(Nitsuj): Hello and welcome to Project Nitsuj. As manga continues to move forward, we’ve enter the age of Dark Manga. Mangas that focus on dark themes and mature subjects. We’ve reviewed a few of these in the past such as Demon Slayer, Jujutsu Kaisen, and Hell’s Paradise. However, if we had to choose the poster child for Dark Manga it would be, Chainsaw Man.
(Shizuku): A title so simple and yet so complicated at the same time. Known as the Rated R Manga, Chainsaw Man was written by Tatsuki Fujimoto the same pleasant man who also wrote the nightmare-inducing Fire Punch. He’s a really cool and sweet guy once you get to know him.
(Seras): After wrapping up Fire Punch, Tatsuki started working on Chainsaw Man in 2018 where it would appear in the pages of Shonen Jump before jumping exclusively to the Shonen Jump app in 2022. Since it’s debut the series has been praised for it’s characters, story, themes, and twists that keep everyone on edge and makes you evaluate just how good manga can be.
(Nitsuj): Following the series success, MAPPA (Attack on Titan and Jujutsu Kaisen) who were riding a wave of success the last few years announced that they were in the process of producing an anime of the series. Despite news of MAPPA’s harsh treatment of animators, fans were excited and in 2022 the anime made it’s debut where it delivered on the hype and was named by me, the best anime of 2022. Let’s get the engine roaring and take a look at Chainsaw Man.
Opening and Ending Themes
(Shizuku): Our opening is “Kick Back” by Kenshi Yonezu. One of the best openings of 2022 and an addicting song to listen to. The song just perfectly sums of the series. Dark but has comedic moments. Sinister but tender and safe. Chaos personified but self-aware and personal. It’s a perfectly balanced song that’s amplified by the opening animation that contains all sorts of movie references and a small spoiler of the future.
(Seras): For the endings, instead of settling for one, we get twelve ending songs. Each episode would see a different artist sing the ending song and each one was good. They all did a good job reflecting the theme or character of the episode. Some of the artists include Aimer, TK from Ling Tosite Sigure, Queen Bee, and my favorite, Eve. Who at this point had risen in popularity thanks to his work on Jujutsu Kaisen. It’s tough to choose which one was my favorite from this line-up of talented artists. Just know that all the songs were good and worth checking out.
Episodes 1-4
(Nitsuj): The anime starts with our main character Denji voiced by newcomer Kikunosuke Toya (no joke, this was his first VA role and he knocks it out of the park. How crazy is that? Becoming the lead voice for one of the best mangas in the last decade as you’re first gig. I can’t imagine the pressure he was under. You can tell he was passionate about the anime and had good coaching) and his pet dog monster Pochita off to kill a monster known as a devil (Shizuku: Sounds like a normal Monday morning). In this world devils are monsters created by the fear of humans (Seras: Everybody panic! (Nitsuj): No! Don’t panic). The more you fear them the stronger they become (scene here: https://youtu.be/Bc-_2pcSTFA?si=tWqPD9sq0JYE5Zaa. Okay, on second thought, panic!). We find out that Denji’s deadbeat dad left him a mountain of debt money he owed to the yakuza. Denji is now forced to work off the debt by fighting devils with Pochita who is also a devil (scene here: https://youtu.be/sMoh1oO2TTQ?si=7gjfQFeLFrA7-9oe). It’s a risky job but the pay is good, if you know what you’re doing and Denji seems to know what he’s doing. He easily beats the devil which they skip over (Seras: Fucking tease). He heads back to his shack wishing for the good life when all of a sudden he coughs up blood (don’t bother going to the hospital. You ain’t got no money. (Seras): It’s Japan. Healthcare is free. (Nitsuj): Oh yeah. I forgot about that). He doesn’t have time to worry about it as he gets called in to take down another devil. He gets taking to a warehouse where it turns out to be a setup. The yakuza sold their souls to a devil known as the zombie devil in exchange for power becoming its slaves. The devil wants to kill all devil hunters and since Denji is one he’s on the list. Denji and Pochita get stabbed and try to escape, but get captured and torn to shreds. Denji’s decapitated head gets thrown in the trash along with Pochita (Shizuku: Oh come on guys, that’s recyclable) who fuses with Denji in order to revive him, give him a second chance at life and live out his dreams. Denji gets a new body with Pochita acting as his heart and giving him a few enhancements as well. He can turn his arms and head into a chainsaw (Seras: Oh that is fucking metal). Denji manages to defeat the zombie devil as well as the other zombies leaving a pool of blood in his wake (scene here: https://youtu.be/vAA-dQeVdHA?si=Xcjo9ZsomBREgoEG). The next morning, members of public safety come to the warehouse to eliminate the devil only to see Denji already did their job for them (less paperwork for them). He’s able to revert back to his human form and is given two options. He can either die a devil or work for the government (is there a difference?).
In episode 2 Denji and his new master Makima voiced by Tomori Kusunoki (Shizuka from Zom 100: Bucket List of the Dead. (Seras): The range of this woman) stop to get some udon. Right away Denji shows his affection for her and she even admits she has some affection for him (scene here: https://youtu.be/PCKsLJDRbQ4?si=TRehoFZFmbT1W-e1. (Seras): Women like men they can control). They then reach the city where Denji gets a new set of clothes (Shizuku: He makes it look good) and gets put in the hands of Aki another devil hunter voiced by Shogo Sakata and second-in-command next to Makima. As the two patrol the streets, Aki takes Denji to a secluded area and beats him up telling him to quit because he has no motivation to live (no motivation? The guy is simping and got a decent meal for the first time ever. How is that not motivation). Denji gets back up and hits him in the balls (like multiple times. We should probably send Aki to the hospital). It’s clear that Aki has a thing for Makima as well and he’s not gonna let some punk come in and steal her (scene here: https://youtu.be/-Jq5t6N9G4E?si=vI55k1tnBcE9Yul0). After beating each other up, they return to the office where Makima explains Denji’s situation to Aki and says Denji will be working with them forever and if he tries to escape he’ll be killed (Seras: A job for life. This is everyman’s dream and nightmare all rolled into one). Denji gets placed in Aki’s team and moves in with him (Shizuku: I’m sure it won’t become a hostile home environment). The next day, they get called in to eliminate a Fiend. Fiends are devils that have taken over a human corpse. They have complete control over the body and can do whatever they want. Aki leaves the Fiend to Denji who kills it quite easily without using his powers which pisses off Aki who feels like Denji isn’t taking this seriously enough (Seras: Maybe not at first glance). We find out that Aki’s family was killed by a devil right in front of him so he has no sympathy for them at all and takes his leave. This leaves Denji alone with his thoughts where he thinks Aki has a goal and feels that he needs one as well. While he’s living his best life he feels a goal will help out so he decides to make his next goal, touching boobs (I can get behind this goal). Denji then gets partnered up with Power, a Fiend and one of the more popular characters in the series (Shizuku: She looks like Zero Two from Darling in the Franxx) voiced by Fairouz Ai (Delta from The Eminence in Shadow). We end the episode by seeing her powers which is blood. She’s the blood devil and she can turn her blood into weapons that are quite destructive (and cool. Scene here: https://youtu.be/M1np5GVWuwo?si=KtO5s4atatUrpaBB).
The story of Denji and Power continues in episode 3 as Power makes a deal with him. In exchange for helping her save her cat Meowy from a devil, Power will let Denji grab her boobs (that’s a fair deal. Scene here: https://youtu.be/PVsMGVKjOoA?si=ayu2TW8kg2wvcrAC). They go to the devil’s hideout where Power betrays Denji and knocks him out (Seras: Power you bitch). She gives Denji to the devil who is a bat and drinks Denji’s blood to heal its wound. The bat devil says Denji’s blood is terrible and eats Meowy right in front of Power (Shizuku: Cold move bastard). He then eats Power and flies off to eat more people (scene here: https://youtu.be/1J4cCPl6izA?si=FnqCXLPEh0Q1_TkL). Denji of course follows after it and transforms into Chainsaw Man to fight and kill it (scene here: https://youtu.be/YdBSvTu-oH8?si=wZ1SQMxDy9_xwL_T. (Seras): All this to grab some boobs. (Nitsuj): I still feel like they’re underplaying it).
At the start of episode 4 Denji is able to cut Power and Meowy from the belly of the devil. To show her thanks and apologize for tricking, she now allows herself to get groped by Denji. Before Denji can fulfill his goals, his hand gets shot off by a new devil (he’s been blue-balled) who just happened to be dating the bat devil (Shizuku: Devils understand the concept of gender? (Seras): Better question, do we need to censor this new devil? She’s got some questionable objects out for everyone to see). Denji tries to turn into Chainsaw Man but doesn’t have enough blood and can only make one chainsaw to fight. Despite his best offers, Denji is no match for the devil and just when he’s about to get eaten, he gets saved by Aki and the rest of his team (scene here: https://youtu.be/jPSkfr8PhnU?si=hdr80o_tovK4OC8A). Denji gets taken to the hospital where he covers for Power as he doesn’t want her to get in trouble (that and the fondling. He’s got his priorities). Aki knows he’s lying but agrees to cover for them as long as Denji agrees to do what he says when he says it. The next day, Power moves in with them where the transition is anything but pleasant (scene here: https://youtu.be/COk5tXFriIU?si=c6EHZFPCWs8FAFnJ). However, she does earn favor with Denji by giving him permission to grope her boobs, three times for saving her, her cat, and covering for her.
Episodes 5-8
(Shizuku): Episode 5 begins with Denji groping Power’s boobs and feeling empty inside (scene here: https://youtu.be/_g1MgRoMkxM?si=ErXWzKu9o8oW_TDf). He soon goes into a catatonic state which only gets broken by Makima who explains to him why he wasn’t satisfied (Seras: And she does it a very sexual way. I’m starting to see why it’s called the Rated R shonen). She explains that he doesn’t know Power all that well which is why it wasn’t satisfying (she’s just a very crazy girl to him, he has no attachment to her whatsoever like he does Makima). She lets him grope one of her boobs and he feels satisfied (Nitsuj: That was hot). After that pleasant experience, Makima gives Denji the mission of eliminating the Gun Devil (scene here: https://youtu.be/QPJ_8LWQfxw?si=5IvbhPjoIvow4TRp). A very dangerous devil that appeared 13 years ago and wiped out 1.2 million people in the span of five minutes. It’s also the devil that killed Aki’s family. The only problem is the devil has gone into hiding and the only way to find it is to find its bullets which are lodged in other devils and gives them a power boost (Nitsuj: Wow, getting shot makes you stronger. That’s DBZ logic right there. Too bad it didn’t work for 5O cent and 2Pac). Find enough bullets and they’ll act as magnets looking for the gun that fired them. Makima believes Denji has the power to kill this devil and promises to do whatever he wants as a reward should he defeat this devil (Seras: He wants a kiss. (Nitsuj): Think bigger man). Sometime later, Aki, Denji, Power, and the rest of the devil hunters go to a hotel to track down a devil with a bullet inside of it. The other devil hunters are Himeno a flirtatious woman who next to Aki is the one with the most common sense. Kobeni a coward but strong young girl, and Arai a muscular man who has a crush on Himeno. They do find and kill a devil that’s just a head, but it’s not the devil they’re looking for so they go to the next level only to find themselves stuck in a space loop that keeps them on one floor.
Nothing much to say about episode 6. The group have no way to escape the space loop with Arai and Kobeni losing it (Nitsuj: Makes sense. Those two don’t seem as mentally strong as the others. Scene here: https://youtu.be/fYQZHFnP2k4?si=kzUlPDDO3YI2U1Dq). As if that wasn’t bad the head devil reappears where he’s grown and has expanded. We find out that this is the Eternity Devil and the floor they’re on is its stomach. The devil is willing to make a contract with them. In exchange for Denji it’ll let them go. The devil wants to eat Denji and Aki has no intention of handing him over. Not because they’re buddies (Seras: He kicked him in the nuts. That’s like the quickest way to end a relationship right there) but because Denji wants to fight the Gun Devil. Aki’s no fool, he knows he alone won’t be able to defeat the Gun Devil. He’s going to need all the help he can find (and if that means keeping the guy that kicked you in the nuts alive then so be it). Kobeni tries to kill Denji twice with both of them failing and even stabbing Aki on the second attempt (scene here: https://youtu.be/h5HGyS373bo?si=zakVDPCdoCxUhUK4). It gets revealed that Aki can use his sword to get them out of this mess, but Himeno won’t let him because that sword shortens your life. In order to save everyone, Denji willingly allows himself to get eaten by the devil, but he has no intention of going down quietly (Nitsuj: Give him heartburn Denji).
Episode 7 starts off hot with Denji fighting against the Eternity Devil as everyone watches with Himeno possibly getting off to it because Denji is a nutjob (Seras: And in this line of work you have to be insane to survive) which means that with him on their side there’s a possibility that they might be able to defeat the Gun Devil. Denji continues to fight the Eternity Devil for three days straight drinking its blood to heal himself. What’s going on is a battle of endurance. Denji can’t kill the devil without destroying its heart. However, it still feels pain whenever Denji slashes. So the question is: how much pain can you endure before it’s too much (Nitsuj: Just like putting someone in a submission move)? After three days the Eternity Devil finally surrenders and offers its heart to Denji to end the pain. The group escapes the hotel (Nitsuj: Pray it’s not pulling a Matrix on them) and they also got the Gun Devil bullet (scene here: https://youtu.be/sp1YU1YjQng?si=yUJdqO-b2d12qpLd). Sometime later Aki suggests they do a welcome party for Denji and Power. We find out that Kobeni and Arai want to quit (Seras: Can’t imagine why. Especially with such great benefits and pay). Not because they’re afraid of devils, but because they feel guilty for trying to kill Denji (Nitsuj: That was a dick move on their part). They invite Makima to the party as well because Himeno believes she knows something about Denji the others don’t just like that devil. Aki asks her straight if she knows anything and she makes a bet that she’ll talk if he can outdrink her. She of course beats him and Himeno got so wasted that she kisses Denji and vomits in his mouth (scene here: https://youtu.be/l2NidFiNkBw?si=kskju7c8y7xyFx-2, well that’s going to traumatize him). After the party, Denji carries the drunk Himeno back to her place where she offers to have sex with him (Seras: He’s 16! (Nitsuj): Which means he’s prime for doujin).
So at the start of episode 8 we see Denji stop Himeno’s advances and she passes out drunk while he sleeps on the floor. The next morning, the two have breakfast and form an alliance. Himeno will help Denji hook up with Makima and he’ll help her get together with Aki (Nitsuj: Of course she likes him. He’s the Sasuke of this series). After this, the strangeness starts to happen. We see Makima on a train to Kyoto where she and another civil servant get shot. This happens all throughout the city as everyone in the division gets supposedly shot by civilians (damn, when did Japan become America in the gun laws department?). The only ones who are safe are Aki, Denji, Himeno, and Power who are eating in a diner when all of sudden, they get attacked by a yakuza member. He shoots Denji and Himeno and then gets swallowed up by the fox devil only to slice his way out and reveal his true form, the katana devil (Seras: And out of all the devils we’ve seen so far this one is by far the coolest looking). Aki fights the katana devil where he uses his sword. This sword is known as the curse devil, it has the ability to severely hurt others in exchange for your life span. After Aki stabs the katana devil three times the curse begins to tear into the body of the katana devil only to get stopped by a girl who’s also a devil hunter and seems to be on katana devil’s side. With his body weak from using the sword katana devil is able to hit Aki badly (scene here: https://youtu.be/VNsHxCAwUiU?si=4iQFkAoWxLW6kwml) and Himeno gives all of her life to the ghost devil to save Aki, vanishing in thin air (Nitsuj: And us having to save goodbye to a fun character. Scene here: https://youtu.be/cOtrHj5R4vs?si=HJwlF4onGZgafuLu).
Episodes 9-12
(Seras): At the start of episode 9 Denji transforms and takes on the katana devil. It’s a short fight where the two seem to be even matched until his backup arrives. Denji pulls a page out a villain’s book and takes one of them hostage, but the katana devil slashes through both to cut them in half (Nitsuj: Damn, that was clean). Back on the train, Makima returns to life and kills the shooters (I knew she was going to be the crazy one of the group. (Shizuku): The ones with the loose screws usually survive the longest in this line of work). Once she reaches the station she gets informed on what happened in Tokyo (scene here: https://youtu.be/zm-G5MqBAns?si=FKvispfwHdXbAV37, ohh~ that was creepy). Unfortunately, she won’t make it back in time so she’ll have to help from afar using her powers. Going to a temple, and asking for convicts on death row, she uses their life as sacrifices to kill the accomplices of the katana devil in the most horrific way possible (scene here: https://youtu.be/45A1sxlkRaU?si=zS7OXNM7rsaKe_IG. This is some scary shit! Seriously, this is like something out of Death Note if it was allowed to go a full-rated R on the deaths. On a related note, this actually is a smart move on her part. Why sacrifice her body or life when she can just use the life of criminals as compensation). Back with Denji we see what remains of his body get saved by Kobeni. Arai sacrificed his life to save her and she in turn killed the shooter (Shizuku: In a ‘oh damn’ kind of way). We actually do see that Kobeni is quick on her, a skilled fighter, and pretty handy with sharp objects (Nitsuj: So in the end she’s not weak she just suffers from anxiety issues). She manages to force the katana devil and another devil hunter to retreat saving Denji and barely holding it together (scene here: https://youtu.be/cdbPVz890ZQ?si=BSGMtLbeV8WGq_0J, she’s either gonna die or suffer from a major breakdown). Once Makima arrives back in Tokyo we see that all divisions took a major blow and will now form under one division led by her. Some of the workers aren’t happy about this with one even handing in his resignation letter and even hinting that she knew this was going to happen.
We begin episode 10 with Aki waking up in the hospital to find out what happened to everyone (Nitsuj: Your backup girlfriend is gone). As if that wasn’t enough, he finds out from the curse that he only has two years to live (two years to kill the gun devil and confess his feelings to Makima. Time is not on his side). After this latest incident, it’s clear that the gun devil is targeting Denji to get his heart and Makima takes measures to train him. She puts him and Power in the hands of Kishibe from Division 1 who was responsible for training Himeno. He’s said to be the strongest devil hunter out there (Shizuku: And a drunk sociopath) and takes great interest in our two devils because he can kill them as much he wants. He gives them the task of killing him in order to get stronger. During this training we do learn a few good things about Denji and Power. For starters, they need to drink blood in order to revive their bodies. Second, Denji is immortal while Power is semi-immortal (they can be stabbed, shot, lit on fire, or blown up and chances are high they’ll survive). Kishibe kills Denji supposedly twenty times before calling it a day and the two devils decide to use their brains to beat him. The next day they set up a trap for him at their apartment where it fails (Nitsuj: Give them an A for effort). Meanwhile, Aki finds out he can’t summon the fox devil. Apparently, it’s pissed at him for what happened in the last battle and wants nothing to do with him anymore. Aki gets taken to an underground prison to form a contract with a new powerful devil. The devil chosen for him is the future devil (Shizuku: And for a guy with no future this devil seems perfect. Scene here: https://youtu.be/Y_5Qeh4X7qg?si=oV4zuxuEXRykWXYp).
At the start of episode 11 we meet the future devil (Nitsuj: That devil we see dancing in the opening. Yay!). What’s its power? It sees the future (and everyone fears the future). In order to decide if Aki is worth its time, it sees Aki’s future and can’t help but laugh at what his future holds. So, here’s the deal. The future devil will live inside Aki’s right eye (Shizuku: The left eye sucks apparently). This in turn will allow Aki to use the devil’s power. Why is the devil so interested in Aki? Well apparently his death is going to be awesome and it wants a front-row seat to it (scene here: https://youtu.be/EU6z2jtdP8I?si=ox0m2gyRcv8LD7kx, in his defense his death is awesome, but sad as well). Meanwhile, Denji and Power manage to hit Kishibe (Shizuku: It’s a miracle) which means they can move on to the next step in their training, live combat. Kishibe tells them they’re going after the katana devil and his accomplice. While the new and improved division 4 gets ready, we see Makima visit the yakuza in order to get the names of the family members and gives us a pretty bone-chilling scene (scene here: https://youtu.be/vIqKNdRpESU?si=kdhcywFLWwN2R0Du). Returning to division 4 we get to meet some of the new members as they raid the building filled with zombies. We have the Shark fiend who can phase through any surface and turn into a shark head to devour enemies. There’s the Violence fiend who is so dangerous that it has to wear a poisonous gas mask just to keep it weak and under control (Nitsuj: Reminds me of a certain AI I know). The spider devil who takes the appearance of a woman but can turn its body into a giant spider (Shizuku: Mommy long legs). Finally, the Angel devil. A special case that doesn’t hate humanity but physical contact with it drains your lifespan (scene here: https://youtu.be/SBYHhK1hPuQ?si=slIl4MEI7dC_JJhT). While the fiends take care of the zombies, Aki, Denji, and Power go to look for the katana devil and the snake devil user. Aki comes across the snake devil user and fights against her. Using the future devil’s powers, Aki is able to see a little bit into the future and at first does a good job battling the snake devil summoner but gets caught by the ghost devil and about to be choked to death (Nitsuj: That power means nothing if you can’t defend yourself from what the future holds).
In the final episode, we open with Aki blacking out and remembering Himeno (Nitsuj: She was too good for you). When he regains consciousness, the ghost devil let him go and hands him a cigarette with the words ‘easy revenge’ written on it. Aki then returns to his feet and easily defeats the ghost devil because he doesn’t fear it. The ghost devil is blind (makes you wonder if there’s a blind devil out there) and uses fear to see. But when there’s no fear it’s easy pickings (scene here: https://youtu.be/4sEr-0Nutks?si=3tPyGOB0k4_aEUvf). Kobeni then appears and holds the snake devil user at knifepoint to subdue her. Back with Denji and Power they ride an elevator where they stop on a floor full of zombies (Shizuku: I was looking for kitchenware). Power gets off and fights the zombies while Denji leaves her behind (she’s got this. Let her have some fun). Denji finds the katana devil who tries to appeal to Denji’s human side (Nitsuj: Jokes on him, he’s not at that stage yet), but has no luck and so the two fight (Shizuku: Katana vs Chainsaw. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would see something like this). The katana devil gains the upper hand by cutting off Denji’s arms and then going for his head, but he forgot about Denji’s legs. Denji manages to cut the katana devil in half and gets the win (scene here: https://youtu.be/ckgZmcDdhsA?si=9xFPlsqcERc2CSic). The katana devil wakes up still alive and whole again (Nitsuj: What are the rules of these devils?). However, he’s chained up and at the mercy of Denji and Aki who just arrived. Wanting to avenge Himeno’s death, Denji proposes a contest, to see who can get the katana devil to scream the loudest by kicking him in the nuts (Shizuku: I’m game. (Seras): Same here). At first, Aki says no only to agree to it seconds later and the two play a requiem for Himeno (scene here: https://youtu.be/5FoOEb00oSA?si=qLKAgP-YqX41Wq1J, (Nitsuj): Beautiful). The yakuza members get arrested and the snake devil user gets killed by the gun devil before questioning. The good news is they were able to recover 1.4 kilograms of the gun devil’s flesh from the building. Combine that with the 5 kilograms they had and the flesh is finally starting to move to the main body meaning the hunt is on for the gun devil next season.
Final Thoughts
(Nitsuj): And that was Chainsaw Man. A wild and fun ride from beginning to end and at some points is actually better than the manga.
(Seras): Denji is a unique main character. Usually the main character has dreams and ambitions. A goal that they’re striving for. Denji, doesn’t really have that here until much later on. This is a guy who has been shat on by society. To him, eating a whole slice of bread is considered a good day. However, as the anime goes on he slowly starts to develop his own goals and dreams he wants to accomplish. They start off small but get bigger as time goes on. On top of all of this Denji isn’t one of these holy heroes who wants to save everyone. He can be selfish, a bit of a prick, a horny guy hoping to get laid and not take things as seriously as he should but deep down he does care about the mission as it’ll help him accomplish the goals he sets for him. You will come to like the relationship he develops with Aki and Power. Aki is the Sasuke of the series only with a more mature mindset. He has a goal and is prepared to sacrifice his life in order to achieve it but is smart enough to know that he can’t beat the Gun Devil on his own and will need all the help he can it. Power is insane. She’s like a female version of Cartman from South Park. She’s completely psycho and aside from her cat doesn’t care about anyone or anything. But over time she does develop a bit of friendship with Denji and the two come across as chaotic siblings.
(Shizuku): Outside of these three there are a number of other characters who stand out. Kobeni is funny because she gives us the most realistic reactions in the anime and by the end proves that she belongs in this wild and crazy world by secretly being a badass. Kishibe shows up late but in the short time we get to see him he more than leaves a mark on the anime. Seeing him fight and kill Denji and Power was hilarious and in his own sadistic way he helped them get stronger. Himeno is one of those characters who died too early. She was cool and you just wanted to see more of her in the story as they left a lot to be explored. However, in the short time we got to spend with her, you learn some good things about her enough to make you feel sad when she dies. Makima is both beautiful and scary. She’s someone you’ll follow because you want to but at the same time you fear what she’ll do to you if you go against her. Outside of the human characters there’s also the devils who have creative and horrifying forms and abilities. It is clever that they’re based off of society’s fears and only get stronger the more we fear them. I also like how they’re building up the Gun Devil and how dangerous it is. We haven’t even seen it yet and next to Makima it’s the scariest thing in this anime.
(Nitsuj): The animation is spectacular here. The camerawork, the lighting, the character designs, and the way in blends in the CGI animation with the 2D animation is impressive. Between MAPPA and Ufotable these two are setting the standards on what top tier animation looks like. The fight scenes are great as well. In fact, they’re actually better than the manga. They’re longer and more epic. Helping all of this is the amazing soundtrack with each song adding to the intensity and emotion of the scene. All of this combined together gave us the best anime of 2022 with little to no errors.
Final Score
(Seras): My final score for Chainsaw Man is a 10/10.
(Shizuku): It’s a 10/10 for me as well.
(Nitsuj): Yeah, 10/10 with a must-watch stamp of approval. I liked it more the second time around. This truly is one of the best animes MAPPA has ever done and I can’t wait to see what they do next with the series. Thanks for reading and tune in next week when we take a look at another one of MAPPA’s greatest animes as Aniween continues. MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!
(Shizuku): Bring it in, boss.
*Shizuku gives Nitsuj a bear hug and squeezes tight cracking his back unsuspectingly*
(Nitsuj): Why does this feel more of a punishment than a reward?