Chainsaw Man Episode 4

The Leech Devil

Was Chainsaw Man Episode 4 the best episode of the series so far? I’d say so. We got more Power backstory, good action, new characters, explanations, and character-building. Also, the ED for this episode was pretty good. I forgot every episode has a unique ED.

After Denji saves Power from the Bat Devil, the Leech Devil shows up to spoil his celebration. According to the Leech Devil, she and the Bat Devil were friends — or maybe lovers? She referred to the Bat Devil as “her man.” But, the thing I want to highlight here is how articulate Devils are.

Pochita seemed to be pretty smart. But, it’s not as if he could converse with Denji until he became Denji’s heart. And the first Fiend Denji encountered with Aki wasn’t able to communicate either. But, then we met Power, who seemed to be unique.

From what I remember, it was Makima who said that Power was reasonable — or something along those lines — for a Devil. I took that to mean that her ability to communicate and work alongside humans was special. But, the more we learn about devils, the less that seems to be the case.

Both the Bat and Leech devils were capable of advanced speech. They could articulate their desires and came across as very “human.” I can’t see them working with humans as Power does. But, as we saw later in this episode, Devils and humans working together isn’t rare.

Going back to the leech devil, specifically, for a moment, I have some questions. First, why did she have hair? And second, why did she have massive mammaries? Those physical features looked very out of place, to me. But, I was most surprised that Denji didn’t comment on the latter.

Aki and the Fox Devil

Let’s go back to the part when I said Devils and humans working together isn’t rare. Why am I saying this is the case? Because Aki tells Denji that it’s not uncommon for humans to forge pacts with Devils to make use of their power.

I’ve made jokes in the past about Chainsaw Man not being the most original anime. I mean, Denji’s Chainsaw Devil form is nothing more than a bootleg version of Jūzō from No Guns Life. And Chainsaw Man as a whole feels very similar to Jujutsu Kaisen.

The manga for both of those series released before Chainsaw Man’s manga. And in the case of No Guns Life, it was multiple years before Chainsaw Man.

But, now that we’ve seen Aki’s ability, Chainsaw Man seems even more like Jujutsu Kaisen. From what I’m seeing, Aki is just Chainsaw Man’s version of Megumi.

We don’t yet know if Aki has pacts with more than one Devil. But, at the very least, he has a pact with the Fox Devil. To summon it, he makes a fox sign with his hand, says “kon” (こん – the sound a fox makes in Japanese), and sacrifices some of his own flesh.

That last part is what I want to focus on. He tells Denji that to summon the Fox Devil this time, he had to give up some of the skin on his arm(s). That’s important for a few reasons.

It establishes that both sides get something out of the pact. The human gets the Devil’s power and the Devil gets to snack on the human. Also, it explains why Aki can’t simply use the Fox Devil’s power whenever he wants. And, we may see that other Devils ask for something different.

Stench Devil Power

Officially, Power may be known as the Blood Devil. But, she seems a lot more like the Stench Devil, to me. Toward the end of Episode 4, Power moves into Aki’s apartment with him and Denji. And once she does, we learn how bad of a roommate she is.

It turns out that Power doesn’t like to flush the toilet after using it. And she also doesn’t like to bathe. Basically, she stinks. But, she might stink even more than you’d expect. Remember, she’s a Fiend. That means she’s an animated corpse. So, do you think she smells rotten?

Oh, and let’s not forget that she brought a cat into the apartment, as well. How much do you want to bet she doesn’t clean up after or bathe it? She sounds like a roommate from Hell. But, I guess that’s on-brand for a Devil.

Living with Power isn’t all bad, though. At least it means living with a cute girl. And if you save her cat, kill the Bat Devil, and lie so she doesn’t get fired, you can even squeeze her boob(s?) 3 times! It’s kind of unfair that protecting her and Meowy from the Leech Devil doesn’t earn a squeeze too.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting that Power was blushing after offering up her chest. She never struck me as someone who’d get flustered over something like that. And it’s technically not even her body.

Does this mean that she’s developed feelings for Denji after the way he saved her? It’s possible. But, I’d actually rather that not be the case. I don’t have an issue with Denji having romantic interests. However, I like the dynamic he and Power seem to have in the OP. Can’t they be BFFs?

Conclusion

What do you think of Chainsaw Man Episode 4? Were you surprised when Denji didn’t comment on the Leech Devil’s chest? Do you prefer Aki from CSM or Megumi from JJK? And just how bad do you think Power smells? Let me know in the comments.

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My review of Episode 5 is available now.