It’s very obvious that Chainsaw Man (as a reflection of its creator) is a product of its influences.  Most obviously FLCL, as Fujimoto himself admits (the way it fixates on cigarettes is pure Samejima Mamimi).  But I’m starting to see a lot of another series here, not so much as an “influence”, per se, but a common trait.  And that would be Made in Abyss, which may sound like an odd proposition at first.  But it fits for me, because the fetishes of their respective mangaka are quite intrusive on the story.  And not generally in a positive way.

To be clear, I love Made in Abyss in almost every other way.  But Tsukushi-senseis obsession with children’s bodily functions and general humiliation is kind of the elephant in the room with that one.  And I’m open to liking Chainsaw Man – there’s a lot here I like very much, in fact.  But I gotta be honest, Fujimoto’s perspective on the female of the species strikes me as deeply twisted.  It makes me just as uncomfortable as Tsukishi’s proclivities can make me, in a totally different way.  And I don’t yet see CSM as the kind of magical work of genius that overpowers that off note.

I’m not about psychoanalyzing mangaka, and I have no idea what Fujimoto’s private life is like (or his relationships with women).  I only have his writing to go on – that and the information he’s volunteered in interviews that he’s obsessed with dominating women humiliating him.  I suspect he indulges that in his writing rather than in his daily life but that’s pure spitballing.  And if he does, good for him – that would seem to be a lot more emotionally healthy than the alternative.  But it’s fair game to discuss the impact that has on a viewer/reader consuming said writing.

As for Denji, well, as Kishibe (great to see Tsuda Kenjirou get some work at last) notes, he definitely has some screws loose.  And I could certainly see where a devil would fear that a lot more than anyone sane.  Does that make Denji a good protagonist?  Well, so far he’s basically a product of his impulses and nothing more – food, sex, slaughter, taking a dump.  His affection for Pochita is about the only thing we’ve seen from him that isn’t some sort of sensory urge, but it’s not a big part of his framework at this stage.  As such Denji is more a force of nature than a real character, at least for now, and that limits the extent to which one can really care about him.

Of his three day battle with the Eternity Devil we thankfully see only a few minutes, but he wins by consuming the devil’s blood to replenish what he’s losing and thus keeps his chainsaws spinning.  Arai and Kobeni at least have the decency to feel guilty about having tried to kill him, though Himeno seems unburdened by any such concerns – it was a matter of priorities for her, no more and no less.  Both Fujimoto and the anime staff have done a very good job painting a picture of just how hopeless a public sector devil hunter’s life is – faced with such unremitting bleakness I suppose it’s no wonder Arai and Kobeni are like they are.  But it’s certainly depressing.

A writer is under no obligation to populate their story with any likeable characters, but a consumer of that story is perfectly entitled to find that an issue.  It sort of is for me, because for all the darkness so eloquently portrayed it plays as more abstract than emotionally penetrating.  Aki has come off best  so far, but he’s kind of a cipher really.  Himeno I will say is honest at the very least, which is reflected in her attitude about Denji and the Eternity Devil.  She’s sick of losing partners and sick of the men in her life being in love with Makima (another one who’s more an abstract than a character).

As for the nomikai which was the centerpiece of the B-part, it was certainly memorable.  Makima can predictably drink everybody under the table, and Himeno is a horny drunk.  That whole business of the “kiss” was a big whiff for me.  Gross, sure, in a cartoon way, but it plays as something a mangaka writes just because he can.  You want humiliation, that certainly fits the bill.  Denji did nothing to deserve that of course – he saved everybody’s asses and had every right to expect his promised renumeration.  But it did lead to the one sort of emotionally honest and understated moment of the episode, when Arai was relying on his experience with his alcoholic mother to help Denji refund everything in the toilet at the izakaya.

Understatement is something I feel like Chainsaw Man could use more of, but that doesn’t seem to be its vibe.  There’s plenty of subtext here but the onslaught of sensory bombardment and outrageousness is so unrelenting as to kind of drown it out.  I’ve seen this series described as a sort of bizarro Death Note – a series that actually is deep and subtle trying to pass itself off as superficial pulp.  But at this point the pulp side is clearly in the ascendancy.  I don’t think this is a series necessarily intended to be appreciated mainly by 14 year-old boys, but that’s kind of how it’s playing out at the moment.

Samu’s Impressions:

Denji really was the perfect person to take down the Eternity Devil; while it didn’t appear to have the raw power that others have shown until now its strength seemingly lay in the long-term suffering it caused and the durability it possessed. This just highlights perhaps Denji’s greatest strength: so long as he has blood, he can go for literal days (three days to be precise) of uninterrupted chainsaw massacring, breaking the cycle of relying on his own blood that has hindered him until now.

The fact that Denji can go so long says a lot about him, but the rest of the episode did a good job of fleshing out the remainder of the cast through the welcome party feat. lots of alcohol. Not only does it give us one of the most infamous moments of the series in the vomit-kiss (poor Denji’s horny dreams are being tarnished one after the other), but the topic of another recent passing when a name is dropped amidst the celebrations acts as a litmus test of just how everyone handles the news: there are those who are rattled by the brutal realities of the profession and are now seeking to leave (Kobeni, Arai); those who are hardened to the casualties of the job (the new faces at the table); those who see past it as a mean to get to their goal (Aki, Himeno); and those with a few too many screws loose to realise what they’ve got themselves into (Denji, Power). The balance of mindsets across the cast I think acts as another good way to make each of them like more fleshed out characters in their own right.

As far as Arai is concerned, him consoling Denji over the toilet is his most endearing moment yet. Unlike Enzo (and like most CSM fans) I am by no means a Kobeni hater – for now I’ll just say she’s an otherwise normal young girl rattled by the most lethal job in the country, who sends her money to her family who have rejected her, and like Himeno said, they were all willing to sacrifice Denji and let him suffer (for three days ieventually) if it meant they all got out alive; it’s a messy job and it just so happens they’ve lucked out with someone who seems to have the ideal disposition to be the best possible weapon they could ask for. Anyway, what is attempted mutiny within the ranks of an organisation like Public Safety, where its workers are likely to be dead within the next year or two and the idea of upstanding morals doesn’t seem to apply to those lucky enough to survive?