Chainsaw Man Watch Order
Season 1, then the Reze Arc film, then the announced Assassins Arc: episode counts, release dates, where the 2025 compilation fits, and what is confirmed so far about what comes next.
Watch the 12-episode first season, then Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, then the announced Assassins Arc when it arrives. The film continues the story from the television series rather than retelling it, so it goes second. The two-part compilation released in 2025 is optional.
Everything, in order
| Order | Entry | Length | Released |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chainsaw Man (season 1) | 12 episodes | October to December 2022 |
| 2 | Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc | Feature film | Japan September 19, 2025; United States October 24, 2025 |
| 3 | Chainsaw Man – Assassins Arc | Not announced | Announced December 2025; no broadcast date published as of October 7, 2026 |
The official television site gives the series' start as 24:00 on Tuesday, October 11, 2022, on TV Tokyo and other channels. Anime News Network's episode list runs to episode 12, "Katana VS Chainsaw," dated December 27, 2022. That is the whole first season: 12 episodes, no recap episodes in the middle and no split cour to look out for.
Where the Reze Arc film fits
After season 1, not before it. The film is not a prequel or a side story. MAPPA's description of the film, as Anime News Network reprints it, opens with Denji having already become "Chainsaw Man" and joined Special Division 4's devil hunters, which is where the television series leaves him. Sony Pictures, which acquired the film's worldwide theatrical rights, also streamed a recap "for the story thus far from the television anime" ahead of the US release. A distributor does not publish a catch-up for a story that starts from zero.
The release dates are worth knowing because they differ by country. The film opened in Japan on September 19, 2025, and ANN's encyclopedia entry lists its US premiere as October 24, 2025. Tatsuya Yoshihara directed it, and Hiroshi Seko, the television series' screenwriter, wrote it.
If you are tempted to start with the film, our recommendation is not to. MAPPA's own synopsis takes for granted that you know who Makima is and what Special Division 4 does, and season 1 is only 12 episodes.
The compilation: optional, with one new piece
In September 2025, shortly before the film, a two-part compilation titled Chainsaw Man – The Compilation was released. ANN's announcement says it recaps "key moments from the television anime" and also includes Chainsaw Days, "a newly animated adaptation of the original manga's bonus chapters." It premiered on ABEMA in Japan on September 5, and Crunchyroll announced it for September streaming outside Asia.
If you have watched season 1, the recap portion repeats what you have seen. Chainsaw Days is the new part, and it is a bonus rather than a step in the story. If you have not watched season 1, watch season 1: a recap of 12 episodes is a summary, not a substitute.
What comes next: the Assassins Arc
The Jump Festa '26 event in December 2025 announced an anime adaptation of the manga's Assassins Arc, with a teaser visual and promotional video. In June 2026, MAPPA showed a second teaser at its 15th anniversary lineup event, and ANN's report confirms that Tatsuya Yoshihara is returning from the Reze Arc film "to direct the next anime at MAPPA," with Hiroshi Seko again on scripts. Neither report says whether it will be a television series or another film.
What has not been announced is a broadcast date. The official Assassins Arc site shows the teaser but no schedule, and the franchise's news page, checked October 7, 2026, has no premiere date among its latest items. Treat any date you see elsewhere as unconfirmed until it appears there. We will update this table when one is announced.
If you want the manga
The manga is complete. ANN's June 2026 report notes that Tatsuki Fujimoto ran the first part, the Public Safety arc, in Weekly Shonen Jump from December 2018 to December 2020, started the second part on Shonen Jump+ in July 2022, and that the second part ended on March 25 and is the final part of the manga. That makes the manga the route to the whole story for now, while the anime's next entry has no date.
For other series where a film sits between seasons, the Jujutsu Kaisen watch order is the closest comparison, and the guides index lists the rest.