The promotional posters were all given out right after the premiere.
This is truly a chilling explosion...Bang!
It has been over two years since the first season of the TV anime ended, and to be honest, I have almost forgotten the story. I only did a little brushing up with the recap episode before watching this long-awaited sequel in theaters. I must say, the theater version is truly a high-quality work of the animated series that revitalizes it: the first half depicting Reze's every smile and frown is heart-fluttering; the second half sees the Bomb Devil's grand entrance, where the art style shifts to ultimate violence, with dazzling explosive action scenes that are like poisonous flowers blooming in the night, dazzling and mesmerizing; the heart-wrenching ending in the alley outside the coffee shop leaves an enduring gloom for this fleeting summer romance that is hard to shake off, like a lump in the throat. Breaking away from the constraints of the TV anime which did not deliberately pursue too much realism, Reze's arc received widespread acclaim upon release: thoughts like being completely captivated by Reze, feeling dizzy from Reze, having one’s heart stolen, and perhaps never feeling joy or sorrow again filled people’s minds (Yay!). Yet, in the huge theater, while some people cried uncontrollably watching the same movie, others perhaps couldn’t shed a single tear.
Reze's Smile
Just after the first date with Makima, Yoshida even played around with Aki, yet still firmly declares that his heart completely belongs to Makima and he could never love any other girl... Who knew that this playboy, after a sudden rain, would demonstrate what it means to be verbally reluctant yet physically honest! Yoshida nestled in a phone booth has what seems like an unexpected encounter with another girl hiding from the rain. Initially, he had no particular feelings when reading the manga, but watching him on the big screen pull a flower previously won with a dollar from his throat and directly offer it to her, I couldn't help but question life: which girl in reality would gladly accept a flower covered in saliva or even gastric acid? XD But Reze, the main female character, is not an ordinary person! She surprisingly accepts the flower, brings it to her nose to smell, and her fair cheeks even flush, revealing a smile bright enough to clear the sky... Ask any gentleman, who could possibly remain unmoved by this scene?
As a return gift, Reze actively invites Yoshida to visit the café she works at, Futamichi, as they walk together. Following Reze's footsteps, the audience's perspective bends around a street corner, climbing up a flight of stairs, passing by vending machines, and traversing an alley filled with air conditioning units. These familiar street scenes become bittersweet when, at the end, Reze passes by them again, making one want to hit rewind and keep her from moving forward... Inside the café, Yoshida has long been waiting inside as a warm beam of sunlight falls down~ As they chat and laugh, the voice of voice actor Reina Ueda adds a charming tone, and through occasional physical touches, despite Yoshida pleading to Makima, his body couldn’t help but lean towards Reze; is he truly that dizzy? Later, Reze reveals that she has also never gone to school, and at that time she didn’t know how to write the kanji for “golden jade” (or has she heard that requiem before?)
Country Mouse and City Mouse
Under Reze's powerful seductive assault, it feels like a spider's web slowly ensnaring Yoshida making it impossible for him to escape... One moonlit night, the two sneak into school for an adventure. Initially, Reze shows some apprehension, asking Yoshida to hold her hand, and in his heart, he is a million percent unwilling (Really?). After some antics in the classroom, they decide to move to the swimming pool to find some coolness: as Reze starts to undress, she shouts that she will teach Yoshida how to swim. Just as Yoshida is caught in a struggle between humanity and beastliness, in an instant, they both end up nude... I’m genuinely glad that the version released domestically was not edited and faithfully restored the representation from the manga where only shapes were shown without explicit nudity, so gentlemen can safely enjoy it with their partners (Make sure of that).
The water scene in the pool can be said to be the most beautiful and dreamy segment of this piece: splashes of water create colorful ripples, and the two drop all defenses and armaments, playing carefree in the water until the raindrops fall, interrupting this moment of youth that will never return. Back in the classroom while waiting for the rain to stop, Reze asks Yoshida whether he wants to be a mouse living a peaceful life in the countryside or a city mouse struggling for survival? For Yoshida, who could barely afford a slice of toast with Pochita at that time, of course, he would want to live in a city free of worries. Reze initially replied with surprise, but seeing Yoshida’s firm attitude, she stopped asking and simply revealed a meaningful smile. After agreeing to attend the festival together the next day, Reze then heads to the restroom alone. Under the eerie red glow of the fire hydrant's warning light, the Reze in the mirror seems to change into another person, and soon, on the rooftop in pouring rain, a Russian ballad begins to be softly sung...
How can you be both so cruel and so gentle at the same time?
Under the lantern, they run back and forth through different stalls, fragments of play flash by; the scenes are so beautiful that I can’t help but stare~ But the piano's melody suddenly brings a shock! It turns out that, at this moment, the most beautiful time has quietly come to an end. Arriving at that fateful viewing point, Reze once again asks Yoshida, Yoshida, strongly expressing her desire to run away together and delivering a shocking confession. However, could it be that happiness came so suddenly? Or is it that Yoshida, even at this time, still thinks about Makima! As the fireworks rise and bloom in the sky, Reze has offered Yoshida the final kiss that Konstantin could not receive. The animation uniquely adds an original scene: with an apple candy that has fallen to the ground and been stepped on, the crisp sound of the broken candy coating blends perfectly with Reze, who has ketchup all over her mouth, opening her mouth and sticking out her tongue, revealing the half of Yoshida’s tongue that was bitten off... My God!!! This scene is truly bloody and perverse! Especially compared to the manga, that piece of tongue is significantly larger, seriously making one suspect that Reze might have bitten it directly from the root of the tongue! (Ouch, ouch, ouch)
As the gentle Reze is about to cruelly open her chest to take out Yoshida's heart, all eyes in the theater turn to the savior – Tanjiro (X), cough, correction, it should be the Shark Devil, Bim XD, who leaps out at the brink of the devil’s gate! Finally, he saves Yoshida, who was almost having his heart stolen, but this wasn’t part of the script! I can feel Yoshida's astonishment even through the screen! As if saying, this isn’t acting anymore, pulling apart the safety of the neck~ BANG! A thunderous sound, the Bomb Devil makes a graceful entrance! In the latter half of the theater version, viewers are shown the Bomb Devil’s extreme beauty and strength: with a snap of the fingers, he can burn through the heavens, not only can his hands and feet transform into missiles, but he can also produce human head bombs; moreover, he helplessly states he does not want to kill, while carrying two human heads, negotiating cruelly for a release on the Special Task Force’s vehicle. Honestly speaking, it’s hard to be dizzy over Reze anymore.
Like an angel and a devil, as Yoshida said, Reze has killed too many people: she softly claims that she really likes Yoshida, yet grabs the Chainsaw Man, who is left with only the upper body, and repeatedly bombs his head like the angel attacking the Evangelion; it must be incredibly painful! But will Yoshida's heart hurt? Everyone wants the Chainsaw Man’s heart, yet no one wants Yoshida's heart? This almost makes me shudder at how Yoshida barely sheds a tear after the passing of Aki. Even he thinks that when Makima dies, he would only be sad for a few days before moving on with life. How could this kind of Yoshida ever feel pain? Instead, it’s the character Aki from the movie who, at the moment when the angel devil is about to be whisked away by the Typhoon Devil, despite knowing that touching him would consume a bit of his remaining life, still tightly embraces the angel, ensuring that he does not see another person die before his eyes. This gentle Aki, who would die in the most tragic way, is bound to elicit a deeper sorrow.
No matter how brilliant the fireworks are, they always have their time to fade away; and brief encounters will eventually meet a day as ethereal as bubbles. However, whether it be the city mouse or the guinea pig of the Soviet experiment, they cannot escape being toyed with by higher beings like Makima, trampling beneath their feet a fate that truly feels sorrowful, don’t you think? The ultimate ending for Reze brings Yoshida a lifetime void of joy or sorrow (perhaps), leaving me with a profoundly chilling sense of loss... Luckily, the end-credits scene can slightly alleviate the deeply depressed mood (make sure to watch until the end!), so that’s it.
Image Sources: Chainsawman, Neon Genesis Evangelion, Reze