“Just save as many people as you can, even if it’s only one.”

Gege Akutami’s Jujutsu Kaisen has experienced a meteoric rise that’s turned its exaggerated action and Cursed Spirit slaughter into one of the decade’s biggest anime. Jujutsu Kaisen has taken advantage of its intense popularity with cinematic spectacles that either tell original stories or recap the series’ events. 2025 has been an incredibly lucrative year for anime feature films, between the start of Demon Slayer’s Infinity Castle trilogy, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, and now Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution. 

Execution chronicles two of the Jujutsu Kaisen anime’s biggest events – season two’s “Shibuya Incident” and the corresponding assassination hit that’s put on Yuji Itadori and turned into Yuta Okkotsu’s responsibility. These are very satisfying events, especially the confrontation between Yuji and Yuta that was teased all the way back in Jujutsu Kaisen 0. Yuta has been left to wait in the wings for years until the Culling Game Arc cathartically connects these dots. Execution gives fans a lot of what they want, but it’s a scrappy patchwork project that doesn’t feel like a proper movie because, in many ways, it’s not.

The Shibuya Incident’s fallout has released ten million Cursed Spirits in Japan and triggered unprecedented chaos for the purpose of bringing back the golden age of Jujutsu sorcery. Execution begins as a sizzle reel of Cursed Spirit-slaying mayhem as Yuji and the rest of the Jujutsu Sorcerers work together, all in service of taking down Kenjaku and Pseudo-Geto in pursuit of freeing Satoru Gojo from the prison realm. The fight between Yuji and Yuta becomes the movie’s real focus and a preview of the mayhem to come as Jujutsu Kaisen’s third season goes beyond the Itadori Execution Arc and actually digs into the manga’s infamous Culling Game Arc.

Jujutsu Kaisen is one of the decade’s most popular shonen anime, but it’s still a shonen anime. There’s a real heart to the film’s storytelling and dramatic weight to Yuji and the company’s plight. Nevertheless, Execution is still guilty of occasionally becoming a case of style over substance as flashy visuals complement traditional archetypes. This isn’t a huge problem when these flashy visuals are as gorgeous as they are here, but it’s still true. Where Execution does successfully stand out is with its challenging Cursed Spirit designs. They’re truly terrifying creatures that feel like they’re ripped from some Clive Barker or David Cronenberg story. 

These monsters push boundaries with their disturbing Akira-esque body horror that still finds ways to riff on signature action anime power scaling theatrics. Jujutsu Kaisen also showcases equally creative combat styles where everyone utilizes a unique means of curse and martial arts, so that no two fights feel the same. The film impressively finds ways to continually top itself when it comes to its combat before this madness reaches a frightening fever pitch during the film’s finale.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution may be a makeshift amalgamation of the end and beginning of two separate seasons. That being said, this film’s ideas and conflicts reinforce a grander message about the importance of community and how these loved ones are ultimately what separates many humans from Cursed Spirits. It’s a simple yet fundamental principle that’s sporadically in jeopardy throughout the film, which leaves Yuji on the precipice of darkness. Execution reinforces the importance of legacy and how someone is never truly gone if others keep fighting in their name. The act of saving a single life can become the difference between hope and despair.  

There’s a real sense of dread that hangs over Execution’s events, where heavy stakes accompany every action. This is a bloody, brutal affair that racks up an intimidating body count, not as a way to manipulate the audience with artificial obstacles, but to help heighten the heroes’ final fight and everything that it represents. This isn’t just some bout to figure out who is the strongest so that they have Jujutsu Sorcerer bragging rights. It’s literally a battle to rewrite the world and society’s future.

There’s such a heightened theatricality to the combat. Yuji and his opponents enter into aerial showdowns with Man of Steel-level fallout. Phenomenal displays of power tear through reality while the visuals shift with a frenetic fluidity that’s oddly reminiscent of Mamoru Hosoda’s early work or some of Masaaki Yuasa’s wilder creations. It’s a chaotic pairing of style and subject matter that adds to the overwhelming, disorienting experience that Jujutsu Kaisen strives for in this action-packed compilation.

A lot of Execution gets lost in elaborate battle sequences where the anime’s visuals and direction kick into overdrive. The action, combat, and swordplay choreography are on a whole other level, all while a dizzying and diverse color palette becomes a surprising highlight. Jujutsu Kaisen is known for being an especially dark anime, which is more than evident here. The rainbow-colored kaleidoscopic bursts of gruesome gore just become another effective example of how Jujutsu Kaisen stands out among its shonen action and horror peers. It reiterates why MAPPA and Jujutsu Kaisen are such a sublime pairing.

The signature visual madness of director Shōta Goshozono (Mob Psycho 100 II, Chainsaw Man, and Jujutsu Kaisen’s first two seasons) is fully unleashed. MAPPA continues to elevate what’s already exceptional source material, especially when the film’s inspired musical score by Yoshimasa Terui is also added to the equation. It makes all of Yuji’s dramatic and emotional displays resonate even more strongly.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution is a satisfying showcase of some of the anime’s best work. However, this cinematic event doesn’t make for a smooth entry point into this popular anime franchise. Execution isn’t exactly accessible to newcomers, but it also doesn’t try to be. It knows that its audience is made up of the hardcore crowd, both for better and for worse. Execution marks the start of the series’ endgame, so even casual fans will be left clueless if they were to just jump in without familiarizing themselves with most of the characters’ backstory and lore. 

The film may not make sense to newcomers on a narrative level. However, its godly animation still gives the audience a dazzling cinematic experience that will leave them largely satisfied and praising anime’s merits, even if the entire movie doesn’t fully make sense. Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution tells a full story that allows a sense of closure by the end. It still feels like a setup for a bigger conflict. That’s perhaps not a surprise for many seasoned Jujutsu Kaisen fans who know what they’re getting with Execution, but others may be left wanting a little more than the tantalizing taste that’s provided here. 

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution is the perfect aperitif for the upcoming third season’s Culling Game extravaganza. However, this is not mandatory viewing for anyone besides the Jujutsu Kaisen fans who can’t wait until January.

Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution is in theaters on December 5, with special fan screenings taking place on December 3. Jujutsu Kaisen: The Culling Game Part 1 begins January 8, 2026.

The post ‘Jujutsu Kaisen: Execution’ Is A Visual Triumph That Celebrates Big, Brutal Battles [Review] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.

“I’m going to start falling for this girl…”

It’s become the new normal for ongoing anime series to tell some of their biggest stories as cinematic adaptations instead of devoting part of a standard season to this narrative arc. This storytelling approach can have mixed results, but it draws astronomical returns when it’s successful. Chainsaw Man: The Movie – Reze Arc trumps Jujutsu Kaisen 0, Demon Slayer: The Movie – Infinity Castle, Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero, and the myriad of compilation films that have littered the market. Chainsaw Man: The Movie – Reze Arc is the real deal and a pitch-perfect adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s signature work that’s even more successful than the first season’s take on the material. It isn’t just the anime’s pinnacle, but it’s a rejuvenating wakeup call of what animation can accomplish. Chainsaw Man’s first movie is a modern classic that hits cinemas with a bang – literally.

Chainsaw Man exists in an extremely hyperbolized universe that’s drenched in violence and viscera. It’s a world that’s perpetually on the precipice of the apocalypse, and yet so much of the movie is a beautiful celebration of life’s simple pleasures and the things that make living worthwhile, whether that’s a day at the movies, a good breakfast, or a bashful crush. Denji and the film have such modest aspirations, yet these simple, human experiences are filtered through endlessly surreal action and blood-soaked brutality.

Fujimoto’s love of cinema becomes a major component of Chainsaw Man’s first movie. There’s a pseudo-meta angle to the film’s presentation, which really feels like two separate movies, intentionally so, as it takes advantage of the opportunity to indulge in some of cinema’s most tried and true tropes. It’s the type of movie that both Denji and Reze would walk away from feeling satisfied, which the film proves to be no small feat.

Reze Arc keys into the volatile emotions that are so often associated with teen dating and someone’s first love. These heightened situations can feel like they’re life-or-death, but this feature literally turns them into a grueling battle where Denji’s life is literally on the line. It’s a story of star-crossed lovers, in the most extreme sense, by way of Chainsaw Man’s unpredictable and absurdist storytelling.

Chainsaw Man: The Movie – Reze Arc really feels like two different movies, but in a way that perfectly reinforces the film’s themes. The first twenty minutes could easily stand on their own as a slice-of-life short film that doesn’t even need to work Devils into its narrative. It’s the sort of grounded character development and storytelling that Fujimoto does so well. These humble character beats, where Denji learns more about himself, are just as rewarding as the ones where he viscerally tears through Devils. This first act is all about the transformative power of cinema and how cathartic it can be to find that “life-changing” movie.

Reze Arc effortlessly conveys the invincibility that comes with young love, validation, and the feeling that anything is possible. Denji’s wins are the audience’s wins, and they’re viscerally felt. We get that Reze is more than just some manic pixie devil girl, and why she lingers in Denji’s mind. The film is rich in meet-cute moments that feel so innocent and natural, but are also tinged with dread. Chainsaw Man: The Movie finds humble pleasure in normalcy, like grimacing after bitter coffee, or getting caught in the rain. It’s these non-moments between the bigger milestones that make life what it is, all of which hit even harder when this story descends into apocalyptic violence and all these luxuries threaten to be ripped away. It teases a nihilistic alternative where Denji is a blunt tool whose only purpose is to kill, rather than a living being – with a heart – who wants to love.

Reze Arc fluctuates from cute to cruel at a moment’s notice. It’s the perfect distillation of the film’s extremes. It’s tour de force storytelling that knows how to juggle arthouse rom-com sensibilities with brutal, terrifying combat. All these intense feelings push Denji to reckon with his humanity, identity, and feelings. He’s paralyzed over not knowing how to act because of the normal experiences that he’s been robbed of in life, which have left Denji feeling like he’s abnormal. 

Denji must ultimately choose between the comfort of his country mouse old life and the exciting fear of the unknown that’s associated with the hypothetical city mouse lifestyle that awaits him if he runs away. It’s a simple dilemma, but a rich one that easily sustains the film. Chainsaw Man: The Movie – Reze Arc juxtaposes this with the equally overt message where Denji is conflicted that nobody wants his heart in a figurative sense, while everybody wants Chainsaw Man’s heart, in a literal sense, which has understandably shattered his sense of self. There’s something so beautiful about Denji’s innocence and his desire to see people as people so that they can stop feeling like weapons. Chainsaw Man: The Movie – Reze Arc acts as if it wants to tamp down this message as it continues to punish Denji for his humanity. Many of these cathartic moments are played for laughs, but there’s a true melancholy nature to Denji and Reze’s saga.

Chainsaw Man has been fortunate enough to showcase plenty of unforgettable villains. That being said, Reze Arc’s Typhoon and Bomb Devils are just built differently. The Typhoon Devil moments are genuinely unnerving, which is saying something for a series that’s as dark as Chainsaw Man. These scenes feel like they’re ripped out of Saw. They’re considerably more vicious and deranged, right down to their lighting and scene composition. It’s a smart way to highlight these villains’ truly evil nature. Additionally, the Bomb Devil taps into a different level of terror that comes from the monster’s near-naivety to the destruction it causes. The Bomb Devil also feels invincible in a way that past Devils haven’t, which naturally leads to a fight that’s rather satisfying, both on an action and visual level. It should come as no surprise, but the battle choreography in this film is out of this world. There are such intricately detailed and ridiculous fight sequences that defy reality and delight in eye-popping spectacles. Chainsaw Man: The Movie is truly gorgeous and among 2025’s most visually impressive cinematic spectacles.

Aki and the Angel Devil aid Denji against these monsters. They receive significant arcs that rival Denji’s, which helps put a little more meat on the movie’s bones so that the entire thing doesn’t rest on Denji’s shoulders. The Shark Fiend is also such a gonzo sycophantic sidekick for Denji to have while Power takes a step back. The Shark Fiend is effectively weaponized, and he’s the perfect sort of nonsense that works for a movie, but might wear thin over a full season of the show.

To the above point, the film’s visuals are in a league of their own and some of MAPPA‘s most impressive work to date. All of these visuals take advantage of the film’s cinematic scale. This movie seriously begs to be seen in IMAX if the opportunity is available. Reze Arc continues to feature such radical, kaleidoscopic bursts of color that play by their own rules. These rainbow-colored spectacles are juxtaposed against rupturing organs and entrails. The film has such a precise visual language that bombards the viewer with parallel images that find themselves at an inflection point. 

This visual storytelling subconsciously reinforces the movie’s central themes and the two worlds that Denji is torn between. It’s such a powerful way for Chainsaw Man to assert its personality and the punk rock, anarchic way in which Fujimoto tells these stories that, on some level, are meant to be formulaic due to their ongoing, serialized nature. There’s an extended sequence in which Chainsaw Man rides the Shark Fiend like a demonic stallion as he storms a castle. I’d say it’s as if Takashi Miike directed an MCU film, but that’s just Fujimoto’s unpredictably chaotic style. It’s Junji Ito meets M.C. Escher. Fujimoto’s work is distinctly original, which helps every element shine, even if it falls short in some areas. Kensuke Ushio’s iconic music also kills it. It drip-feeds frenetic chaos that elegantly underscores each scene and amplifies the necessary tone and emotions, whether that’s suspense, terror, or affable levity.

Chainsaw Man: The Movie – Reze Arc is the crowning achievement that it deserves to be, and the anime’s definitive statement on this epic property. It’s guaranteed to impress its audience through revelatory action sequences, but the same is true for its earnest breakdown of Denji’s flawed nature and how he’s far from some shonen hero archetype. It’s a relentless experience at a tight 90 minutes, yet it feels like it accomplishes twice as much as some of the year’s significantly longer cinematic anime endeavors. During a time when cinematic anime accomplishments are increasingly common, Chainsaw Man: the Movie – Reze Arc opts for something with greater substance that’s as emotionally rich as it is brutally violent. 

Chainsaw Man: The Movie – Reze Arc releases in theaters, in premium formats and IMAX, on October 24, 2025.

The post ‘Chainsaw Man: The Movie – Reze Arc’ Is A Cinematic Explosion That’s 2025’s Must-Watch Anime [Review] appeared first on Bloody Disgusting!.