Denji and Himeno

Just as I predicted, Denji didn’t sleep with Himeno in Chainsaw Man Episode 8. And while Himeno hasn’t admitted it, I still believe she took Denji home out of jealousy. But, she’s not going to try to steal Denji from Makima going forward.

Instead, Denji and Himeno are going to team up and help each other. Himeno is going to help Denji get with Makima. And in return, Denji is going to help Himeno get with Aki. It’s a win-win. Well, except for the fact that I don’t see how Himeno’s going to hold up her end of the bargain.

All Denji has to do is bring Himeno and Aki together. He sets up situations outside of work in which they can interact. And once that’s done, it’s up to Himeno to make Aki fall for her. But, what’s Himeno going to do for Denji?

The short answer is nothing. And that’s because she doesn’t really have to do anything. Makima’s already interested in Denji (for some reason). She’s also already expressed the fact that she’ll do whatever Denji wants if he defeats the Gun Devil. So, Himeno doesn’t have to do anything to help Denji.

With that said, doing nothing isn’t exactly in Himeno’s best interest. The sooner she can get Denji and Makima together, the sooner that frees Aki up for her. If it’s clear that Makima’s with Denji, then Aki may give up on being with her himself. And then in swoops Himeno.

Overall, this first part of the episode was the least interesting by far. We didn’t actually learn anything new throughout the entire Denji and Himeno scene. And that goes for both before and after the OP. What it did was humanize Himeno so what came next hit even harder.

Wipe Out Division 4

I can’t say I expected someone to assassinate Makima and the other members of Division 4. Well, the only ones who we know died were Makima, the guy traveling with her, and later, Himeno. It was only implied that the rest of Division 4 got taken out.

But, I actually don’t think any of that matters. It doesn’t matter how many members of Division 4 died in the attack. Why? Because they’re all going to come back. Well, they might not all come back. But, there’s no way Makima is actually dead at this point in the series.

I could see Himeno staying dead. But, the only reason I say that is because of the ED. At the very end of the ED, we see Aki lay flowers and cigarettes at a grave — presumably Himeno’s. Without that scene, I’d be certain she’s coming back.

So, how could everyone who died come back to life? Let’s start with the obvious: Denji. As far as we know, Denji can come back to life as long as someone pulls his cord. So, there’s no other explanation needed for his revival. What about everyone else, though?

From Episode 6, we know that the Eternity Devil was a thing. So, I have to assume there are other Devils that can control time. Makima could even be the one contracted with this Devil. And if she is, time may reset back to before her death, just like in The Executioner and Her Way of Life.

Or, there could be Devils with the ability to revive people. Later in the episode, it looked like the girl with the Snake Devil revived the Sword Devil guy. Basically, there are many ways to revert the deaths of all the Division 4 members.

All-Out Devil Mayhem

The fight at the end of Episode 8 featured no less than 6 Devils. Well, 5 of them actively participated in the fight. Power, the Blood Devil, helped by keeping Himeno from bleeding out. I’m not counting Denji, the Chainsaw Devil, because he was dead the whole time.

So, other than Power, what other Devils did we see in action? Aki used both the Fox and Curse Devils. Himeno used the Ghost Devil. The guy Aki was fighting appears to be the Sword Devil. And then the girl with the Sword Devil guy uses the Snake Devil.

That’s 3 new devils we need to talk about. But first, let’s revisit Himeno’s Ghost Devil. Until now, Himeno only had access to one of the Ghost Devil’s hands. However, in exchange for her entire body, she got the assistance of the entire Ghost Devil.

Now, onto the new Devils. Let’s start with the Sword Devil. I don’t know if that’s what he is. But, it’s what he looks like he is. Also, more importantly, he’s the same as Denji. He’s a human who combined with a Devil. I’m sure we’ll see the two of them face off later.

Aki’s second contracted Devil is the Curse Devil. This is the sword he carries that Himeno didn’t want him to use. When he uses it, he loses some of his lifespan. But, in return, if he can stab his opponent 3 times, the Curse Devil will finish them off, no matter what.

Of course, this doesn’t go as planned because of the girl with the Snake Devil. She uses the Snake Devil to kill the Ghost Devil. And then she uses some (also Snake Devil?) ability to revive the Sword Devil. She may have another Devil.

Conclusion

What do you think of Chainsaw Man Episode 8? Did you like seeing the scene from the end of Episode 7 again, but from Himeno’s perspective? Do you think everyone in Division 4 will come back to life? And which of the 3 new Devils is your favorite? 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.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman and Key Mochi for supporting this blog at the Heika and Senpai tiers this month. And I’d like to thank Pepe and Rob for supporting at the Kouhai tier. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 9 is available now.

Eternity vs. Chainsaw

Chainsaw Man Episode 7 was pretty traumatic. I didn’t need to see Himeno puke into Denji’s mouth. So, we’re not going to talk about that for the rest of the review. Let’s all agree to forget it ever happened and move on.

So, what else happened in Episode 7? Well, the Chainsaw Devil killed the Eternity Devil. But, it’s not as if Denji had an easy victory. He only won thanks to Himeno getting involved, as well. When Denji ran out of energy, she used her Ghost Devil to restart his chainsaws to keep him in the fight.

And, we shouldn’t assume that only happened the one time we saw it. Himeno tells Aki that the fight between Denji and the Eternity Devil lasted 3 days. And it looked to me like Himeno had been watching over Denji for most of that time.

The most interesting part of this whole fight was how the Eternity Devil reacted to Denji. It doesn’t know Denji personally. But, it does know the Chainsaw Devil. And the fact that it said the Chainsaw Devil had gotten weak implies they’ve fought before.

I don’t know why the Eternity Devil has a rivalry with the Chainsaw Devil. It could be from the influence of the Gun Devil’s flesh. It could be that the Chainsaw Devil did something to the Eternity Devil in the past. Or, it could be that the Eternity Devil was jealous of the Chainsaw Devil’s strength.

In any event, this tells us that the Chainsaw Devil is special. Another Devil knew of the Chainsaw Devil and was specifically seeking to kill it. Also, remember that Makima believes Denji could be strong enough to take down the Gun Devil. She seems to know something too.

Division 4 Rookies

The most important piece of information we got from Episode 7 was that Kobeni is 20 years old. I was a bit worried that she was going to be a minor like Denji. But, we’re safe. Now, we just need an age for Power’s body.

But, actually, we learned a lot about Division 4. There are many more members than we previously knew of. If we include Makima, there appear to be 12 members currently. There were 13, but one of the rookies died only a few days ago.

Not all 12 members of Division 4 were present at the party, though. One of the older members mentions that he has a Fiend on his team. But, he didn’t bring the fiend because they aren’t as well-behaved as Power. I assumed Power was the only Fiend Devil Hunter. So, the existence of another is pretty interesting.

We already knew that Denji “is” the Chainsaw Devil and Power is the Blood Devil. But, what Devils do Arai and Kobeni have contracts with? Arai tells us that his contract is with the Fox Devil, just like Aki. Apparently, the Fox Devil is friendly to (attractive male) humans.

Kobeni, on the other hand, doesn’t say what he contracted Devil is. She confirms she has one, though. So, why doesn’t she want people to know what it is? I didn’t get the feeling she was trying to hide her true strength. It must be a devil she’s embarrassed by.

The thing is, I can’t think of a Devil that would be embarrassing to have. Isn’t the whole point that Devils are scary? I guess she could be embarrassed by how weak her Devil is. Or, it could be a bug. Kobeni and the Cockroach Devil?

Denji Gets Laid

After the party, Denji goes home with Himeno. Or, rather, Himeno carries him home with her while he’s passed out. And she escapes with him before anyone has a chance to realize what happened. But, I don’t think Denji has to worry about Himeno.

Himeno taking Denji home with her isn’t the same as Power recruiting Denji to save her cat. So, why did she do it? Does she actually like Denji? That seems unlikely for 2 reasons. First, there’s his age. And second, it’s pretty well-established that she likes Aki, not Denji.

Is it because she’s drunk? That seems to be part of the reason. The alcohol would have made taking him home easier. But, again, that doesn’t explain it all. That doesn’t really explain why she took him home with her, kissed him, and then propositioned him for sex.

In my mind, there’s one clear answer. Himeno is jealous of Makima. She even comments on how both Aki and Denji are in love with Makima. And since Aki is the one Himeno likes, she’s jealous of Makima. So, how does she get back at Makima? By taking Denji from her.

Himeno knows that Makima is interested in Denji for some reason. So, it’s not that Himeno likes Denji. It’s that Himeno wants to hurt Makima in the same way she feels hurt. But, I mean, if I was in Denji’s position, I wouldn’t worry about that. Carpe diem, as they say.

With all that said, I can’t see Denji actually getting laid by Himeno here. I have a feeling that he’s going to make an attempt to be faithful to Makima and reject Himeno’s advances. And I have a feeling that Himeno won’t continue to push if he rejects her.

Conclusion

What do you think of Chainsaw Man Episode 7? Why do you think the Eternity Devil had a Chainsaw Devil obsession? What’s your prediction for Kobeni’s contracted Devil? And will Denji actually get laid? 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.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama 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 8 is available now.

Kobeni-chan Double Peace

As expected, Chainsaw Man Episode 6 was another good episode. I’m not sure I’d call it the best episode of the anime so far, though. It’s definitely up there. But, one thing this episode taught me is that I’m not the biggest Kobeni fan.

Now, to be fair, my feelings about Kobeni may change by the next episode. After all, I didn’t like Power right after her introduction. But now, Power’s probably my favorite character. So, it’s possible that something happens to change my mind about Kobeni, as well.

Why don’t I like Kobeni?

The main reason is that she’s pretty annoying. I thought she was going to be a lot cuter when nervous and scared than she actually is. When Himeno told her to do a double peace sign, that was cute. But, everything involving Kobeni after that wasn’t. She got very annoying very fast.

One positive thing we learned about Kobeni is why she became a Devil hunter. Maybe we’ll also learn about why Arai became a Devil hunter soon. But, as for Kobeni, she didn’t have much of a choice. She could either become a Devil hunter or a sex worker, and she chose the former.

But, why were those her only 2 options? Her parents want to send her brother to college but can’t afford to on their own. So, they forced Kobeni to get a job. And since Kobeni didn’t go to college and doesn’t have any skills, her options were limited.

Of course, she could have worked at a restaurant or something. But, my guess is that her parents were pressuring her into jobs that would make a lot of money quickly. I’m kind of surprised she didn’t choose sex work considering how terrified of Devils she is.

Everyone’s Losing Their Minds

When Denji took a nap on the 8th floor, I thought it was going to have something to do with the Devil’s power. You know, like Devil traps people on that floor and then devours their dreams while they sleep.

But, no. Nothing bad happened to Denji while he slept. Instead, the others seem to have been having some issues. According to Himeno, Aki hasn’t stopped searching for a way out. Arai locked himself in a room to have a panic attack. And Himeno knocked Kobeni out because she tried drinking from a toilet.

Oh, and then there’s Power. She started talking about how her new plan is to win a Nobel prize. Then, once she’s earned fame and respect, she’ll run for Prime Minister of Japan. And from there, she’ll rule over humans with fear and taxes.

As it turns out, the only ones having issues are Himeno’s recruits. Aki trying to find a way out of the 8th floor isn’t really a problem. And as Denji puts it, Power always acts that way, so it’s fine. I guess this wasn’t too shocking for Himeno since Power is a Fiend.

But, this just goes to show how much more relaxed Aki’s side of the unit is. Aki, Denji, and Power act the same way they would under any other circumstances. Meanwhile, Arai and Kobeni are going insane and Himeno doesn’t know what to do about the situation.

Himeno might look like she has everything under control. However, we learned that the reason she smokes is to calm her nerves. After all, being a Devil hunter is a stressful job. But, the fact that she ran out of cigarettes shows us how nervous she is about the situation.

Eternity Devil

Eventually, we learned that the Devil of the 8th floor is the Eternity Devil. That’s the first Devil of the series associated with an intangible concept. Previously, we’ve had the Chainsaw, Zombie, Blood, Gun, Ghost, Fox, Bat, and Leech Devils.

I get that zombies and ghosts aren’t real. But, they’re still things. The concept of eternity is a bit different. And now that we know there can be devils like this, that opens the door for a lot of others. At the end of the Episode 5 review, I suggested that a Death Devil could be very powerful.

In my Episode 3 review, I also joked about the Commitment Devil. But, the possibility of there actually being a Devil like this is no longer so far-fetched. Okay, I still don’t think there’s actually going to be a Commitment Devil. But, a Taxes Devil?

Something I want to comment on is how much the Eternity Devil grew from the previous episode. By the end of Episode 6, it was far larger. And the Devil itself attributed this growth to the fear of the Devil Hunters trapped on the 8th floor. But, does this really make sense?

As Makima explained in the past, the strength of a Devil is determined by how much they’re feared. That checks out. But, what doesn’t make sense to me is how the fear of Kobeni and Arai could have such a big impact on this particular devil.

The Eternity Devil was already powerful enough to trap 6 Devil hunters within itself. So, I don’t get what fear has to do with strengthening it here. Also, we don’t know why the Eternity Devil wants the Chainsaw Devil dead. Did the Gun Devil put the Eternity Devil up to it? Why?

Conclusion

One last thing I want to comment on before wrapping up this review is Aki’s sword. Himeno mentions there’s a contract connected to it that removes years from Aki’s life if he uses it. That seems to confirm that a single Devil hunter can have pacts with multiple Devils at once.

So, what do you think of Chainsaw Man Episode 6? Are you a Kobeni fan? Would you rather join Aki’s or Himeno’s squad? And what are some conceptual Devils you’d like to see? 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.

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 7 is available now.

Power Pads Her Chest

The biggest twist of the entire Chainsaw Man anime came in Episode 5. We found out that Power pads her chest. And now that we know she’s smaller than she at first seemed, I like her more. She’s not flat, but she’s a good size.

Also, now that we know she pads her chest, I noticed you can actually see her pads in the OP. In the shot with Power wearing a bikini, you can clearly see the pads in her top. Now that’s the kind of attention to detail that makes it such a good OP. Forget everything else.

Now, you might think that’s the end of me writing about Power padding her chest, but it’s not. You see, I believe she scammed Denji. She said he could fondle her chest 3 times. But, the first time she had her pads in. That shouldn’t count.

I’m actually very surprised that Denji didn’t bring up this injustice himself. How is he okay with 1 of his 3 squeezes being on a pad? It’s no wonder he felt empty inside once it was over with. He got cheated out of a squeeze!

Later in the episode, Makima explains why he felt so empty after fondling Power’s chest. Since he has no romantic or sexual feelings for her, it didn’t do anything for him. And, you know what? Makima’s right. But, she’s setting Denji up for disappointment all over again.

Okay, so I don’t think Makima’s actually going to have sex with Denji in this series. I could be wrong about that. But, I can’t see Denji getting that lucky. However, even if it did happen, Denji would realize that it’s not everything he thought it would be. All Makima’s done is move the goalpost.

The True Strongest Devil?

Let’s talk about what Denji has to do if he wants to have sex with Makima. It’s simple, really. All he has to do is kill the Gun Devil. Is it a coincidence that I called Chainsaw Man a No Guns Life rip-off last week and now we learned about the Gun Devil?

According to Makima, the Gun Devil is the strongest Devil. It originated in America but seems to have made the jump to Japan at some point. Through a flashback, we learned that this was the Devil that killed Aki’s family. And I’m assuming he lived in Japan at the time.

The Gun Devil is a bit strange compared to other Devils we’ve encountered so far. For starters, I have no idea how it wiped out 1.2 million people — or however many Makima said — in a single attack. That didn’t seem very gun-like.

There’s also the fact that the Gun Devil leaves behind pieces of itself. It moves so fast that pieces of its flesh (bullets) break off. These bullets then have a very small magnetic attraction to the Gun Devil. By collecting enough bullets, you can use them to lead you to the source.

And, the fact that the Gun Devil is so hard to find is also strange. After the attack 13 years ago, it disappeared. But, we know it still exists because bullets continue to be left behind.

Also, the bullets have another property. Any devil that eats them becomes stronger. It’s unclear if there’s someone feeding these bullets to devils or they’re eating them on their own. But, either way, this seems to be setting up another Jujutsu Kaisen rip-off. Is Denji going to eat these bullets to gain power like Itadori eats Sukuna’s fingers?

Ghost Devil

Power padding her chest and the existence of the Gun Devil are certainly important. But, those weren’t the only two things we learned about in Episode 5. We also met the other members of Aki’s unit. At least, some of the other members. There may be more.

You see, Aki, Denji, and Power only make up half of the unit. The other half includes Himeno, Arai, and Kobeni. Like Denji and Power, Arai and Kobeni are new recruits. And as Aki is Denji and Power’s handler, Himeno is Arai and Kobeni’s handler.

In fact, Aki and Himeno are actually partners, just as Denji and Power are. And it doesn’t seem that they were split up once they got new recruits to babysit. Earlier in this episode, we saw it was Aki and Himeno who teamed up to take down some sort of fish Devil.

We don’t yet know how Arai and Kobeni fight Devils. But, I’m going to assume that they both have contracts with Devils of their own. We do know how Himeno fights, though. And she does have a contract with a devil. Her contract is why she’s missing an eye.

As you may recall from Episode 4, Aki mentioned to Denji that he has to give up some of his skin to summon the Fox Devil. This seems to be something he has to do every time. That’s not the case for Himeno. She performed a one-time trade with the Ghost Devil.

In exchange for her right eye, she received the ability to use the Ghost Devil’s right arm. Basically, she can force-choke people with an invisible arm. That’s pretty hot — I mean cool. It doesn’t seem like the strongest ability. But, it has the element of surprise.

Conclusion

What do you think of Chainsaw Man Episode 5? Do you think Denji will actually get to have sex with Makima? Is there a stronger Devil than the Gun Devil? The Death Devil, perhaps? And what are your thoughts on Himeno’s Ghost Devil? 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.

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 6 is available now.

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.

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.

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 5 is available now.