Chainsaw Man Episode 1

Dog & Chainsaw

I went into Chainsaw Man Episode 1 blind. I don’t know anything about the manga other than that everyone has their own favorite girl. And, based on this episode, I’m pretty confident in saying that it’s not a harem rom-com anime. It would be better if it was.

But, actually, I don’t have many complaints about this episode. The OP song isn’t my favorite. I wish Pochita and Nanachi didn’t have the same VA. And it would be nice if the ED actually has visuals in the future. Other than those minor things, it was good.

Oh, there is one actual complaint I have. I don’t particularly like Denji as a character. I didn’t realize he was a teenager until now. Since I always saw pictures of him wearing a tie, I assumed he was a salaryman. The fact that he’s a horny teen instead makes me way less interested in him.

With that said, I did like how the episode introduced Denji to us. We got to learn that the reason he’s working as a devil hunter is because he needs money. It’s not because he wants to be a hero or anything like that. It’s just the best way for him to earn the money he owes.

Now, I’m not entirely sure what the point of that setup is, even though I liked it. Is it there to illustrate that he’s fine with any job as long as it pays well? By the end of the episode, the yakuza he owes money to are all dead. So all the setup about his debt and what he’s done to pay it so far don’t matter.

I’m hoping this will tie back in at some point later in the season.

“I Am the Chainsaw Man”

Obviously, since I went into this episode knowing nothing, I have a lot of questions. Though, I’m sure the anime will answer them all in time. So, there’s no need for you to spoil anything for me in the comments.

Before I get to the real questions, though, did anyone else think of Nanachi when Pochita spoke? I’ve seen many anime with characters voiced by Shiori Izawa. But, because I just watched Made in Abyss last season, I couldn’t help but think of Nanachi. And, to be honest, it kind of ruined the moment.

But, onto my first real question. What’s going to happen to Pochita from here on? I always assumed Pochita was a recurring character of the series — like Denji’s sidekick. But, if Pochita merged his body with Denji to save him, I guess that’s not the case.

Pochita’s a devil, so I guess he’s not bound by the rules of common sense. He could always pop up again in a new body or something. I don’t know. But since he’s kind of the mascot, I didn’t expect him to “die” in the first episode. Not that I expected Denji to either.

My next question is, are all the devil hunters in the series part devil? Clearly Denji is since Pochita combined with him like a mecha. And I know Power is the budget Zero Two with her horns, so I assume she is. I’m not sure about Makima. But, her eyes make me think she’s not quite human either.

At first, you’d expect that being part devil is a unique trait. But, Makima didn’t seem all that surprised when she saw Denji. So, I’m assuming this is actually a lot more common than I first thought. I may be wrong, though.

Makima’s Pet Human

Now, let’s move on to the important part of the episode review — the start of the best girl battle. So far, we’ve only met 1 of the 4 possible best girls. At least, there are only 4 girls I know of from this series who people argue about.

So, what’s my first impression of Makima? I’m not too impressed. I like that she asked Denji to be her human — implying a master-pet relationship. That was pretty neat. And in the OP, she’s walking him on a leash like a dog. Also neat.

But, she doesn’t have much of a personality. By contrast, Power has a lot of personality from what we see of her in the OP. Before even seeing Power in an actual episode, I’m going to bet she’s the best girl. Reze and Kobeni could take the top spot once they’re introduced, though.

At this stage, it’s hard for me to see how Makima would somehow become the best girl. Her one good quality of being a dominatrix isn’t enough. And I can’t really see her personality changing enough for me to take interest.

Moving away from the Makima discussion, though, Chainsaw Man feels very familiar. It gives me a lot of Jujutsu Kaisen vibes. And I’m not just saying that because MAPPA animated both series. The content of the series, and even the general “vibe” feels very similar. So far, I’m more of a fan of Jujutsu Kaisen.

But, before you tell me how trash my taste is, we’re only 1 episode into Chainsaw Man. It’s not exactly fair of me to compare 24 episodes of a series to 1 episode of another. However, I wanted to mention it now because this will be an ongoing comparison.

Conclusion

What do you think of Chainsaw Man Episode 1? Have you read the manga? Or is this your first exposure to the series? Did you think it was a good first episode? And how do you feel about Makima so far? Is she going to be your best girl? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

During the fall 2022 season, we have a Discord channel dedicated to the Chainsaw Man anime.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 2 is available now.