MAPPA Studios surprised fans when it announced that prolific Japanese singer Hikaru Utada (who uses They/Them and She/Her pronouns) would provide the ending theme for Chainsaw Man โ The Movie: Reze Arc. A brief taste of the song, called “Jane Doe,” was featured in a recent teaser for the film. Not much about the song was unveiled during the teaser, other than some melancholic piano notes and a few gasps of Utada’s voice before the teaser cuts out the music. “Jane Doe,” based on the little we’ve heard, sounds slower pace and is somber, almost a contradiction of the typical high-energy music used for action anime series like Chainsaw Man.
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“Jane Doe” would be Utada’s first anime work since performing the “One Last Kiss” for Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time in 2021. Utada performed the main themes for all four films in the Rebuild of Evangelion, with the most famous song being “Beautiful World” from the first film. Musician Kenshi Yonezu, who performed “Kick Back” for the first season of the Chainsaw Man anime, returns to the franchise to perform the opening theme for the Reze Arc film, “IRIS OUT.” The movie is scheduled to open in Japan first on September 19th and will be rolled out internationally, arriving in the United States on October 29th.
Why It’s a Big Deal for Hikaru Utada Joining Chainsaw Man
Hikaru Utada is an extremely popular vocalist worldwide, achieving global recognition for their music used for the Kingdom Hearts franchise. Utada has provided the main songs for all three mainline Kingdom Hearts games, “Simple and Clean,” “Sanctuary,” “Don’t Think Twice,” and “Face My Fears.” Utada’s songs are often recognized for their bittersweet tone and emotional vocals. “Simple and Clean” remains one of Kingdom Hearts‘ most iconic songs and is used constantly throughout the franchise. “Beautiful World” and “One Last Kiss” also featured similar bittersweet sounds, which work well for the Evangelion franchise. Utada is also known for singing in English, with several of their songs having an English version for international distribution.
Utada’s usual brand of music may seem like an odd choice for Chainsaw Man, since the anime and original manga are known for their dark material and over-the-top violence. But secretly, Utada was the perfect choice for something like Chainsaw Man, as underneath the blood and guts of the franchise is a deeply philosophical story about the nature of fear and humanity’s inherent evil. The series themes are best exemplified by the character Reze, a new focal character introduced during the arc. She is equally tragic and a threat, making her a difficult character to read. Is she the sweet, benevolent teenager that she presents herself to Denji, or is she something more dangerous?
The “Jane Doe” song further emphasizes Reze’s mystique, as the term Jane Doe is commonly used to identify bodies with no names attached. Reze’s identity is as enigmatic as the song presents her, making her one of the more complicated figures in the Chainsaw Man franchise. Utada’s work often centers around female POVs, with “Simple and Clean” being about a person’s uncertain feelings for their partner and fear of progressing the relationship. This makes Utada the ideal person to perform a song about someone like Reze, a young girl with uncertain feelings towards a boy.
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Image courtesy of Netflix
