Avatar: The Last Airbender Trailer Breakdown: The Quenchiest Trailer.

The first trailer for Netflix’s live-action adaptation of Avatar: The Last Airbender did an amazing job of hyping up fans for the show.
Now, we finally have the second trailer, which easily topped it.
The first part of the trailer seems to be narrated by Monk Gyatso, who we then appear to see briefly fighting Fire Lord Sozin during the Air Nomad genocide.
From the brief shot we get, it looks like Gyatso has subdued many attacking Fire Benders before Sozin intervenes.
Seeing Gyatso’s last stand will be a great addition, since we did not get to see it in the original cartoon.

I am curious to see if this will be the first scene of the show, or a flashback when Aang visits the Southern Air Temple.

The trailer then shows Aang being freed from the iceberg, which is much more explosive than in the cartoon’s first episode.
The music from the original show also kicks in here, bringing a comforting feeling of nostalgia.
From here, we get a brief look at the performances we will be getting for the show.
Kiawentiio sounds good as Katara, and Ian Ousley seems to be a perfect live-action Sokka, with his bits of comic relief.
Dallas Liu also looks great as Zuko, and we get shots of him rescuing Paul Sun-Hyung Lee’s Iroh.
We also see Azula using a bow and arrow, which is interesting because I don’t think she ever used one in the original show.
They could just be holding off on showing her blue fire until the second season.
As for Gordon Cormier, he seems to play Aang’s uncertainty of his destiny well, as we see him being comforted by a wonderfully animated Appa.
Momo also looks great when he jumps on Sokka’s head in another solid comedic bit.

The humor of the show looks to be on point.

The trailer then shows us brief shots of many characters from the original.
We see June, Hei Bai, Zhao, and Aang fighting alongside the Blue Spirit.
There are even hints of some of the conjoining storylines we will get in Netflix’s version of the story.
For example, we see Aang flying with Teo but, rather than being at the Northern Air Temple, they are clearly in Omashu, where Bumi’s storyline takes place.

I hope the shortened or condensed storylines still work.

Speaking of Bumi, we also see him briefly fighting with Aang.
The shot of him doing this is intercut with many other action shots, which flow togethor beautifully in a fantastically edited moment.
It’s the best moment of the trailer, which shows off the fighting styles of characters like Bumi, Aang, Zuko, Katara, Sokka and Jet perfectly.

The last few action shots are perfectly edited together.

The trailer then ends with the iconic music playing over Aang going into the Avatar State at the Southern Air Temple.
The first trailer for Netflix’s Avatar was great, but this second trailer brought my excitement to a whole other level.
My only criticism is that there is one CGI shot of Aang accidentally Airbending himself into a statue which looked a bit dodgy.

Something about the physics of Aang’s body hitting the statue here just didn’t look right to me.

Otherwise, this trailer was perfect.
The CGI was mostly pretty good, the acting looks fun, and the action was edited to flow into the trailer nicely.
I am now more excited for this show than ever.
February 22nd cannot come soon enough.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 152, Massage Review: Revenge Best Served Bloody.

Chapter 151 of Chainsaw Man ended on the ominous note of Denji laughing after finally transforming into the titular Devil.
The disturbing feeling this cliffhanger left us on definitely builds well into Chapter 152, Massage, where we see Denji’s complete mental breakdown.
The chapter begins with a panel showing off Chainsaw Man in his demented glory, before revealing that there were plenty of witnesses to the transformation.
These witnesses think Denji is just another Chainsaw Man wannabe, but I think this impression is definitely proven wrong to them by the end.
Having got what they wanted, the Weapons release Fumiko and begin their own transformations.
As this is happening, Nayuta tries to get Denji to run away with her, but he callously tells her to get out of his way.
The panel of Nayuta’s shocked expression when Denji says this is excellently drawn by Fujimoto.
Nayuta is led away by a woman in the crowd and Denji begins talking to Pochita again.
He states that he is the worst because, despite his apartment being burned down with his pets supposedly inside, he still feels “like a million bucks’ because he gets to be Chainsaw Man again.
What follows is, unfortunately, a messily drawn fight.
Before this point in the chapter, the art was actually really good, but when it gets to the action it is pretty hard to tell what is going on.
Perhaps Fujimoto wanted to make the fight chaotic to show the danger of Denji’s transformation?
If that was his intent, I would say that he did too good of a job.
Still, despite this fight being hard to understand in certain panels, I would still not call it bad because we can get the general gist of it.
Denji is stabbed from behind by the Spear Hybrid but then bisects the both of them so he can start to eat him.
When the Whip Hybrid tries to intervene, Denji does the same to her, while she begs Sugo to help.
It is kind of funny seeing the Weapons be so overconfident in the previous chapters, only to now be dealt a hand of extremely bloody revenge.
Sugo does attempt to fight Denji, but this goes as well as you would expect, with both impaling each other, although this clearly affects Sugo more than Denji.
Nayuta tries one more time to convince Denji to flee with her, but Denji instead says she should not be around him anymore, resulting in another gutting panel of Nayuta’s reaction.
Denji then compares the fight he is having to a massage, “where it hurts just right, and damn do I feel good!”
A chapter then ends on Denji’s maniacal laughter for the second time.
“Massage” is yet another great chapter for Chainsaw Man.
My only issue is that some of the action is hard to follow.
Otherwise, it delivers both satisfying karma for the Weapons, and gut-wrenching moments of Denji pushing Nayuta away.
This likely will not end well, considering it was Denji’s influence which stopped her from becoming another Makima.
There is also the question of what will happen to the Weapons.
Barem is still yet to jump into the fight, and the Whip and Spear Hybrids could be in danger of disappearing forever.
Keep in mind that Chainsaw Man’s power is to erase what he eats from history, and Denji did start eating them.
However, he ate Makima and this only reincarnated her, so we will have to wait and see what happens to the Weapons.
As for Denji, he seems to have completely lost his mind and is powered up by the public’s fear of Chainsaw Man.
This would be the perfect time to bring Asa and Yoru into the conflict.
They could be drawn in by the sound of battle and be the only ones capable of fighting Denji, considering they have also been powered up by the fear of war.
We will have to wait and see if this happens though.
Overall, “Massage” is another good chapter, which delivers satisfying, if a little hard to follow action.

Society of the Snow Review: A Haunting yet Inspiring True Story.

In 1972, a plane flying a rugby team from Uruguay to Chile crashed in the Andes Mountains.
The survivors hoped for a quick rescue but, as days turned into weeks, they began to realize a rescue would not be coming.
Stuck in one of the most inhospitable places on the planet, with freezing temperatures and a quickly dwindling food supply, the survivors had to do the unthinkable to survive.
Directed by J. A. Bayona, Society of the Snow tells the true story of this tragic event, resulting in a film that is both haunting and somehow inspiring.

The fact that this is a true story makes the events of the film even more impactful.

When a film is based around real life tragedies, it is important to honor the real people involved, and Society of the Snow does this better than any other film I have seen.
The actual survivors who saw and, in some cases, actually had small roles in the movie, have praised it for its mostly accurate take on the events.
It is easy to see why because it is not just the survivors who are honored in Society of the Snow, but also those who tragically passed in the disaster.
This led to an unexpected subversion in the film, which caught me completely off guard, even though I had already heard the true story of the Andes crash before.
What helped sell the respect being paid to both the survivors and the victims were the fantastic performances.

Everyone in *Society of the Snow* does an excellent job.

The ones who truly shined for me were Enzo Vogrincic as Numa Turcatti, Augustín Pardella as Nando Parrado, Matías Recalt, as Roberto Canessa, and Esteban Bigliardi as Javier Methol.
The performances were so great that it left me tearing up at two specific points.
Many of the actors were newcomers as well, making their performances all the more impressive.
Along with the acting, what also sells the harrowing events of this true story is the fantastic cinematography.
The extreme wide shots of the landscape help convey just how cut off from the rest of the world the survivors of the crash were.

Shots like these really show how dire the survivors’ situation was.

The depictions of what they endured and had to do to survive is haunting, yet also inspiring when we see the camaraderie between the survivors and their heroic actions towards the end of the film.
From beginning to end, Society of the Snow is a fantastic movie, which I would claim is one of the greatest depictions of a real-life tragedy ever put to film.
It left me feeling haunted, inspired, but also feeling like the movie had honored both the survivors and the victims perfectly.
Check it out on Netflix if you have not seen it yet.

Wonka Review: Charming, Family Fun.

Willa Wonka is an iconic character who has appeared in a few films over the decades, some beloved, some less so.
With a lot of prequels coming out these days to unnecessarily explain things we did not need answers to, it is understandable to hear about Wonka and get a feeling of dread.
This feeling lessened for me, though, when I learned Paul King was directing.
He directed the two Paddington films and those were both charming films.
In fact, that is the perfect word to describe Wonka: Charming.

King was probably the best person to direct this film, as he clearly understood the wonder of the original.

The film follows the younger Willy Wonka (Timothee Chalamet) as he sets out to begin his chocolate making career, only to meet adversity at every turn.
He quickly finds himself in debt to a pair of swindlers, his attempts to sell chocolate are sabotaged by the Chocolate Cartel, and his chocolate is consistently be stolen by an Oompa Loompa (Hugh Grant) out to be repaid.
With help from a young girl named Noodle (Calah Lane), Wonka sets out to use his chocolate making skills to create a life for himself and his newfound friends.
What follows is, as said, a charming film with solid musical numbers and a lot of good laughs.
In particular, I found the physical humor of the corrupt chief of police (Keegan-Michael Key) to get the best laughs.

Key’s chocolate addicted policeman provides quite a few chuckles visually.

As for the rest of the cast, Chalamet does a great job as this younger version of Willy Wonka, showing off the character’s optimism and chocolate-making genius.
Lane also brings a lot of charm as Noodle, as do the actors playing the trio in the Chocolate Cartel.
They are catoonishly evil but I do not mean that as a criticism.
Their over-the-top performances perfectly suit the wacky world they live in, and contrasts Wonka’s own wacky goodness nicely.

The villains are over the top but the good kind.

All of this results in a fun film for the family, which can be enjoyed by adults just as much as kids.
The performances are good, the musical numbers are entertaining, and there are a lot of good laughs to be had.
I honestly would not mind seeing another film following this take on Willy Wonka.

The Boy and the Heron Review: Another Miyazaki Great.

It is undeniable that Hayao Miyazaki is the most celebrated anime director of all time.
Over the decades, he has delivered beloved film after beloved film, most notably Spirited Away.
My personal favourites of his are Princess Mononoke and The Wind Rises.
So, when I got the chance to see a Miyazaki film in theaters for the first time, I took it.
The Boy and the Heron is set in World War Two Japan and follows Mahito Maki, a young boy who loses his mother in a fire.
His father later remarries Natsuko, the sister of Mahito’s mother, and the two travel to her estate.
It is there that Mahito encounters a sinister talking Heron, who eventually convinces him to travel into a supernatural world where his mother supposedly awaits him.
And so begins another fantastical Miyazaki journey.

Much like *Spirited Away, The Boy and the Heron* sees our main character transported into a supernatural realm.

The film looks excellent, with the hand-drawn style of Studio Ghibli being very striking on the big screen.
Along with this, the voice acting is solid, at least for the English dub version.
Yes, I saw the dub over the sub, though this was mostly because all of the sub showings were late at night.
That being said, the English voice actors all did a good job, with Luca Padovan, Karen Fukuhara, Mark Hamill, Gemma Chan, Willem Dafoe, Florence Pugh, and Dave Bautista all giving life to their characters.
This is especially true for Robert Pattinson who voices the heron.
I was genuinely shocked when I heard he played the character because I did not recognize his voice at all.

The Heron starts the movie quite creepy and untrustworthy.

Along with the animation and voice acting, the music also does a great job of bringing you into the world, with all of this being tied together by the story.
Mahito’s personal journey throughout the film is quite relatable, doubly so because we can see how Miyazaki put much of himself into the character.
One of the central themes of the movie is legacy, which shines a light on how Miyazaki is thinking of his own legacy, especially since this is supposedly his final film.
If it is then he chose a good one to send himself off on.

The film takes on an entirely new meaning when you look at it in the context of Miyazaki’s career.

The Boy and the Heron is another Miyazaki great, with expectedly stellar animation, music, and voice acting, along with a story that has relatable themes.
I would rank this film highly among Miyazaki’s catalogue, maybe even in my top five favorites of his.
And, if this is truly the last Hayao Miyazaki film we ever get, then I am glad that I saw it in theaters.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 151, The Return of Chainsaw Man Review: What’s so Funny?

Chainsaw Man Chapter 151, “The Return of Chainsaw Man” features, well… the return of Chainsaw Man.
In many of my previous reviews I stated that Tatsuki Fujimoto was saving Denji transforming again for something big.
If the ending of this chapter is anything to go by, then that big moment has arrived.
But I am getting ahead of myself.
“The Return of Chainsaw Man” begins with a hostage situation, as the Weapons take Fumiko captive in another attempt to force Denji into transforming.
Sugo once again spouts off his absurd belief that tormenting Denji into becoming Chainsaw Man will save the world.
Even the Whip Hybrid calls out Sugo’s idiocy in believing this, and she has been presented as not very bright in the past.
She even says this right in front of Sugo and he still, somehow, does not catch on that he is being used.
I still believe Sugo will eventually help Denji but, at this point, it seems like it is going to take a while for him to get there.
Barem, on the other hand, is quick to arise after being shot in the previous chapter.
Nayuta is enraged by the apparent death of her and Denji’s pets so she uses her power to try and make Barem kill himself.
Unfortunately, this has no effect on Barem, as he marches towards Nayuta and grabs her by the throat.
He then speculates that the reason Nayuta could not control him was because his heart still belongs to Makima.
Even though she is dead and reincarnated, Makima is still affecting things, showing just how great of an antagonist she was.
As he holds Nayuta captive, Barem begins his own monologue, expressing his longing for the same world Makima sought to create.
He then blames Denji for the fall of this potential world, scorning him for living in peace.
It is interesting to see Barem show such disdain for Denji, since he has called himself a Chainsaw Man fan multiple times.
Then, in a panel in which Fujimoto draws him to resemble Alexandre Cabanel’s The Fallen Angel painting, Barem declares that “these flames are your punishment.”
In my opinion, Barem has been the most interesting Chainsaw Man antagonist since Makima.
Like her, he is ruthless when he attempts to achieve his goals, for which he holds a strong amount of conviction for, which we see in this chapter.
From what he says, it seems like he is trying to bring about the world Makima wanted by making Denji strong enough to defeat the Death Devil, for which he sided with Fami.
Following Barem’s declaration, Nayuta takes control of a dead Public Safety Officer’s body and uses it to shoot Bare, again, freeing herself.
This finally gives Denji the chance to transform, yet he still hesitates, only to see a vision of Pochita standing in front of his and Nayuta’s burning apartment building.
Pochita waves at him, a child Denji waves back, and Denji pulls his ripcord, transforming into Chainsaw Man for the first time since the Falling Devil arc.
He breaks out into laughter as he does so, with Nayuta questioning him about why, before the chapter ends on an ominous panel of what looks like a burning cross overlaying Denji’s transformation.
As for why Denji was laughing, I think it was relief.
For so long, he has been trying to convince himself that living a normal life was enough for him.
Now, Denji has finally let go of that lie and embraced his desire to be Chainsaw Man fully.
It is fitting then that, as soon as Denji accepts this, he pretty much exposes his identity to the world.
Fujimoto draws a random civilian spying on the situation as Denji transforms, so word is going to spread quickly about his identity.
This will not be good, since it seems most of the world is now afraid of Chainsaw Man because of what the church did.
Although, this fear is going to make Denji absurdly powerful, just like it did Yoru, so I don’t think the Weapons will do very well in the coming fight.
There are also a few other characters in the wind.
We still do not know if Meowy and the other pets were really killed, or where Asa and Yoru are.
I especially hope we see the latter soon because the two of them have taken a bit of a backseat in this arc since they joined the Chainsaw Man Church.
Sure, we got that moment where Yoru regained her power, which was great, but I hope her and Asa go back to being central characters soon.
“The Return of Chainsaw Man” is another great chapter, which leaves us on the cliffhanger of Denji’s transformation.
The wait to see what happens next would already have been enough, but the three week break because of the holidays makes it extra-long.
When the story eventually continues, I am anxious to see where Fujimoto takes it and what the fates of various characters will be.

Godzilla Minus One Review: One of the Greatest Godzilla Movies Ever Made.

I have been a Godzilla fan since I was a kid.
So once I heard all the positive buzz surrounding the latest film, Godzilla Minus One, I knew I had to see it.
I expected Minus One to be a good film, perhaps even a great one.
What I was not expecting was it to be one of the greatest Godzilla movies ever made.
It is so good that it may even surpass the 1954 original.

*Godzilla Minus One is truly excellent.*

Written and directed by Takashi Yamazaki, the film is set in post World War Two Japan, and follows former kamikaze pilot Koichi Shikishima (Ryunosuke Kamiki).
Having lost everything during the war and stricken with survivors guilt, Shikishima eventually meets a young woman named Noriko (Minami Hamabe), who has adopted a young orphan named Akiko.
The three form a makeshift family and, as the years pass, it seems like the horrors of their pasts may fade, until a monster from Shikishima’s past rises from the depths to plunge Japan into horror once more.

Having read the synopsis I gave of the film’s plot, you are probably assuming that Minus One centers more around the human characters than Godzilla, and you would be right.
This is, in fact, usually the case for a Godzilla films
However, what separates Minus One from the rest of these movies is that the human characters are all fantastic.
In most Godzilla films, we really do not care about the people.
At best, there is sometimes one character we can latch onto but, most of the time, we are just waiting for Godzilla to show up and wreck stuff.
This is not the case for Minus One, as I found myself caring for each and every one of the characters, which made the action sequences more intense, since I was scared for each of their lives.

This scene was made all the better because of the fact that I cared about the characters.

The last time I had this much investment in a character from a Godzilla movie, it was probably Brian Kranston’s one from the 2014 Godzilla movie, but every other character in that film was pretty bland.
Again, this is far from the case with Minus One.
I cared about the characters so much that the ending to the film actually had me tearing up, something I have never done in a Godzilla movie before.
What adds to the weight these characters have are the excellent themes of PTSD and survivors guilt, along with the scars war leaves on a nation.
Shikishima is the perfect encapsulation of these themes, making him my favourite Godzilla protaganist, with the exception of the big G himself.

Shikishima embodies the movie’s themes more than any other character.

Speaking of him, Godzilla is a terrifying presence whenever he is on screen.
He is no misunderstood hero like in the recent Legendary films.
No, the Godzilla here is more in the vein of the original 1954 version and the Shin Godzilla version.
He is a horrifying force of nature who crushes everything and everyone in his destructive wake.
His atomic breath is also on par with Shin Godzilla’s in terms of the fear it creates, as it is akin to a nuclear blast.

The atomic breath scene is one of the best in the series.

What helps increase the fear Godzilla generates in this movie is just how fantastic the CGI is for him.
Minus One was apparently made with a budget of $15 million dollars and that is absolutely incredible, given that many blockbuster movies have ten times that budget and look considerably worse.
The way Godzilla is shot is also great, along with the score throughout the film, which adds to the intensity.

This shot of Godzilla creates both awe and terror.

Considering every aspect of the film, I cannot think of a single flaw with it.
Godzilla is terrifying, the human characters are the best they have ever been, the CGI is excellent for the budget, and the themes, score and cinematography are all top notch.
I cannot recommend this film enough, especially if you are a Godzilla fan like me.
Godzilla Minus One is not only one of the best films of the year, but potentially the greatest Godzilla movie ever made.

The Killer Review: Another Solid Fincher Film.

David Fincher is just one of those directors you have to pay attention to.
He has made some downright incredible films like Seven, Zodiac and The Social Network.
Despite his notoriety, I somehow did not hear about his latest film, The Killer, until I learned it was streaming on Netflix.
Once I learned about it, though, I immediately sat down to watch it and was rewarded with a film more methodical than its titular killer.

*The Killer* is another solid film from Fincher.

Starring Michael Fassbender as an unnamed assassin, the movie follows him after a mistake during a hit throws his life into chaos.
When this mistake puts the lives of those the Killer cares about in danger, he sets out on a mission of revenge.
Fassbender is fantastic as the Killer, with his inner thoughts reminding me a lot of Patrick Bateman from American Psycho.
However, just like Bateman, it is all to apparent how the Killer differs from his own opinion of himself, breaking his own rules multiple times and making his situation more complicated.
This crafts a character who is absolutely a terrible person but still fascinating to follow.

It is interesting to see how ths killer’s mind works.

The rest of the cast also do a great job, with Tilda Swinton standing out as the Expert.
The way the film is shot and edited also adds to the feel of the movie, with the sound mixing being especially impressive whenever the Killer is listening to music.
Another thing which often gets brought up in reviews about this movie is one fight scene which, I will admit, is terrifically shot.
Although, while I did enjoy this action scene, it does feel a bit at odds with the rest of the movie.
Throughout its runtime, The Killer feels like it is a story which could actually happen in the real world so, when you get this big choreographed fight, it admittedly creates a bit of a disconnect.

This is only a minor criticism, anyway.
Other criticisms I have heard are that the film is too slow-paced and that the ending is pretty anticlimactic.
I was not surprised to see these takes after watching The Killer.
It is simply a movie, which will not be for everyone due to its pacing and structure.
Even I thought the ending could have had more of a punch, though I do understand why it ended the way it did.

Although the way the movie ends is in line with the story Fincher is telling, it does feel like a bit of a let-down, compared to what came before.

Overall, I would say that The Killer is a solid film.
Even if it is not for everyone, it has a compelling main character and a great style, as expected of a David Fincher film.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 150, Dream’s Next Stage Review: The Ultimate Sin.

Chainsaw Man‘s 150th chapter, “Dream’s Next Stage” is a short one, yet also very significant based on what happens in it.
The chapter begins with Denji and Nayuta traveling home in the midst of the new Chainsaw Man War.
However, while they walk, they notice that the carnage is perhaps not as bad as it first appeared.
They see ordinary people walking around, using their phones, all the while bodies are being loaded into the back of a truck.
This makes Nayuta speculate that she will have to go back to school tomorrow, which causes Denji to flash back to the normal life he had been living after the Falling Devil attack.
In every single one of the panels Fujimoto shows us, Denji looks depressed but in the present he lies to himself, thinking to Pochita that he is “super happy right now” despite all evidence to the contrary.
Well speak of the literal Devil, Denji thinking of Pochita causes him to appear before him.
This happens when Denji steps on a dead bird as he runs, pararelling Asa’s nightmare of running in an alley full of dead chickens.
The bird then transforms into Pochita in Denji’s mind, and sits up to talk with him.
Pochita agrees with Denji that his dream of living an ordinary life came true, asking Denji what dream he will pursue next.
It iis with this prodding from his old friend that a young version of Denji admits that he wants to be Chainsaw Man.
The implications of this realization are left for later, however, as Denji and Nayuta finally make it back to their apartment, only to find it burning to the ground, supposedly with all of their pets inside.
Denji runs to help, only to be tripped over by none other than Barem who, as expected, was just waiting for Denji to return home.
Barem also claims to have killed Denji’s pets, all to anger him to the point of transforming into Chainsaw Man.
So, Barem has supposedly committed the ultimate sin in all of fiction: Killing someone’s pets.
He and Asa’s orphanage caretaker would really get a long well.
However, what Barem has done is actually way worse than just killing Denji’s pets and burning down his apartment.
When you consider what all of these things meant to Denji, it is an especially heinous act.
The apartment was gifted to Denji by Aki, Meowy belonged to Power, and the dogs belonged to Makima.
These were all important people in Denji’s life, for better or for worse, and Barem just destroyed the apartment and pets which made him think of them.
I honestly believe Barem would have succeeded in angering Denji enough to transform by doing this, had it not been for Fumiko’s arrival.
Turning up with various other Public Saftey Officers, she and her fellow officers pour bullets into Barem to prevent him from transforming.
This only works temporarily, however, because the chapter then ends with the Whip Hybrid showing up and killing the Public Saftey Officers, excluding Fumiko.
So, this means that the Weapons escaped from custody after the war began.
Therefore, I think we can expect the Spear Hybrid and Sugo to appear next chapter.
Although, I still think that Sugo is going to betray the Weapons to help Denji eventually.
Maybe Asa and Yoru might even show up, drawn in by the sound of battle.
I know they are technically aligned with the Weapons through the Chainsaw Man Church, but given that Asa was devestated by the loss of her own cat, she may take particular offence to Barem killing Meowy.
Well, if Barem did kill Meowey, that is.
After all, we don’t see the pets’ bodies so there is always the chance that they survived somehow and Barem is just saying that he killed them to motivate Denji.
I mean, if Fujimoto is ever going to follow through on bringing back Power, I don’t think she would be too happy returning to find her cat had been killed.
We’ll just have to cross our fingers that the pets made it somehow.
Like I said at the beginning of this review, “Dream’s Next Stage” is a significant chapter for Chainsaw Man.
This is not only because it is its 150th chapter but also because of Pochita returned and Denji’s loss of many things which reminded him of his dead friends.
It will be interesting to see how this loss affects him going forward.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 149, Devil’s Choice Review: Murderous Wholesomeness.

In Chapter 148 of Chainsaw Man, we finally saw Asa and Yoru get some big development after a while.
Going into Chapter 149, “Devil’s Choice,” I was hopeful that we would see more of them.
Unfortunately, Fujimoto decided to leave them out of chapter but what we got with Denji and Nayuta was just as good.
The chapter begins with the mad preacher we first saw in Chapter 101 preaching to a crowd who is now much more inclined to listen.
With a burned Chainsaw Devil’s corpse laying in front of him, the preacher urges the crowd to join him in destroying the Chainsaw Man army.
As the crowd chants “Burn Chainsaw Man!” Denji, Nayuta and Fumiko are watching from a nearby alley.
Denji is not concerned, stating he can just transform into Chainsaw Man if the crowd see them but Fumiko points out that this would just turn the people against them.
She promises to protect him and Nayuta but the latter views this as unnecessary because she is strong enough to protect herself, even being willing to kill humans.
Given who Nayuta was in her previous life, this obviously concerns Fumiko, who asks Denji what he has been teaching her.
Denji replies whatever is on educational tv, and the thought of television makes him and Nayuta concerned about their apartment and the pets they have inside.
Fumiko is against them going back, knowing the mob will have gathered outside Denji’s house by now, but Denji and Nayuta completley ignore her.
Fumiko tries to stop them, wanting to shelter them at Public Saftey, only for Nayuta to go on the attack, using her powers as the Control Devil to compel a random elderly woman to attack Fumiko.
The only thing that saves Fumiko is Denji stopping Nayuta… by tickling her.
Nayuta may be the Control Devil but she is still just a child and it is darkly humorous to see Denji stop her murderous actions with such a childish tactic.
Fumiko escapes at Denji’s behest and he then questions Nayuta about whether she really would have killed her.
Nayuta responds that it is normal for Devils to kill humans, suggesting that she and Denji join the Devils so they can live as they like.
Denji attempts to ask about his friends at school but stops himself, instead asking about Nayuta’s.
Denji’s hesitation shows that he really does not have any friends at school, which makes his life pretty tragic when you think about the life he had with Aki and Power before Makima cruelly took it away from him.
Nayuta responds to Denji’s question by saying she is all he needs, her controlling personality coming into form again.
Denji hesitates and this makes Nayuta realize he is thinking about Asa.
Denji says he is thinking about her because they kissed.
Nayuta obviously thinks this is absurd, although it would be pretty par the course for Denji.
His actual reasons for thinking about Asa are pretty sympathetic though.
He reveals to Nayuta that the reason he is thinking about Asa is because their kiss was the only one where he did not get hurt.
This whole situation is actually tragic because what Denji does not realize is that it was Yoru who kissed him, not Asa, and it was to use him.
It will be a pretty tough pill for him to swallow when he inevitably comes to this realization.
After Denji explains his reasoning to Nayuta, she asks him how much she loves Asa, to which Denji measures the distance with his hands.
When Nayuta asks him how much he loves her, Denji’s extends his hands even wider.
Nayuta’s following smug smile is adorable, as is the way she jumps into Denji’s arms, creating a wholesome moment for a character who just tried to murder someone a few pages ago.
The chapter then ends with Nayuta declaring she will not kill humans, telling Denji to “mush!” back home, like one of the huskies they own.
This chapter really illustrates why Kishibe was right to task Denji with raising Nayuta.
With the simple act of loving her, he is able to convince her to let go of her murderous ways, providing the connection that Makima had always wanted.
As for what will happen next chapter, I expect there will be a fight when Denji gets to their apartment, since Fumiko said the mob would be waiting for him.
Granted, I do not know how this fight will play out considering that Fujimoto seems to be holding back on Denji’s transformation for something significant.
Although, maybe Nayuta could just use her power to control the crowd into leaving.
However, if Barem is leading the mob this will make the whole situation much more difficult.
As for Asa and Yoru, I am still interested to see what they are up to.
Yoru will probably be having a field day with her newfound strength and plenty of Chainsaw Man substitutes to kill.
I am eagerly awaiting the moment they reuinte with Denji and he learns of their true nature, whether that happens now or much later in the story.
“Devil’s Choice” is a solid Chainsaw Man chapter, which provides one of the most wholesome sibling moments between Denji and Nayuta.