Chainsaw Man – Episode 2
MAPPA Studio
Hello my friends. WElecome to another entry of my blog.
I recently watched Episode 2 of Chainsaw Man, and just like with Episode 1, I think I have a lot of things to say. So stay with me, and we will give a quick review to more of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man.
But before I start, I must always ask the typical question:
Are you my friends doing alright? Feeling safe?
If the answer is yes, then I am happy.
EPISODE TWO
Now, let’s go with the episode.
Episode Two beings shortly after the end of Episode One. After the defeat of the Zombie Devil, Denji is taken away by Makima and the agents of the Public Safety. There, Makima warns Denji not to go against her, as he is her «dog» now, otherwise, he will be slain. This is exactly in the manga. I personally always remember that part with awe, because that was prove of what kind of character Makima truly is.
Despite being nice and gentle, she is a no-nonsense person, and she can extremely ruthless and dangerous if necessary.
Despite this, she also offers Denji her coat and a nice udon with sausage, for he was extremely exhausted after the fight against the Zombie Devil. And the scene in which Makiam feeds Denji, who responds barking like a dog, in a very… adorable way is hilarious. But also, the part in which Makima explains Denji of how Pochita lives literally inside him is heartwarming. And keeping in mind that, as Denji mentioned, nobody was nice to him before it adds value to the scene.
We will be seeing a lot of this contrast of animation now. If Episode One shows a very gritty look of Denji’s life, now we will see him developing a more positive perspective of life and his new job despite the possibility he might have to be killed anytime.
Anyway, the next scene is with Denji and Makima arriving to the Public Safety HQ, in Tokyo, where Denji is introduced to a more veteran Devil Hunter. No need to say, for those who read the manga, who that is.
Behold… AKI HAYAKAWA!!!! The Husbando of 2022!!!
Of course Denji is disappointed, for he obviously wants to work with Makima, but she tells him that, if Denji works hard, eventually he will be paired with Makima, so he compromises a lot with being a Devil hunter.
Btw, Nice reference to the Divine Comedy.
During patrolling, Aki beats the crap out of Denji, «asking» him to leave the job, showing disgust that Denji is only after Makima. LOL!!! The way Denji reacts, being straightforward, really crack me up. Aki takes the opportunity for berating Denji about many of his former comrades getting killed for not having «real conviction», and walks away.
And suddenly, as Cartman says… I’LL KICK YOU IN THE NUTS.
Just like in the manga, Denji fights back, telling Aki that someone was finally nice to him, and that he is willing to die for the job, if that means having a really good life and someone to try to reach. Personally that is one of my favourite moments, because normally, during the first episodes, when a main character is knocked by another, there is no fight back, but here, Denji got some balls and hit the bullseye against Aki.
I saw this fight when I read the manga, but now I realise that Episode Two made it more hilarious than I remember, especially when Aki and Denji must report back to Makima.
Anyway, Makima orders Aki to watch over Denji, so both must live together. And we got some hilarious moments, in which Denji prepares a very weird toast with many jams, barks like crazy in the bathtub, much to Aki’s annoyance, and almost falls asleep in the toilet. Bromance at its finest!! But also…
Aki with loose hair looks so BEAUTIFUL!!!! Really!! Husbando of spring (or autumn) 2022.
You can see my face now like…
The point is that on the next day, both Aki and Denji are called for hunting a Fiend in the East Nerima suburb. Once they get inside the crime scene, Aki explains Denji that a Fiend is a devil who was possessed a human corpse, and it usually adopts the personality of the former. After finding the Fiend, Aki demands Denji to transform on the Chainsaw Devil and kill him, but much to his surprise, Denji only kills the Fiend with an axe. When Aki asked him about his actions, Denji simply explains that he feels that Devil suffer a lot when he transformed. Again, Aki is not happy with Denji’s answers and tells Denji that a Devil killed his family in front of his eyes, that both Fiends and Devils are enemies. And not just Aki himself, also the cops in Tokyo have motivations to take devil hunting seriously, scolding Denji for treating them as friends, only for the latter to reveal that… he never had any friends.
Aki walks away promising Denji that he will remember those words.
Again, despite being more dialogue than action, this scene show the contrast between Aki and Denji. While our protagonist wants to have a normal life and be himself, Aki is willing to sacrificing his for killing the Devils; Denji is trying to show compassion, while Aki is suppressing any. Denji is human in a way, Aki is ruthless. Denji is not aware of how to live in society, Aki is.
And by these interactions, their personalities are more defined, and I personally grow to sympathise more with them, to root both. Both are solid goals, but, in the end, different methods.
And now… we have the introduction to…
The Most Powerful Character in Anime. More than Goku, Vegeta, Mikasa, Luffy, Natsu, Naruto, Sasuke, Ichigo Kurosaki, and Jojo together.
Behold…
Makima designates Power as Denji’s partner, telling them to look for devils on the rooftops, for Power’s horns attract too much attention, and that if they are stopped by police, all they need to do is to show their IDs, and the officers will leave them with contempt. Makima tells all of them that hers is a whole experimental unit with both humans and devils, and if that unit fails, it will be disbanded, which means both Denji and Power will be killed.
Now, during patrolling, Power reveals that Devils are so scared of her that they will never attack her. With that, Denji realises it was all set up by Aki, for getting them fired and killed.
Nonetheless, Power spots a new devil, the Sea Cucumber Devil, and quickly runs into it, summons her trademark hammer with her blood and crashs the devil, flabbergasted of her triumph.
And with that, we finish Episode two of Chainsaw Man.
CONCLUSION
Now, I really enjoyed this episode.
While Episode One focuses more on showing us Denji’s depressing background and extreme poverty, here we got the introduction of the rest of the characters, Makima, Aki and Power, and the episode does it with a pretty well balanced rhythm. When it is only dialogue, they reveal important elements of their characters, and in the case of Aki, the voice acting is so convincing you actually feel Aki’s determination, hatred and anger, as well as Denji’s change of perspective and excitement about the new job and the chance of getting closer to Makima.
A pretty evolution of the character in a short time
Furthermore, the animation really pays off. If Episode One was already good, Episode Two gets better, more colourful and vivid, perhaps a prove of Denji’s new determination. At least, in my opinion.
Speaking of the animation, once again, Studio MAPPA does not disappoint, the animators indeed put a lot of budget on it. For instance, the moment where Power is coming into Makima’s office is priceless
Every frame of it, from her hair, her arms, and even her hips is so simple, yet so polished it is fantastic.
My respects to Studio MAPPA for the animation.
But please let me know what you think. I know I am being a bit fast, but I think I already said enough, so don’t forget to share your thoughts about Episode Two of Chainsaw Man.
See you next time.
Jainituos Presents 