, over the JJK signage).
Denji and Reze’s Final Fight Gets a Fittingly Climactic Countdown
In the lead-up to Denji’s final clash with Reze in the final hour of the movie, MAPPA hid a fun Easter Egg behind the pair to signify the coming climax. As the two talk together about their relationship woes, the building behind them displays a numerical countdown from 10 to 0 through the lit windows in the building. It’s not an Easter Egg that seems to hold any deeper meaning, but it’s nonetheless a fun blink-and-you’ll-miss-it detail that shows how much love and care MAPPA’s staff put into working on every single frame of the Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc film. There’s always something new to find while rewatching the movie.
Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc is available to purchase now via digital movie retailers.
- Created by
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Tatsuki Fujimoto
- First Episode Air Date
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October 12, 2022
- Cast
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Kikunosuke Toya, Tomori Kusunoki, Shogo Sakata, Fairouz Ai, Mariya Ise, Karin Takahashi, Taku Yashiro, Kenjiro Tsuda, Shiori Izawa
