Chainsaw Man Episode Six, Kill Denji Review: A Nobel Prize Deserving Episode.

Episode Six of Chainsaw Man, “Kill Denji” is the best episode in the history of anime and one could even call it a nobel prize contender.
No, this review is not written by Power.
In all seriousness, the Shun Enokido directed episode is another great one, delivering a fantastic adaptation of the manga with as usual stellar animation.
“Kill Denji” picks up from the cliffhanger of “Gun Devil”, where Division 4 found themselves stuck in a loop on the eighth floor of an apartment building.
The opening of “Kill Denji” follows this up by showing how this loop works, using Kobeni.
First, Himeno has the terrified woman make a peace sign and then runs down the stairs of the eighth floor, emerging at the top.
She sees Kobeni still pulling the peace sign, meaning that there is no illusion going on.
Aki then invesitgates the rooms and learns that the windows connect to the rooms on the opposite side of the apartment, leading back into the eighth floor hallway.
They are well and truly trapped.
Following the opening, the squad debriefs in one of the rooms, establishing that even trying to go through the ceiling leads back to the eighth floor.
The situation is grim and Kobeni is certainly not helping matters, being on the verge of hysterics.
Arai tries to motivate her by mentioning how she joined the Devil Hunters to put her brother through college.
This does the exact opposite of calm Kobeni down because she revealed her parents forced her to get a job to put her brother through college, when she wanted to go too, giving her the choice to either become a Devil Hunter or a sex worker.
A tragic backstory, which Power finds to be utterly hilarious, as she breaks into laughter at Kobeni’s terrified face.
Denji and Power are the only ones in the group not alarmed by their situation as, when Aki says time may be frozen so help is probably not coming, Denji is happy about this because it gives him plenty of time to get some sleep.
He actually manages to do so before being awoken by Himeno.
In the time that Denji has been asleep, Aki has been constantly searching for the Devil, Arai has since locked himself in his room in a panic, and Kobeni tried to drink out of a toilet so Himeno knocked her out.
Most disturbing of all is Power who, in a fit of madness, reveals her plan to win a Nobel Prize so that she can raise sales taxes by 100%, just to see humans suffer!
Oh, wait, no, that’s just how Power always is.
My bad.
True to form, Power is disappointed that Himeno is so calm, and Himeno explains this is because Aki is working hard, revealing that she was the one who introduced him to cigarettes.
Bad Himeno.
We then flash back to Himeno and Aki working togethor as partners, where Himeno tried to convince Aki to start smoking so they could get along better.
Aki refused because “it’s bad for your bones.”
Good Aki.
Himeno explains that most Devil Hunters take up smoking because, with the death rate being what it is, most do not have to worry about living long enough to be affected.
Aki says he plans to live a long time and Himeno says he should because “it’s a pain in the ass when your partner dies.”
This serves as a perfect transition to Himeno being assaulted by the girlfriend of her deceased partner.
Himeno reveals to Aki that this happens regularly, as her partners’ families cannot take their pain out on the devils so they do so on her.
Offended, Aki sneaks before the woman who slapped Himeno and puts gum on her back as revenge.
This juvinile kind of humor is classic Chainsaw Man, and it cheers up Himeno immediately, as she later tells Aki that her master told her that the Devil Hunters the Devils fear most are the ones with a few screws loose.
So, Denji and Power should be fine then.
Himeno then finally convinces Aki to smoke, who swears it will be his only one.
Cue a comedic cut to the present, where Aki enters the room and demands a cigarette from Himeno.
Bad Aki.
Aki reveals that the Devil Power killed has returned and become larger.
Now a giant mass of squirming faces and limbs, the Devil offers a contract to the group: kill Denji and feed it to the Devil and they will be allowed to leave.
A terrified Kobeni jumps at this offer immediately, running to stab Denji, only to be knocked out by Himeno and Aki.
Afterwards, the two attempt to kill the Devil with their own Devil contracts but they have no effect.
Himeno then reveals that if they actually do kill Denji then they will be allowed to leave because the Devil offered a contract and contracts are life binding to a Devil.
Like Kobeni, Arai also wants to kill Denji to ensure their escape but Aki knows this will benefit the Devil so refuses.
Himeno is team agree with Aki and Power is team murder Denji for her nobel prize.
As time goes on, Aki contemplates using his sword to kill the Devil but since this will take many years off his life Himeno refuses, and tells Denji that if it really comes to that then they will have to kill him after all.
Unfortunately, at that exact time, Aki discovers that Power has eaten all their food.
Kobeni loses it, believing Power is somehow behind everything.
Arai speaks up for Power, only for Kobeni to declare that he is a spy too.
“He’s spicy!” Power says in a show of humorous support.
Kobeni runs towards Arai in a threatening manner and their combined fear and screams give power to the Devil, which begins to expand further, revealing itself to be the Eternity Devil.
The Eternity Devil grows so large that it causes the hallway to tilt up, forcing everyone to hide in their rooms.
Aki resolves to use the sword, causing Himeno to suddenly switch to team kill Denji, and she, Kobeni and Arai rush to complete the contract.
Kobeni lunges at Denji with her knife, only for Aki to take the stab.
As the group look on in shock, and Power works to stop the bleeding, Aki explains that he needs all the help he can get to kill the Gun Devil so will not allow anyone to kill Denji.
This causes Himeno to panic and Kobeni to selfishly blame Denji for her stabbing Aki.
The latter action, along with pretty much everything Kobeni does this episode, has caused her a lot of backlash in the fandom.
This is entirely understandable, if you ask me, because I disliked her here too when I read the manga.
Her blaming Denji does motivate him to attack the Eternity Devil, though, with his new plan being to torture it to death using his chainsaws.
Denji jumps down into the mouth of the Eternity Devil and falls through an endless abyss in a great shot that brings an end to the episode.
Overall, “Kill Denji” is yet another great Chainsaw Man episode that adapts the manga excellently.
It is has plenty of laughs and plenty of character development.
Someone give “Kill Denji” the nobel prize.

Manga Spoilers:
While I do understand why people hate Kobeni after this episode, considering I disliked her at this point in the manga too, I am curious to see what their opinions will be of her later in the story.
I came around to her character after she saved Denji from Katana Man and only felt more sorry for her as she went through so much hilarious misery throughout the rest of the manga.
It will be interesting to see if anime only viewers will come to feel the same way about her character or if they will just keep hating her.
We will not get Kobeni’s big redemption moment until a couple of episodes, though, and we have a lot to look forward to before that, especially with the next episode and Denji’s infamous first kiss, one of the funniest and most disgusting moments in the entire manga.
I am curious if the next episode will end with Makima being shot because that seems like a good cliffhanger but it might make the episode too long so it will most likely end with Denji at Himeno’s house.
Whatever ending for the next episode they decide to go with, I am still excited to see it tomorrow.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 111, Aha Ha Ha Ha Review: An Imposter?

Going into Chainsaw Man Chapter 111, “Aha Ha Ha Ha”, I was expecting Fujimoto to lay the groundwork for Yuko’s story going forward.
Instead, in a typical Fujimoto move, we got the unexpected, as he proceeded to wrap up Yuko’s story in a satisying way but also a way that raises many interesting questions.
The chapter picks up from the cliffhanger of the last, with Asa opening the door to speak to Yuko, who has now turned into a Devil resembling a Fiend, although one with her mind still intact.
Asa asks if Yuko wants to eat her and the following exchange had me cackling.
“Oh, gosh. A little bit,” Yuko says, to which Asa replies, “Holy crap.”
I just love Fujimoto’s humor.
Turning away from Asa so she will not want to eat her, Yuko explains that she came to say goodbye to her, as she has a distant relative she plans to go to who is a Devil Hunter.
This reminds me of the old theory of her being related to Kusakabe but he’s dead so he can’t be the relative she is referring to.
It will be interesting to see if this relative becomes important, or if he is never mentioned again because of what happens later in the chapter.
After telling Asa what she plans to do, Yuko also reveals her reasons for accepting the Justice Devil’s power were not just to help Asa.
She accepted because she wanted to become liked like Chainsaw Man.
She helped Asa for selfish reasons as well because she was lonley and wanted a friend.
Yuko goes on to denounce her crimes while using the Justice Devil’s power and, when Asa attempts to console her over this, one of Yuko’s new tail-spike things wraps itself around her neck and begins to strangle her, without Yuko telling it to.
Realizing it is dangerous to stay around Asa, Yuko goes to leave.
Before she does, however, she tells Asa that the Justice Devil is still at the school.
It would seem that the Justice Devil is the main antagonist of Part Two.
The Justice Devil still being at the school does make me curious, though.
Does this mean that the Justice Devil was actually not killed with the class president in Chapter 98 and then reincarnated?
Is it just hanging out at the school, handing out powers to students, which is what we saw the class president and then Yuko using?
We have very little time to consider this question before Yuko prepares to leave, only to be stopped by Asa, who returns the shoes Yuko gave her, since she is barefoot.
Yuko tries to refuse the shoes but Asa throws her words from Chapter 100 right back at her.
“If you don’t need them, sell ’em. If they won’t sell, you can just throw them away.”
This beautiful moment really brings the friendship of Asa and Yuko full circle, and I was kicking myself by the end of the chapter for not realizing this was an obvious death flag for Yuko.
Yuko then says she can’t beleive she said something so embarassing, before the two friends laugh togethor, ending with Yuko accepting the shoes and promising to return them to Asa later.
It is a promise she will never be able to keep.
We then see Yuko jumping across the rooftops, startling a bunch of birds, before we get a line of panels of Asa, Denji and the bully girl in their beds.
The panel of the unnamed bully girl confirms to me that Fujimoto will make her an important character in the future.
Maybe she really does know Denji is Chainsaw Man, or maybe she will try to actually befriend Asa after seeing her try to fight him.
It will be interesting to see what Fujimoto has in store for this character.
Just as interesting is the panel of a sleeping Denji, whom is still keeping Makima’s dogs.
In the panel of him, we see a small mop of black hair just below his face.
This is almost undoubtedly our first look at Nayuta in Part One.
Hopefully, this means that Fujimoto will be showing us more of her.
The final panel in this line of sleeping faces is that of Yuko, whom appears to be sleeping out on a building, until the next page shows she has been decapitated, her body dangling in the arm of a Devil, whose shadow looks exactly like Chainsaw Man, bringing an end to the chapter.
This cliffhanger raises so many questions because it is pretty clear that the Devil who killed Yuko is not Denji.
We see him sleeping a couple of panels before Yuko is killed.
So who is this Devil and why does he look like Chainsaw Man?
I have heard various theories, from it somehow being Pochita, to another hybrid similar in appearance to Chainsaw Man, to it actually being a Devil born from the fear of Chainsaw Man.
Only Fujimoto really knows for sure at this point, though.
I do wonder if this imposter is the reason why there are so many rumors about Chainsaw Man eating people and animals?
Maybe the imposter is doing it?
Either way, Yuko’s death at the hands of a Devil appearing to be Chainsaw Man could be something to push Asa into helping Yoru try to kill him.
Chapter 111 is another solid Chainsaw Man chapter.
It has a lot of funny moments in the beginning and ends Yuko’s story well.
And, with the mystery of the Chainsaw Man imposter, the Justice Devil still being at school, the bully girl seemingly getting more focus, and the hints of Nayuta’s return, there are so many directions Fujimoto could take the rest of Part Two.
I am intrigued to see which direction he takes.

Chainsaw Man Episode Five, Gun Devil Review: Manipulative Makima.

Mappa’s adaptation of Chainsaw Man is still going strong with its fifth episode, “Gun Devil.”
Directed by Yōsuke Takada, “Gun Devil” begins by immediately following up the cliffhanger from Episode Four, where Power confronted Denji in the bathroom to follow through on her promise to let him fondle her breasts three times.
From Denji’s thoughts declaring Power “an angel”, you would think that this would satisfy him completley.
Unfortunately, this is not the case for Denji.
First, Power is humourously revealed to be wearing breast pads after the first squeeze and then the other two squeezes produce nothing special for Denji, leaving him to wonder “that’s it?”
Denji’s emotionally stunted reaction continues into the next day, leaving him in the perfect state to be manipulated by Makima.
She all but seduces him, biting his finger and allowing him to touch her own breast.
Denji’s reaction to this is particularly hilarious, as he falls to the ground with a hand over his heart, gasping as he looks up at the hand Makima had allowed him to touch her with.
If you showed this short clip to anyone out of context, they would believe Denji was having a heart attack.
Instead, he is freaking out because he touched Makima’s breast.
Now having gained Denji’s full attention, Makima moves in for the kill, offering him any one wish he wants if he kills the Gun Devil for her.
Makima is pretty devious in her manipulation of Denji, using sexual attraction to manipulate him into taking on a dangerous Devil.
We then see just how dangerous this Devil is in a flashback.
After a terrorist attack in America involving guns (because of course it would be in America), guns became feared, making the Gun Devil incredibly powerful.
It then struck around the world, killing 1.2 million people.
Among these victims were Aki’s family.
We see the flashback from his point of view, as he has a snowball fight with his little brother, before sending him back to get a baseball glove.
Aki’s house is then struck by the Gun Devil, killing his parents and little brother.
This creates immense guilt for Aki, since he sent his little brother into the house, and also creates his drive to kill the Gun Devil, which we see when he and Himeno take down a Devil to retrieve flesh of the Gun Devil.
Makima explains to Denji that these flesh parts make other Devils stronger and can help lead to the Gun Devil.
So, Denji’s goal is to kill the Devils that have consumed pieces of the Gun Devil, which will eventually lead him to it and, upon killing it, will allow him to ask any wish of Makima.
If he survives fighting the Gun Devil, that is.
Still, Denji is determined to win his wish from Makima, completley ignorant to how he is being used by her.
It is not long before Denji gets his first chance to take on a Devil which has consumed flesh of the Gun, as he, Power, Aki, Himeno, Kobeni and Arai are sent to a hotel to take out such a Devil.
Following some comedic beats between Denji, Power and Aki, Himeno starts joking around, offering a kiss to anyone who kills the Devil.
Denji, however, remembers his wish for Makima so refuses, saying he has to kill the Gun Devil for her, drawing Aki’s attention.
Himeno is prodded further by Denji’s refusal, offering to kiss him with tounge,
This promise causes Denji to forget all about his Makima wish, as he runs down the hotel hallway to fight the Devil and earn his kiss, with Arai running behind to stop him.
Aki and Himeno use this time to discuss their new recruits, with Himeno commenting that Arai is not very competant yet is motivated, while Kobeni is timid but talented.
This causes Aki to remember his first meeting with Himeno and we see a very different person from the seemingly upbeat woman Himeno was previously.
The man who trained Aki introduces them at a Devil Hunter graveyard, where Himeno reveals that Aki will be her sixth partner, telling him not to die like the others.
The shot composition for this moment is great, as Himeno’s position and posture in the flashback when she tells Aki not to die is the exact same as in the present.
Going back to that present, the group finally locate the Devil they were hunting, which is just a head with two feet attatched.
It lunges at Kobeni but is stopped in the air by Himeno and then taken out in bloody fashion by Power.
As expected, Power’s narcissism drives her to believe the Devil froze in midair because it was afraid of her, so Himeno explains that it stopped because Himeno used the Ghost Devil’s power.
In exchange for this power, Himeno gave the Ghost Devil her right eye.
Power questions the logic of Himeno telling her all about her power, threatening Kobeni, only for Himeno to reveal this as a non-issue by threatening to strangle Power with the Ghost Devil’s hand.
Due to the dead Devil not creating any reaction from the Gun Devil flesh, the group decide this is not the Devil they were hunting, so they go up the stairs to search the ninth floor… only to emerge onto the eighth floor.
Arai notices this and runs back down the stairs, quickly emerging at the top of the eighth floor stairs, confirming to everyone that they are in a loop, as Kobeni timidly stammers in horror, bringing an end to the episode with the next ED, “In the Back Room” by Syoudo.
Overall, “Gun Devil” is another solid Chainsaw Man episode, with plenty of funny moments and excellent animation throughout.
Some of the shot composition was also great and, as for the story, Chainsaw Man seems to have finally introduced its main big bad of the Gun Devil.
I am looking forward to Episode Six, where we will see the explanation for why our characters are stuck on the eighth floor.

Manga Spoilers:
Okay, now that I am in the spoiler section, I can stop acting like the Gun Devil is the big bad.
The story does a great job with the misdirect, however, as it is introduced through Makima, the true antagonist of Chainsaw Man Part One.
It was also nice to get out introduction to Kishibe this episode, though he is not named.
Kishibe is one of my favourites from the manga so I am looking forward to seeing more of him, and Kenjiro Tsuda was definitley a great choice to voice him.
Another interesting detail in the episode is the first instance of the town and country mouse story.
We see Aki’s parents read this story to his brother before their deaths and this story is important because of how it relates to Denji.
Denji was a “country mouse”, living a life in squalor, wishing for bigger things.
So, he became the “town mouse” moving to the city and becoming a Devil Hunter for a better life, despite the extreme danger of the job.
The symbolism of this story will be further explored when we eventually get to the Bomb Girl Arc, which will introduce Reze.
We will probably have to wait for the next season to see this, though, since I think this one is only supposed to have twelve episodes.
If the high quality of animation continues, however, you certainly will not hear me complaining.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 110, A Ring in the Night Review: A Part One Callback.

When reading Chapter 110 of Chainsaw Man “A Ring in the Night” it was funny to see that one of my theories about what would happen in this chapter was correct.
This confirmation occurred within the first couple of pages of “A Ring in the Night”, when Yoru finally confronts Denji.
As I predicted in my review for Chapter 109, Denji is too distracted by Yoru being half naked to take her creating a Yuko Leg Sword seriously.
Then, Denji is distracted further when the bully girl he saved emerges from under Yuko’s guts.
Denji’s immediately prioritizes the girl, probably hoping to convince her to be his girlfriend by revealing himself as Chainsaw Man.
One thing that did confuse me about this moment was how Fujimoto seems to imply that the girl actually does not know Denji’s identity.
I thought that she saw him transform in the previous chapter but, looking back, the girl did close her eyes in fear before Denji shows up and the next time we see her with them open is when Denji has already transformed.
So Denji’s identity is probably safe for now.
As for Denji himself, he is typically too distracted by trying to reveal his identity to the traumatised girl to notice Yoru about to attack him.
It is up to Yoshida to save him, as he drags him away using the power of the Octopus Devil.
This frustrates Yoru, who yells at Chainsaw Man to show himself.
It is also quite darkly humorous to think about what the bully girl is probably thinking in this moment.
She just watched her friends get killed by a Devil, was nearly killed by that same Devil, was saved by Chainsaw Man, and now the girl she bullied is standing in front of her, half-naked with a leg sword, screaming about obliterating Chainsaw Man.
I would be questioning reality.
While this is happening, Denji is dragged into a classroom where Yoshida is waiting to remind him that he said he would stop him by force if he had to.
The last we see of Denji this chapter is him crying out in despair, “But that was such a natural reveal!”
It is a great comedic moment that immediately turns dark as Fujimoto details the public’s reaction to Yuko’s attack.
It is revealed that four students died, meaning two of the bullies and probably the student Devil Hunter who got impaled.
I am not sure who the final one is, though.
What is especially surprisingly, however, is the reveal that Yuko actually somehow survived and escaped.
I was so sure that Denji had killed her last chapter.
This reveal flows into the final scene, beginning with Asa having a nightmare, once again focusing around her guilt for killing Bucky, as she runs through an alleyway full of dead chickens.
After waking up from the nightmare, Asa goes get some water, only to be interrupted by a knock at her door from Yuko.
Asa goes to open it but, in what feels like a callback to Pochita telling Denji not to open the door in Part One, Yuko also yells at Asa not to open the door, explaining that she has become a Devil and does not want to eat Asa.
Asa opens the door anyway and we see that the horns of the Justice Devil have grown into Yuko’s face, as the chapter comes to an end.
Yuko’s appearance in this final scene honestly reminds me a lot of a Fiend.
However, the Fiends from Part One were all Devils who had taken over a dead body.
Yuko is still very much alive and seems to be in control of her body.
Maybe this has to do with some unique quality of the Justice Devil, like how Yuko said she only “recieved” from the Devil earlier, instead of exchanging something in a contract.
I am curious about what Yuko’s role will be in the future of this story.
In a prior review, I said that Yuko was probably too far gone, after killing so many people.
I am intrigued to see if Fujimoto will attempt to redeem Yuko or have her double down on her actions.
“A Ring in the Night” was a good chapter of ChainsawMan, with quite a few interesting reveals and funny moments.
Hopefully, the next chapter will go into detail about what exactly is going on with Yuko and maybe also the identity of the Devil who resurrected her in Chapter 108.

Chainsaw Man Episode Four, Rescue Review: Meet the Gang.

Just like Episode Three of Chainsaw Man ended with an incredibly animated action scene, Episode Four, “Rescue”, begins with an incredibly animated action scene.
Directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara, the episode begins with an anime original scene of Power grossly killing and consuming various animals before coming across Meowy, leading into the Bat Devil taking them hostage.
We see how desperate Power was to save Meowy, running so fast that she trips up, as she reflects on how wanting to save Meowy is foolish.
This ties back into her relationship with Denji in the present as, after her and Meowy are rescued by him, she questions why he would save them, only for Denji to point at her breasts and then do a fondling motion with his hand.
Much like how Power concluded running to save Meowy was a “foolish reason”, she also concludes Denji saving them to cop a feel is also a “foolish reason.”
Nevertheless, she agrees to honour her part of the deal, to which Denji celebrates, only to have his hand cut off by the Leech Devil mid-cheer.
The Leech Devil was the girlfriend of the Bat Devil and is wanting to kill Power and Meowy in revenge but is willing to let Denji go since she considers him cute.
Determined to cop his feel, Denji refuses.
The big fight of the episode then begins, and it is just as excellently animated as Denji’s fight with the Bat Devil in the previous episode.
It is also well adapted from the manga, with various new moments to the fight, like Denji hiding under the Bat Devil’s guts to launch a surprise attack.
In the end, though, the result is the same, with Denji being impaled with the Leech Devil’s tongue, ending their “dream battle.”
Thankfully, Aki shows up as uses his contract with the Fox Devil to save Denji.
“Kon” he says, forming a fox symbol with his hand, causing the Fox Devil to appear from nowhere and bite the Leech Devil’s head off.
It is in the aftermath of this fight where we get a brief look at the gang of Division Four.
We of course have Aki, then the eye patched Himeno (Mariya Ise), and new recruits Kobeni (Karin Takahashi) and Arai (Taku Yashiro).
Their introduction is brief, we do not even hear the recruit’s names, but the introduction shot of them does highlight their future importance.
On a side note, I will also say that I do really like Karin Takahashi as Kobeni so far.
I know she only said one word but she displayed it so timidly that it really sounded like Kobeni to me.
In any case, Aki then takes over the battle scene, helping an injured Denji to his feet and sending Meowy off to a veternarian for a checkup.
Later on, Denji awakens in the hostpital with his arm reattached.
Aki arrives with an apple for Denji and provides us with another lore dump, explaining that Devil Hunters make contracts with devils in order to fight them.
Aki is contracted with the Fox Devil, which eats a bit of his skin in exchange for him using its power.
As for Aki himself, he is still conflicted by Denji, shown by him holding off on giving Denji the apple pieces when he attempts to cover for Power, despite Denji reaching out for them.
But then Aki remembers all of the conflicting reports he heard about Denji from his fight with the Bat Devil.
Among those were the woman he yelled at to run if she did not want to get eaten, and the man who Denji injured by throwing his car at the Bat Devil with him in it.
Along with these, is the father and daughter who Denji saved.
Like I said in my Episode Three review, these two are actually from Chapter Two of the manga, where Denji saved the girl from the Muscle Devil.
This was cut from the anime but the father and daughter characters were kept and moved to the Bat Devil fight for Denji to save.
This was a good way to remove the Muscle Devil scene, yet retain its impact because the father and daughter still come to talk to Aki about Denji helping them.
In the end, Aki decides to work with Denji if he follows his every order, to which Denji does agree.
Aki then leaves Denji’s room and has Power freed, much to Himeno’s concern.
Following this, we get an anime original scene of Aki reporting to Makima.
Before he knocks on her door, however; he stops and then checks himself in the window, showing his crush on her.
While speaking with Makima, Aki also curiously mentions something about both the Bat and Leech Devils having “no traces of Gun flesh.”
After he finishs his report, Makima is rightly suspicious of how convenient Denji and Power’s side of the story is.
Aki covers for them by chalking it down to them being “unbelievably stupid”, which, to be fair to him, is not exactly wrong.
Makima also calls out how flexible Aki is being with the rules, correctly deducing Denji’s influence, to which Aki denies.
The anime original scenes continue, with the next one being Aki’s morning routine which, again, is extremely well animated.
Mappa really is going above and beyond with this adaptation, putting so much effort into the smallest of details.
Aki and Denji’s simple morning is quickly interrupted by the chaotic arrival of Power, whom Makima has assigned to live with them.
Aki protests until Makima compliments him, to which he ascends.
He probably quickly regrets this, though, because what follows is a comedic segment, of Power refusing to eat vegetables, refusing to flush the toilet, and refusing to bathe, things which are even too much for Denji to suffer through.
However, although Aki is suffering under the chaos his new roomate is causing, things are looking up for Denji because Power corners him in the bathroom to follow through on their deal, allowing him to touch her breasts three times.
Once for saving Meowy, a second time for killing the Bat Devil, and a third for lying about her to Aki.
This causes Denji to internally declare her an angel, bringing a comedic end to the episode.
This is followed by the ED “Jouzai” by TOOBEE; another fun ED with a lot of fun visuals of Power.
“Rescue” is another great episode of Chainsaw Man.
Like Episode Three it has an incredibly animated fight scene, the quality of which also extends to the quieter moments.

Manga Spoilers Section:
“Rescue” had a lot of great hints towards the future of the story, most of them concerning Makima.
First, there is her interest in Denji influencing Aki, which is shown in the anime original scene.
This is a great addition because it subtly hints at her trying to create a family unit between them, just so she can rip it away from Denji to make Chainsaw Man hers.
Her having complete control over Aki is also foreshadowed by him immediately agreeing to house Power when Makima compliments him.
It is a funny moment now but it will become much more sinister when Makima is revealed to be the Control Devil.
The anime original scene also gives us an earlier mention of the Gun Devil, which will add to the reveal of what it is in the next episode, along with Aki’s backstory, which I am excited to see.

Chainsaw Man Episode Three, Meowy’s Whereabouts Review: All to Cop a Feel.

The first two episodes of Chainsaw Man started off Mappa’s adaptation excellently but, in my opinion, it is Episodes Three and Four where the quality really gets into high gear.
Directed by Hinori Tanaka, Episode Three, “Meowy’s Whereabouts”, prepares us for the excellent quality of animation we are going to see right from the get-go.
“Meowy’s Whereabouts” begins simply, picking up in the aftermath of Power destroying the Sea Cucumber Devil.
Makima is disappointed in Power for killing the devil since it was already being taken care, and in Denji for not controlling Power.
Makima then questions if Power is cut out to be a Devil Hunter.
This scares Power, who attempts to place the blame all on Denji, causing an argument, which comes to an end when Makima calmly asks them to quiet down.
Despite the calmness of this request Power is again terrified into submission, as she timidly agrees to work with Denji.
Although this opening scene is a simple one, animation wise, I was still amazed by simple details like Makima resting her face in her hand.
Even little details like her fingernails were much more detailed than in other anime, preparing us for the fantastic animation that is to come when Denji eventually faces off against the Bat Devil in the back half of the episode.
“Meowy’s Whereabouts” then goes about setting that fight up with its next scene, as Denji and Power are hanging around some vending machines.
A cat approaches Power and she uses this as an opportunity to talk about her own cat Meowy, who was kidnapped by a devil.
Denji seems uninterested, focusing on his goal of touching boobs.
This results in a good laugh when Power manipulates Denji into helping, saying she would let him touch hers if he saves Meowy, causing Denji to act outraged that the devil stole the cat and vowing to save it.
Yet, he is completley unaware that Power has just lured him into a trap.
Although, so is the audience, at that point.
Following the intro, Denji and Power head off to save Meowy, with Denji attempting to relate to Power by talking about Pochita, saying he is sad he cannot pet him because he lives in his heart.
However, much like Denji dismissed Meowy before Power made her offer, Power too dismisses Pochita, believing Denji is just saying that as a way to get through his grief.
It is interesting how despite having a similar love for their pets, Power and Denji still do not get along at this stage and dismiss each other’s feelings, something that will be resolved as the episode progresses.
Before that can happen, however; the scene cuts to Makima being interviewed by her bosses about her squad, to which she describes Denji as “interesting”, while she and her bosses use plenty of dog metaphors for him again.
On the drive back, Aki questions Makima about finding Denji “interesting”, and it is here that we get one of the first big lore dumps of the series, as Makima describes how devils work.
She states that every devil is born with a name and how much that name is feared determines how strong the devil is.
So, for example, a coffee devil would be rather weak but a car devil would be pretty strong since there is a common fear of being run over.
Therefore, a Chainsaw Devil would have to be powerful as well, which is the implication Makima gives for why she finds Denji so interesting.
Aki still insists on Denji being unhelpful and what happens next initially proves him to be right.
As Denji and Power approach the abandoned house where Meowy is being held hostage, Denji wonders why Power is approaching with him because she said the devil would kill Meowy if she got close.
This causes Power’s entire story to fall apart and, once Denji realizes he has been lured into a trap, he lunges forward, only to be too slow as Power whacks him over the head with a hammer made from her blood.
She then drags the injured Denji inside the house where the Bat Devil is waiting for her.
The Bat Devil’s arm was cut off by a Devil Hunter so he uses Denji’s blood to revive himself, only to be disgusted by the taste.
Therefore, he decides to punish Power.
By this point, one could be forgiven for thinking that Power had lied to Denji about Meowy but it is revealed she was telling the truth as the Bat Devil has taken Meowy hostage.
His punishment for Power is for her to watch as he swallows Meowy hole, while she looks on in horror.
We then get a flashback to show how the bond between the two formed.
After the Blood Devil became the Fiend known as Power, she killed and ate everything she came across.
This was until Meowy found her, after Power had killed a bear.
However, Meowy was skin and bones so Power began to feed them in the hopes of fattening them up so she could eat them.
What she did not count on, however, was becoming attatched to Meowy.
It was after she had this realization that the Bat Devil took Meowy hostage, ordering Power to find him a human to eat to save her cat.
Power ran off to do so, only to be eventually captured by Makima off screen.
With the flashback done, the scene changes to present day, where we finally get the first moment of conciliation between Power and Denji, as Power states that she now finally understands how Denji felt when he said that he could no longer pet Pochita.
The Bat Devil’s punishment for Power continues, as he eats her next.
He probably should have chewed, however, because seeing Power and Meowy trapped in the Bat Devil’s stomach makes Denji rush to save them by catching a ride on the Bat Devil.
“Gimme my tits back!” He humorously shouts, calling back to his deal with Power.
But Denji’s reasons for trying to save Power does not fully conform with this dream as he also wants to save her because he has finally come to sympathise with her, just like she did him.
As Denji pulls the rip cord on his chest to unleash his chainsaw powers, he recalls a time when he lost Pochita and became scared that he had eaten by a devil, only to find him when he came back home.
He and Pochita then slept beside each other and Denji remembers how relieved he felt, before wondering how scared Power must have been sleeping while knowing the Bat Devil had Meowy.
This thought concluded, Denji begins his rescue attempt for Power and Meowy in spectacular and gory fashion, as the chainsaw rips through his own head as he transforms.
He then cuts off the Bat Devil’s arm again, causing the two of them to fall from the sky, crashing into a building, nearly hitting a woman.
Denji urges the woman to flee before she gets eaten.
A gloriously animated fight then follows between Denji and the Bat Devil, during which Denji also saves a father and daughter, both of whom should look familar to manga readers.
This is because they are the father and daughter from Chapter Two who were cut from the anime.
However, even though Denji does save them, he could care less about other people, as he throws a car at the Bat Devil with a man still inside.
The man barely manages to get out in time, thankfully.
Afterwards, the Bat Devil seems to be put an end to the fight, defeating Denji with a sonic sound wave, which has great sound design, by the way.
The Bat Devil is then about to begin feasting on humans once more, only for Denji to emerge from the rumble of a building, angrily declaring how mad he is about not being about to cop a feel yet.
It is quite hilarious to hear Denji’s voice actor, Kikunosuke Toya, scream so passionately about this.
The Bat Devil is also stunned by this because it causes him to drop the person he was about to eat.
The question is if he dropped the man out of fear for Denji or because he was stumped by how stupid Denji is.
My money is on both.
Denji then easily kills the Bat Devil in bloody fashion, ripping him open, as blood rains down on him in a killer shot that brings an end to the episode.
We then get our third ED “Hawatari 2-oku Centi” by Maximum the Hormone, which is my favourite so far, with its visuals and foreshadowing for the future.
The entire fight between Denji and the Bat Devil this episode was absolutley excellent, with incredible animation throughout.
I am extremely glad that it was Mappa who was chosen to animate Chainsaw Man because of how great of a job they have been doing and I cannot wait to see more.

Manga Spoilers Section:
One thing I enjoyed about how “Meowy’s Whereabouts” adapted the manga was how well it translated Power’s fear of Makima.
From the animation of her reaction, to Fairouz Ai’s voice performance; all of this does a great job at foreshadowing how Makima is bad news.
Another nice detail was the inclusion of the father and daughter from Chapter Two, who are saved by Denji from the Bat Devil here, instead of the Muscle Devil.
This meant that they could be used for an Episode Four scene, where Aki flashes back to them talking about how Denji saved them.
I will talk about that scene in the review for that episode, which I will be releasing alongside this one.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 109, The Easy Way to Stop Bullying Review: They Finally Meet.

Going into Chapter 109 of Chainsaw Man, “The Easy Way to Stop Bullying”, I was excited to see what Fujimoto would do with the new devil (either Death or Famine) he introduced last chapter.
It was for this reason that I was slightly disappointed to see that this devil had mysteriously vanished.
That said, what we got in this chapter was still quite good, and it is not as if Fujimoto is dropping this character he literally just introduced.
I just need to be a bit more paitient for him to reveal more about the new character.
“The Easy Way to Stop Bullying” begins with the now resurrected and overpowered Yuko destroying the school in the hopes to put an end to bullying once and for all.
Nobody tell Yuko that bullying can also take place outside of school.
Yuko’s attack is temporarily halted by the recently arrived Devil Hunters who were definitley not prepared for a devil this strong, as Yuko easily kills them, declaring them bullies.
She is clearly way too far gone, at this point.
That being said, Yuko still does have some sympathetic qualities, as she becomes concerned when she sees Asa unconcious on the floor.
Despite her sense of justice being entirely warped, some human part of Yuko cares for her friend.
Unfortunately, this results in violence as she finally finds the last of Asa’s bullies and prepares to kill her.
A good thing that Chainsaw Man is here to save the day because Denji emerges and puts on his heroic act, before finally revealing himself as Chainsaw Man and saving the girl.
Predictably, Yuko is not prepared at all to fight him, even though she recently had a power-up.
Yuko does have one ace up her sleeve, however: her mind reading ability.
But, Denji being Denji, he is not thinking about the fight at all.
No, instead he is thinking about how to naturally expose his secret identity.
Honestly, I’m not sure if this is unintentional genius on Denji’s part or just his stupidity saving him again.
Either way, it’s incredibly funny.
As for Denji himself, though, I do want to briefly touch upon his physical appearance.
There has been a theory flying around about him being depressed and I buy this theory more with every chapter I see him.
In Part Two, Fujimoto has drawn Denji to look rather tired, with bags under his eyes.
He is probably under a lot of pressure, caring for Nayuta, Meowy and Makima’s dogs.
This could be why he is so desperate to expose himself as Chainsaw Man so he can get a girlfriend, as it’s just to make himself feel better about his life.
Quite sympathetic if this is the case.
After Denji concludes his fight with Yuko, Asa wakes up, only to look up and see Chainsaw Man.
Yoru then takes over and we finally get our first confrontation between the two, which has been hyped up right from the beginning of Part Two.
The chapter then ends with the two staring each other down as Denji stands over Yuko’s body… head?
Whatever.
As for the cliffhanger, it would not surprise me if it had some kind of comedic follow up.
Yoru is half naked after all and Denji being Denji I would not be surprised if he became distracted during their confrontation because of this.
Also, Yuko is almost definitley dead now so Asa is clearly not going to be happy about that.
One thing that also interests me just as much as the first confrontation between Denji and Yoru is the fate of the girl Yuko almost killed.
As far as we know, she is still alive and she definitley saw Denji transform, unlike Asa who was unconcious.
So, either this girl is going to die to preserve Denji’s identity, exposes him, or she will stay quiet about it.
If she lives, I wonder if this will make her a recurring character?
There are quite a few ways this could all be followed up on in Chapter 110 and I am interested to see what Fujimoto goes with.
“The Easy Way to Stop Bullying” is another good Chainsaw Man chapter, which ends on an exciting cliffhanger for next week.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 108, Something Important to Asa Review: Death or Famine?

Tatsuki Fujimoto is, without a dobut, the most unpredictable writer whose work I have ever had the pleasure of reading.
Almost every single time I think I know where one of his stories is going, he turns it in a completley different direction.
This unpredictable style continues in Chapter 108 of Chainsaw Man, “Something Important to Asa”, which ends with a character introduction I never saw coming.
The chapter begins by picking up from the cliffhanger of Chapter 107, where Yuko screamed at Asa that she must absolutley not do what she is planning.
Going into Chapter 108, I thought Asa’s plan might be something that involves endangering her life, which would upset Yuko, since she wants to protect her.
Instead, we got something much more humorous.
Asa’s actual plan is to turn her school uniform into a weapon, which she does, turning it into a sword, and leaving her only in her bra and underwear.
It turns out that Yuko was so horrified because she just wanted to protect her friend’s modesty.
Now looking like a Kill la Kill character with her uniform weapon, Asa threatens to slice Yuko up if she does not stop her rampage.
However, Yuko uses the justification that if she kills Asa’s bullies then this will scare other bullies into stopping their torment across Japan, making her “a symbol of justice… like Chainsaw Man.”
This once again shows the negative impact of Denji’s actions, since Yuko was unintentionally influenced by him to start this attack.
Asa is taken aback by this expanation for a moment, which does make me wonder if this will be another reason for her to hate Chainsaw Man after this fight is over.
Could she end up blaming him for his unintentional role in inspiring Yuko?
Following this, we do get a curious moment where Yoru questions Yuko about what she got in exchange for the Justice Devil’s power.
Yuko responds, “There was no ‘give.’ I only recieved.”
This is interesting because pretty much all devils recieve something from their human hosts when they lend them their power.
So, is the Justice Devil unique, or is this a new trend emerging among the devils?
We do not have to ponder on this for long, though, because Yuko attempts to go and kill Asa’s last bully, only for Asa to lunge at her with her uniform sword, which Yuko easily deflects.
Yoru calls her weak and Yuko tells Asa that any attack on her pointless.
Yet, as Yuko says this very line, we see a slight split in her neck.
The very next page is a full spread of Yuko being sliced to pieces in some kind of delayed attack from Asa’s sword.
Now covered in the blood of her friend, Asa is horrified, while Yoru is impressed by the strength of her weapon.
Asa explains that it is because the uniform she used as a weapon was something her mother gave her before she died, making “Something Important to Asa” a pretty fitting title.
This also seems to indicate that when Asa creates a weapon using the War Devil’s power, it will be much more powerful that Yoru.
Asa is still horrified by the carnage, which causes her to remember Bucky’s death and the guilt she experienced from that, only for her mental state to worsen when Yuko dies in front of her from her injuries.
And then we get the surprise character introduction of the chapter.
A random girl leaning against a doorway suddenly asks Asa if she wants to save Yuko because she can do it.
Asa nervously replies yes and the strange girl seems to slump, as if being taken over.
Then, when she next looks down on Asa, we see her eyes are the same spirals as Yoru and Makima.
“Anything for my little sister,” the girl says.
While this is happening, the Devil Hunters finally arrive to deal with Yuko, only for her to crash right out of the building, fully revived and way, way bigger, bringing an end to the chapter.
So, who is the random girl who just revived Yuko?
Well, it is pretty obvious that she is one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, just like Makima and Yoru.
We know this because she has the same eyes as the two and also calls Asa “sister,” although she is likely refurring to Yoru here.
The girl slumping over briefly before approaching Asa also seems to indicate that this horseman is sharing the body of a student, just like Yoru is sharing Asa’s body.
So, now that we know the girl is a horseman, the question is which one?
Makima was Conquest and Yoru is War, so that leaves Death and Famine.
To me, Death seems like the most obvious Horseman because she did just literally revive Yuko from the dead.
However, I do not want to entirely discount Famine because other readers have pointed out that her earrings are the “scales of balance”, something related to Famine apparently.
Although, I do not know how Famine could revive Yuko, so Death seems much more likely to me.
Either way, I am highly intrigued to see what this horseman’s role in the story is and what they are doing at Asa’s school.
Did they come here searching for Yoru or Chainsaw Man?
Did Yoru know about them beforehand, or did she just learn they were here?
There are so many possibilities with the introduction of this latest horseman, making me even more excited for the next chapter.
Overall, “Something Important to Asa” is another fantastic Chainsaw Man chapter, which once again showcases Fujimoto’s unpredictable style as a writer through his sudden introduction of one of the four horsemen.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 107, School Attack Review: Hello and Goodbye Devil Hunter Club.

Chainsaw Man has been on a roll recently, with Mappa releasing a new episode every week and Tatsuki Fujimoto now releasing a chapter every week.
Well, this week we got Chapter 107, “School Attack”, which continues the fight between Yoru and Yuko, AKA the Justice Devil.
If the school shooter allegory was not clear last chapter then the title “School Attack” definitley clears that up.
Fujimoto does not seem to be putting any problematic messages into this storyline, though, so it is working out.
The chapter begins with Yoru and Yuko fighting, which goes poorly for Yoru at first, as the Justice Devil easily knocks her into a classroom before fleeing to kill Asa’s bullies.
I will say, I did find some of this action to be a bit difficult to follow, although maybe that was just me.
After reading the chapter a few times, however, I did eventually manage to figure out what had happened.
Seeing the Justice Devil passing, the teacher presses an alarm, which sends a schoolwide warning about the devil attack.
This is another good case of worldbuilding, which shows just how widespread devil attacks are in this world, considering that the school has a built in warning system for it.
The class with Asa’s bullies begin evacuating, wondering if it is a drill, only for Yuko to pop around the corner and respond, “this is not a drill.”
Her response is actually pretty funny in a morbid sort of way.
Yuko then begins to systematically take out the girls who bullied Asa.
Yoru attempts to fight her, using Asa’s pencils as weapons but this is not enough.
However, Yoru unexpectedly receives backup in the form of the school Devil Hunters Club, consisting of a brawler named Seigi Akoku, the crossbow weilding Furio, and an unnamed girl with a sword, who looks quite similar to the whip devil girl Makima controlled in the final arc of Part One.
It will be interesting to see if this is the same girl or if it is just a case of characters looking similar, just like how Yuko looks similar to Kusakabe yet apparently has no relation to him.
What will be more interesting, though, is seeing if any of the Devil Hunters actually survive their fight with Yuko because, as soon as they gang up on her, Yuko sees them as bullies so begins to attack them at full strength.
Seigi loses an eye, Furio is impaled, and the unnamed girl is knocked out a window.
So long as Seigi and the unnamed girl remained unharmed next chapter, I would say there is a good chance of them becoming important characters later.
As for Furio, I would be very surprised if he survived this, considering he just got impaled.
One intriguing thing to note is that when Yuko is attacked by the Devil Hunter Club, she uses the word “again.”
I wonder if this was a mistranslation or if the Justice Devil has some kind of history with the Devil Hunter Club?
In any case, after mortally wounding the school Devil Hunters, Yuko warns Yoru to keep out of the fight, reading her mind to point out every single plan and trap she has.
Yoru then decides to go for her last resort, the “leave it all to Asa” plan.
She then allows Asa to take back control.
Yuko is glad to see Asa but, after reading her mind, is apparently horrified by Asa’s plan, saying that she absolutley cannot do that, bringing an end to the chapter.
As for what Asa’s plan is, I have no idea at this point.
What will be interesting, though, is to see if Denji or Yoshida get involved in this fight later.
I have seen speculation that Denji will kill Yuko, making Asa hate him, causing her to fully side with Yoru in her quest to kill Chainsaw Man.
Whether this happens or not, I once again am not hopeful for Yuko’s fate.
She seems too far gone at this point so her death is likely.
As for the school Devil Hunters, their fates are less certain.
Chapter 107, “School Attack” is yet another good chapter of Chainsaw Man.
With Fujimoto now releasing chapters week to week, we can now look forward to receiving a chapter alongside an episode every week on the same day.

Chainsaw Man Episode Two, Arrival in Tokyo Review: Always go for the Nuts.

After the fantastic first episode of Chainsaw Man‘s anime adaptation, Mappa continue to impress with Episode Two, “Arrival in Tokyo”, directed by Tōko Yatabe.
Picking up right after Denji agrees to work for Makima after she offers him food, the episode begins with a close-up of Makima’s eye, highlightly how unusual her eyes are.
The animaton of this close-up is incredible, from the reflection of the passing countryside in Makima’s eye, to even the way she blinks.
This quality of animation is continued throughout the episode, with every little moment being so well animated.
Inside the car, Makima and Denji have a conversation, where Makima continues to compare him to a dog, saying she only wants to hear “yes” or “woof” from him because she does not need a dog who says “no”, threatening to have him “put down” if he is not useful.
This naturally freaks Denji out, or at least it does until Makima offers to pay for his food and gives him her jacket.
No one has been nice to Denji before, so this small kindness from Makima causes him to fall in love with her instantly, seemingly forgetting how she literally just threatened his life.
That is the tragic thing about Denji: He will accept being worked like a dog for the smallest of rewards because his harsh life has caused him to value those small things that most of us take for granted.
After the OP, we see Denji and Makima getting their food, where Denji explains to Makima how Pochita became his heart and Makima says there is no precedent for his condition, so it does not have a name.
Denji looks dejected about this, until Makima says she believes him because she has a strong sense of smell, allowing her to sniff out that he is part human and part devil.
This is, of course, a huge relief to Denji but he then passes out because of his exhaustion and, when he wakes up, Makima feeds him, increasing Denji’s affection for her to the point that he asks if there is a guy she likes.
Makima replies “I’m into the ‘Denji’ Type”, pretty much sealing the deal on Denji’s feelings for her.
However, what anime only viewers may not know about this scene is that there is actually a big cut from the manga.
In Chapter Two, right before Denji and Makima order food, an injured man runs up to them shouting that his daughter has been kidnapped by a devil.
Makima threatens Denji into going to rescue the girl but he finds her playing with it instead.
The girl claims that her father beats her so the devil saved her and, now scared of Makima, Denji offers to run away with the girl and the devil.
Unfortunately for him, this is a trap because the devil is the Muscle Devil and has taken control of the girl’s body.
The Muscle Devil attempts to kill Denji and the girl but Denji transforms into his devil form and kills it, returning the girl to her thankful father.
While it was unfortunate to see this moment from the manga get the axe, it is not too important in the grand scheme of the story.
Also, I think they manage to construct the opening scene of the episode just fine without it.
Making Makima threaten Denji in the beginning, instead of when she sends him to kill the Muscle Devil, does add to the theme of Denji accepting being treated like a dog, when he decides he loves Makima after she treats him well a moment later.
With this scene done, the episode cuts to Makima leading Denji through the city to the Devil Hunters’ Tokyo headquarters.
It is there that Denji is given a change of clothes and, more importantly, meets his new colleague and another fan favourite character, Aki Hayakawa (Shogo Sakata).
Denji is upset that Aki will be his colleague rather than Makima, causing Aki to drag him away, passing a painting of what I have been told is an illustration by Gustave Dore of Dante’s Divine Comedy.
In order to reassure Denji, Makima tells him they can only work togethor if he does a good job, doing up his tie.
However, it will be hard for Denji to do a good job if Aki succeeds in getting him to quit the Devil Hunters, which is exactly what he tries to do, leading Denji into an alley and then beating him up.
Aki berates Denji for only joining the Devil Hunters to get close to Makima, believing only those with strong convictions can survive as a Devil Hunter, chucking a cigarette at him and then spitting on him.
Aki underestimates Denji, however, because he attacks him from behind, kicking Aki right in the family jewels and then continues to kick saying whenever he fights, “It’s nuts or nothing!”
Denji then further proves how much Aki underestimates him because he explains he does have strong convictions in regards to living a good life, stating, “if I get to keep up this kind of life? I don’t care if it kills me.”
Aki then proves how he did not entirely have good intentions by attempting to convince him to leave the Devil Hunters, since he takes offence to Denji believing he could get with Makima, showing off his jealousy.
Aki prepares to fight Denji, yet he apparently was not listening when Denji says he fights “nuts or nothing” as he leaves said nuts undefended, leading to Denji kicking them in again.
Denji then takes Aki back to Makima, humorously claiming that the nut devil attacked his testicles.
Despite Denji and Aki clearly not getting along, Makima puts Denji in his squad.
Aki is reluctant but Makima insists, explaining Denji’s situation and that he will be disposed of as a devil if he tries to leave.
Denji asks what this means and Makima replies, “it means we’re working togethor until you die.”
Personally, I was sad to see the translation from the manga I have was not used, which is, “it means we’ll be working togethor until death do us part.”
The marriage proposal elements to that line always seemed like a good way for Makima to lure Denji in more, so I am not the biggest fan of this new translation.
Although, it is just one line so it is not too big of a deal.
Anyway, after Denji and Aki are partnered togethor, Aki takes Denji to live in his apartment.
On the way there, Denji questions if Makima is a good person, yet still wants to hug her.
Upon hearing this, Aki gives a cry of shock, which seemed much more exagerated in the anime and was thus way funnier.
Even funnier still is how Aki’s life takes a turn for the worse with Denji as a roomate.
Denji makes a mess by making a mess of a sandwich, sings loudly in the bath, and uses up all of the toilet paper.
Aki’s frustration only grows when he and Denji are sent to kill a Fiend, a devil which has taken over a dead body.
To see what Denji is capable of in his devil form, Aki orders him to transform and then kill the devil, only for Denji to simply kill it in his human form.
This angers Aki and he accuses Denji of not taking things seriously, revealing his entire family was killed by a devil right in front of his eyes.
He follows this up by questioning if Denji wants to make friends with devils and Denji responds yes because he does not have friends.
This appears to strike a cord with Aki, causing him to leave Denji alone with the dead Fiend… and a bunch of porno mags to steal.
The real reason Denji did not transform into his chainsaw form is that he did not want to get blood on the porn.
Remembering his deal with Pochita to live his dreams, Denji replies that he is living his dream but he feels something is missing.
This leads to Denji deciding what his next big, massively important goal in life is, and that is to touch boobs.
Yes, I am serious.
It is kind of funny to compare Denji to other shounen protaganists.
Some want to save the world, while others want revenge.
Hell, even Aki fits the latter type of character, yet he is not the protaganist; Denji is, and Denji just wants to touch some boobs.
So strong is this new conviction he has that it leads to him shouting about boobs in Makima’s prescence.
Again, this was an instance where I found the manga translation to be better.
In the manga, Denji shouts “melons” at Makima, rather than boobs, causing her to question, “fruit?”
This is a lot funnier than the anime version, which just has Makima repeating back what Denji says, rather than the humorous misunderstanding in the manga.
There was not much time to dwell on this small issue, however, because we then get our introduction to yet another fan favourite character, the Fiend, Power (Fairouz Ai).
Fun fact for anyone who does not know: Power’s personality is actually based off Eric Cartman from South Park.
No, I am not kidding.
Everything about Power’s introduction is great in the anime.
The animation is excellent, Fairouz Ai’s performance is also great, and the marching band-like soundtrack suits Power’s character perfectly.
Denji is at first reluctant to work with a Fiend, until he gets a look at Power’s chest and instantly decides he’s okay with it.
The two are then sent out on their first patrol, which does not go well because they cannot find any devils.
Power claims this is because she was a devil all others feared before she became a Fiend, showing off her arrogance.
Denji believes her, however, and speculates that Aki set them up togethor to fail, imagining Aki pulling a funny face at him that is 100% a face Aki would never pull.
His inner turmoil is quickly interrupted, though, when Power smells bloods and runs off in a mad dash to attack and kill the Sea Cucumber Devil.
This is another moment I think was funnier in the manga but not due to the translation this time.
No, I think it was funnier in the manga because the focus was on the civilian Devil Hunter in the phone booth trying and failing to tell his colleague about the Sea Cucumber Devil, only to be interrupted by Power obliterating it.
In the anime, the scene passes by very quickly with not much focus on the humor of Power interrupting the man.
Still, the animation of this moment is once again great and Fairouz Ai does a fantastic job delivering Power’s maniacal laughter, which brings an end to the episode.
Overall, “Arrival in Tokyo” is another great Chainsaw Man episode.
I did have some issues with the translations and certain moments not being as funny as in the manga but, that aside, this is still an enjoyable episode with fantastic animation, music and voice acting.

Manga Spoiler Section:
Upon my second read through of Chainsaw Man, it was quite enjoyable to see how Tatsuki Fujimoto had put foreshadowing for how the manga would end in the opening chapters.
“Arrival in Tokyo” did a good job of adapting this foreshadowing, with Makima telling Denji that she has a good sense of smell, hinting at how she will eventually be defeated by him.
There is also a good amount of symbolism for Makima with the Divine Comedy painting seen when Aki drags Denji away.
The painting appears to show a demon attacking or chasing a man, probably hinting at Makima torturing Denji by taking everything he loves away, all with the end goal of relasing Pochita as Chainsaw Man.
Throughout the episode there are also nice little nods to other characters’ future actions.
One of these is small moment at the end of the episode, when Power looks at a cat she and Denji pass, foreshadowing how rescuing her cat is currently her priority, which we will see next episode.
“Arrival in Tokyo” had a lot of great character foreshadowing, which I am sure will make it an interesting rewatch for anime only viewers, once the adaptation of Part One of the manga is complete.