Dog and Chainsaw
He finds himself in a dark and foreboding room, with a chainsaw hanging from the ceiling. The room is filled with blood, and Denji can hear the screams of people being killed. He backs away from the chainsaw, and starts to scream himself.
Denji is on his way to work when he experiences an attack. He knows it’s not from the devil, but from another person nearby. Denji is short on cash so he decides to sell his body parts and organs in order to make enough money to cover his costs.
This is an interesting story about a man who is a devil hunter. He has found a way to make money by hunting down devils, and he is very happy with the results. However, he has to be careful because his job can get him into trouble. He gets 1,800 yen after paying off his debts and other things he owes.
As Denji wallows over his shortened pay, we see the old man communicating with his driver about Denji. The old man confirms that Denji is working for them to pay back his deadbeat father’s debt to them. Denji follows orders well, unlike other devil hunters who won’t give them devil corpses, according to the old man. To test his theory, the driver offers Denji 100 yen if he eats his cigarette, and Denji accepts his offer.
Denji tells Pochita about his life and how it’s difficult right now. He reveals that he wants to live a mundane life, but something like that may never happen due to his father’s debt. Denji feels he’ll pass away before paying it off and may never get a girlfriend. Denji recalls when he was a child standing in front of his father’s grave.
The old man drives by, informing Denji that his father hung himself to escape from paying his first month’s installment. He tells Denji that the debt’s now on him, and if he doesn’t pay him by the next day, he’ll chop him to pieces and sell his bits. After the man departs, Denji is ambushed by Pochita, as we can assume this is how they met. Although Denji’s startled by Pochita’s appearance, he doesn’t fear death and is all for Pochita ending his life.
He notices Pochita’s flesh wounds and offers himself over to Pochita. This is because devils can heal themselves by drinking blood. After Pochita bites him, Denji states that Pochita needs to return the favor and help him clear his debt. Denji uses Pochita’s chainsaw abilities to murder a devil. He brings the corpse to the old man and asks him to hire him as a devil hunter.
Denji, a 23-year-old man, is struggling to get a good night’s sleep because he’s hungry. He says that he would love to have a better life where he can eat bread with jam and have a close relationship with someone. Denji recalls how his mother died from a heart disease that caused her to cough up blood. An old man arrives at Denji’s home and warns him that he has more devils to fight and Pochita to save. ..
Denji is skeptical about the old man’s story, but he decides to go along with it. The old man drives them to an abandoned factory, where they stop and tell Denji that they’re happy that he’s as loyal as a dog and works for a small price. Suddenly, a man stabs Denji and Pochita from behind with a sword. The old man explains that they double-crossed him and forged a new contract with a devil. The devil offered them a chance to gain demonic power in exchange for dead devil hunters.
The old man’s new boss emerges and reveals his zombie-like form. The Zombie Devil says he finds these men dumb for wanting a taste of his power as the yakuza begin transforming into zombies. He reiterates how much he despises devil hunters and plans to have his new slaves take him out. Denji attempts to flee with Pochita in his arms, but the zombies stab him to the ground and chop him up.
Denji and Pochita end up in a dumpster, and it appears Denji has passed away. Blood drips from Denji’s forehead and reaches Pochita’s mouth, awakening him. Pochita remembers a moment when Denji and were cutting trees. As they’re eating bread, Denji tells him that there may come a time when he dies fighting a devil and that he’ll regret leaving Pochita alone, hungry, or at the mercy of another devil. Denji had been cutting trees with his friend Pochita when he warned him about the possibility of death in battle against a devil. Just as they finished their lunch break, Denji collapsed to the ground with blood pouring from his head. With no time to lose, Pochita grabbed an iron bar nearby and woke up his friend just in time to see him die. ..
Denji remembers hearing from someone that some devils can take over dead bodies and asks Pochita if he’s capable of doing so. If he can, Denji wants Pochita to take over his body, so he can live a mundane life and attain a natural death. After recalling Denji’s offer, Pochita fuses with Denji and heals him while connecting his body parts back together. Denji wakes up in another area of existence and wonders if Pochita took over his dead body. ..
Pochita speaks to Denji, letting him know that she loves to hear him talk about his dreams. In exchange for Pochita’s heart, Denji wants to show her his dreams. When Denji wakes up and looks at his body, he realizes that all of his wounds have vanished and Pochita’s tail is sticking out of his chest. The Zombie Devil is surprised to see him alive and orders his zombies to eat him. ..
As the zombies rush toward him, Denji questions if he and the yakuza have anything in common. Since they all weren’t satisfied with their lives and wanted more, Denji states he doesn’t blame them. However, if they’re willing to stand in the way of his chance at happiness, he’ll have no regrets about murdering them. As Denji pulls the cord from his chest–the zombies jump on him.
Denji bursts out from the zombie dogpile, revealing that he has become Chainsaw Man, a warrior with a chainsaw for a head who wields chainsaw-like arm blades. The Zombie Devil’s bewildered by what he sees as Denji starts his assault. He wonders if Pochita took over his body. Denji slaughters many enemies in his way and deals a heavy blow to the Zombie Devil. The Zombie Devil pushes Denji back and starts pelting his men at him. ..
They are survivors from the abandoned factory, who had been living in the building for weeks. They had been trying to find a way to escape when they heard about Denji and his devil hunting skills. They were excited to see him and his skills, and they were also worried about his debt.
The group of people enter the building and see the corpses of all the devils Denji killed. The woman approaches Denji, stating that he wreaks of a weird scent that’s neither human nor devil. She assumes he’s responsible for the murders, as Denji asks for her to hug him and the woman does so. As she hugs him, Denji returns to normal as the woman claims he isn’t possessed.
She tells Denji that she is a devil hunter who works with Public Safety. The two options she offers Denji are to die by her hands or keep him as a human. She promises he’ll be well-fed and taken care of while listing what he can expect for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. The scene ends with Denji laying on the woman’s lap in bewilderment by her offerings as he finds it all fascinating and awesome.
The Episode Review
One issue is that the showrunners seem to have chosen to focus on the dark and gritty side of the blade-wielding genre instead of its more popular and lighthearted aspects. This could lead to some viewers feeling lost or confused as they watch the first episode. Additionally, there are a few continuity errors that could be fixed in order to make this episode more enjoyable for viewers.
However, there are some elements of this episode that I find to be jarring and uncomfortable. For example, the animation in the scene where the protagonist is being chased by a monster was choppy and jerky. Additionally, the visuals in general were not as well done as they could have been.
The animation and visuals of Chainsaw Man are poor from the get-go. Denji’s transformation into a chainsaw man is jarring and off-putting. The CGI design of Chainsaw Man didn’t do much for me either.
I’m curious about the origins of devils in this world. While it may be touched upon in later episodes, I’m disappointed this one didn’t give us a short and sweet explanation. ..
This episode was definitely fun, and I’m excited to learn more about Chainsaw Man’s world and other characters. Denji’s character feels semi-relatable to those who’ve encountered poor living situations or bad luck in the past. Pochita is an adorable character who won me over as soon as he appeared on the screen. ..
The first episode of the new season delivered on its promise of an adrenaline-pumping atmosphere, hopefully the upcoming episodes will continue in that vein. ..
