Well, this year is a great year for anime movies! Before I dive into the review for this one, I think I should cover two things:
1) This review will have SPOILERS. This movie is amazing, and the arc is much better if you go in blind. You should watch the first season of the anime, but aside from that, try to avoid advertising and reviews. I read the manga blind, and it is so good at handling the rollercoaster of a plot. I will refrain from giving spoilers from the rest of the manga in this review, but just know that, having read the rest of the story, this arc only gets better upon looking back at it and seeing its impact. So if my score seems very high, bear in mind I can't explain all the set-ups that eventually get paid off.
2) I plan to eventually write my opinion of Chainsaw Man as a Christian. This film is not one that I would recommend to a broad audience. It is violent (with a good deal of blood and gore), and it contains a lot of sexual imagery and themes (skinny dipping and lingerie in this film). While the skinny dipping is very, very slightly censored (you won't see any nipples or close shots of genitalia), it does show the forms of both a guy and a girl very clearly, and the whole scene is extensive (4 minutes). So, this needs a big content warning. More than anything else I've reviewed. That being said, I firmly believe that this story is excellent in how it handles sexual themes, and it does it in a way that is very impactful and effective. I would need to write a whole long post to explain what I think of this element of Chainsaw Man, and it is an integral part of the themes and writing of the story, but if you are not comfortable putting these things in front of you, I'd encourage you to sit this one out. Your thought life and mental purity are worth more than your entertainment. That being said, I have found this story to be, sincerely, edifying from my position. So I do not think it is a story that is wrong to enjoy. It is, however, something one should interact with carefully.
With that out of the way, let me get to my review!
