John Wick has been the highlight action franchise of the past ten years. The first film, released in 2014, was surprisingly good and revitalized Keanu Reeves’ career. The franchise has been going strong since then, with each sequel being a solid addition. Well, four years since Chapter Three, Parabellum, released, we finally have John Wick: Chapter 4. The movie has received plenty of praise from critics and fans alike, with many calling in the best in the franchise, although I do not think I would go quite that far.
Despite the film having some truly fantastic moments and characters, there are specific issues that hold it back, for me.
Chapter 4 once again follows Reeves as the titular John Wick who, after somehow surviving falling from the top of the Continental in the previous movie, goes to war with the High Table with the help of the Bowery King (Laurence Fishburn). As for Winston (Ian McShane) and Charon (Lance Reddik, may he rest in peace), they are also suffering from the fallout of Parabellum, as they are left at the mercy of the Marquis, Vicent de Garmont (Bill Skarsgård). Desperate to hunt down and kill John, the Marquis enlists the help of the blind assassin Caine (Donny Yen) and a hunter who goes by Mr Nobody (Shamier Anderson), while Winston advises John to challenge the Marquis to single combat to earn his freedom. The characters and world building of John Wick continue to be strong in this fourth installment, with John having the best narrative arc since probably the first movie, and Caine and Mr Nobody being fantastic characters who I would be excited to see more of.
Caine in particular is stellar, with Donny Yen presenting excellent dramatic weight, comedic timing and, of course, stunt work.
As for the action, it is, as expected of a John Wick movie, absolutely incredible, just like it was in the past three films. Once again directed by Chad Stahlenski, the action of John Wick: Chapter 4 is undoubtedly some of the best in the entire franchise. The stuntwork, the cinematography, the editing; all of these are glorious and combine to create truly terrific action. This culminates in one action set piece in the third act that takes place entirely in an overhead shot, which I would argue is the best action scene of the decade.
This action scene alone makes John Wick: Chapter 4 worth seeing in the theatre.
It reminded me a lot of a video game, which also makes me really want a John Wick video game, now that I think about it. All of these fantastic features should have made Chapter 4 the best installment in the John Wick franchise, however, there are unfortunately a few things which hold it back. One of these things is Keanu Reeves himself. As I said, I loved the arc his character went through but Reeves performance in this film is probably the weakest in the entire franchise, with even simple sentences sounding wrong, which is a bad thing since simple sentences is all John Wick speaks in this movie.
Even the line, “I’m going to need a gun” sounds wrong coming out of Reeves mouth.
Along with this, Chapter 4 doubles down on many of the things that broke my immersion in previous installments. John is still surviving downright impossible falls and civilians still do not react to people being murdered right in front of them. Also, the more I think about what happens in this movie, the less relevant the events of Parabellum seem, since conflicts that were set up in that movie don’t really amount to much here. But by far the biggest issue I had with John Wick: Chapter 4 is the action itself. This may sound like a contradiction because I was heaping praise on the action earlier. As I said previously, the action is spectacular, with great cinematography, stuntwork, etc. My problem is that we got too much of a good thing. The action scenes in this movie go on and on and on and on, to the point that I began to grow bored with it all, despite how well made it was. I can only see so many people get shot or stabbed in the face before it becomes tiring, as psychopathic as that probably sounds. I actually remember checking my watch a few times to see just how long the action had been going.
This Japan fight seemed to go on forever. It was fun to watch when the first few goons attacked John but got extremely tiring by the third or fourth wave of them.
So the issue was not the action itself but that it often went on for so long at certain points that I began to feel fatigued by it all. I never thought that a movie could make me bored with constant action, yet John Wick: Chapter 4 somehow achieved this. Despite these issues, though, I would still recommend the film. The action, although sometimes overly long, is stellar, the characters are all compelling, the film is definitely the funniest in the franchise, and the ending is incredibly satisfying. John Wick: Chapter 4 is definitely better than Parabellum, however, I am not sure where I would place it afterwards. My opinion of this movie’s ranking may depend on what happens in the future of this franchise. If future installements honor Chapter 4’s ending then it should be high up but if they do not then it will probably be on the lower end.
I often find that whenever it is asked which video game has the best cast of characters, the Mass Effect trilogy is almost always the answer, and for good reason. Created by Casey Hudson and releasing from 2007 to 2013, the trilogy has some of the best characters in all of video games, with the Legendary Edition, released in 2021, giving players a reason to get reacquainted with them all over again. Having recently replayed the trilogy myself, I decided to find out which of these characters I consider to be the ten best. This was not easy because there are so many fantastic characters in the trilogy so I have to leave a couple out, those characters being Miranda Lawson and Edi. They nearly made the list but there were ten characters I considered to be better, starting with..
10. Javik.
“Stand amongst the ashes of a trillion dead souls, and ask the ghosts if honour matters. The silence is your answer.”
Javik is a character who was locked behind day one dlc when Mass Effect 3 launched. This scummy practice was a shame because it locked one of the trilogy’s most interesting characters behind a pay wall. Javik is the last survivor of the Prothean species and has fought the Reapers for his entire life. After being awakened from stasis by Commander Shepard, Javik joins the crew to help complete the task his people unfortunately failed in. The trilogy up until that point had portrayed the Protheans as an enlightened race but Javik serves to contrast this, what with him having been at war his entire life and also revealing the more colonial aspects of the Protheans. Along with revealing more about his species, Javik also serves as a challenge for other characters. Bringing him to Thessia is pretty much a must in my book because of how it can lead to him motivating Liara. With his ruthless and cold personality, it can be hard to like Javik at times but what makes it easier is just how funny he can be with his deadpan humor. The scenes where he disses the Salarians and him being on the film set in the Citadel DLC are comedic gold. His ending is uncertain, however, as depending on your choices, he can wish to take his own life to be with the rest of his people after the Reapers are defeated so we will have to see if this plays any part in the next Mass Effect game, should he return. Javik is a character with a lot of depth behind his cold visage. It is just a shame that he was not available for many players until the Legendary Edition because of the dlc.
9. Jack.
“I figure every time someone dies and it’s not me, my chances of survival go up. Simple.”
Honestly, when I first played through the Mass Effect trilogy as a teenager, I did not like Jack. Her hot-headed personality made me barely interact with her and I stupidly did not upgrade the Normandy for the suicide mission so Jack died in its opening section, leaving her story unavailable for Mass Effect 3. It was only when I bought the Legendary Edition that I was able to finally connect with Jack’s character. Tortured and experimented on by Cerberus for her Biotic abilities as a child, Jack escaped and lived a life of crime until her capture, after which Shepard is sent to recruit her for the suicide mission in Mass Effect 2. Unwilling to trust Cerberus after what they did to her, Shepard has to earn that trust through her loyalty mission, which sees them travel back to the destroyed science facility where Jack was held. Shepard helps her uncover new details about her escape and maybe even get some closure through dealing with the other escapee turned potential perpetrator, and then blowing up the base. I have not had my Shepard romance Jack but, looking up clips, it uncovers an even more vulnerable side to her character. Shepard helping Jack through her trauma allows her to do some good in Mass Effect 3, becoming a teacher at Grissom Academy, teaching other powerful biotics like her and then protecting them from the fate she suffered by fighting off Cerberus. I am glad that I got to know Jack better in my replays of the trilogy, as she went from probably one of my least favourite characters in the trilogy (although that perception was more my fault) to one of the best human characters.
8. Grunt.
“I am pure Krogan. You should be in awe.”
Introduced in Mass Effect 2, Grunt was a character I liked instantly. At first, we think Shepard is going to recruit the Krogan Okeer but, after he dies, Shepard instead takes his creation, a Krogan bred in a tank to be a perfect warrior. After releasing the creation, he takes the name Grunt and decides to fight for Shepard to live up to the purpose he was made for. This is a purpose he does struggle with, though, because Grunt is pretty much a grumpy teenager when he comes out of the tank, and buying him a few dances at Omega is not going to fix the problem, Garrus; thank you for the input, though. Taking him to the Krogan homeworld of Tuchanka, Shepard helps Grunt through a rite of passage, potentially becoming the first Krogan since Wrex to take down a Thesher Maw during the trial. Should he survive the suicide mission, Grunt will then help Shepard take down a group of Rachni indoctrinated by the Reapers. This is an encounter he can die from if you do not have his loyalty. If he survives this mission as well, he will reappear in the Citadel DLC and I would highly recommend saving him because he has some of the funniest gags in that dlc. From him crashing out of a window, to him constantly denying guests who want to come up and party, to him and Wrex constantly saying Shepard’s name; Grunt gets a lot of laughs. His ending is also great, as it is shown in the extended cut that he and Wrex are working togethor to rebuild Krogan society. Grunt is both an awesome and funny character to watch and I hope he makes a return in the next game.
7. Legion.
“Shepard-Commander. I must go to them. I’m… I’m sorry. It is the only way.”
The Geth were one of the main antagonists of the first Mass Effect so it was quite the surprise to encounter Legion in the second game. There is a great misdirect where the player initially thinks he is going to take a shot at Shepard, only to kill the husk behind him and then address him in this iconic moment as, “Shepard-Commander.” Named Legion by Shepard, there are signs that he is different from other geth right from the get-go, as he uses a piece of Shepard’s armour to patch a hole, indicating some kind of sentiment, when all other Geth are devoid of this. Following his recruitment to the team, you can go on his loyalty mission to either kill or reprogram Geth working for the Reapers. If you have not completed Tali’s loyalty mission by this point, then I would highly recommend taking Legion along, both because of how the Quarians react to him and also because of how hilarious it is to just see Tali defend herself by stating she only sent deactivated Geth, while currently working with a very active Geth. Legion will then return in Mass Effect 3, being held captive by the rest of the geth who are now working with the Reapers for survival. Going on numerous missions with Legion, allowing for exploration into the events of the Morning War between the Quarians and the Geth, Shepard then has to choose which species to save or to save them both. Either way, it ends tragically for Legion, as he either dies trying to give his people sentience, or dies succeeding in doing that, finally gaining full awareness as he refers to himself as “I.” Legion is a great character who could have been a lot higher had he more screen time, since most players recruit him late, due to his recruitment starting a time limit to save the crew of the Normandy.
6. Thane Krios.
“The universe is a dark place. I’m trying to make it brighter before I die.”
Out of all the characters to recruit for the suicide mission in Mass Effect 2, Thane certainly makes one of the bigger impressions. His introduction is one of contradictions, as we see him efficiently assasinate a group of thugs, before praying over their bodies. We can gain a better understanding of how these supposed contradictions actually equate to Thane’s way of life, especially when considering his terminal illness, by talking to him on the Normandy. I actually had a lot of fun learning about him and Drell culture on my most recent play through. Thane’s loyalty mission is also unique as, unlike the others, it contains very little combat, centering around finding Thane’s son Kolyat and stopping him from becoming an assassin, like his father. His potential relationship with Shepard is also considered to be one of the better fem-shep romances from what I have heard. Much like Jack, though, Thane was a character I did not see any of in Mass Effect 3 because I did not think upgrading the ship would be important for the suicide mission. Making sure to do so to keep Thane alive, I was finally able to see Thane’s complete story in the Legendary Edition, catching up with him on the Citadel before seeing him dealt a fatal wound by Kai Leng during the Citadel attack. Thane’s last movements with Kolyat and Shepard were very moving and his death made it all the more satisfying to put an end to the annoyance that is Kai Leng. Holding his funeral in the Citadel DLC also served as another moving sendoff for his character, with the messages he leaves for Shepard. Thane is a complex character who I enjoyed creating a friendship with after I stupidly got him killed on my first playthrough.
5. Liara T’Soni.
“It would be easy for a single ship to get lost up there, wouldn’t it? To find someplace very far away, where you could live the rest of your life in peace, and happiness.”
Of all the characters in Mass Effect, Liara is among the ones who changes the most throughout the trilogy. When Shepard first meets Liara, she is a scientist studying the Prothean Ruins, considered too young to be taken seriously by other Asari, at the young age of 106 (Yes, Asari have ridiculously long life spans). How Liara plays into the narrative of the first Mass Effect depends entirely on when you choose to recruit her, leading to a humorous moment where, if you wait too long to do so, Liara will believe Shepard is a hallucination. From her recruitment, we see Liara grow, as she can help Shepard take down her indoctrinated mother for the good of the galaxy. Liara returns in Mass Effect 2 but not as a potential member for the suicide mission. Instead, she gets one of the best dlcs in the series centered around her, Lair of the Shadow Broker. There are numerous great interactions between her and Shepard in this dlc, especially one in a taxi, and it all ends with Liara taking on the role of the Shadow Broker, gaining a vast information network, which she utilises in Mass Effect 3 in the war against the Reapers. It is through her that we learn about the Crucible, and the later loss of Thessia hits her hard, ending with plenty of development spurred on by Javik. There are also many ways Shepard can impact Liara’s life because, if you choose to do so, you can motivate Liara to reconnect with her father. As for Liara and Shepard’s relationship, I did find a lot of their scenes to be romantically coded, even though I have yet to romance Liara in any of my play throughs. Liara starts off the trilogy as an often flustered scientist and transforms into one of Shepard’s greatest allies with a vast information network, making her one of the best characters in the series.
4. Mordin Solis.
“Had to be me. Someone else might have gotten it wrong.”
First introduced in Mass Effect 2 as another recruit for the suicide mission, Mordin makes a quirky impression on the player, right from the start. A fast talking and ruthless scientist, Shepard first meets Mordin when he is attempting to cure a plague on Omega started by the Collectors. After helping him do this, Mordin joins the crew of the Normandy, serving a key role in the squad, as it is his study of the Collectors which allows Shepard to negate the seeker swarms. His loyalty mission leads to darker areas of Mordin’s character as we eventually learn he was one of the scientists behind a modification of the Genophage used to quell the Krogan’s numbers. This mission does play a role in his eventual redemption because, if he saves Maelon’s research data, it leads to him saving Eve in the future. Mordin also serves as a great source of comic relief on the Normandy, with him showing off his singing skills to Shepard and even offering them sexual advice depending on who is romanced. It is Mass Effect 3, though, where Mordin really shines, having had a change of heart about his role in the Genophage. In one of the best missions of the game, Mordin travels with Shepard to Tuchanka to cure the genophage which, unfortunately, will mean that he has to commit the ultimate sacrifice. There is a way to stop him, however… which is shooting him in the back. Honestly, sabotaging the Genophage cure is probably something I’ll never do (unless Wreav is in charge), especially because you have to murder Mordin to do so (again, unless Wreav is in charge). It is much more fulfilling to have Mordin sacrifice himself to cure the genophage, going out while singing a tune to himself: “I am the very model of a scientist Salarian.” That you were Mordin, that you were.
3. Urdnot Wrex.
“That’s why I love hanging out with you guys! Why shoot something once when you can shoot it 46 more times?”
In the Citadel DLC, Tali describes Wrex as the “crazy, head-butting uncle I never had”, and that is the perfect description of him. Upon meeting him in the first Mass Effect, Wrex certainly lives up to the “crazy, head-butting” part of Tali’s description, for he is working as a merc hunting down a criminal named Fist. You can choose to enlist his help, after which he will kill Fist and join Shepard’s crew. From there, conversing with Wrex will lead to exposition about the Krogan, the genophage, and Wrex’s own traumatic past, since he had to kill his own father. This leads into another mission in which Shepard retrieves Wrex’s family armour for him, which can be a big help in saving Wrex on Virmire when he learns of the genophage cure Saren is creating and nearly turns on Shepard. This interaction is one of the best character moments in the first Mass Effect with Wrex’s potential betrayal, also potentially leading to his death, revealing him to have the most layers out of any of the crew by that point. Should he survive the first game, he is unfortunately never a squad mate again in the main story, only being available in the Citadel DLC. His story is still impactful despite this, however, as we can meet him on Tuchanka on Mordin and Grunt’s loyalty missions, where he is the leader of Clan Urdnot. Him running up to Shepard and shouting “My friend!” never fails to bring a smile to my face. Then there is his role in Mass Effect 3, with the curing of the Genophage storyline being one of the best of that game. Once again, Wrex has many standout scenes here, from him hilariously interjecting when Shepard is trying to get past the Reaper, to him fighting off some of the Reaper’s forces on his own to, of course, him declaring that Shepard’s name shall mean “hero” to the Krogan people. It is for all of these reasons that I find it impossible to sabotage the Genophage cure, since it will mean betraying Wrex, who will eventually find out, forcing you to kill him. Wrex may only be a main squadmate in one of the game’s but he makes such an impact across the trilogy that he easily makes the top three.
2. Garrus Vakarian.
“Not sure if Turian heaven is the same as yours, but if this thing goes sideways and we both end up there… meet me at the bar. I’m buying.”
When looking at other lists ranking Mass Effect characters, it becomes obvious that Garrus Vakarian is the most popular character in the trilogy, given that he nearly always ranks at number one. I, myself, almost gave him the top spot but, in the end, I rewarded another character with it for reasons I will get into later. As for Garrus himself, his start in the first Mass Effect is certainly strong, what with him being introduced as pretty much the only C-Sec officer willing to investigate Saren, making him a natural choice to ally with to help take down the rogue spectre. Frustrated with how the system always seems to let criminals get away with their crimes, Garrus then joins Shepard’s crew. While not having much of a role beyond that in the first game, the player can decide how his character turns out through helping him hunt down an organ harvester named Dr Saleon. Thus, when Shepard reunites with him in Mass Effect 2, he will either had gone down a more paragon or renegade path. Either way, he still begins the second game as a vigilante on Omega, with his return coming as a welcome surprise. He then has a fantastic loyalty mission where Shepard helps him track down Sadonis, the Turian who betrayed Garrus, getting his entire squad killed. Again, the player can either set Garrus on the paragon or renegade path, allowing him to kill Sadonis or convincing Garrus to spare the guilt ridden traitor. Gaining Garrus’ loyalty also makes him a vital member for the suicide mission, as he is great in leadership roles when the squad has to separate. Should he survive the mission and return in Mass Effect 3, he will have become the Turians’ advisor on the Reaper threat, with the help of his father. Rejoining Shepard and the Normandy crew once again, Garrus is again essential in the galaxy’s fight against the Reapers, while also having plenty of great downtime moments, like when he and Shepard hang out on the Citadel, having a shooting contest. Speaking of the Citadel, in the dlc centering around it, we see how awkward he is at flirting, when he tries to win over a female Turian. I was dying with laughter as Garrus kept accidentally insulting the woman but was all too happy to serve as his wing-man. As for Garrus’ other romantic pursuit, his relationship with a female Shepard is one of the best romances in the series. I have never played as Fem-Shep before but looking up their romance on YouTube provided a lot of laughs at how this skilled C-Sec Officer, turned vigilante, turned military advisor can be such a dork in private. The dance scene in the Citadel DLC is one of the most romantic scenes in all of Mass Effect, As Shepard says before the final mission of Mass Effect 3, “There’s no Shepard without Vakarian.” Whether Garrus serves as Shepard’s best friend, or boyfriend for a female Shepard, Mass Effect would not be complete without him.
1. Jacob Taylor.
“I probably deserved that.”
April Fools! The True Number One Is…
1. Tali’Zorah vas Normandy.
“You’ve treated me just like everyone else on your crew. Like an equal. That means a lot.”
Taking the top spot, Tali is the only squadmate alongside Garrus who is with Shepard for all three games. Speaking of Garrus, I mentioned previously that he nearly took the number one spot. Well, the reason I ultimately decided to put Tali above him and at the top of the list is because, in my opinion, she has by far the best missions of Mass Effect 2 and 3, but I am getting ahead of myself. In the first Mass Effect, Tali serves a vital role in the game’s opening act. Starting off as a young Quarian on her pilgrimage, Tali uncovers evidence of Saren’s betrayal and Shepard has to rush to save her, before she is killed and the evidence is lost. Tali, however, proves herself more than capable, taking out many of her assassins alongside Shepard. After exposing Saren, Tali boards the Normandy as part of your crew, helping to work on the ship and serving to explain the history of the Quarians and the Geth, the latter of whom is especially important, given that the Geth are one of the main antagonists of the first game. We meet Tali again early in Mass Effect 2, as Shepard encounters her while investigating a human colony attacked by the Reapers. Tali has clearly changed in the years that Shepard has been dead, now being a much more confident leader, with Shepard helping her rescue one of her people driven mad by the attack. Tali’s actual recruitment comes later in Mass Effect 2 and it is followed by what is, without a doubt in my mind, the best loyalty mission in the game. In this mission, Tali is recalled to the Migrant Fleet to stand trial for sending active Geth, leading to the deaths of many, including her father, a crime of which she is innocent. Serving as Tali’s lawyer, it is up to you how Shepard will defend Tali, with there being multiple different ways to have her declared innocent and gain her loyalty. A loyal Tali will then also prove essential during the Suicide Mission, as her tech skills make her the perfect squadmate to send into the vents (unless you just want to send Jacob in to die because that’s also a reasonable call to make). Tali then reappears in Mass Effect 3 as an admiral of the Migrant Fleet and, in the best storyline of the game, alongside the Genophage storyline, Shepard must help her end the war with the geth, whether this ends in a Quarian or Geth victory, or with the two sides making peace. However, this can end tragically because if Shepard sides with the Geth and the Quarians are wiped out, Tali will take her own life in her grief. Should she live, Tali has a lot of funny moments towards the end of the game as well. There is the already mentioned comment about Wrex being like an uncle in the Citadel DLC, along with Shepard seeing Tali drunk on the Normandy, toasting Miranda. Tali’s romance is also one of the best in the entire trilogy, as she starts off nervous in the beginning before growing out of her shell in this new relationship. This results in numerous touching moments, such as her badly singing to Shepard in the Citadel DLC and the best goodbye to a character at the end of Mass Effect 3, when she tells Shepard, “I have a home” in a heart-breaking scene. Proably the only thing I did not like about Tali was how terrible her face reveal was in the original Mass Effect 3, with it just being a photoshop edit but the Legendary Edition fixed this. Tali has incredible development across the trilogy, along with the best missions in the trilogy as well, and it is these factors which make me believe she is the best squadmate in all of Mass Effect.
Chainsaw Man is back after its two week break, delivering another chapter which delves into the depths of Asa’s psyche.
Chapter 124, “Soup” picks up with Asa from where we left her, dangling from a street railing as she risks falling upwards because of a trauma attack brought on by the arrival of the Falling Devil.
Despite Yoru’s insistance that she hand over control of her body to save herself, Asa loses her grip and begins to fall upwards again, only for Yoru to yell at her to scream, “Nail Knife!”
This causes one of Asa’s nails to fly off and form a knife due to the War Devil’s power, and Asa’s focus on her pain allows Yoru to get back in the driver’s seat of her body.
Yoru then begins speculating on the identity of the attacking Devil, like many of us readers did after Chapter 122.
She speculates that it could be tauma, gravity, suicide, and others, before correctly deducing that it is the Falling Devil.
The Falling Devil being linked to trauma does make a lot of sense though because of the concept of falling deeper into trauma.
Asa nearly does this herself, as she remembers her dead cat lying at the bottom of a river, only for Yoru to cut their hand so the trauma will not cause them to fall up again.
This fails, as Asa falls up into an apartment building, with Yoru demanding that Asa stop being afraid of her and to trust her.
Asa hits back by pointing out all of the reasons she does not trust Yoru, ending by screaming that she cut her hand.
This builds into Asa explaining to Yoru what she is really afraid of, stating that she sometimes approaches people out of lonliness, only for something to go wrong and for her to end up alone again.
“Solitude and companionship… I’m afraid of both!” She shouts to Yoru and this explanation does hit hard because we have seen exactly why Asa is afraid of companionship time and time again.
She had companionship with her cat but he was murdered by the orphanage director.
She had just accepted Bucky when the class president tripped her, causing Asa to accidentally kill him.
Yuko became her friend, only to accept a deal with the Justice Devil and then go on a killing spree, before being killed by someone resembling Chainsaw Man (not that Asa knows that last detail).
She went on a date with Denji but she now believes he stood her up on their second.
Asa even allowed herself to get her hopes up about Yoshida liking her but he shut down this idea practically immediately.
And then there’s Yoru, the only one whose companionship she is forced to endure, who keeps threatening and hurting her.
Asa’s entire life really is a cycle of gaining and then losing those close to her through tragic means.
It’s why the Falling Devil is a perfect foil for Asa to face at the moment.
Not only does Asa have a tendancy to fall at the wrong times, like when her parents died and in the aquarium, but the trauma she has experienced from these events make her the ideal target for the Falling Devil’s attacks.
Speaking of the Falling Devil, the final scene of the chapter sees her entering a door into hell with a captured Devil Hunter; his nose, eyes and tounge made into a soup for a slug-like Devil with a bib to consume.
As the Devil Hunter is horrifically eaten off page, the Falling Devil states that the main course is almost ready, this course being Asa and Yoru.
It is interesting to note that the Falling Devil is directly targeting the both of them.
It would have been a bit of a coincidence for the two to stumble across an attack from a Primal Fear so this attack being on them makes a lot more sense.
The question is, why are they being targeted?
Yoru is apparently mentioned in the Nostradamus Prophecy, being called Mars, so would she not tie into the Falling Devil’s goal of shepherding “the world to the ultimate terror” as Fami said?
Unless the Falling Devil’s intent it stop that specific part of the prophecy?
I guess we will just have to wait and see why the Falling Devil wants Yoru and Asa consumed.
As for what will happen to the two of them, Asa will have to gain control over her trauma if she is to have any hope of defeating the Falling Devil with Yoru.
Yoru will also have room to grow by treating Asa better, probably with less death threats.
The real wild card in of all this, though, is Denji.
Nayuta did sense the Falling Devil’s arrival, and convinced Denji to go fight it as Chainsaw Man, which we have yet to see.
Maybe Asa and Yoru will be forced to team up with him to get the job done?
Overall, “Soup” is another great Chainsaw Man chapter, building up the conflict between Asa and Yoru well, while delving into Asa’s traumatised mind.
The Last of Us is my favourite video game of all time. However, in recent years my opinion of its continuation has been rather rocky. First there was The Last of Us Part 2 which, while I loved the gameplay, I thought the story was so poor that it made me lose interest in playing it again all togethor. Then there was The Last of Us “Remake”, which seemed like an overpriced remaster to me than anything else. Because of these issue I was having, I was a bit skeptical of how The Last of Us’ HBO adaptation would turn out. Granted, there were plenty of signs that it would turn out great. Not only was the creator of Chernobyl, Craig Mazin, behind the project but The Last of Us is also a video game that lends itself really well to be adapted into a cinematic format. After watching the entire first season, I can say that I should have had more faith because the show is a fantastic adaptation of the video game, with plenty of excellent changes.
The best part of The Last of Us adaptation is undoubtedly how it diverges from the original game in interesting ways.
Created by both Mazin and Neil Druckmann, the director of both Part One and Two, the story is almost the same as the original game. Twenty years after the Cordyceps fungal infection jumped to humans and brought about the apocalypse, ruthless survivor Joel Miller (Pedro Pascal) is working as a smuggler, alongside his partner Tess (Anna Torv). Wanting to get a car to search for his missing brother Tommy (Gabriel Luna), Joel accepts a deal with Marlene (Merle Dandridge), the leader of a revolutionary group known as the Fireflies. The deal is to escort a spunky, foul-mouted teenager named Ellie (Bella Ramsey) through the infected landscape to safety.
So begins the characters’ journey across a desolate America.
However, when this plan goes awry, and Ellie’s immunity to the Cordyceps Infection is revealed, Joel has to escort her across the country. As they journey, the two fight off infected, likewise ruthless survivors, and slowly begin to grow closer as a father and daughter. This father and daughter bond is the heart of The Last of Us so the creators of the show had to get it absolutely right when casting Joel and Ellie. Thankfully, they did an excellent job with the casting, as Pedro Pascal and Bella Ramsey bring new depth to the characters. I will say that I was a bit unsure of Ramsey when starting the show. I knew from seeing her in Game of Thrones that she could act but the prior performances of hers I had seen never screamed Ellie to me. Then I saw her first scene in the show and I felt like a fool because she absolutely nails her portrayal of the character.
Ramsey’s first scene was enough to convince me that she was the perfect choice to play Ellie.
These great portrayals of the characters are very faithful to the original game, for the most part. Oddly enough though, this show is at its best not when it is following the source material but when it is doing something different. In fact, I would say that the best episodes of the show are the ones where this is the case. Episode Five, “Endure and Survive”, gives the characters of Henry (Lamar Johnson) and Sam (Keivonn Montreal) a completely new and interesting backstory, while also concluding on a much more explosive fight. Episode Nine, “When We Are in Need”, expands on David’s (Scott Shepherd) character through showing how he runs his group as a manipulative cult leader, while hinting at his sickening past, making him a much more disturbing character than in the game. Best of all though is Episode Three, “Long, Long Time,” which gives Bill (Nick Offerman) and Frank (Murray Bartlett) a completely different, much more emotionally engaging story, which actually rivals Joel and Ellie’s story across the season.
I did not expect Bill and Frank’s story to be this good before watching it.
Honestly, it was when the show actually recreated the game beat-for-beat that we got less interesting episodes. Take Episode Seven, for example, “Left Behind”, where everything is pretty much the same as the game, except for a downgraded final attack, resulting in an episode that I felt like I said been before because, well, I had, and was thus less interested. This is not the only issue with the season because the final episode, “Look for the Light”, goes by so fast that it feels a little short.
I feel like the finale would have had more impact if certain scenes had more time to breath.
Not only this but there is a bit of cognitive dissonance with the ending, in my experience. One thing that I appreciated about the show was how realistic it was. Joel kills hundreds of people across the game but that is just not realistic to the real world, so they scaled it down for the show. But Joel’s final decision requires him to become that killing machine so, when it happens in the last episode, it does feel slightly at odds to what came before. Speaking of being at odds with what came before, it is really weird to watch those terrifying cold opens in the first few episodes, which expand on the nature of the Cordyceps Infection, only for that infection to barely feature in the latter half of the season.
The cold open of Episode One was a fantastic and terrifying addition to the show but it feels weird given the lack of infected later on in the show.
These problems are relatively minor to the show’s successes, however. They adapted events from the game well and made some incredible changes to the original story. You want to know how much I liked the changes? I liked them so much that I am actually now open to seeing how they will adapt Part Two. Who knows, they might actually make some changes that make me like the story. As for the adaptation of the first game, though, it is mostly fantastic, being good enough to rank high up with other good video game adaptations, like Arcane and Cyberpunk: Edgerunners. It will be interesting to see what is in for The Last of Us franchise going forward.
Following the release of Chapter 122 of Chainsaw Man, many readers threw their hats into the ring over what Devil the new Primal Fear that was introduced would be.
Most, including myself, speculated that it was the Death Devil.
However, Chapter 123, ” Hors D’oeuvre”, opens up by revealing that the arriving Primal Fear is actually the Falling Devil.
This answer probably should have been obvious since the Devil just made people fall to their deaths, and a fear of falling is something that pretty much all people have.
Just think about how we all throw out our hands up wildly to catch ourselves whenever we trip.
Of course, falling would be a Primal Fear.
There were actually a few readers who did guess the Devil’s identity but I am certain that absolutley none of these people expected that the Falling Devil would put on a chef’s outfit and start speaking French.
It’s so weird and, once again, only something that an insane mind like Fujimoto’s could come up with.
Let the man cook, I say.
Although, the Falling Devil’s method of cooking is a lot more brutal, considering that she says that she is, “visiting at the request of the resident’s of hell.”
While this is happening, Yoru is continuing to flee, screaming at Asa to snap out of it, confirming that Asa’s earlier suicidal thoughts were a result of the Falling Devil.
This is further confirmed when the Falling Devil seems to trigger a traumatic memory for Asa, which introduces the most hated character in Chainsaw Man.
Yes, even more so than Makima.
Asa flashes back to her time in the orphange after her parents’ deaths.
All she had left was her cat, until the woman who ran the orphange offered to give it a better life.
The woman essentially guilt trips Asa into handing the cat over.
It is in this moment that Asa shows how truly good of a person she is at heart because she informs the woman that the cat’s name is Cambron, and asks her to make him happy.
She throws away her own happiness for the sake of Cambron’s and this makes it all the more infuriating when the next scene reveals that the woman actually drowned Cambron.
A fellow orphan tells Asa that he and his friends saw the cat’s body at the bottom of a river.
When Asa confronts the woman with this information, she is coldly told, “Everyone here lost their family. You can’t be the only one with a family member. Isn’t that unfair?”
No, what’s unfair is tricking a vulnerable girl into giving you her cat so you can murder it and render her entirely alone, all because you were jealous that she had a family member when you didn’t.
It gets even worse when you remember that Asa’s mother died because she saved Cambron.
Not only does this rob Asa of the only family she had left but it also probably deepened her guilt by making her mother’s death feel pointless.
What an evil woman that orphanage director is.
I truly hope this character returns at some point so she can be on the recieving end of some much deserved justice.
Being killed by the Cat Devil would be true karma, for instance.
Getting back to the chapter itself, this traumatic memory Asa is experiencing plays right into the Falling Devil’s hands, as it causes her to suddenly fall upwards.
Asa is only able to stop herself from falling up into the sky because she grabs hold of a railing.
Many others are not so lucky, as the Falling Devil makes them fall up until they disappear into doors, which presumably lead straight into hell.
Given what happened during Denji’s visit there in Part One, I highly doubt anything nice happened to these people.
It would seem that that the Falling Devil’s power is only affecting those with traumatic memories, as she explains, “The lower the heart sinks, the higher the body falls.”
The chapter then ends with Yoru yelling at Asa to not be afraid because she cannot enter her body if she is, paying off the set up from the Bat Devil attack near the beginning of Part Two, where Yoru learned exactly this.
All in all, Hors D’oeuvre is a fantastic Chainsaw Man chapter, which does an excellent job of introducing the Falling Devil and delving further into Asa’s traumatic past.
As for what the future holds, this face off against the Falling Devil is clearly not going to be easy.
She is a Primal Fear, after all; a Devil which has never been killed, just like the Darkness Devil.
What’s worse, there may be more Primal Fears coming if a certain fan theory is to be believed.
This theory, posted by u/winddagger7, states that the seven prisoners who are set to die in the next week represent a Primal Devil travelling to earth, building up to the apocalypse.
However, this theory is too detailed to get into here so if you want to read it you can do so here.
In the end, whether this theory turns out to be true or not, we are certainly in for more insanity in Chainsaw Man and I am all for it.
I got back into the Scream franchise a few months after the fifth installment released. Ever since then, I had been eagerly anticipating Scream 6, to the point that I did not watch any trailers, except for the first one, so I would be going in blind. However, despite my excitement, I was still prepared for disappointment, considering this would be the first Scream film without Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott. Her absence in this movie is because of a pay dispute and to that I say she should have been paid what shewas owed as the face of this franchise. Although, as Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) says in this movie, Sidney deserves a happy ending. So, if the last we ever see of Sidney Prescott is her surviving in Scream 5, then I will be satisfied with her story.
Sidney’s absence is also explained well enough.
As for Scream6‘s story, it follows the sisters Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) who have moved to New York following the events of Scream 5, along with siblings Chad (Mason Gooding) and Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown). However, when a new series of Ghostface killings begin, the four are left wondering who to trust, with numerous suspects including the returning Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere), Detective Wayne Bailey (Dermot Mulroney), his daughter and the Carpenter’s roommate Quinn (Lianna Liberato), their neighbour Danny (Josh Sergerra), Mindy’s girlfriend Anika (Devyn Nekoda), and Chad’s roommate Ethan (Jack Champion). Alongside this large cast comes an even larger body count, with this Ghostface being the scariest in the entire franchise.
Ghostface is absolutley brutal in this movie.
I am so glad that I did not watch any of the trailers after the first because it made for more terrifying surprises. Speaking of surprises, Scream 6 has by far the best opening scene, since the first one. It was such a shocking opening and left me wondering just where this film was going. The film builds from adrenaline rushing scene to anxiety inducing scene, until we finally reach the big third act, which has plenty of great reveals and character development. I especially enjoyed the development of the Carpenter sisters with Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega doing an excellent job as the characters.
The resolutions to Sam and Tara’s arcs in this movie was great.
As for flaws, there is one very obvious red herring that made me roll my eyes a bit. Also, the film does stretch believability at times with how many characters survive what should be fatal wounds. More importantly though, I was not really a fan of Gale’s role in this movie. She does have some awesome moments but it the way she is presented here went entirely against her ending in Scream 5. Along with this, it kind of felt like her ending in this movie may have been rewritten, although that’s just a suspicion.
The way Gale is presented as a character in this movie really bothered me.
Other than those few issues, however, Scream 6 is a great time. It has solid character development and callbacks, as well as some incredibly intense scenes with what has to be the scariest Ghostface of the franchise. I am already eagerly anticipating Scream 7.
After a two week break, Chainsaw Man has returned with Chapter 122, “The Prophecies” and, boy, does it not disappoint.
“The Prophecies” is definitley the darkest chapter of Part Two so far and has a lot of implications for the future of the story.
Rather than begin with where the previous chapter left off, with Asa and Yoru encountering an unknown Devil, the chapter instead begins with Yoshida finally confronting Fami, an event that was foreshadowed all the way back when they had their stare down following the aquarium incident.
Much like he did with Denji, Yoshida attempts to interrogate Fami by buying her some food at a cafe.
This is not good for Yoshida’s wallet however because Fami orders enough to feed an entire class of students, all for herself.
Although, it does make quite a bit of sense for the Famine Devil to be so hungry.
Yoshida is suspicious of how little Fami is doing to hide her identity and uses this as a segue to question her about a prophecy from Nostradamus, a French man who actually lived in the 1500s and was supposedly a seer.
Yoshida recites a part of Nostradamus’ prophecy, stating, “In the seventh month of 1999, a great king of terror will descend.”
Since Chainsaw Man takes place in the 1990s, it is easy to assume that the time of this supposed prophecy is close.
Supporting this is the fact that Yoshida tells Fami that Public Saftey had 30 convicts make a contract with the Future Devil to see when they would die.
All but seven were said to die in July 1999.
Fami then correctly guesses the other seven were prophecised to die this week.
So does this mean that the events of the prophecy will happen in seven days?
The implications for the story become even graver when you know the rest of Nostradamus’ prophecy, which is actually not said in the chapter.
The rest of the prophecy states, “[Shall be] revived the great King of Angoulmois. Before and after, Mars [shall] reign as chance will have it.”
The King of Angoulmois is thought by many to be Genghis Khan, who was a conqueror so maybe this represents the Horseman of Conquest, meaning Nayuta.
However, although that Nayuta theory is a bit dubious, the mention of Mars is almost certainly key because Mars was the Roman God of War, so Fujimoto is most likely using this prophecy to foreshadow Yoru’s importance.
Getting back to Yoshida and Fami, the latter then reveals to Yoshida that forty seconds ago “The first of the Devils who will shepherd the world to the ultimate terror” appeared at an apartment block.
She explains that this Devil is a primal fear, making it at least as strong as the Darkness Devil, but the scene cuts before she can tell Yoshida its name.
We then get the most disturbing scene of the chapter, as we see a couple sitting in their apartment.
The man excitedly tells his partner that he might get a promotion next month, leading to a discussion about the possibility of buying a car, only for the man to suggest, completley out of the blue, that they should both die.
His partner instantly agrees and the two go outside and fling themselves from their apartment to their deaths, along with many other residents in the apartment block.
The full-page panel of these people committing suicide in front of Yoru is highly disturbing.
It also makes me wonder if Asa’s suicidal thoughts in the previous chapter could have been caused by the Devil making these people take their own lives.
Speaking of that Devil, it makes quite the entrance, forming from the corpses of its victims.
Despite having a ruler sword, Yoru realises this is not a fight she can win and runs for both her and Asa’s lives, as the Devil forms behind her in the form of a giant naked woman with multiple hands, bringing “The Prophecies” to a close.
As for what this Devil is, I think the most likely candidate is the Death Devil.
The Suicide Devil is a possibility but I can’t imagine suicide being a primal fear, like say darkness or death.
Plus, the Death Devil is the only member of the Four Horsemen who we have not seen yet.
If this is the Death Devil then Yoru definitley made the right call running away from it because death is definitley the thing humans fear the most so it would undoubtedly be the most powerful Devil.
I think even Denji would struggle against it.
Overall, “Prophecies” is a fantastic chapter for Chainsaw Man.
It sets up a dark future with the inclusion of the Nostradamus’ prophecies and potentially introduces the Death Devil itself.
Being the first film in Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it felt like there was a lot riding on Ant-Man: Quantumania going in. While there were some jems in Phase Four, Spider-Man: Far From Home in particular, the majority of that phase felt aimless and misguided, with way too much of a focus on humor. Quantumania could have served as a new beginning for the MCU but, unfortunately, it is just more of the same, sometimes in the worst of ways. Directed by Peyton Reed, the film follows Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) who, after playing a key role in reversing the snap in Endgame, is living a happy and successful life with his girlfriend Hope (Evangeline Lilly) and daughter Cassie (Kathryn Newton). However, after Cassie somehow creates a portal to the Quantum Realm, the three of them, along with Hope’s parents Hank (Michael Douglas) and Janet (Michelle Pteiffer), are sucked inside. Now in the Quantum Realm, the five have to find a way to escape, while being pursued by the MCU’s next big bad Kang the Conqueror, who Janet has a history with, which she constantly refuses to explain, creating a large amount of frustration for the audience.
Ant-Man must escape the Quantum Realm in this latest film.
Although Quantumania is one of the worst reviewed MCU movies, one thing it has been constantly praised for is Jonathan Majors’ performance as Kang and for good reason. Majors is excellent as the Conqueror and the film does a fantastic job of building him up to be a threat… which is admittedly diluted by the end, due to the fact that he struggles to defeat Ant-Man. It’s like if Thanos was defeated by Spider-Man in his first movie appearance. He would just not be as threatening. Despite this, I am still interested in the character and what he will bring to the MCU going forward.
Jonathan Majors is amazing as Kang.
Along with Kang, one thing that I heard a lot about before watching Quantumania was the humor, although for the opposite reason. So many people were saying that the jokes were terrible and robbed many scenes of all tension. Honestly though, for the first half hour to forty-five minutes, I was not having this issue. Sure, there were a lot of jokes and not all of them were funny but I never found the humor to be insufferable. Then MODOK (Corey Stoll) showed up and I understood what everyone was talking about. I do not say this lightly but MODOK is straight up one of the worst characters in all of the MCU. Not only does the CGI for him look atrocious but he is also the subject of some of the most unfunny “jokes” I have seen in a long time. I was literally face palming when awful MODOK “humor” kept interrupting the third act battle.
MODOK should have been removed from the movie. Not only does he look terrible but the writing and attempts at comedy surrounding him all fail spectacularly.
Speaking of that third act battle, there are so many dumb tropes, like characters constantly removing their helmets, villains not killing the heroes when they have them dead to rights, and the ending seemingly concluding on an impactful note only to retcon it at the last moment. The editing is also so poor by the end that it makes a lot of the action hard to follow. As well as this, the final battle sees no resolution to any of the characters’ arcs for the simple reason that no character has an arc in this movie. Well, except for MODOK but his is so abrupt and terrible that I once again had to facepalm in the theater. As for Scott Lang, the film ends with him being exactly the same person he was in the beginning. Also, despite the movie being named Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it felt like Hope was barely in this. Hank Pym is just there as well and, while I did find Janet’s backstory with Kang to be interesting, it does not go anywhere by the end. Cassie also represents a problem with the MCU lately and that is just how easy it is to invent futuristic tech. I mean, in the first Iron Man, Tony Stark had to build his suit under intense pressure while being held captive by terrorists. Now in Quantumania, we have a teenager just building a portal to the Quantum Realm in a basement, with their skills to do so not being established beforehand.
Cassie is suddenly a genius inventor in this film when I don’t recall her being established as one in the previous Ant-Man movies.
So, as you can see by my descriptions, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania is a mess overall and a rather grim start to Phase Five. While it does have some good qualities, most notably Jonathan Majors as Kang, the rest of the characters have no arcs, there is a lot of bad humor, and MODOK is the most insufferable comic relief character I have seen in a while. I do have hope for Guardians of the Galaxy: Volume Three but, beyond that, I would say that the MCU is in trouble if it does not get its act together soon.
The cliffhanger of Chapter 120 of Chainsaw Man made me think that we would finally get a reveal of just what is going on with Yoshida.
Instead, we got something kind of funny which, in turn, lead to something much more depressing.
Chapter 121, “Theory of Happiness” begins in the Devil Hunter Club room where Yoshida has got Asa a coffee in the hopes of talking to her.
This makes Asa wonder if he has started to like her since Yoru asked him out.
Yoshida begins the conversation by asking what she was mumbling outside of school.
When Asa explains that she was saying “life is easier on your own,” Yoshida agrees, stating that, while it might be easier to live with another person, there is really no guarantee such a thing will be permanent so a solitary life is less risky.
Yoshida affirming Asa’s “values” makes her believe that the Devil Hunter likes her.
Notice that I put “values” in quotation marks because, despite Asa saying to herself that “life is easier on your own,” everything she does goes against this.
After some reluctance she pursued a friendship with Yuko, then she began to like Denji and was secretly looking forward to going on a second date with him, and now she is anxiously excited at the thought of Yoshida liking her.
Asa is someone who craves social interaction in her life, whether that be friendly or romantic so, even though she claims to want a solitary life, she is just lying to herself.
Such can be seen with Asa’s disappointment when it is revealed that Yoshida actually wants to tell her to stay away from Denji.
The way this is revealed is pretty humurous, as Fujimoto builds up to it with each panel zooming in on Asa and Yoshida’s faces to make you think that Yoshida is about to confess, only for him to say “I want you to stay away from Denji,” in bold, on the next page.
What makes this reveal funnier is how much Yoshida sounds like a jealous lover, not helped by him saying, “you can interpret it however you like.”
His actual reasoning is more likely to be a way to keep Denji’s identity a secret, which the mysterious organization he works for ordered him to do.
However, Yoshida’s change in plan is rather strange.
He was the one who orchestrated the first meeting between Denji and Asa, hoping that if he set them up Denji would have no reason to reveal he was Chainsaw Man.
Now, he is trying to convince Asa to stay away from Denji so what changed?
Maybe he realized that Denji would just want to reveal his identity to Asa anyway, or maybe he became more suspicious of Asa’s power, since he is apparently the only one to notice when Yoru takes over, or maybe it is for some other reason entirely?
Whatever the case, we do not get an answer in this chapter, as the scene then cuts to Denji who is laying on the floor in his apartment, looking depressed after Nayuta convinced him to stay away from Asa.
It is at that moment, however, that Nayuta senses “the nastiest Devil scent I’ve ever smelled.”
She then continuosly slaps Denji’s butt, demanding that he go fight the Devil as Chainsaw Man because she wants to see the fight.
Denji is too sad to fight, until Nayuta points out that a lot of people will like him if he’s Chainsaw Man, even though she will not allow him to get a girlfriend.
We then cut back to Asa, who is walking the streets with Yoru, more depressed than ever.
Yoru actually tries to make Asa feel better about herself but even she looks disturbed at the dark turn Asa’s thoughts take, with her eventually thinking she would be better off dead, heavily implying suicidal thoughts.
It is then that a body crashes down from an apartment building next to Asa in what looks like a suicide.
Yoru immediately takes over Asa’s body, declaring something is wrong, and the two look up to see a bunch of people looking down at them from the apartment building with chillingly emotionless expressions as the chapter ends.
The people staring down at Asa and Yoru really reminded me of the Doll Devils’ power but I do not think this is what it is.
Instead, I think this is most likely going to turn out to be the Suicide Devil.
After all, Asa was just experiencing suicidal thoughts and the man who fell to his death from the building looked like a suicide.
Also the Death Devil is the only horseman we have not seen yet and I feel like the Suicide Devil could be closely connected.
Whatever Devil this turns out to be, Denji is definitley going to try and fight it, which will probably lead to a second confrontation between Yoru and Chainsaw Man.
Overall, “Theory of Happiness” was ironically a rather unhappy chapter, dealing with heavy subject matter like suicical thoughts but I thought Fujimoto handled these subjects well with plenty of realism.
Chapter 119 of Chainsaw Man finally reintroduced Nayuta, a character many of us had been excited to see since the beginning of Part Two.
I, for one, was highly intrigued to see how Denji was raising her, what with the controlling nature of her previous life.
Well, it turned out that Nayuta has quite the controlling streak when it comes to her big brother, as the cliffhanger for Chapter 119 had her attacking Asa when she walked in on her and Denji kissing.
I originally thought that Nayuta was trying to kill Asa but what she actually does in the beginning of Chapter 120, “Triangle”, should have been obvious to me: She turns Asa into a dog.
Not literally of course but Asa is mentally a dog in this moment, barking at Denji and Nayuta’s huskies while Nayuta laughs her head off.
Of course, the character whose past life controlled Denji like a dog in Part One would make Asa a dog in Part Two.
Denji is none too pleased about Nayuta’s actions and demands that she turn Asa back, only for Nayuta to refuse because, “She spit on my property.”
It is readily apparent that, despite Denji’s best efforts, Nayuta still has the controlling aspects of Makima’s character.
This is to expected, however, since Nayuta is literally the Control Devil so being controlling is just in her nature.
As for Denji, he seems to have actually done a good job with Nayuta because he is actually able to talk her down, something he could not do with Makima.
Denji does have to make some concessions to Nayuta in order to free Asa, though.
The first of these is the simple demand of being allowed to eat ice cream every day.
The second is that Denji can no longer be friendly with Asa.
Nayuta does have a good reason for this, however, as she explains that she does not “like her sent,” which probably means she can smell Yoru but does not realize it is the War Devil.
So Nayuta actually does have Denji’s best interests at heart, even though she is a controlling little sister.
Nayuta then explains that she will wipe Asa’s memories to make her think Denji stood her up, and Denji protests this, obviously liking Asa at this point.
In the end, he relents because Nayuta comes first.
Nayuta’s response to this statement is to throw Denji a peace sign, much like Denji does to Kishibe near the end of Part One, again showing how much Nayuta is learning from him.
We then get the final scene of the chapter, where we see Asa standing outside the school, now believing that Denji has stood her up.
Asa then goes full wikipedia article again by detailing every single reason why she is absolutley, totally, one hundred and ten percent not disappointed that Denji forgot their date.
Yoru certainly does not buy Asa’s wikipedia entry excuses and neither does Asa herself, as her posture sags while she is wondering why she is so sad about Denji when she should be focusing on getting her body back.
But then who should show up but none other than the most suspicious character in Chainsaw Man, Yoshida, who offers to keep Asa company, bringing an end to the chapter.
There have been a ton of red flags surrounding Yoshida in Part Two, with him apparently being the only character who can see Yoru’s scars, referencing the Death Devil, and looking up at Fami after everyone escaped the aquarium.
I have seen many theories, from him being the Death Devil himself to him being the fake Chainsaw Man, and I wonder if the next chapter will maybe confirm one of these?
Or, who knows, Yoshida might not have any ulterior motives in this instance and just want to hang out with Asa.
You can never be sure with Fujimoto.
“Triangle” is an intriguing chapter for Chainsaw Man, showing exactly how Denji raising Nayuta has been going and heaping more suspicion upon Yoshida.
It will be interesting to see where these storylines go in the next few chapters.
THE REVIEW MONSTER 