Chainsaw Man Episode 2 Review

No muscle devil

As Mappa continues animating chapters of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s masterpiece, it’s becoming very clear that they’ve taken some wide swings in terms of interpretation. As this review continues, I’ll expand on this, but the first part I want to address is the exclusion of Denji’s second kill in the manga. If you care about being spoilt for the manga, then let me just give you my general thoughts on the episode. Chainsaw Man episode 2 is overall a 7/10 for me. This is of course a personal opinion, and I will go into detail explaining that as I go on. One of these reasons is the fact that they left out Denji’s fight with the muscle devil. It’s short and it’s sweet, but there’s a minor interaction that serves to flush out Denji’s Mental landscape through his interaction with this devil.

Denji and the idea of Media Framing

If you’ve read the manga then you know that Denji as a character is one of extreme trauma. Whether he mirrors any part of Fujimoto sensei’s actual life is still left up to interpretation, but if you read the source manga then you understand that Denji is a traumatized, emotionally stunted 16-year-old boy for whom life has not stepped off of his neck for an attosecond. It’s the reason he can commit such wanton violence without batting so much as an eye, but it’s also part of the reason why the humor of Chainsaw Man works.

When it comes to Mappa and their animation style, The first part comes through beautifully but the second feels like it’s been cast off or not even considered at all. There were scenes in the manga where I broke into a heaving, coughing, and crying fit of laughter. Here, while it was entertaining, it was in no way as funny as it was on the page. This of course comes down to the way Mappa has chosen to frame the scenes.

To the uninitiated, framing in media refers to the way something is filmed, broadcasted, or written, to bring forth an idea. I’m sure anyone who has been on social media lately will have a clear idea of what is meant by this but in the context of Chainsaw Man, I’ll explain. Fujimoto’s artstyle is surprisingly realistic for shonen manga. It errs closer to life than say something like Bleach, Boruto, or My Hero Academia. However, when Fujimoto does the comedic portion, everything is boisterous. It’s loud, it’s flashy and it’s visceral. In the anime, most of these scenes are just well-animated. Which, for any other show this wouldn’t be a problem. For any other anime just being expertly and beautifully animated would be enough, but here, it feels like it robs Chainsaw Man of a key component that makes its comedy work.

Instead of a dark comedy about an awkward traumatized boy killing demons, it feels like a Netflix drama about an abused boy, understanding himself through killing demons. Which again, does not sound bad and isn’t a bad thing, but it feels very off from what my idea of Chainsaw Man is.

The uneasiness of Makima

I’ll admit, I’ve been very critical of Chainsaw Man so far throughout this review and I can concede that it probably doesn’t deserve it. It’s a well-animated, well-produced show and deserves to be in the running for anime of the year, despite some of its storytelling choices.

I will say one thing it gets right though, is Makima. From the beginning, Makima is meant to unsettle. She’s kind to Denji but the way she talks about him is unnerving. Her actions in the long run prove to be in Denji’s best interest, but they hurt not only him but others under her care. As a character, she does not and is not meant to sit completely right with you up until the very end.

Not enough Power

Like Naruto’s team7 or Gojo’s squad from Jujutsu Kaisen, the iconic trio of Chainsaw Man is assembled. The newest female member of Denji’s team, Power is as eccentric as she is adorable. Her cocky way of speaking, her blood abilities, and even the way she dresses leave such an impression that it’s hard not to fall in love with her. With Mappa choosing to add more introspective moments to Denji instead of leaving his characterization open like the manga, Power’s introduction isn’t as hefty or as long as I’d have liked it to be for the second episode. Overall this anime is fantastic. It is still a feast to be enjoyed. It’s just that for a manga snob like myself, it’ll take some time to get used to creative choices.