At this point, I have to confront the possibility that Chainsaw Man just isn’t working for me. We’re not at that point yet – but it’s on the table. I’m not really feeling any of the characters, certainly not liking any of them much – Aki is okay, and Himeno, but she’s actually dead. That isn’t a necessity of course, but it does give you a margin for error when the other things aren’t clicking. There’s spectacle to be sure, but with a kind of “look at me!” smugness in the writing I find a little grating. In order for spectacle to have much impact it has to either develop organically or be emotionally involving (preferably both). Without it, all you’re left with is the spectacle.
That’s kind of where I am with this episode. It gives off an air of Fujimoto doing shit because he can, not for any deeper reason. Shock for shock’s sake, as it were – but again, without much actual shock when it’s people you don’t much care about and frankly not all that surprising. I think one could pretty easily have speculated on who was actually dead and who wasn’t after last week and gotten a perfect 100% (as I did). And it doesn’t help that when push comes to shove the action scenes aren’t really all that special in production terms. They’re kind of clinical – like they’re trying to be flash and cool but can’t hide that they’re trying. I know that MAPPA can do passionate and heartfelt visuals – but I’ve seen it in quirky series like Dance Dance Danseur, and not their big action tentpoles.
To that point, obviously Denji and Makima aren’t dead. We know the reason with Denji – he’s a hybrid – so it seems pretty safe to assume Makima is one too, or something similar. The woman coordinating the attacks has a name, Sawatari. And walkie talkies, so she’s working for an organization that wants to take the devil hunters down – though it’s implied she’s working for the Gun Devil directly. The yakuza grandson (Hamano Daiki) clearly is some sort of hybrid too, except with a katana unlike Denji’s chainsaw, as he’s also un-killable by conventional means.
That’s a sort of interesting matter, given what happens later in the episode. Makima wipes out the assassins on the Shinkansen, but that’s so rote it doesn’t even need to be onscreen. When she gets to Kyoto she has her two flunkies get her clean clothes and reserve a shrine (the subs have kind of a rookie mistake here, calling it a “temple” – that’s Japan 101) and a bunch of prison lifers. She then performs some kind of ritual where she uses their lives to take out Sawatari’s men one by one, though not Sawatari or the Katana dude themselves. Presumably whoever her devil contract is with is the one who makes this possible.
OK, first of all, I do wonder why she killed all the zaku and not the two main villains – is that plot convenience, or maybe because this only works on unaltered humans? I’m also curious how she knew their names – which perhaps supports the suspicion that she either planned this whole incident or at least knew about it. And are we supposed to think it’s OK that she killed all those men just because they were convicted criminals? Because it’s not, you know? It would certainly be pretty cold of Makima to orchestrate this whole thing just to take out her professional rivals and gain control of the whole operation, but I wouldn’t put it past her. Of course that wouldn’t make Makima cool or mysterious – it’d just make her thoroughly evil.
As for Kobeni, she survived too – thanks to Arai taking a bullet for her. So yeah, she’s actually really good at fighting for what that’s worth. I have a certain amount of empathy for Kobeni ending up in a job she’s so totally miserable doing, but that doesn’t make it any more pleasant to listen to her whinging on about it constantly. As desperate as I am for an anchor to tie up to with this story, I don’t think Kobeni is going to be it. The question is though, who is? I’m hoping to find an answer sooner rather than later (this cour, anyway).
Samu’s Impressions:
Enter Makima. Enter Kobeni.
I wouldn’t say this episode was as gorgeously put together and animated as the last but it is still firmly in things are getting very serious very fast territory, and was probably the most rewarding to revisit as a manga reader. Himeno’s (or the Ghost Devil’s) final act in death was to pull Denji’s cord and turn him into full blown chainsaw man, making it the second time, after the premiere, that we’ve seen his effective death been wiped when his powers rev him back to life. The fight that ensues isn’t as showy as we’ve seen until now but he deals some pushback to this new opponent before being bisected and left legless for the rest of the episode. While this entourage of gun-wielding foes are preparing to take Denji’s heart, Aki and Power are either out of commission or MIA this entire episode, leaving room for some other characters to take the spotlight instead.
The first of which is Makima, who despite what last episode presented is unhurt and unfazed by all of this (did anyone actually believe she would be dead at this point, when she is still such a mystery in terms of her character and her powers?). The stoic leader of the devil hunter misfits murders the gun-wielding attackers and arrives in Kyoto with intention of retaliating as much as she can from across the country. This comes in the form of her making people utter the name of those she wishes to brutally twist and explode out of existence, shown by her using blindfolded criminals as sacrifices. Her actual powers used here however remain as much of a mystery as the question asked of her by the latest to offer his resignation: just how much did she know that any of this was going to happen?
Along with Himeno, Arai is another pretty certain casualty to come from this recent turn of events, and to make up for his earlier cowardice, in his last moment he blocks the shot aimed for Kobeni. In the spirit of redemptions, this was just as much Kobeni’s episode as it was Makima’s, putting the useless allegations to bed (I’ve checked Enzo, you’re not alone amongst some anime-only viewers not liking her introduction). After all, she wouldn’t have been part of this special division of powerhouses if she wasn’t capable of packing a punch herself; it just so happens she’s much more of a normal girl than the rest of her colleagues.
Without revealing her own contracted devil she manages to deal some serious damage with a gun and a knife – enough to send the villains driving off while she cradles Denji’s body, officially apologising for her attempted murder the other day while also realising her own hypocrisy and ridiculousness of even saying such words. It’s a heavy job this devil hunting business, with no Himeno alive anymore for Kobeni to even offer her resignation.
Joshua
December 8, 2022 at 1:23 amYeah, I’m siding with Samu with this one. Honestly, if I wanted something that *was* nothing but brain-dead spectacle, I’d rather watch Bleach’s mindless fights, or hell, the Marvel-ized self-indulgence of Princess Connect. This didn’t feel like those series here.
Hang on, because the hook that you’ve been looking for is coming real soon.
Joshua
December 8, 2022 at 1:41 amAnd honestly, I’m surprised you’re feeling the opposite of what other CSM skeptics were feeling going into these two episodes, because most, if not all of their skepticism of this series (from the previous episodes/chapters) dissipated with this Katana Man arc.
Guardian Enzo
December 8, 2022 at 11:23 amI’ll take your word for it. It doesn’t click with me that anyone who had problems with the series would see these eps as addressing them, but I suppose it depends on what the problems are.
You can’t hold Bleach or Princess Connect over me, ROFL – I’m not a fan of either. All comes down to personal taste.
Jen
December 8, 2022 at 1:59 amI can relate with Enzo. While I have read the manga and enjoyed, for a good portion I was more invested in the spectacle and direction than the characters up to a certain point. While the characters could be fun, I wouldn’t have said I felt any strongly about any of them in particular. At least to a certain point til it converges for me.
Simone
December 8, 2022 at 3:39 am> And are we supposed to think it’s OK that she killed all those men just because they were convicted criminals?
I’m not sure why you get that vibe at this point though. I don’t think the show could scream MAKIMA IS CREEPY AND EVIL any louder without giving her a moustache to twirl.
Patchy
December 8, 2022 at 4:26 amAs always, I’m on the “drop it if you’re not enjoying it” way of thought, but as someone that almost dropped the manga with the kero-chu, I think I can provide my two cents about expectations and what to look for:
CSM doesn’t have many emotional anchors, even if some characters creep on you over time (I cried for some characters near the end, that’s unusual for me); what’s interesting is that it doesn’t push any moral affirmation or clues on how you have to take it. Reading Makima as evil and her actions as immoral isn’t incompatible with the story that Fujimoto penned, the clinical nature of the explosion scene doesn’t go out of its way to present itself as triumphal or heroic, It takes the perspective of the thugs and becomes something of a horror show. I think that a cipher, as you said about Makima, its a good metaphor for the work.
I like what a booktuber said about CSM manga: It works because it’s conventional on the big strokes, but it always takes the unexpected path getting there, and it’s helped by a surprising amount of thematic coherence when it finally reveals what is supposed to be saying.
That said, I enjoyed this episode, but it’s my least favorite because it was just two big scenes, and, well, there wasn’t as much subtext as with the hotel ones to justify the time spent. I think this one was less motivated by being the best possible chapter and more of a necessary sacrifice for the season to end where they want it to finish.
Guardian Enzo
December 8, 2022 at 11:30 amThanks, a very interesting comment. And that is an interesting perspective on CSM, one I suppose I can’t judge until we get to that point.
This, essentially, is the issue with me – “when it finally reveals what it’s supposed to be saying”. Well – what’s the hook for me to be invested in it if, at the moment, it doesn’t seem to be saying anything? That’s where the lack of relatable characters – anchors – is really felt. It’s one thing in the manga, where I know from limited perusing (and the one-shots) Fujimoto’s preternatural knack for framing can deliver a huge impact just by itself. You don’t have that in the anime – it’s fine, but frankly the production is a bit “high-end generic” if you know what I mean.
Far too interesting both micro and macro to drop it, at least this season. But I do need something more at some point.
Marty
December 8, 2022 at 8:36 amYeah, I’ve heard from a lot of manga fans that the story as a narrative turns up a ways away in the manga, so I’m not entirely sure if my interest in the series will hold until then.
hwighting
December 8, 2022 at 2:01 pmThis ep was a real banger. CSM is definitely living up to the hype.
reyhan
December 8, 2022 at 6:50 pmthanks
Eugene T.
December 8, 2022 at 8:11 pmChainsaw man’s best material is ahead but it’s not like it transforms completely or anything, it just does better what it already does well. This is the equivalent of not feeling HxH by the time Gon fights Hanzo- sure, the best stuff is yet to come but if by that point you aren’t enjoying it, it’a safe to say it just ain’t your thing.
If you simply aren’t feeling the character and emotional beats and find the writing flourishes grating at this point it’s unlikely you will find much value or enjoyment in it down the line.
Nadavu
December 9, 2022 at 5:51 amWell, I liked it, though not as much as the previous one.
Yukie
December 10, 2022 at 11:58 amCSM for me is interesting in that there aren’t really characters I ended up liking or caring all that much about, but I was able to still get invested in the story since it makes me wonder how will they survive in a world of so much evil (which we’ve got just a glimpse of this week). Imperfect but a unique story such that I can see why people rave about it so much. I can see why the anime adaptation is trying to fill those gaps by trying to create more emotional connection with the characters by delving onto such moments as with Himeno as well as Denji’s backstory in the prologue, but if the source material doesn’t give too much, I wonder how much difference can they make. Also the recaps in the beginning are kind of bothering me, are they padding for time. The CSM manga works because it’s quick like a bullet train ride. I wonder if they’re dragging this out in the same way as other franchises.