The following is a review of Chainsaw Man’s first episode, courtesy of a screener from Crunchyroll. The episode was in Japanese with English subs. The opening theme was not featured in the screener and will release with the first episode on October 11.
Chainsaw Man is by far MAPPA’s most anticipated projectsinceAttack on Titan: The Final Seasonand with that comparison comes some degree of trepidation, however slight. The previews have been exciting and gorgeous, but those previews can be deceptive, so does the first episode, airing on October 11, live up to the hype?
Based on Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga of the same name,Chainsaw Manfollows Denji, a young man who merges with a devil, letting him turn his limbs into chainsaws. He works with devil hunters to kill other devils in the hopes of being able to live comfortably and without the weight that has been thrust upon him.
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Living Day-To-Day
The first episode is as comprehensive a hook for a storyas a premiere can possibly be, and it accomplishes this thanks to Denji’s characterization. His motivations aren’t inherently unique and if anything, it’s their simplicity in contrast to his circumstances that make him entertaining. All he wants is money and a simple life being with a girl he likes.
His adolescent dreams are crushed soundly beneath heaps of debt to the Yakuza, amassed by his late father, and the grind to pay it off never seems enough. Even though he’s killing devils with the help of his only friend, a chainsaw devil named Pochita, he’s got a ways to go. These oddities are also played completely straight as if commonplace in a world very much like ours.There is something undeniably amusingabout this world where a character like Pochita exists and is taken so seriously, but seldom through the episode is there a compulsion to laugh. Potential levity is sapped from the script just as any sunlight is soaked up by the overcast clouds in each scene. But a smile occasionally creeps out when Denji contemplates his dreams for the future.
“I Wish They’d At Least Let Me Dream”
The premiere is an aesthetic dream where Kensuke Ushio’s music lulls the viewer into such liminal spaces where the artwork attempts to outdo itself at every turn. The direction, from characters' expressions to their poses, is dynamic and rarely conventional, even compared to its coolest peers of recent years.
Ushio’s music, in particular, feels reminiscent ofhis score for 2019’sBoogiepop and Othersbut unlike inBoogiepop, the visuals are putting in just as much work. In the other series, it felt like his music was compensating for the inconsistent character designs, butChainsaw Mangives Ushio’s otherworldly sound the visuals it needs to be stellar.
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Of course, this is a premiere episode, and in that sense, there is some reasonable concern about quality fluctuating or falling off. It can happen, and even the greatest anime projects aren’t immune to it, but there are some that suffer more than others. MAPPA is a large studio with a lot of projects on its plate (some would say too many), butChainsaw Manis especially huge. If not evenAttack on Titanwas immune to thelimitations of the studio despite the series' reputation, who’s to say thatChainsaw Mancouldn’t follow in similar footsteps? The point most central to those concerns is the matter of animation and notably 3D animation, something the marketing for this series has avoided showing.
And here is where the big 1-2 punch of this preview comes in. Yes, there is an implementation of 3D CGI in the first episode ofChainsaw Man, particularly when Denji’s titular form is engaged and tearing apart his foes. But it is crucial to point out that the blending of 3D with 2D is done very well, and leads to action that never feels as if the style is being betrayed by the switch. Furthermore, so much of the episode is visually on fire even before a whiff of 3D is detected that this really shouldn’t be a dealbreaker as yet.In the scenes before the climactic fight, the art direction was firing on all cylinders, even showcasing some realist animation techniques that added lots of character to a very tense and gruesome scene.
Looking Ahead
Chainsaw Man’s first episode is self-contained and immensely satisfying; it begins with Denji in a state of being that he is eager to escape and ends with him on a path that he hopes will fulfill his dreams. It paints a vivid portrait of its protagonist that is hard not to fall in love with and lets the audience share in the wrath that embodies the ritual devil form, angry at the ceaseless annoyances that get in the way of his happiness.
This premiere couldn’t have more effectively endeared the audience to one so relatably hungry for more in life, yet one so tragically behind the curve. Visually, the episode was expectedly beautiful and while the next few episodes will be crucial ingrading the consistency of the art quality, the effective and tasteful blend of 2D and 3D is a great omen for this series going forward.
Chainsaw Man premieres on Crunchyroll on Tuesday, October 11 at 9:00 AM Pacific Time.
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