Chainsaw Man – Episode 2

Intro:

So after that first episode I’ve started reading the Chainsaw Man manga alongside watching the new episodes as they release. So I can make a few comparisons between the two in my reviews.

Plot:

After being rescued by Makima, Denji is both excited and cautious to start his new life as a professional Devil Hunter. Excited because he’ll finally get to eat real food, but cautious because he still doesn’t know who these people are and what they’re like. The only thing he knows for sure, is that Makima is hot and he’s in love.

After being shown the new headquarters for Devil Hunting where he will be working, Denji is paired with Aki Hayakawa, a senior devil hunter who must take care of Denji and introduce him to the new experimental task force. Instead, Hayakawa has other plans and tells Denji to quit.

Later, Denji is assigned a new partner, one who is much more like himself. Part Human, part Devil, by the name of Power, a rather excitable young woman you loves to kill Devils.

Story:

The intentions and motivations for our protagonist are made more clear in this episode, and to be honest, it may not be for everyone. Depending on how you look at it and whether you find the kind of motivations humorous or too stupid, Denji’s newest goal in life is…boobs.

In the first episode we hear him talk about how he dreamed of spending his life with a woman to hold and it all seemed rather romantic but this episode (if you haven’t read the books to know this information already) really shines a light on Denji’s true character, as he continuously pines over Makima, who only encourages the notion and uses it to her advantage as she flirts with him in order to keep him under her control like a dog, but we also see Denji steal a stack of pornographic magazines from a victims house as well as immediately agreeing to work with his new female-devil partner, Power, for no other reason than the fact that he might get a chance to cop a feel of her breasts, which might make him a hilarious character to some but a disgusting and unlikeable character to others.

Book to screen:

As with most book adaptations, there are a few changes, though only in parts that usually aren’t entirely necessary for the plot or perhaps to cut down run time.

With each episode that I finish I have decided to read the books but only until I have caught up with the latest episodes plot. I am trying not to surpass either medium with the other but of course the books do often read further than the episodes so there will be some elements to the series that I know before I watch the episodes but thats okay.

For this episode, I read the manga and found that the show, as most with most anime, is pretty faithful to the source material. There was only really one moment that didn’t get adapted to the screen and that was the short fight with a muscle devil, that initially made Denji pass out again during their time ordering noodles. I can imagine this was cut for timing purposes but also because it’s over so quickly that it actually doesn’t impact the story all that much and the dialogue was still used but in reference to the final scenes of the first episode, rather than him having to use his powers a second time so soon.

Characters:

Introduced in this episode we have Aki who seems like he’s going to be the stern mentor to Denji, that will leave him picking up the pieces and getting Denji back on track to doing his job instead of messing around, but not in a boring way. Aki seems like a character that will be serious but fun, and perhaps later in the series he’ll become more relaxed and join in on some of the shenanigans that Denji and others will no doubt get up to. Especially with Denji’s new partner, Power who I will talk about next.

Power seems like she is going to be the loose cannon of the team. She has a thirst for bloodshed and doesn’t waste time when it comes to attacking. She’s going to be a troublemaker no doubt and cause issues for Denji, Aki and the entire Devil Hunter organization. I could be wrong of course, as I haven’t read that far in the Manga, as I want to keep the story a surprise as I watch each new episode, but Power is definitely one of my favourite characters so far, because I love the loose cannons in an media.

Overall:

I’ve been enjoying Chainsaw Man, both the show and the books, and I can’t wait to see what they bring to life and what they cut from the adaptation, as I’ve always found decision’s in film and television rather interesting, especially when it causes an uproar with fans, but luckily for the writers of Chainsaw Man that hasn’t been caused just yet.

Chainsaw Man is available to watch exclusively on Crunchyroll here in the UK. New episodes every Tuesday!