Two weeks into the Chainsaw Man experience, and I find there to be a fascinating disconnect between the show itself and the phenomenon surrounding it. While Spy x Family reigns supreme for now CSM is certainly seeing the expected spike in popularity, and the two series pretty much owned the last U.S. manga sales chart. But the show itself is just good. Very good in fact – I’m enjoying it quite a bit. But as with Kimetsu and JJK, it’s hard – so far – for me to make the connection to the crazy popularity. But two episodes is early days yet to be sure, and I don’t know a manga reader who feels the introduction arc is the best material CSM has to offer.
There was a bit of a controversy this week (series this buzzy tend to generate them) surrounding a cut MAPPA made in second episode. To wit, a comment Denji made about being happy to be in a union job with paid days off. Is it a big deal? Well, you make the call – but when you have the heinous work environment history MAPPA does, you’re going to invite this sort of scrutiny. It may be coincidental that after promising a completely faithful adaptation MAPPA decides to entirely cut that joke, but the cynic in me rather doubts it. Intentional or not MAPPA is at fault either way, because it’s their deservedly tarnished reputation that called attention to this.
As to the episode itself, again, I quite liked it. If I’m being totally honest Chainsaw Man does remind me a bit more of JJK than I’d like – so far – though I’m quite open to the idea that the resemblance is mostly skin deep. It certainly is more WSJ in style than I expected, even if the first part of the series did run in WSJ. Denji and Makima are very much in focus in the first part of the episode. She’s quite kind to him superficially, and this is enough to make the unimaginably sheltered and socially backwards Denji fall in love with her. But it couldn’t be more obvious that there’s an iron fist in that velvet glove.
Denji is, in a word, an innocent. The fact that he’s horny and his main dream is getting with a woman (or at least her boobs) is irrelevant to that. He’s grown up a wild child with minimal social interaction, and that’s shaped who he is. You also get the idea that above and beyond that, Denji isn’t the sharpest knife in the drawer, which plays up his innocence all the more. What I find myself thinking a lot during that first part was that it would suck if Makima turned out to be a totally cynical and cold-hearted person, because Denji would make an incredibly easy target for her.
Denji is so inexperienced with other humans that he see-saws back in forth about Makima. She’s nice, she has boobs, she smells good. she calls him a dog and says she’s eliminate him if stops being useful. After an eventful stop for udon, she takes Denji back to the devil hunter agency’s HQ and gives him a clean set of clothes to put on. She even ties his tie for him, which irritates the hell out of Hayakawa Aki (Sakata Shogo), Denji’s senpai by three years who’s also in love with Makima. She assigns Denji to Aki’s “experimental” unit and has him shadow Aki on his first day.
As you’d expect, that degenerates pretty quickly into a pissing contest between the two of them over Makima. Aki prefers the straightforward sucker punch to the jaw, but Denji – lacking in any societal mores as he is – goes straight for the nuts. Makima seems more bemused than anything else by all this, and eventually the two lads are sent off to dispose of a fiend – a devil who’s possessed a human corpse. Denji dispatches it quickly and cleanly without relying on his chainsaw powers, and Aki is incensed when he says he did it to spare the fiend a messy death. It turns out Denji really did to keep from ruining the fiend’s porn stash – though I suspect there was something of the former to that, too.
Next up is a partner for Denji – Power (Fairouz Ai). She’s a fiend herself, but “quite rational” according to Makima. Be that as it may she’s still a nutter, and apparently was a high-ranking demon whose smell drives off potential prey. Her style seems to be “indiscriminate” – wait for something she’s allowed to kill to turn up, and do so in as messy a fashion as possible – which she demonstrates on a “sea cucumber devil” which has turned up in the city. I’ll give Aki credit – he’s managed a pairing which makes Denji look like the predictable one.
What CSM is trying to project here is unconventional in conventional clothing – and to an extent, I think it succeeds. Stuff like Denji’s comment that he’d befriend a devil if it were possible as he’s never had a friend is interesting. Denji is a total naif, a nutcracking, horny sheep in a world of wolves. To what extent is he going to be changed by this world and these people he’s gotten mixed up with? That seems like the most interesting angle in Chainsaw Man after two episodes to me, and its best chance to transcend the shounen tropes that it’s so clearly tied up in so far.
Samu’s Impressions:
The gang’s all here (the main crew, at least) and while everyone ultimately has their favourites it’s Denji and Makima that fascinate me the most. I’ve always considered Denji to be two things at his core – equally heartfelt and horny, and this episode reminded me all over of those early impressions I had. So easily he could be dropped into a fanservice/ecchi series and he wouldn’t feel out of place, but within the context of the world of Chainsaw Man, Tatsuki Fujimoto has managed to keep the essence of that teenage boy horniness he clearly wanted to include while not detracting from the overall intentions of Denji’s character or the visions for the series as a whole.
In this episode alone we see Denji go through the full range of his emotions – emotions that are unfortunately limited by the experiences of his life that have been robbed of him from as a young boy whose only friend was a little demon dog. Last episode we saw all it took was a hug and a promise of breakfast for him to start a whole new life elsewhere, and seeing him here relish in such minor delights as taking a bath, making the perfect slice of loaded toast he can imagine, and actually talking to a cute girl on the regular gives as much bitter as it does sweet. Denji himself goes from thinking Makima is a great person to questioning if she’s a bad one within a short span of time, but it takes very little for him to believe that what she’s putting him through is ultimately a positive thing. If it’s not clearly by this point, this isn’t a typical WSJ hero who desires to be the Pirate King, Hokage, or Wizard King – he just wants to live a good, simple life making friends and rescuing porn magazines and maybe one day fulfil his abandoned dream of touching a pair of boobs (respectfully).
As for Makima, the reason I’ve always been so compelled by her is that, like Denji, we never know what she’s truly thinking behind those eyes. While what she’s done for Denji can be seen as saving him at his lowest point, she is clearly taking advantage of his position, and she knows how he’s smitten with her from the get-go, but she’s using it in a way that avoids the cliche anime Manic Pixie Girl type of way where everything is way over the top to the point they are reduced to their ‘trope’ – she instead finds a balance of being elusive in her true feelings while forthright in her desires at the same time; it’s easy to see how an enigmatic figure coming in to save such damaged goods (Denji, Aki, and Power all in their own way) when they need someone the most makes her somewhat of an idol. I suppose it’s only natural then that she’s developed one of the most deranged and loyal fanbases I’ve ever come across in the animanga sphere; I don’t claim to be part of the Barkers for Makima Brigade but she is the perfect balance Denji character: the yang to his ying, the black to his white, and the white to his black.
E
October 19, 2022 at 11:13 pmFunny how for me, I read the manga of csm before JJK and I can tell you there are similarities with the tone, the innocent protag holding powers, the pacing, but I did prefer CSM more because I felt it had something to say from the beginning and did not stray away from that theme no matter how crazy its direction seemed to go (was disappointed with JJK and its tortuous pacing and ended up dropping it lol). On its core, its about surviving in an absurd world, and it resonates a lot with me and made me pursue being a public servant in the first place LMAO. Excited for your thoughts about the ride it’ll lead up, and I hope MAPPA doesn’t remove anymore jabs at the ‘system.’
Guardian Enzo
October 20, 2022 at 6:56 amTHat’s basically my hope for CSM. We’ll see.
Yukie
October 20, 2022 at 1:02 amHaving read the CSM manga, I’m actually quite enjoying the adaptation, even with the differences. I’ve been curious ever since the announcement how they’re going to be adapt certain parts later, so I’ve been skeptical of the saying that MAPPA won’t be cutting anything. If they did, it’s a ridiculous announcement to make. I highly doubt there’s any adaption that doesn’t have a few manga panels left on the cutting room floor.
Also not surprised by the comparisons to JJK I’m seeing. All I can say at this stage is…wait for it *manga-reader smirk xD/also one of my fav. Hamilton songs* Speaking of JJK, the main problem I’ve always felt is it’s always been more of a style over substance show. Don’t know if the manga is different, but we’re always given a quick backstory to a character and then the plot moves on. I actually find it really similar to Bleach in this way: the characters are cardboard cutouts moved along by the plot, which if interesting enough(plus that fight choreography and animation) does keep me watching but not emotionally invested. Kimetsu no Yaiba, on the other hand, is less intricately plotted/written. It can be heavy-handed with the sentiment, but it has flashes of pathos here and there in the characters. Plus, Tanjiro’s plight does keep a through line that serves as a recognizable motive throughout the show.
CSM imo is interesting and unique in how it explores the psychology and inner parts (no pun intended) of the characters from a distance. There’s enough to empathize with but also enough separation for readers to be clinical/critical in their observations. One major difference I’ve felt was that the anime has kind of leaned more towards empathy and shortening the sense of distance/coldness I felt in the manga. Don’t know if it’s the result of the tone or the medium or a stylistic choice. Also, am impressed with the voice acting so far. Hope the goodness keeps up in the rest of the season.
Wayne Gretzky
October 20, 2022 at 3:09 amI read the whole manga between the first and second episode and while I won’t bring any spoilers, having read it I don’t think its worthy of some of the praise/hype it receives. Specifically around the characterization or depth of the story. To me CSM has surface level depth that’s just a bit more than average WSJ fair but a far cry from something like lets say Parasyte. The vaunted exploration of the characters psychology just leads back to everyone wants to be treated equally with love (Aki aside, hence he’s the best character).
While its undoubtedly a really fun, bombastic, chaotic trip, its appeal to me seems to purely based on the level shock value and violence it portrays; which are all a cut above the typical WSJ and certainly its closest comparison JJK. The other thing that I think pulls people in is the pace, its a damn fast moving story with some slow bit inserted. The plot moves much faster than the original WSJ Big 3.
Having read it, I can say it was all good fun and I like it BUT I won’t remember it at all in a year. There’s nothing about it that makes me think its an anime classic or masterpiece like HxH 2011, FMAB or Monster that people will talk about years after. Its all good entertainment but truly forgettable in the long run.
One more thing that also irks me about it but not so with JJK or Mob (since normal people can’t see curses or ghosts most of the time) is that Fujimoto just took the existing current world and drop in monsters. Like would not the way people go about life be different if monsters constantly pop-up to kill everyone without a moment’s notice? Think of all the stuff schools do after each mass shooting or countries do after terrorist attacks. Considering the amount of death and damage devils cause, regardless of if there are devil hunters, would people just live like they do now. I certainly wouldn’t just go to work or school, I’d probably hide in a bunker with a SPAS-12 shotgun forever. It just comes off as lazy writing imo which is obviously fairly common place in many other anime and shows.
All that said, I still think its a fun show but not a memorable one imo
Simone
October 20, 2022 at 3:30 amThe parallels with JJK are unquestionably there in terms of the set-up, to the point that Fujimoto himself has joked that CSM is “just a JJK ripoff”. I feel like they also belong in a similar vein – JJK too has a protagonist with rather dim prospects and a not-too-glamorous goal, horror vibes mixed with absurdism and a cast of characters who aren’t exactly paragons of mental health and stability. In many ways CSM pushes the envelope further and into new territory though where JJK (that personally I still enjoy a lot, and a lot more than KnY) still remains relatively safe. But I think you nailed perfectly the core difference in the character of Denji being quite unique, it’s a really important part of what makes this manga special (another is the fantastic ability Fujimoto has with panelling and pacing, which unfortunately only translates so well to animation).
Guardian Enzo
October 20, 2022 at 7:00 amI hadn’t seen that quote from Fujimoto, but I find it oddly reassuring since he’s kind of a troll.
I just hope MAPPA doesn’t make a habit of editing out any social commentary (especially anti-corporate), as I hear there’s a lot of it.
Orion Taylor
October 20, 2022 at 1:32 pmJust like Wayne, between the 1st and 2nd episodes, I binged all of the first main saga of CSM (97 of the 107 chapters), and read a little bit into the second part.
I have not read/watched JJK, though I love Parasyte, which is definitely the most similar series that comes to mind, what with all that body horror and raw sexual energy (Evangelion also has a lot of both, even though it’s a fairly different series). I agree with Wayne that Parasyte has a much better/deeper story. I do think CSM did a pretty decent job at not giving the main characters that much plot armor (SnK and GoT seasons 5-8 I’m looking at you!)
I had tons of fun reading CSM this past week, and so far the anime has been great! There were definitely a few cool ideas thrown around, and some pretty cool moments. I’m definitely looking forward to watching the rest of the anime.
Simone
October 21, 2022 at 3:21 amIMO the real ancestor of all these (CSM as well as JJK, Eva and Parasyte) is Go Nagai’s Devilman. In some ways CSM may be the “purest” of its successors in how close it comes to its original tone and atmosphere of existential horror.
Nadavu
October 24, 2022 at 7:03 amI wasn’t sold after the first episode, but now I am. The pacing was excellent — so much ground was made and without it feeling rushed. And no “monster of the week” or any big splashy action scene; the inter-character dynamic was strong enough to pull it along by itself. I feel hopeful.
Gerard
October 24, 2022 at 10:12 amI may be in the minority here, but I only found this episode to be “okay.” The animation and presentation were still quite good, but I’m just not caring for Denji as a character yet I guess? I get why he is the way he is, but it does nothing for me. Makima is intriguing and I like that Aki shows concern for others and is willing to do what he feels is necessary to avoid people being killed by getting in over their heads. Living dead girl is either going to be fun or really annoying. Lastly not a big fan of the world building or lack there of so far. It’s not that I can’t see our world learning to adapt to demons spawning frequently enough to become mundane, but it’s also weird we’ve been given nothing on how why or when this all started.
Overall it’s yet to get it’s hooks into me and I’m doubting that it will, but it’s fun enough to keep watching for now.