Warning: This contains major spoilers for Chainsaw Man.
WhileChainsaw Man’s first episode lacks not action, the way it works around world-building and seizing the hearts and souls of the audience by building momentum through storytelling makes it a stunning example of majestic storytelling and kinematics. Since momentum is a measure of a force that can drive the story forward toward apowerful emotional climax, it makes us want to know what is going to happen next, and it makes us care for the characters, their objectives, their conflicts, and the entire action surrounding all of that, in the story’s world. And the world ofChainsaw Manis not a very welcoming one, especially for those who do not have money — not much different from reality. Even the cinematography in this adaptation is so realistic, almost photo-realistic, and theelements of magical realismof this anime series blend so well with the portrayal of reality in this work that no one even questions their existence. That is an outstanding feat indeed.
The world ofChainsaw Manis a cruel and bleak one. The commentaries on capitalism, poverty, human cruelties, betrayals, love — and the lack of love — are all over thisshonenthat more than subverts, it deconstructs all the time the dreamy vision portrayed by most shonen titles that the power of friendship and working together and doing your best always provide good results. That is not the reality in this dreary world. In this vicious ambient, Denji’s dreams are simple, his aspirations are basic. He wishes to live a happy peaceful life, eat good food — completely understandable considering his past —, and spend time with a girl he likes. After selling body parts and taking on precarious jobs to pay off the debt he inherited, Denji becomes a devil hunter, with the help of his “pet”, the devilPochita, using him as a weapon, and ready to do anything for a bit of cash — even pretending to eat a cigarette.
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A Boy With A Devil’s Heart
Denji’s best friend is a devil dog named Pochita. When he encountered the wounded devil, Denji saved him by giving him some of his blood for him to heal, inadvertently forming a contract with the devil. Their bond and friendship and love for each other are immense. Pochita does love Denji so much to the point of being willing to sacrifice himself to save his life. In general,most devils do have extreme hatred toward humans, even if some, like the fox devil, are more friendly toward humans. Pochita, in the ultimate act of love, gives up his body and becomes Denji’s heart, to make him live and help him fulfill the boy’s dreams, thus making him revive as the Chainsaw Man. Yes — Denji is only a boy in a devastating cruel world who just lost the companion of his beloved and only friend.
Pochita And His Presently-Absent Importance
The anime series embraces the trope of the absent presence of Pochita in such a majestic way that leaves the viewers with their hearts wrenched, but a lingering hope from the bond between Denji and Pochita, which is more than well-established inthe very first episode of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s anime adaptationin a fantastic example of superb storytelling.
The absent presence trope refers to a character that does not appear much of or possibly all the plot, but whose presence is nevertheless felt, actually, this character’s absence is most significant, and the show outlines their absence’s effect on both the world and the characters – in the case of Denji, not only Pochita literally becomes a part of him, but his existence and their bond pull strings and drive actions, as well as permeate Denji’s decisions as sort of a shadowy influence, guiding the heart and mind of the Chainsaw Man, who not only carries Pochita’s memory, but also his heart. Both their bond and Pochita’s sacrifice whenDenji was betrayedand killed by the Yakuza have repercussions and effects that last long after the original pug-like chainsaw devil becomes absent.
The presence of that absence is everywhere. – Unknown, attributed to Edna St. Vincent Millay
InChainsaw Man,the use of this trope, however, is elevated to the degree of art. Pochita’s design, although biologically unrealistic, aesthetically embraces cuteness. Evolutionarily speaking, sometimes animals increase their rate of survival through cuteness, which makes it a survival tactic for Pochita — which is helped by Denji who, at first, does not even think of a pact or deal with the devil, and saves Pochita out of the goodness in his heart, despite being betrayed by his father’s suicide and left with his debts. Powerful storytelling builds momentum. Even more powerful storytelling establishes animmediate connection.Chainsaw Man’s storytelling incorporates both and carries them out splendidly.
Seizing And Breaking Our Hearts In A Single Episode
In a few minutes, within the course of a single episode, the sense of friendship, love, the bond, everything bright in the middle of an otherwise gloomy world, all of that is provided by Denji and Pochita holed up in his shack, whether telling his friend about his dreams of having a girlfriend, and eating jam with bread, Denji’s saving Pochita, their moments spent together — all of which is so cute and fluffy in this otherwise horrid world, and these scenes evoke that sense of vulnerability, in the midst of an aesthetic that leans toward gloominess, with depressive lighting, greyish washed-out tones, with a cute, instead of horrendously grotesque, devil in the form of Pochita, anda bizarre hybridthat Denji becomes after his only friend gives him his heart, that is the Chainsaw Man.
Pochita — A Lingering Presence, Even In Absence
The way the creators of the anime adaptation of theChainsaw Manworked with Pochita’s uniquely cute design, the dreamy flashbacks of him and Denji enjoying some good moments even in the midst of the miserable life the latter used to have seized and broke the hearts of fans all over the world, enthralling the audience and captivating us to the point of loving this adorably charismatic devil, the acts of which toward Denji were more humane than those of a lot of humans that crossed his way — before and after his “death”. By giving Pochita his blood,Denjimade him the family he never had. Then, the Chainsaw Devil returned the favor.
The moment when they are sleeping together when Denji was still a kid is nothing but sublime — and the lights thrown on them make them look even more angelic in the midst of all the horrific things in the anime. In this brutal world ofChainsaw Man, the bond between Denji and Pochita is the embodiment ofbeauty among beasts. Beautiful and brutal as their story is, they became one. And share a familiar bond of a love so pure, innocent, vulnerable, and unconditional.
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