Chainsaw Man Chapter 122, The Prophecies Review: Getting Darker.

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.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 121, Theory of Happiness Review: An Unhappy Chapter.

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.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 120, Triangle Review: Control Makes a Dog.

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.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 119, Thief Review: You Had One Job, Yoru!

I have said it once and I will say it again, “God damn it, Yoru!”
I was excited for Chapter 119 of Chainsaw Man, “Thief”, because all signs pointed to it being the chapter where Nayuta would return to the story.
This turned out to be the case and Tatsuki Fujimoto certainly did not disappoint with her reintroduction.
“Thief” begins with Denji and Asa arriving at his apartment; a building named Tatsuki Apartments, named after Fujimoto himself.
As Denji lets Asa in, he informs her of the rules which will get her killed if she does not follow them.
However, rather than these rules being absurd, the first two are pretty standard stuff: Don’t open any other apartment doors and don’t open the fridge.
The third rule is that Asa should not make out with Denji in front of Nayuta.
This rule in particular is strange because how would Denji know that him kissing a girl is something Nayuta would freak out about?
Has Denji maybe had another girlfriend in the timeskip who Nayuta did not take kindly to?
As for Asa, she is obviously embarrassed by Denji’s insinuation that she wants to make out with him so goes on the offensive, claiming to hate him.
We know this is not the case because she then uses this as an excuse to tell Denji to stay away from her or he will wind up dead.
If Asa did not care about Denji at all then she could just leave him to Yoru.
Asa’s lie about hating Denji causes him to have a bit of downward inner spiral, as he begins to wonder if he stinks like a wet dog.
He turns to ask Asa this only to find that he is not looking at Asa.
The next panel can only be described as a jumpscare, as a grinning Yoru leans in and kisses Denji in what is undoubtedly another attempt to turn him into a weapon.
Yoru screwed up big time, however, because she breaks rule three just as Nayuta shows up after walking the dogs and she sees her making out with her brother.
Nayuta’s response?
To point at Yoru, call her a thief, and send one of the Control Devil’s chains straight through her head, bringing an end to the chapter.
It was great to see Nayuta again and her attack on Yoru was certainly in character.
Of course, the reincarnation of the Control Devil would see Denji as a possession, wanting to keep any girl from stealing her big brother’s attention.
Nayuta even looks like Makima here, with the hair braid.
Yoru really should have followed rule three.
She had one job and she blew it.
The outcome of this will definitley be interesting to see because Yoru will have to recognize Nayuta as the Control Devil now and will certainly have questions about why she is in Denji’s care.
Denji will also probably learn that Asa has a Devil sharing her body when he sees that she survived Nayuta’s attack.
I am eager to see what will happen in two weeks time, when the next chapter is released.
“Thief” was yet another fantastic Chainsaw Man chapter.
It was short but it had a lot of funny little details, like Denji and Nayuta counting their farts each month.
However, it was Nayuta’s return that was the standout in this chapter and I cannot wait to see how she will factor into the future of the story.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 118, Saying Goodbye Review: Control Incoming.

Chapter 117 of Chainsaw Man had one of the most intriguing cliffhangers of Part Two so far, as we were left wondering if Yoru would succeed in turning Denji into a weapon.
My theory was that she would and that this would lead to a comedic reveal for her and Asa learning that Denji is Chainsaw Man, when he manages to survive being decapitated and turned into a sword.
Another theory that was thrown around was that nothing would happen to Denji because it seems he is unaffected by Devil powers, like with the Doll Devil back in the International Assassins Arc.
This latter theory seems to have been the correct one because indeed nothing happens to Denji in Chapter 118, despite Yoru’s attempts to weaponize him.
Fujimoto definitley attempted to scare the readers into believing that this would be Denji’s end, however, as he titled the Chapter “Saying Goodbye”, and the first panel is of a murder of crows flying away in a moment that seems like sinister foreshaowing, only to cut to Denji staring at Yoru, incredibly confused.
What follows is multiple panels of an also incredibly confused Yoru screaming “Denji Spinal Cord Sword!” repeatedly.
In typical Denji fashion, he misinterprets this as some kind of weird goodbye from Asa, so places a hand on her head and shouts, “Asa Spinal Cord Sword!” before leaving.
Yoru is very confused about not being able to weaponize Denji and Asa speculates that it is because Denji does not have feelings for her yet.
I am curious to see if this is actually the reason or if it was because of Denji’s immunity to Devil curses, as I stated earlier.
If it is the former then there is still a possibility of Yoru weaponizing Denji in the future.
Asa, however, wants to focus on Fami but Yoru is dismissive, simply stating that her big sister is crazy and Asa should steer clear of her, before comedically flopping down onto Asa’s bed and falling asleep immediately.
Yoru falling asleep quickly seems to be a trend with her.
As for her relationship with Fami, I am curious to see why Yoru considers her to be crazy.
As Yoru lies sleeping, Asa thinks about Denji and seems depressed that Denji seemingly does not like her, before this depression humourously transforms into indignaiton.
Unfortnately for Denji, this leads to Asa acting rather coldly towards him the next day as he lays out a plan for their date.
Rather than agreeing to go on a movie marathon with him, Asa instead demands they use his VCR at home to watch movies.
Denji panics about this but in the end he agrees on the condition that Asa follow all of his house’s rules because if she does not then she could die.
Dear god, what kind of house is Nayuta running?
In all seriousness, I am now incredibly excited for the next chapter because we will probably finally be reintroduced to Nayuta and see how her personality has been reshaped from Makima after the end of Part One, and if Yoru will recognize her.
I am also curious to see why Haruka is now stalking Asa and Denji.
It is probably because he recognized Asa’s power somehow in the previous chapter but exactly what he recognied about it remains to be seen.
It’s going to be a long two week wait to see what will happen next.
“Saying Goodbye” is another great Chainsaw Man chapter which hypes up the return of Nayuta well.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 117, Penguin and Weapon Review: Damn it, Yoru!

The cliffhanger for Chapter 116 of Chainsaw Man raised a lot of questions about what would happen next.
Well, the cliffhanger for Chapter 117 “Penguin and Weapon” just topped that with the best cliffhanger for Part Two of the manga so far.
“Penguin and Weapon” begins with, well, a penguin.
While Asa uses the one million yen to buy the endless aquarium in her mind, Deni begins to have an internal debate, remembering that he decided to stop mindlessly obeying girls, yet still pondering continuing to do so because Asa offered him anything he wanted.
However, Denji is distracted from his inner thoughts when he sees a penguin and grabs it just as Asa transforms the aquarium into a weapon, freeing her and the rest of the captives from the Eternity Devil’s hold.
What follows is an epic panel of Asa facing off against the enraged Eternity Devil who calls her a moron for thinking she could buy an aquarium with just a million yen.
He then goes to attack her, while cursing Fami, only for Yoshida to interfere with the Octopus Devil, giving Yoru enough time to take control of Asa’s body.
Yoru then proceeds to give the aquarium back to the Eternity Devil, chucking her weapon at it, which launches a whole school of fish and sharks through the Eternity Devil’s stomach, killing it.
As Yoru revels in her victory, we get some interesting reactions from two of the other characters.
The first of these is Haruka, who seems to recognise Asa and Yoru’s power.
This would make sense if he knows about Fami being a Devil.
Much more interesting, however, is Yoshida, who spies Fami looking down at Asa in disappointment.
Yoshida and Fami then have a brief stare down.
So Yoshida definitley knows who Fami is.
This and his mention of the Death Devil in a previous chapter make him the most suspicious character in the manga, right now.
I am incredibly curious to see exactly what he knows and what his motives are.
In the aftermath of their escape, Denji is sadly forced to part ways with his penguin before walking Asa home.
Denji then decides what he wants from Asa; another date, as he will teach her how to have great ones.
Of course, in typical Fujimoto fashion, this wholesome moment is interrupted by something screwed up.
Yoru appears and senses that Asa now has feelings for Denji and proceeds with her plan, taking control of Asa’s body, placing a hand on Denji’s head and saying, “Denji spinal cord sword.”
Damn it, Yoru; they were having a moment!
The chapter then ends on this massive cliffhanger of Yoru trying to weaponize Denji, like she did Asa’s teacher.
Just like with the Chapter 116 cliffhanger, the question is, “will this work?”
It would be pretty awkward for nothing to happen, as Denji just stands there thinking Asa’s weird.
However, I think it will work, and Yoru will make a weapon out of Denji’s decaptiated head and spinal cord.
That being said, Denji is definitley not dying.
We have seen that he is pretty much immortal in Part One of the manga.
I think only removing Pochita’s heart can truly kill him.
So next chapter, I would not be surprised to see Yoru boasting about having a new weapon, while Asa freaks out, only for Denji’s decapitated head to also start freaking out, this causing Yoru to join Asa in freaking out.
In one promotional image for the manga, we saw Asa holding a chainsaw, and I think this was symbolising her and Yoru weaponizing Denji’s chainsaw abilities while he is still alive due to his immortality.
Once this whole debacle is over with, I can definitley see Denji, Asa and Yoru working togethor to fight Fami, and maybe Yoshida if he turns out to be against them.
This is all assuming that Yoru’s attempt to weaponize Denji works, though.
Maybe Fujimoto has something else planned.
After the cliffhanger, I am eager to see what will happen in Chapter 118.

Chainsaw Man Episode Twelve, Katana vs Chainsaw Review: The Contest to End All Contests.

Episode Twelve, “Katana vs Chainsaw” is the final episode of the Chainsaw Man adaptation’s first season, and what a fantastic point to end it on.
Directed by the series’ overall director Ryū Nakayama, “Katana vs Chainsaw” picks up with the fight between Aki and the Ghost Devil the previous episode ended on.
Aki is currently being strangled by the Ghost Devil and passes out, only to hallucinate a prior exchange with Himeno, where she offered him a cigarette, only to take it back when she learned he was underage, promising to hold onto it for him.
When Aki opens his eyes, the Ghost Devil is holding out a cigarette with “EASY REVENGE” written on it.
Some part of Himeno seems to have survived inside the Ghost Devil and, remembering what she told him about the Ghost Devil only being able to see through fear, Aki uses this to climb the Devil and decaptitate it, leaving only Sawatari to deal with.
Before Sawatari can call on the Snake Devil, however; Kobeni sneaks up behind her and puts a knife under her throat.
Aki asks why she stayed with Public Saftey, causing Kobeni to humorously respond that it was because their bonuses are coming up.
While this is happening, Denji and Power are riding up in an elevator to confront Katana Man, only to stop on a floor full of zombies.
Rather than take the elevator up away from them, Power instead launches herself into the zombies, crying out for Denji to watch her slaughter them.
Instead, Denji takes the elevator up, while an oblivious Power continues to obliterate the zombies
Eventually, Denji reaches Katana Man, who explains that he is prepared to give up so long as Denji allows himself to be killed by him.
Denji refuses and Katana Man attempts to manipulate him, again bringing up Denji not feeling empathy because he apparently lacks a human heart.
Denji may not be smart but he is clever enough to see through this and he cheerfully refuses again, leading to the final fight between him and Katana Man.
The two crash out of the building, eventually taking the fight atop a train with some truly excellent CGI.
They eventually crash inside the train, with Katana Man using his speed ability to cut both of Denji’s arms off before demanding he apologise for his grandfathr’s death.
This was Katana Man’s mistake, however, because Denji uses this to lure him into another attack, drawing his attention to his head while Denji uses a chainsaw in his foot to cut Katana Man in half.
“Didn’t the geezer teach you that beasts shouldn’t trust anything a hunter says?” Denji shouts, showing exactly what he learned from Kishibe and how much his training paid off.
When Katana Man regenerates, Deni ties him up to the train tracks.
However, much like Katana Man wanted satisfaction by killing Deni to avenge his grandfather, Denji too wants satisfaction for Himeno’s death so he decides to hold the contest to end all contest.
Aki then arrives and Denji gives the rules of the contest.
He and Aki will kick Katana Man in the nuts until the police show up and whoever gets the loudest scream wins his family jewels.
Aki is reluctant, until he again looks at the “EASY REVENGE!” cigarette and decides to compete.
Watching Deni and Aki kick Katana Man in the nuts over and over again to wholesome music was absolutley hilarious.
I like to think that Aki got the loudest scream as Katana Man’s screams serve as a reqiuem for Himeno.
The credits then begin to roll, with Makima reporting on the events of the raid and what they learned, primarily that Sawatari’s deal with the Gun Devil was to obtain Denji’s heart.
However, before they could find out why, Sawatari was killed by the Snake Devil in an apparent suicide part of her contract with the Gun Devil.
Makima then tells her superior that the Gun Devil parts they recovered have begun to move towards the main body, although the ED, “Fight Song” by Eve, begins before we can learn which direction it has started to move.
The ED shows Denji, Power and Aki going about their daily life after the Katana Man raid and it was a good final ED to end on.
Pretty much all of the ED’s are high quality, with them having great music and visuals, showing just how much care went into this anime.
After the ED, we get another anime original scene of Aki, as we see him go outside and smoke the “EASY REVENGE!” cigarette in what is probably his final goodbye to Himeno.
As this is happening, Denji is having a nightmare about the mysterious door, just like he did in Episode One, tying the opening of Season One up with its ending.
Just as Denji approaches the door, he hears Pochita on the other side, ordering Denji not to open it.
The episode then ends with a teaser, as an unseen female character walks through an alleywar towards a cafe, stating, “Tell me Denji, between the country mouse and the city mouse, which would you rather be?”
To anime only watchers, this tease will not mean much but, as a manga reader, it makes me incredibly excited for whatever follows, whether that be a Chainsaw Man Season Two or a movie to cover the next arc.
Overall, “Katana vs Chainsaw” was a fantastic final episode, delivering incredibly well animated fight and nut kicking scenes, alongside excellent music.
It is absolutley apparent that the people who made this anime love Chainsaw Man, as this is easily one of the best adaptations of a manga out there.
Hats off to you and your team Mappa.
I cannot wait to see what comes next for the Chainsaw Man anime.

Manga Spoilers:
As a manga reader, it was exciting to see Reze get teased at the end of the episode.
She is one of the best antagonists in Part One and brings up one of the big themes of the story, which is the whole country mouse vs city mouse argument.
I am curious to see if the Bomb Girl Arc that centers on her will be adapted as a movie or in a Season Two.
After all, the Bomb Girl Arc is short enough to be contained in a movie.
Although, it might be better for the pacing of the series overall for it to be kept for a Season Two.
Season Two could be the Bomb Girl and International Assassins Arc, and then Season Three could be the Gun Devil Arc and the Control Devil Arc, before moving onto Part Two.
Whichever it turns out to be, though, either a movie or Season Two, I will eagerly anticipate the return of the Chainsaw Man anime because of how amazing this adaptation was.

Chainsaw Man Episode Eleven, Mission Start Review: The Future Rules!

Episode Eleven of Chainsaw Man, “Mission Start” picks up from the cliffhanger of Aki going in to make a contract with the Future Devil.
The cliffhanger made the Future Devil out to be an incredibly scary devil so there is a lot of comedic catharsis to see it is a hip Devil who constantly screams “The future rules!”
Directed by Masato Nakazono and Takeshi Satō the episode opening follows this comedic reveal, and then continues to detail Aki’s coversation with the Future Devil, who demands Aki say “The future rules” as well.
Instead, Aki tells the Future Devil he has come to make a contract, deflating the Future Devil’s excitement.
In all honesty, though, it was probably not a smart idea for Aki to refuse to play along with the Future Devil after learning it has such a hefty price for its contracts.
If it were me, I would have been screaming “The future rules!” right along with the Devil.
Aki’s lucky that the Future Devil decided the terms of his contract by reading his future, and his terms are quite generous at that.
The Future Devil will allow Aki to see a few seconds into the future when fighting, and, in return, Aki will allow it to live inside his right eye.
Aki is understandablly suspicious of the generous contract but the Future Devil explains that it saw Aki’s death will be the “f***ing worst,” and it wants a front row seat.
There was originally a mistranslation of this line, as the Future Devil said Aki’s death would “f***ing rule” so it is good that they changed it to be closer to the original meaning.
As for Aki himself, he is not bothered by the Future Devil’s prophecy, instead demanding it get in his eye to complete the contract.
Meanwhile, Kishibe has finished killing Denji and Power for what is probably the hundreth times by now.
Only, this time, they appear to have landed a blow on him, as Kishibe wipes away the blood from a cut on his cheek.
Impressed with their efforts, he decides to only train them once a week, before telling them that tomorrow they are going after Sawatari and Katana Man.
However, he does warn Denji and Power that if the mission goes bad then he will have to kill the both of them.
Unperturbed by this, Denji explains that if he fights Kishibe then he will spare him because his training increased his chances of hooking up with Makima.
Speak of the devil, the next scene is between Makima and Kishibe, who meet up for drinks.
Makima thanks Kishibe for training Denji and Power but Kishibe says he is sick of them already because he has come to care about them, and every time someone he trains and then cares about dies he ends up drinking more.
Kishibe then accuses Makima of knowing the attack against the Special Divisions would happen and not doing anything to stop it.
However, he says he will let such actions slide as long as her actions benefit humanity.
Makima then goes on a speech about how her actions will achieve just that, only for Kishibe to call her a liar, to which Makima’s small smile returns.
This is one of my favourite Kishibe scenes because it tells us plenty about his character.
His incessant drinking is caused by the guilt he feels for lost pupils, yet, despite this guilt, he is willing to let them die so long as it benefits humanity as a whole.
He is also one of the few to actually call Makima out on her manipulative actions.
The next morning, we see what the Yakuza is up to, with Katana Man and Sawatari preparing for Division Four’s attack.
The boss of the Yakuza has been moved but Katana Man and Sawatari plan to stay, and use their zombie army left over from Katana Man’s grandfather’s contract with the Zombie Devil to deal with Division Four.
At the same time, Aki is returning with Tendo and Kurose, the later of whom berates him for his unrealistic mission to kill the Gun Devil.
Aki counters this by stating that he knows it is unrealistic but he could not go on without that mission, telling Kurose he is free to laugh at him if he loses and dies against the Gun Devil.
This seems to earn Kurose’s respect, as he tells Aki he is routing for him, delivering the same advice he was given, “Everyone who works in the Special Division is crazy, so watch yourself.”
He and Tendo then leave, presumably for Kyoto.
As for Makima, she is meeting with the yakuza boss that was spoken of earlier, along with his men.
The boss explains that it was Sawatari who roped Katana Man and the others into dealing with the Gun Devil and is cooperative until Makima requests the names of those contracted with the Gun Devil in other crime families.
This causes the boss to go on a familiar rant about “necessary evils,” which Katana Man spoke of in his introduction in refrence to his grandfather.
The boss compares himself to a Devil Hunter, protecting Japan from other Mafia families, like how the Devil Hunters protect people from the Devils.
Makima, however, rightly points out that this is just to justify the boss’ own evil actions.
She goes on to state her belief that the only true necessary evil is one where “the nation itself is holding the lesh and maintaining control.”
This is why she is so horrifying calm when she presents the yakuza boss and his underlings with the eyes of their loved ones, using their return as blackmail to get what she wants.
While this exchange is happening, Division Four finally begins their raid on Katana Man and Sawatari’s base of operations.
Outside, Kishibe debriefs the police, explaining they need to be on the lookout, not for escaping yakuza but escaping fiends and Devils who work for Division Four, just in case they get loose.
We then get a showcase of these creatures in an action sequence, meeting the Shark Fiend (Natsuki Hanae), the Violence Fiend (Yuya Uchida) , the Spider Devil (Saori Goto) and the Angel Devil (Maaya Uchida), all of whom take on the zombies in well directed and bloody action.
Denji, Aki and Power fight alongside them, resulting in Aki and the Angel Devil interacting, where Aki is brave enough to get closer to the Angel Devil, despite the fact that physical contact will drain his already short life span, and the Angel Devil then saves Aki’s life from gunfire.
Aki decides to leave the zombies to the fiends, while he, Denji and Power split up to search for Sawatari and Katana Man.
While searching, Aki is able to incapcitate one yakuza member, probably thanks to his new future sight power, but quickly finds himself overwhelmed, only for Makima’s help to come in key again, as the men all slump to the floor dead with bloody noses, just as the yakuza who threatened Makima earlier did.
Makima emerges from the yakuza boss’ base, the fate of the boss and his underlings unknown.
We then get the final scene of the episode, as Aki locates Sawatari, only for her to have the Snake Devil spit out the Ghost Devil, which Aki is forced to fight using his future sight in more extremely well animated action.
There are too many limbs for Aki to keep track of, however, and he eventually ends up getting caught, with Sawatari ordering the Ghost Devil to strangle him to death.
The episode then ends with things looking pretty grim for Aki, closing off with the ED “Violence” by Queen Bee.
All in all, “Mission Start” is another great Chainsaw Man episode.
Going into it, I was actually wondering if it would adapt enough content so the next episode could end with finishing the Katana Man Arc.
This concern was unfounded since the next episode did end with the conclusion of that arc, along with some hints for future arcs, which I am excited for.

Manga Spoilers:
While I was glad to see that the mistranslation of Aki’s death got cleared up, I still think the manga translation of Aki dying “in the worst possible way” is better.
It later ties in with the Future Devil saying Aki died “in the worst possible way… for the chainsaw boy.”
Although this line could still be made to work.
Maybe the Future Devil will say, “Your death was the f***ing worst… for the chainsaw boy.”
Speaking of allusions to the future, though, the scene where the yakuza boss says that the Gun Devil required money for a contract is interesting, considering that it is later revealed that the Gun Devil has already been defeated and parts of its are held by different countries.
So, rather than the Gun Devil requring money for the contract, its whatever shady government organization which required money to sell the guns through Sawatari.
The last spoiler detail I would like to talk about is Aki’s character development, or rather the setup for it.
He tells Kurose in this episode that without his unrealisitic desire for revenge against the Gun Devil, he would have nothing.
This makes Aki’s character arc one of the best in the story, given where he ends up as, by his conclusion, he is willing to throw away his mission to kill the Gun Devil entirely so he can keep Denji and Power safe.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 116, Taste of Starfish Review: Endless Wholesomeness in the Endless Aquarium.

In my review for Chapter 114 of Chainsaw Man, one criticism I had was that it felt too similar to the Eternity Devil Arc.
Well, Chapter 115 began to fix this issue by having fantastic character build up and interactions.
Now, Chapter 116, “Taste of Starfish”, has completed this fix, delivering a wholesome experience in the endless aquarium.
“Taste of Starfish” begins in the starfish tank where Denji offered Asa a starfish to eat in the previous chapter’s cliffhanger.
The Kobeni clone is now there and licking the glass in a state of delirium but Asa and Deni ignore him.
Asa points out which of the starfish are edible and also explains the problem that they would have to boil the starfish to avoid their toxins.
Leaving and sitting down in a room with a lot of gathered hats, Asa and Denji cook the starfish.
As they cook, Asa questions Denji about the hats and he explains that he gathered them so he could sell them all.
No doubt remembering Denji ripping off homeless people for money and stealing money from the handbag, Asa questions why Denji wants money so bay.
Denji replies that he has a “Sorta-friend… sorta-little sister”, obviously referring to Nayuta.
He believes that she is smart enough to go to college so is trying to get the money to pay for it all, wanting her to live a good life.
There is a lot to read in Asa’s expression in the following panel, and I think she is showing a mix of surprise and guilt.
Surprise at Denji’s reason for ripping people off being such an understandable one, and guilt at how she was planning to weaponize him for a time.
The two then eat their starfish but something about her interaction with Denji gives Asa the courage to try fish as well.
The revolted faces she pulls as she eats causes Denji to laugh, declaring that she is fun to watch, despite being a bore.
Denji’s compliments cause a massive boost of self confidence in Asa, as she shouts that she is an interesting woman and glad he noticed, while blushing.
This self-boasting is very reminiscent of Power and Denji notices this too as he tells Asa that she “reminds me of an old friend.”
Asa asks if this is a good thing but, before she can get a response, she is distracted by the endless amount of hats Deni gathered and this leads to her thinking of a plan to get them out of the aquarium loop.
The first step in her plan is an unusual one: collecting money.
What follows is a wholesome montage of theft as Denji and Asa run across the aquarium in a panel very similar to Asa and Yuko running togethor in Chapter 100.
The two steal money and laugh as they go, until they have collected over a million yen.
Asa then tells Denji to give her all of the money for the next step in her plan.
Denji outright refuses, until Asa promise to grant him any request once they’re out, to which Deni instantly sells out.
Oh, Denji.
You may have had a lot of character development but some things about you just never changed.
Now with the money, Asa tells Denji to stand away and close his eyes.
Once Denji has done this, Asa again urges herself to be confident.
She then walks over to one of the tanks, places her hands upon it, lays down the money, saying she is using it to buy the aquarium, and then says “Aquarium Spear,” bringing an end to the chapter.
So Asa’s whole plan is to “buy” the aquarium with the money she and Denji stole, making it hers, and then turn it into a weapon, which will generate an endless amount of weapons due to the loop, which will they will then use to somehow kill the Eternity Devil.
It’s an incredibly creative plan that is pure Fujimoto.
As for whether it will work, I think the Aquarium Spear part will.
Like Asa said, “It doesn’t matter how crazy the logicis. It’s a matter of my own perception.”
Asa may not be capable of actually buying the aquarium but her performing a fake transaction could be enough to create the perception of the aquarium being hers, allowing her to weaponize it against the Eternity Devil.
It will be interesting to see how this weapon is used in the next chapter.
What I am more interested in, however, is the chance to see Denji and Asa interact again.
Their banter and growth this chapter was endless wholesomeness and really made me think Fujimoto might be going down the romantic route for the two of them.
Time will tell.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 115, High Schoolers These Days Review: Can You Eat Death?

Chapter 115 of Chainsaw Man, “High Schoolers These Days”, is a short one compared to others in Part Two, yet it is far from short on important character moments.
My biggest criticism of Chapter 114 was that it felt like we were retreading old ground with a repeat of the Eternity Devil Arc but this chapter offered plenty of interesting build up for the characters, which made me more interested in them.
The first of these characters is Haruka, as he is supposedly revealed to have actually been a red herring for the fake Chainsaw Man.
He reveals this to Asa in the opening few pages of the chapter, stating that the starter on his chest is just a surgical implant he got because he styles himself as one of Chainsaw Man’s biggest fans.
Back when Haruka first showed up, and supposedly revealed himself to Asa as the fake Chainsaw Man, I wondered if he was a red herring but I dismissed this after a bit because I figured it made sense due to his proximity to Fami.
Well, turns out my earlier insticts were right, unless Fujimoto is going for a double red herring, setting Haruka up to be the fake Chainsaw Man, only to reveal he is not, only then to reveal that he is.
Would not put that past Fuijimoto to be honest.
A character who is more interesting than Haruka, though, is Yoshida, who became even more suspcious with his dialogue in this chapter.
As Haruka screams and wails for Chainsaw Man to save him, Yoshida tells Denji that is his cue but Denji explains that he can’t kill the Eternity Devil without knowing where it is.
Yoshida then reveals that he has a flip phone like Asa but he cannot get a signal.
He then states that everyone has given up, although Akoku does seem to be training for a fight so I don’t know about him.
As for the Kobeni clone, he is licking the aquarium glass, much like Kobeni tried to drink out of a toilet in the Eternity Devil Arc, so Yoshida is right about most of them losing hope.
But then he says something highly suspicious.
Claiming that he has accepted death, Yoshida wonders aloud if Chainsaw Man could eat the Death Devil so they would not have to die.
Given the focus on the Four Horeseman in Part Two, with Yoru and Fami’s appearanes leaving only the Death Devil to be revealed, Yoshida’s casual mention of having Denji eat it makes it seem like he knows more than he is letting on.
This paints both him and the mysterious organization he is working for in an incredibly suspicious light.
The answers to the questions this scene poses will probably not arrive for a long time, however, as we then cut to to the final scene of the chapter, which sees Denji talking with a depressed Asa, who is resting in the the star fish tank.
Denji seems to think Yoshida has lost it, based on what he tells Asa, and asks how she is holding up.
Asa says she is hungry but cannot eat fish, before apologising to Denji for asking him on this date, even revealing that she wanted to turn him into a weapon, although Denji probably does not get what she is talking about.
Asa says she could not transform Denji into a weapon because she has no idea what’s right and wrong, as her life has just been one long string of attempts to avoid making mistakes.
She says this is why she is a bore, depressingly accepting Yoru’s criticism of her back in Chapter 113.
Instead of agreeing with her, however, Denji aims to cheer her up, jumping into the tank with her and offering her a starfish to eat.
This final act in the chapter is pretty important, not only because it shows Asa and Denji growing closer but also because it shows that, despite Asa admitting that she is a bore, her earlier boring lecture actually had an effect on Denji, since he clearly remembered her saying, “Fun fact, there’s an area in Kumamoto where they eat starfish.”
Another interesting connection to Chapter 113 is that Asa’s comment that she has, “no idea what’s right or wrong,” perfectly matches up with Fami’s description of Denji: “Denji’s someone who doesn’t know the first thing about right and wrong.”
The similarities between the two keep piling up.
Denji and Asa’s conversation serves as the chapter’s ending and it is definitley my favourite interaction of theirs yet, as it made me look forward to the two growing closer even more, although this will probably end in tragedy knowing Fujimoto.
Overall, “High Schoolers These Days” is a brief yet great chapter of Chainsaw Man.
It supposedly reveals Haruka as a red herring, makes Yoshida incredibly suspicious, and builds up Denji and Asa’s friendship/eventual relationship(?) perfectly.