Denji and Power: Paw Patrol

Chainsaw Man Episode 3 was very good. It was my favorite episode of the series so far. But, I’m expecting (and hoping) it won’t still be my favorite by the end of the season. This also may have been the first episode to feature the series’ ED.

Before getting into the content of this week’s episode, let’s talk about the OP and ED briefly. For the ED, I don’t have too much to say other than I like it. It’s one of the better EDs of the season, and might actually be the best.

The OP is probably the best OP of the season. But, what I want to point out here is something I noticed about it. At the 1-minute mark, you can see “CSM” spelled out on buildings and the pavement as Denji hits them. I thought that was a neat detail.

Anyway, onto this week’s episode. Right at the start, Denji agreed with me about Power. He said the way she speaks is annoying, and I said the exact same thing in my Episode 2 review. Who knew Denji would be the most relatable protagonist in anime?

We also learned that Power used to have a pet cat named Meowy before she worked for Makima. Another Devil took Meowy hostage. And as Power was working to save Meowy, Makima wrangled her into service. She says that the reason she works for Makima is so she can save her pet.

Denji, amazingly, admits to Power that his goal is to fondle some boobs. Good for him. So, Power decides that she’ll help Denji accomplish his goal if he first helps her accomplish hers. If he can help her save Meowy, Power’s chest is his to fondle. What a deal!

How to Train Your Devil

In Episode 3, we got a bit of Power’s backstory. Unfortunately, it’s neither part of her backstory that I actually wanted to know about. We got to see how Power met Meowy and how Meowy was subsequently taken away from her.

This content was fine. But, I’d have much rather seen how Power became a Fiend. Why did she choose to become one? Or was she forced to become one in order to survive? And how did she select her human body? Was this the body of someone she knew? Someone she killed?

The other part of Power’s backstory I want to see is how Makima got Power under her thumb. We know Power ran into Makima while searching for Meowy. But, how did Makima convince Power to become a Devil Hunter? Did she defeat Power in battle? Or was it casual like when Makima recruited Denji?

Before Makima scooped her up, Power was what I’ll call a feral Devil. She didn’t wear clothes, she was dirty, and she was surviving on her own. She ate animals (and presumably humans) she killed. And she took in Meowy because she wanted to fatten Meowy up before eating her.

Now, although I say Power presumably ate humans, that might not be the case. As we see from the Bat Devil, he’s only interested in eating humans. He doesn’t have much interest in eating Meowy. So, could the reason Power was eating animals while feral be because she didn’t want to eat humans? If so, I wonder why that was.

During her time nursing the malnourished Meowy back to health, she started to like cats. In the present, Power tells Denji that she doesn’t get along with either humans or Devils. Instead, cats are her only friends.

Devil Power (not Power the Devil) Rankings

Early on in the episode, Makima refers to Power as promising and Denji as interesting. Part of her interest in Denji undoubtedly comes from the fact that he’s a human-Devil hybrid. But, she says the reason she’s interested in him is because of his Chainsaw Devil.

Every Devil is the Devil of something. Pochita (now Denji) is the Chainsaw Devil. Power is the Blood Devil. And the big bad of this episode was the Bat Devil. So, why would Makima have a particular interest in the Chainsaw Devil?

She claims it’s because the Chainsaw Devil has the potential to be very strong. According to Makima, the strength of a Devil has to do with how much they’re feared. But, she’s not referring to people being afraid of the Devil itself. Rather, it’s the fear of what the Devil represents.

In Makima’s example, she makes up the Coffee and Car Devils. People aren’t afraid of coffee, so a Coffee Devil would be weak. However, since people are afraid of being run over and killed by a car, a Car Devil would be strong. The implication here is that people are afraid of chainsaws, so the Chainsaw Devil must be strong.

Now, I don’t really agree with Makima’s reasoning here. It sounds more like a Devil’s strength depends on how dangerous the object it represents is. Not how much people fear it. Yes, chainsaws and cars can be dangerous. But, do people fear them all that much?

If a Devil’s strength is really based on fear, then I’d expect the Bat Devil to be far stronger than the Chainsaw Devil. A lot of people have an irrational fear of bats and other animals. The Spider Devil would be one of the strongest.

Conclusion

What do you think of Chainsaw Man Episode 3? Did you expect Power to betray Denji as she did? I didn’t. Do you think Power killed and ate humans as a Fiend? And what would be the strongest Devil based on your own fears? Mine would be the Commitment Devil.

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 4 is available now.

A Dream Worth Fighting For

Chainsaw Man Episode 2 introduced 2 new characters, Aki and Power. But, before getting to them, let’s talk about Makima and Denji’s dream. Denji doesn’t hide the fact that the reason he agreed to become a Demon Hunter is that he likes Makima.

Though, after his first day on the job, he realized that there’s more to like about his new life than just her. This was the first time in his life that other people have treated him well. I mean, Makima’s treating him well for her own gain. But, that’s fine.

Also, Denji gets to bathe, eat good food, and exist in the same room as girls sometimes. What’s not to love about being a Devil Hunter? Well, there is one thing missing. He doesn’t have a goal, dream, or purpose in life. At least, not at first.

It didn’t take long for Denji to settle on a dream of his own. He knows that getting with a girl may be a bit too far off of a goal. So, he settles for touching some boobs. A modest goal. I don’t think he’ll succeed any time soon. But, it’s good to have something to work toward.

Now, speaking of boobs, what’s the deal with Makima? I’m almost certain that she isn’t a human. She’s probably not half Devil like Denji. But, my guess is that she’s a Fiend like Power. And yes, I know she doesn’t have horns or anything like that.

The thing is, Makima and Power have the same eyes. Well, similar eyes. They both have yellow eyes with a red pattern on them. Power’s eye pattern looks like a crosshair while Makima’s looks like concentric circles. Also, they both look down on humans, so there’s that.

Denji and Aki

Aki Hayakawa is the first character in the series to have a surname. We also know for a fact that he’s a human. So, is that further evidence pointing toward Makima being a Devil of some kind? The other two Devils don’t have surnames — just saying.

Anyway, Aki has been working under Makima for 3 years so far. He’s also the leader of a special unit Makima assigns Denji to. This unit also includes Power. For now, we don’t know if there are any other members or if it’s only those 3.

It’s a bit strange that Aki would be the one assigned to lead this unit that includes Devils. As he tells Denji, he hates Devils. He watched a Devil kill his family, and would rather torture them to death than kill them humanely. Why would Makima assign Power and Denji to Aki’s unit?

Conspiracies aside, I can see one practical reason for putting Aki in charge of Power and Denji. If the need arises, Aki won’t hesitate to kill either of them. He might not want to kill them if ordered to. But, if they went berserk and lost their rationality, I’m sure he’d do it.

I assume that at some point in the series we’ll get more information about when Aki’s family died. And I wonder if the Devil responsible for it is dead. What if he doesn’t know the Devil responsible for it? And what if that Devil turns out to be Makima? That would be a twist.

Also, I want to point out that I know there are other characters who weren’t introduced yet. We see them in the OP. But, we don’t yet know if they’re part of Aki’s unit or if they’re members of another unit.

Power Was Better in the OP

In my review of Episode 1, I predicted that Power would be the best girl. Why? Because the OP made her seem like the best girl. She looked like the most fun. But, now that we’ve met her, I’m not so sure that’s the case.

The first problem I have with power is that she sounds annoying. I’m not a fan of her voice or her manner of speaking. She sounds like an annoying version of Shinobu Oshino. And, let’s be honest, she looks like a worse version of Zero Two. So what’s unique about her?

Other than how she sounds, I also don’t like how she acts. Based on what we see of her in the OP, I assume this will change. But, for now, she’s pretty bland. And I know that seems to go against how she introduced herself when she appeared.

When I say that Power seems bland, I mean that her personality is pretty one-dimensional. I feel the same way about Makima. Again, that’s something those two have in common. And that commonality could be because they’re both Fiends. Denji and Aki aren’t like that. Those two are great so far.

Moving on, I want to go over what exactly Power being a Fiend means. As Aki explains, Fiends are what you get when a Devil takes over the corpse of a human. Denji isn’t a Fiend because he wasn’t taken over by Pochita. Pochita revived Denji by becoming his heart.

In Power’s case, she was a Devil who took over the corpse of a human. So, I guess that means her appearance is that of the dead human, not the Devil Power. And, if Power was such a strong Devil, as she claims, why did she become a Fiend?

Conclusion

What do you think about Chainsaw Man Episode 2? Do you think Makima is human? A Devil? A Fiend? Something else? Of the two new characters, who do you like more? Aki or Power? And, if Power’s a Devil residing within a corpse, would it be considered necrophilia if Denji gets with her? 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 3 is available now.

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.