Best-Rated Anime Film of 2025 Back at 100% After Rotten Tomatoes Error

Chainsaw Man’s big major movie debut refuses to have its spark put out. The film’s one and only “Rotten” score on Rotten Tomatoes has officially been revoked after further review by the review aggregator site.

Following its international release on Oct. 24, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc immediately proved a critical darling and major commercial success. The movie remained the number one film at the U.S. box office throughout its debut weekend, beating out Bruce Springsteen biopic Deliver Me From Nowhere, as well as dethroning the now-biggest anime movie of all time, Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, in the process. Chainsaw Man then went on to take its achievements even further by debuting at 100% Fresh on Rotten Tomatoes — though that rating didn’t last for long.

Chainsaw Man Regains Its 100% RT Rating Following NYT Review Confusion

Despite debuting at 100% Fresh on RT on Oct. 24, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc quickly lost its footing when it received its first “Rotten” review on the site a day later, pushing its Tomatometer approval rating down to 98%. The review that did so was published by the New York Times, whose Nicolas Rapold criticized the film’s protagonist, Denji, for his “somewhat stunted psychology.”

This review garnered criticism from fans, who felt that the NYT review missed the point of Denji’s character, whose tragic past did, quite literally, stunt Denji’s psychology. Nevertheless, despite their not feeling Denji was relatable, the majority of the NYT review was actually quite positive. Also notable is the fact that the NYT review did not give the film a numerical score. Generally, film reviews under 60% out of 100 are deemed “Rotten” by Rotten Tomatoes standards. It seems the review was deemed rotten by Rotten Tomatoes due to the below short half-paragraph about Denji being difficult to relate to.

While neither Rotten Tomatoes nor the New York Times have commented on the review, Rotten Tomatoes seems to have heard and acknowledged the backlash from the score. As of Oct. 27, the site changed the NYT Chainsaw Man movie review from “Rotten” to “Fresh,” reestablishing Chainsaw Man’s 100% Fresh rating on the site.

After Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle became the biggest international film at the U.S. box office just last month, Chainsaw Man’s newfound critical acclaim solidifies the argument for anime’s place among the best in Hollywood. It’s no longer about popularity, with even critics agreeing that anime has found its place in the discussion as a viable medium for artistic expression in film. CBR’s own review of the Reze Arc film called it a “10/10 instant classic,” citing it as the “ideal adaptation all anime series should aspire to.”

Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc is now playing in theaters.