I’m bending my rules a bit in labeling this as “season finale”, I know. There’s no official sequel announcement, which surprises me a little as I figured this was probably a split-cour. But let’s be real, obviously there will be a second season, it will be soon, and there will be more after that. Chainsaw Man is a commercial monster. I think in hindsight just behind Spy x Family (which would make me right and Samu wrong, ahem), though both would be just a bit behind Tokyo Revengers. Which is just a bit behind Jujutsu Kaisen (which is miles behind Kimetsu no Yaiba).
As you know if you follow the site at all, my track record with commercial monsters is not great. I don’t hate any of those shows but I don’t think any of them are that spectacular (Spy x Family for me has the highest highs, and maybe the lowest lows). And if I’m honest I don’t think CSM is either. It’s pretty good and it has some very inventive and cool elements, but it’s another one where I just don’t quite get what all the fuss is about. You might argue that it’s because of the anime, and that’s not impossible. But the fact that I have read Fujimoto’s one shots and found them not quite the masterpieces many do (though very good) cuts against that argument.
The matter of the anime’s worth is certainly one of the headlines here. To be honest I knew many Chainsaw fans would hate it before it ever aired, even if it were great. Why? Simples – this is one of the most negative fanbases I’ve ever encountered in animanga. That said, I don’t think the anime is great. I’ve read enough of the manga (and those one shots) to know where Fujimoto’s genius lies, and the adaptation doesn’t really capture it. It has too much CGI and too little flair – it’s professional, competent, and a little generic. Unfortunately I think that’s the wrong sort of identity for CSM, which really cries out for quirky and edgy direction.
I think MAPPA erred in putting a first-time director in charge of this show myself. Look at what Wit-Cloverworks got out of uber-vet Furuhashi Kazuhiro with SxF, a far more conventional series in style. You’re probably sick of hearing me talk about them but man, old Gainax would have been perfect for Chainsaw Man. And Fujimoto is a huge fan too (that cigarette message was a straight-up homage to FLCL, and far from the first FLCL-Gainax nod in the series). Still – some of the criticism is over the top, IMO. This adaptation is hardly a disaster – I just don’t happen to think the material itself is great on balance.
As season finales go, this one was very much in that fine category as well. Denji taking down the mid-boss while Power feasts on zombies as a way of overcompensating for her shameful flight against a stronger opponent. Neither Katana Man or Sawatari (isn’t there a Bleach character with that name?) are the real enemy, that’s clear, so the outcome here was kind of rote. Katana Man almost comes off as sort of sympathetic – at the very least he seems to believe he’s on the side of justice. But then you remember he killed Himeno and, well- Denji has a right to be nasty about it. That whole nutcracking contest bit is just Fujimoto being juvenile and thinking it’s clever and hilarious AFAIC (not for the first time, truth be told).
As for our setup for Season 2, we have Sawatari apparently dead as part of her terms with the Gun Devil (though “dead” in CSM is an elastic term), and Denji dreaming about being a kid again and a door Pochita tells him he can never open. Also a woman whose face we never see looking for Denji, talking about the city mouse and the country mouse, and the compiled pieces of the Gun Devil’s flesh pointing towards (redacted). Plenty of grist for the mill whenever the series returns, then (I still think sometime in 2023).
I want to thank Samu for helping me out with coverage of this series. It’s been very interesting reading his thoughts after setting down mine (as I will once again do in a few moments). Ultimately I always go into one of these cultural sensations hoping it will finally be the one that sees me swept up in the wave, and it hasn’t happened yet. But there’s always the next one (Kaiju No. 8 maybe, or something else? Sounds like a theme for another visual podcast…), so hope springs eternal. And when Chainsaw Man does return I imagine I’ll be following it – if nothing else, to see for myself if the fans are right about how much deeper and more complex it gets later in the story.
Samu’s Impressions:
I’d label that episode as ‘good enough’. Nothing was especially wrong with it but I’d be lying if I said I was fully satisfied with the climax of the Katana Man arc; this is the first major shift in the series for what’s to come for the remainder and other than the exceptional eighth episode that kicked it off with a bang I feel confident instead recommending the manga over the anime, at least for this part of the adaptation, if only for the train sequence alone.
The action here I felt left a lot to be desired with its heavy reliance on CG in both the character and scenery models, where in the best episodes earlier this cour that wasn’t the case. The only reasonable explanation would be linked to recurring rumblings online that the Chainsaw Man production was – and continues to be – behind schedule, and likely a bit of a mess on many levels productive and ethical. While we got glimmers of the treatment I expected MAPPA to roll out for perhaps their most golden material yet I’m not sure they nailed it as far as consistency is measured.
I’ll admit own expectations were neutered in the second half of this episode when I realised that the point I thought they were going to end on didn’t come to be – it’s not the end of the world or anything but I still stand that just that one more chapter being adapted in the B-side of the episode would back been a fitting and equally quiet/reflective moment to end the series off. Other than that we got the tease of another girl at the end – everyone who knows, knows – but more importantly in my view, we have The Door.
Seen briefly here in what we learn is Denji’s recurring dream he hears Pochita, his very own new heart, on the other side, who warn him: “Denji. You can’t open that door.” Almost anything I say about it is too much but I’m sure the possibilities of what The Door could be won’t be lost on anyone familiar enough with storytelling metaphors. Anime-only viewers will just have to stew on what could lie beyond until the second cour comes around. Whatever does happen with the quality of the adaptation to come I think just about everyone who has read the manga would agree with me that the best material is still yet to come.
stephen
December 29, 2022 at 12:11 amComing from someone whom hasn’t read the manga nor living within the hype, I liked it and would give it a 7.5-8/10. Most blockbusters (same with films, music, anime), just don’t go far enough away from the average to beyond an 8 I feel.
I did like some of the quieter and slower moments and actually wished more of it than the gore. It would have been great if they went more psychological as with a gainax treatment.
Bob
December 29, 2022 at 1:30 amI’m curious what sites you use for audience reception.
As for the show itself, I have no problems. I found the manga very good and surprising multiple times, and the show lives up to that and then some. At best, I don’t understand the accusations of unfitting direction. At worst, like the 2000 idiots, they’re delusional.
This was interesting coverage, thanks.
sonicsenryaku
December 29, 2022 at 6:27 amThe unfitting direction complaint comes from the fact that the original source material is very punk and experimental in its presentation; the work has an abstract intent to it, so for the adaptation to go for a more live-action, grounded realism take instead feels antithetical to the identity of the original source. Make no mistake, Ryu Nakayama realizes the vision he had for chainsaw man with deft execution, really making the most of the talent that was recruited for the adaptation, but in doing so, it sort of strips away a large part of chainsaw man’s visual language and directorial framework. Basically, the “most fitting” translation of chainsaw man would have been to go surreal and audacious with the adaptation rather than the realism this current one went with. Like Enzo said, Vintage Gainax would have been perfect for this, as Fujimoto’s approach to writing the manga is inspired by their no-hold’s barred, kinetic framing and visual articulation. In the eyes of some, Mappa’s take on the project made for a more boring adaptation; a technically marvelous production, yes; but lacking the fervor of the source to the point that it comes off a bit more bland in comparison. To be honest, I can see how people would feel that way. I personally admire what Ryu Nakayama and his team was able to achieve despite me myself preferring a different take for this adaptation
Guardian Enzo
December 29, 2022 at 9:48 amReddit and Twitter mainly.
I mean, there’s a petition to get the series remade with a different director that’s gotten thousands of signatures and major media coverage. Personally I think that’s stupid and like I said, the adaptation is no disaster – it’s perfectly fine. Just a little bland for my tastes.
Simone
December 30, 2022 at 4:27 amEh, I woudn’t count “major media coverage” as meaning anything. Today a lot of online journalism seems to amount to “let’s find someone disgruntled saying something stupid on the internet and make news out of it so people can get outraged at it”. That sort of remake petition is obviously delusional, but you’ll always find someone signing that sort of thing. I haven’t seen almost anything but praise for the show, some disappointment with the CGI now and then but no one who said it ruined it so thoroughly they’d rather have it remade.
Simone
December 29, 2022 at 3:20 amThe CGI use in this show really confuses me. It’s not awful but it’s blatantly inferior to what could have been done with more 2D animation (heck, with what this same studio did in the very similar Jujutsu Kaisen). You could call it a cost or time saving measure, but why the hell would you skimp on fights and then splurge on 12 original EDs, many of which lavishly animated? It seems like production decisions were really weird in this sense.
That said, I don’t see much of the negativity you mention, most fans seem to have enjoyed this just fine. It was a well done adaptation, it just wasn’t stellar at getting and enhancing the source material the way MP100 of Kaguya-sama did. Pity, but that’s a very high bar.
Patchy
December 29, 2022 at 7:19 amFor me, it was a good enough adaptation. Not great (even if it had great moments), but not bad.
As a manga reader, I find that the adaptation approaches the spirit of CSM from a whole different place. It may not be ultra-stylistic sakugafest many were waiting, but I think that pursuing pseudo-realism is, if not the best choice, it is a choice after all and it was fun trying to track from were did the inspiration came each episode. What I like about CSM is that it managed to balance riding the hype wave and being its own wacky thing.
With this adaptation there’s an intent in the choices made and that’s more than what most anime right now can say.
Nadavu
December 29, 2022 at 7:38 amWhat most impresses me about this season of CSM is how little story it managed to actually tell. Aki got sort of an arc, and that’s about it. No world building, no personal growth, characters dying off before their death had any real emotional significance. Even the protagonist is struggling to explain why he’s even fighting, and really the best answer seems to be: There are no stakes, so why not?
Still, it passed the time reasonably well, though I don’t feel any richer for having watched it.
Ramsés Cabrera
December 29, 2022 at 8:53 amI think I can understand the desire to get a more stylish, surreal approach to the series. I agree that’d be perfect. But to call this adaptation bad? That I will never understand.
Marmot
December 30, 2022 at 6:15 amTo me, the anime committed the worst possible sin: it’s boring. The adaptation brought nothing to the table, no interesting creative decisions were made as far as I’m concerned. Everything is very rote, and there were no surprises anywhere except for a few little extra moments with Aki that they added in. As an adaptation, I consider it bad since it not only failed to do anything interesting with the material, it actively detracts from it with boring CGI and glacial pacing.
Eugene T.
December 31, 2022 at 6:04 pmThe CSM fandom is more or less divided into people unwilling to people who can’t look at the adaptation critically and people who are going full Star Wars fandom-level obnoxious on the creators.
Still If nothing else, this adaptation has gotten people to discuss the quality of anime adaptations in more than just “sakuga”/budget/pacing and faithfulness, which was extremely reductive towards the medium, especially the role of the director and screenwriter.
Particularly, the kinda hilarious rivalry that has emerged with Bocchi the Rock puts this into perspective with a show that is doing way more with its material with way less resources. And I would argue ultimately plenty of far less lavish anime were better adaptations than Chainsawman on several counts this year.