Sorry Demon Slayer Fans, But Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc Surpasses Infinity Castle as 2025’s Best Anime Film

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2025 was a groundbreaking year for films, with two major franchises releasing their most awaited movies one after the other. Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle achieved record-breaking success globally, and now the Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc movie is following a similar trajectory. While both films demonstrated the exceptional quality of their respective series, the new Chainsaw Man movie ultimately provides a more enjoyable experience than Infinity Castle.

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle is visually stunning, featuring incredible animation and exciting action scenes. However, the film’s impact is often lessened by uneven pacing, which could have been improved. Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc avoids this issue by keeping the story moving without getting bogged down in unnecessary or sudden flashbacks and explanations. While Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle generated a lot of buzz and achieved impressive viewership numbers, Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc is likely to be remembered as the stronger film after the initial excitement fades and people have time to reflect.

Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc Fits the Movie Format Perfectly

A major issue is the movie’s pacing, which feels disjointed – like several TV episodes were combined into one film. The Infinity Castle story stays true to the manga, but its naturally episodic structure didn’t translate well to a movie. This caused key scenes to feel unnecessarily prolonged. The fight between Shinobu and Doma, for instance, looked fantastic, with beautiful animation that really showcased Shinobu’s Insect Breathing and vibrant colors.

However, viewers didn’t get to see the fight between Shinobu and Doma play out smoothly. It was broken up by flashbacks and inner thoughts, which made it feel disjointed. Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc handles this much better by staying focused and avoiding those issues. Its fast pace and unwillingness to include unnecessary backstory or long conversations during fights made it well-suited for a movie-like presentation. Chainsaw Man also keeps the story moving and the audience interested by focusing on its compelling characters and avoiding irrelevant details.

Both the Chainsaw Man and Demon Slayer movies feature impressive animation, but Chainsaw Man’s action sequences felt smoother and more natural, likely because it had fewer restrictions. The numerous explosions involving Reze looked fantastic, and the scenes prioritized realistic movement and fighting over over-the-top visuals. Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc also makes excellent use of music, integrating it so well into the action that it feels like another part of the intense and exciting battle.

Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle’s Reliance on Backstories Drags It Down

The goal is to evoke sympathy for the villains and show the demons as having some human qualities. This is crucial because it reinforces the notion that these demons were once people too. Showing their past through flashbacks helps establish they aren’t simply evil, making their eventual defeat more poignant. Furthermore, providing backstory during or after battles gives the audience a moment to process the action. However, this technique can also hinder the pace if overused.

Releasing episodes weekly works well with this approach, as a bit of backstory at the end provides a natural way to wind down. Viewers generally anticipate a cliffhanger at the end of each episode to build excitement for the next one. But when this same method is used for a movie, it’s different because audiences expect a more focused and concise story. Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc succeeds by avoiding overly dramatic or emotional scenes with its characters.

The audience naturally sympathizes with him, which makes him vulnerable to being controlled. He desperately craves affection, and any sign of interest causes him to quickly become infatuated and naively envision a future with that person. This inherent vulnerability establishes him as a tragic hero, even without explicitly highlighting his constant efforts. Furthermore, Reze, as the villain, doesn’t need a separate explanation of her difficult past to evoke understanding.

Near the conclusion of Chainsaw Man: Reze Arc, we learn that Reze was subjected to experimentation as a child, effectively being molded into a weapon from a young age. This backstory, combined with her death at the hands of Makima and Angel while attempting to reach Denji, evoked sympathy from viewers. Despite appearing in only a handful of scenes, it became evident that she had also developed feelings for Denji and desired a simple, normal life with him.

The movie doesn’t try to make Reze seem like a completely good person, because Chainsaw Man is, at its core, a gritty shonen anime set in a harsh world. Every character operates in shades of gray, and this realistic approach to morality is more compelling than what’s seen in Demon Slayer. It’s a story where no one is simply good or bad, and that complexity is well-represented.

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2025-10-03 17:45