I watched the first season of Chainsaw Man on Hulu and absolutely loved it. It has the perfect mix of character development, action, and great music that just really clicked for me. It’s been years since I watched the series, so I was presently surprised when I found the new movie was coming to Crunchyroll late last month.
IGN’s review of Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc aptly called it the “feel-bad rom-com of the year”, which for some may be a turn-off. I personally loved it. I thought it was a beautifully done story about two similarly broken souls somehow finding a way to connect via mutual destruction. If you haven’t seen it yet, I highly recommend that you do.
As for where to actually watch it, Crunchyroll is your best bet right now. It’s available with any of the Crunchyroll streaming plans, two of which are currently deeply discounted for new subscribers. Outside of the anime streaming service, it’s only available for $20 on VOD sites like Prime Video.
What to Expect From the Movie
The best way to get an idea of what the film is about is to watch the original trailer. Otherwise, I’ll give you a quick spoiler-free rundown of what to expect. The story is centered around Denji, of course, but more around his human side than his Chainsaw Man persona. More specifically, the film is focused on his heart and whether it belongs to Makima or a new girl he just met named Reze.
The film itself is pretty low on action or violence initially, but the build-up hits pretty hard, only to suddenly take a major turn later on. With a runtime of 141 minutes, I found it to have plenty of time to solidify some really interesting themes about human connection while still providing an incredible soundtrack amid action-packed scenes.
Is Crunchyroll worth it?
I’ve had a Crunchyroll subscription for about a year now and have actually used it quite a bit. A lot of the anime included on the service is also available on Netflix or Hulu, but it’s still the overall best anime streaming service out there. So with that in mind, it’s really only worth your subscription dollars if you watch a lot of anime. I originally got my subscription to watch Solo Leveling, but I only kept it for longer because I enjoyed having a hub for anime I can quickly get to.
Even if you don’t want a new monthly service charge added to your bill, I’d say it’s worth the cost of entry for certain exclusives. The Chainsaw Man movie costs $20 to stream outside of Crunchyroll right now, and if you’re a new or returning subscriber, you can get your first 3 months for just $1.99.
Jacob Kienlen is a Senior Audience Development Strategist and Writer for IGN. Born and raised in Portland, Oregon, he has considered the Northwest his home for his entire life. With a bachelor’s degree in communication and 10 years of professional writing experience, his expertise is spread across a variety of different pop culture topics — from TV series to books and the latest Pokémon games.
