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CHAINSAW MAN ANIME!!

Let me tell you, I've been looking forward to this since I first read Chainsaw Man in 2020. It quickly became my favorite manga of all time -- I have a review posted where I gush about Part 1, you can go read that if you're interested -- and I'm ecstatic to say that, so far, this adaptation has lived up to all my hopes.

Since I already wrote a pretty in-depth review of my specific thoughts in the manga review, and since the anime isn't finished airing, I'll be brief:

- The animation is jaw-droppingly gorgeous. I think that it perfectly incorporates 2.5D and ... CGI techniques in a way which is incredibly pleasing to the eye. I was a bit worried about the art style from the trailers being a bit too 'polished'--one thing I love about the manga is how sketchy its style is, and how it lends to the overall tone of the series--but it somehow retains the franticness of the original through immaculate attention to detail and constant motion. The sheer passion and creativity on display in the ending themes is incredible: seeing all the different art styles really makes me feel how much of a collaborative effort this is, and the idea of so many incredibly talented people sharing a passion for CSM just makes me feel warm inside. (Of course, I do want to acknowledge the absolutely absurd amount of work MAPPA is giving its employees: I don't know much about conditions at the studio, but I truly hope the animators are being treated well and compensated generously for their incredible efforts.)

- The cinematography! Oh my god!!! I was excited to see how the anime staff would use Fujimoto's love of cinema and storyboard-like panels to inform their framing, and by god I was not disappointed. I love the establishing shots; I love the camera angles; I love how multiple angles and shots are used to silently communicate Denji's erratic attention span in regular conversation; I love how effectively it places characters to make gorgeous shots laden with symbolism. I love it all.

- The music is, for the most part, incredible! I'll have to go back and pay more attention to the soundtrack, but the tracks that played during the various fights were impactful and awesome. And, of course, the openings and endings have thus far been immaculate. One of my only complaints is that I'm not a fan of the overly cheerful soundtrack that plays over some of the funnier slice of life scenes (specifically, when Power moves in): I think it sounds kinda tacky and out of place. That's like, one of the three minor complaints I have with this whole anime, so keep count!

- The anime does a fantastic job using the unique properties of animation for storytelling to emphasize and enhance Fujimoto's vision. The finger-biting scene was just... incredible. Everything about it was perfect. I could talk about that one scene for, like, an hour. Unfortunately, the anime *does* cut out a scene which I personally believe to be one of the most underrated and crucial parts of the whole manga: the confrontation with the Muscle Devil in Chapter 2. I won't elaborate on this here because it's not really relevant, but if you're interested in my hot takes about a throwaway scene that pretty much everyone forgets about, my DMs are open. (Please be normal.)

- The voice acting is phenomenal and the cast has great chemistry! Gotta say, I'm just not really a fan of Power's voice. I personally always imagined her as an alto who is constantly yelling, not so squeaky. If her VA had leaned more into her performance as Jolyne, I would have been perfectly happy. Her voice is slowly growing on me, because her voice actress is just awesome, but I still need to adjust. Otherwise, the voice acting is fantastic :D

Honestly, I think of myself as a pretty harsh critic. I don't hesitate to rip into stuff I love, because analyzing media is fun, and it gives me a greater appreciation for the work itself. And this is an anime adaptation I have been anxiously awaiting for two years, so my expectations were pretty high. That said, when it comes to every aspect of this anime, I literally have three minor critiques. That's it. Only five episodes in, the CSM anime has shot to the top of my favorites list.

In conclusion, Chainsaw Man good, and I feel very lucky :) Can't wait to keep watching!

KonoSuba is something I avoided watching for years, figuring it would be a generic ecchi comedy. I’m happy to say I was wrong! It’s a fun, lighthearted watch, with a deceptively lovable cast and strong comedic identity. However, it does falter on a few counts, enough so that I’m not fully happy with it.

PART 1: “””Plot”””

Satou Kazuma, an average high school NEET, gets Tractor-kun’d into the afterlife, where a certain useless goddess enlists him to travel to a fantasy world and slay the terrible Demon King. Upon granting him any parting gift he desires to aid his quest, Kazuma, ever genre-savvy, chooses the goddess ... herself. Turns out that being a goddess doesn’t necessarily equal being competent, and even a fantasy world structured like a stereotypical video game setting doesn’t necessarily come with cheat codes intact. Kazuma’s broke, his adventuring party is practically useless, and there are pretty much no opportunities for him to begin his quest to slay the Demon King.

It’s a parody of the isekai genre, not a subversion, so the plot beats are pretty obvious. Can you tell I don’t want to spend any more time on this than necessary? Okay, time for the part that people actually care about!

PART 2: Characters & Comedy

Throughout the first half, the jokes are great. Though their primary character traits are pretty trope-y, the characters have these surprising hidden depths to them that serve to keep the comedy fresh. I was worried that an anime about an isekai protagonist with three beautiful (albeit useless) female party members would quickly turn into some misogynist garbage, but—for the most part—it manages to dodge this by not centering their personal brands of insanity around their interactions with Kazuma. In particular, Aqua’s dependence on Kazuma and low intelligence stat doesn’t necessarily give him the power in their dynamic: it just goes to show that she’s a spoiled brat who, as a goddess with very straightforward duties, never actually needed to develop common sense.

Kazuma is properly pathetic, as all isekai protagonists should be, but it’s played straight—his pathetic-ness isn’t just a result of him being underpowered, he’s just genuinely a loser, through and through—and the anime gleefully pokes fun at him as much as it does the other characters. Kazuma’s pain and hardship is just as much a result of his bad personality and weakness as it is the fault of his party, which is what makes them all so fun to watch. In KonoSuba, everyone’s fair game, and that’s what makes the comedy and character dynamics shine.

KonoSuba has a strange tendency toward suddenly jamming in new characters, instead of showing us the actual sequences of how they met (specifically Wiz and Yunyun). I’m really not a fan of this revisionist-esque writing—show not tell, and all that—but that’s a pretty minor gripe.

Speaking of side characters, most of them are pretty generic, and not especially interesting or memorable. Maybe I’ll feel differently if they get more screentime in season 2, I dunno. I specifically had an issue with the more competent side characters, like Chris and Wiz. By virtue of actually knowing what the hell they’re doing, they act as a stabilizing force in an anime that’s at its best when it’s absolutely unhinged. I’m not saying everyone has to be useless, but I think that competent side characters should either act as obvious foils to the main cast (exaggerating their flaws) or slowly be dragged down into the party’s endless cycle of stupidity (become worse off by knowing them). The guild lady and Kyouya kinda fill those roles, but not really. The side characters need to commit more, or else they’ll remain forever boring.

PART 3: I Complain About Fanservice For A Hot Minute

Unfortunately, the fanservice detracts from the comedy in a way that’s borderline uncomfortable. (Looking at you, succubus wet dream episode.) Having to sit there and watch anime girls blush and stutter as they breast boobily about gives me an insane amount of secondhand embarrassment. Kazuma being a douchebag perv can make for funny scenes (the scene where he frightens Kyouya’s two companions away via horrifying hand motions and disgusting implications cracks me up), but a lot of the time, it falls flat, and then you just have to sit tight and watch anime girls get sexually harassed for minutes at a time. It’s not funny, it’s weird. I came here for comedy, not ecchi garbage. Again, I know that ecchi comedy can be funny—I watched AND enjoyed B-gata H-kei, okay, I get it—but Konosuba doesn’t make it work, because the fanservice actively goes against the main draw of KonoSuba’s comedy.

The primary issue is that it gives Kazuma a LOT of power over the female characters, which screws up the whole point of them all being just as useless as one another. KonoSuba is at its best when it’s a bunch of idiots all dragging each other down further and further into stupidity, and it definitely suffers when it forgets that. (I also feel that the fanservice detracts from any emotional connections you might have made with the characters, but that’s not as much of an issue in season 1 as it is in, say, certain godawful OVAs about cursed chokers!!1! -_-)

PART 4: Art, Soundtrack, etc. (also more complaining about fanservice: it's relevant, I swear)

The art style is pretty generic, and the animation isn’t especially notable, though it has its moments (see Kazuma’s pervy hand gesture scene). The opening theme is an absolute joy to watch, though. The facial expressions and little details—like the shiver that runs through Kazuma’s whole body when he tries slashing that rock monster in half—are delightful!! The expressions are generally pretty top notch. Anyways, get ready for me to complain about forced fanservice again:

I’m no stranger to jiggle physics, but something that really bothered me is how KonoSuba intentionally ignores opportunities for good framing, interesting angles, and impactful sequences, just so that they can squeeze in more fanservice. It starts off kinda funny, by virtue of how stupid and over the top it is, but it quickly becomes aggravating when a whole shot is dedicated to some random background character’s Big Mommy Milkers. I remember one particular shot in the guild, where the camera was pulled so far back you couldn’t see anyone’s faces, but you *could* see the desk lady’s ass sticking into the edge of the frame, for some reason. It’s not only uncomfortable, it’s just plain lazy.

The character designs are pretty cute, while remaining *juuust* practical enough that I don’t get distracted thinking “damn, how is she even moving around in that?” Importantly, they also reflect the characters’ personalities, and suit how they would want to present themselves: Megumin’s cape, oversized belt, and asymmetrical stockings definitely give off the vibe of a kid playing dress-up; Darkness’ armor is relatively practical, and she keeps herself covered up, but her leggings still show off her body; Kazuma’s is practical enough, but with the extra flair of a cape to show off how he’s actually a giant nerd in denial. Honestly, the only one I kinda have an issue with is Aqua's, because I really don't see how it suits her role as a goddess. Either way, their designs are cute and fun in a way that’s not distractingly stupid. I also love the color coordination!

The soundtrack didn’t stand out at all to me (including the opening and ending themes), but what did stand out was the voice acting--specifically, Kazuma’s. Most of the other girls’ voices were basically identical (aka so breathy that, once you notice it, it becomes almost hard to listen to), but Kazuma’s deadpan delivery and screams of rage makes the jokes hit way harder. While
watching, I would genuinely go back and just loop his lines over and over again.

I think I pretty much hit on everything, so let’s wrap this up!

PART 5: Conclusion

KonoSuba is a great anime that is, unfortunately, plagued by frequent fits of generic-ness. It uses fanservice as a safety net for when its comedy falters, which is silly at best and horribly uncomfortable at worst. It certainly exceeded my expectations, and I really had a ton of fun watching it (except for the mind-numbingly boring and generic finale, lol). The core of the anime is really strong, though, and I would recommend it, albeit with a grain of salt. As of right now, I haven’t seen season 2 or the movie. Hopefully they go beyond what the first season had to offer!

[mild spoilers!]

Scissor Seven is one of the greatest, most well thought out anime I’ve ever seen, alongside being criminally underrated. It’s fun, refreshing, exciting, and charming as all hell, and I can’t recommend it enough.

While later seasons transition to a more typical anime style--still villain-of-the-week, for the most part, but with a stronger and more consistent emphasis on a continuous overarching plot--season 1 is very episode-by-episode in terms of plot: for the most part, the focus is on establishing individual characters, their abilities, and their relationships (especially to Liuqi).

Part 1: Characterization

The characters themselves are fun, exciting, and complex. In regards to characterization, I personally find ... that many people seem to confuse “complex” for “complicated,” but I couldn’t disagree more. A character who has loads of backstory, which provides explicit and intricate explanations for each and every one of their actions, does not necessarily make them complex. It’s a weirdly clinical way to look at human behavior: sure, past events and context can give reason for a person’s actions in the present, but is that really all there is to them?

Scissor Seven manages to avoid the traps of either over- or under-explaining its characters. It gives more focus to characters who are more recurring, while still offering exposition for its relatively less important cast. The gorgeous, no-dialogue sequence at the end of the episode about the old grandmother particularly sticks out. It quickly and concisely gives a chronicle of her life, her actions, and her family dynamics, in a way that is simple, artistic, and understated. It is also a lovely showcase for S7’s philosophy on characterization.

Another point of exhaustion for me is anime which thinks that complicated, original backstories make new and exciting characters. The grandmother’s backstory is uncomplicated, and perhaps could even be called standard. But it serves its purpose beautifully. A backstory should provide context for a character’s actions, not explanation. She’s a scam artist, which is an important aspect of her character that her backstory doesn’t touch on at all. She doesn’t need to have some tragic backstory to explain her absurd thriftiness and morally grey attitudes, because backstories don’t define people. She’s just like that.

This philosophy, aside from keeping the characters fresh and fun, also supplements one of the show’s most important themes: nature vs. nurture. As Liuqi discovers more regarding his past, the differences between who he is and who he once was only become more and more stark. His past self was cold, cruel, merciless. Now, he’s a goofy hopeless romantic, whose plain idiocy gets him in loads of trouble. But the Qi of the past and the Liuqi of the present aren’t distinct characters, as much as they are mirrors of each other, serving to further illuminate who he truly is: Liuqi’s softhearted nature is reflected in Qi, for whom one act of mercy nearly cost him his life; Qi’s ruthless dedication to his work as an assassin translates comically into Liuqi’s bullheaded stubbornness, which usually lands him in more trouble than he can manage.

Not only does Liuqi’s goofball attitude keep the show fun and prevent it from becoming monotonous and melodramatic, it also serves to lend further depth to his character. If this is his personality when able to live as a normal person, then how did he become the ruthless assassin we see in the flashbacks? He’s genuinely so fascinating, and I can’t wait to see more.

Part 2: Plot

The pacing of the overarching plot can be a bit shaky, but, in my opinion, that’s more than made up for by literally everything else. Again, the latter seasons stabilize the pacing in a way that feels much more cohesive, but I think that the more scattered, character-centric approach season 1 takes is far more interesting than if they committed to it being a multiple-seasons-long anime from the get go. By taking its time to meander around and play with the different characters before zeroing in on the plot, we get a clearer view on what Liuqi’s idyllic life on Chicken Island is like, making revelations about his backstory hit far harder, as well as hyping you up for the more intense parts of the story soon to come. When, later in the series, Liuqi commits to protecting Chicken Island and its people from any harm that might befall them from the Xuanwu assassins, season 1 is what gives that promise real weight.

The episodes are charming and sweet, once again focusing on characterization above all else. Once it gets to the last two or three episodes, though, things kick into high gear. Although there's a definitive shift between those two parts of the series, they manage to mesh together into one cohesive whole. It also does a great job at what should be every first season's job: gets you ridiculously hyped for more.

Part 3: Everything else lol

Aside from that: the comedy is fantastic, with great visual gags, and the voice acting is also spot on. Liuqi’s “aya”s are solid gold. The English dub is also pretty solid, but it definitely changes some characters’ vibes for the worse (they really did my boy Dabao so dirty :pensive:). (I also want to say that some fansubs more accurately capture the intent of the script better than Netflix's team of translators. It's entirely up to your discretion/convenience which source you decide to watch through, but I figured I'd put that out there!)

The soundtrack is also great, with multiple stand-out vocal tracks and some hard-hitting instrumentals (and, as a nice bonus, it's all on Spotify!). The animation is jaw-dropping: every fight scene is an explosion of movement and color, with camera angles that are ridiculously fluid and hits that land with an intensity and momentum that very few other anime can boast. They're fun, abstract, charming, and badass. Once again, the tonal transition from slice-of-life comedy to high octane action is near seamless, owing to just how *fun* the fights are to watch. The various techniques & weaponry of the different characters are also very fun and creative, lending to some ridiculously unique choreography and some fascinating match-ups. I could go on about the fight scenes for ages, but they speak for themselves far better than I could ever hope to. Trust me, Scissor Seven is worth watching for the sakuga alone.

Part 4: Conclusion

When people say lines like, “you can tell how much passion the team had for this project,” they’re often referring exclusively to the animation. Experimental and ambitious animation can certainly signify a team that loves their work and loves their project, but that’s not always enough for me. Great animation can be the result of a love for the craft of animation itself, not any particular attachment to the anime. This is especially apparent for many anime adaptations of pre-existing works: the animators are adapting and amplifying the intent of the original author, but perhaps don’t have much room to put their own personal touch on it.

That’s where Scissor Seven truly sets itself apart: its heart. It has all the hallmarks of a great anime: fun characters, a good sense of humor, consistent and beautiful animation, engaging plotlines--both episodic and overarching--that keep you hooked. But above all else, Scissor Seven is a passion project, through and through. Every single detail, every joke and reference and meme and gorgeous, high-quality, experimental fight scene is brimming with love and affection for the characters and world of Scissor Seven, as well as art itself. In every single moment, you can feel how much fun the team was having. It may sound melodramatic to say in regards to an action-comedy about an amnesiac hairdresser/wannabe assassin, but Scissor Seven is really an art piece, and it’s only getting better with each coming season. I can't recommend it enough. (Plus, since it's not super popular, you can flex how refined your taste is to your friends. You're welcome for that!)

EDIT: Chainsaw Man is really intense, and not for everyone. This manga features child neglect/abuse, gore, vomiting, grooming/psychological manipulation, and pedophilia. If any of that is upsetting for you, tread carefully!

This review was written after the ending of Part 1.

--

I hate reviews that start off with unnecessary prose, so let's skip all that and get to the meat of things!

Chainsaw Man is a story which thrives in its unexpectedness. It's a story that takes you for twists and turns in its plot and characterization, but mostly through its simultaneous homage to and subversion of shonen tropes. It's a story that looks dumb as hell, with ... a protagonist who acts dumb as hell, with a goal that seems dumb as hell (touch some booooooooobs). But where Chainsaw Man gets you is that it anticipates your exhaustion with these tropes. It anticipates that you'll accept the meathead perverted protagonist at face value and shrug off the lack of culpability put on Makima for her actions in endangering a minor. Because all shonen protagonists are teenagers who go through terrible things and are burdened with the fate of the world on their shoulders, so who cares?

Fujimoto does. And he wants *you* to care, too. And so he deconstructs common, unquestioned tropes left and right, creates characters whose complexity extends beyond convoluted backstories, and constantly ups the ante, all without creating a story so large it self destructs.

PART 1: Don't Open the Door (Denji, the Plot, and Subverting Shonen Tropes)

At the core of Chainsaw Man is its protagonist, Denji: a destitute, impoverished teen, who struggles daily to survive a cruel and uncaring world in order to pay off his late father's insurmountable debts to the yakuza. By his side is Pochita, his pet chainsaw devil. Denji is willing to do most anything to make a pretty penny: cutting down trees, hunting devils (which is highly dangerous), even selling body parts on the black market. Denji's life is tragic, but it is not meaningless. Unlike many shonen protagonists, his life of barely surviving on a piece of bread a day with his father's impossible debt looming over his head, is not a set piece to get the plot rolling, and quickly be forgotten. Nor does his backstory encompass the entirety of his character and limit his development. Denji's difficult past deeply influences his worldview and personality, but he is still treated as a highly impressionable teenager. He is both naive about the ways of the world and intimately familiar with the worst humanity has to offer.

When Denji joins the Public Safety Devil Hunters, he doesn't have much of a higher calling. He frankly doesn't care much about killing devils to save people or anything like that (at least, not at the beginning). It's a do or die situation: after being attacked by a devil, Pochita, saves his life by giving him his chainsaw devil powers. In exchange, he asks Denji to chase his dreams. When the local Public Safety force which protects Japan from devils arrive on the scene, Denji is given an ultimatum: to die at their hands as a devil, or to sacrifice his freedom to work for them, using his unique powers to become a devil hunter. Denji accepts the latter, of course. But Denji does not hate Makima, the devil hunter who put him in this situation. Instead, he is grateful to her, because she hugged him and promised to feed him breakfast.

Denji's tragic backstory doesn't exist just to make him easier to root for. It is a *core component* of who he is in a way that is incredibly compelling, as well as being more authentic to the real-world impact of severe trauma (especially childhood trauma). His easy acceptance of the dilemma Makima presents him with is rooted in the fact that he has never really been free. He's used to being used. At least he knows Public Safety will feed him. Throughout the story, every single one of Denji's dreams -- to eat good food, to have a friend to play video games with, to touch a girl's boobs, to have sex with a girl -- is a painful reminder of his deprived childhood. Denji is blunt, and Denji is simple. The only things he wants are safety, a home, and a person who cares about him.

In an incredibly refreshing twist, Denji's history of abject poverty and his role as a devil hunter is not passed off as 'normal,' and is instead actively questioned and challenged. The most overt example of this takes place halfway through the first part, when Denji makes a friend his age who truly sees him for who he is. Together, the two of them sneak into a high school to goof around and hang out. But, partway through the evening, Denji's new friend says this:

"At 16, you're still just a kid, you know? It's when most kids are studying to get into college, throwing themselves into a club or a sport, hanging out with friends.... But *you're* killing devils, almost getting killed yourself... Is this Public Safety place you're with right now really a good place?"
"Yeah, they're super great! I get three meals a day and I get to sleep in a bed."
"That's, like, the *bare minimum* standard of living in Japan... It's *not* something amazing."

Ah! How refreshing!! Another character acknowledging that Denji's situation is irrevocably fucked, and *specifically* because of his age!!! Of course, hurt/comfort tropes have their place in shonen. But I've never seen a conversation like this, where a character tells the protagonist that not just one thing that happened is sad or fucked up -- that their whole situation sucks, actually, and why isn't anyone doing anything about it? (I love Fullmetal Alchemist dearly. I spent the entire manga and both anime waiting for ONE (1) person to acknowledge that being a child soldier at age 12 is Kinda Bad instead of impressive.) There are no other teenage devil hunters who are thrown into combat because they are "talented" or "smart" or whatever. It just isn't done. Denji is a special case, because he is a devil hybrid, and is explicitly treated as inhuman by most of the cast. In a genre populated by underage protagonists tackling world-destroying threats, it's very refreshing to see this questioned.

In the interest of avoiding spoilers, I'll refrain from going further into Denji's character and development. But just know that Denji is not a static protagonist, and his ridiculous quest in the first dozen or so chapters to touch a girl's boobs is not his defining trait. Generally speaking, I hate perverted protagonists! I think they're annoying as hell. But Denji isn't a pervert. He's a traumatized kid looking for connection with someone, anyone. And that, to me, is compelling.

PART 2: Connections and Supporting Characters

The supporting cast in Chainsaw Man is great, because they are all batshit crazy.

One character acknowledges that you have to have a few screws loose to survive as a devil hunter. These characters -- many of whom aren't human -- act entirely outside the boundaries of normal behavior to survive as devil hunters. And yet they're all still realistic and compelling, with their own goals, relationships, personalities, and traits. There's a sort of impulsivity about their actions, which only adds to the sense that these are characters who are just trying to survive a chaotic and cruel world. In so doing, Fujimoto enhances the complexity of his characterization, while also lending to the frantic pacing of the plot.

Chainsaw Man features a *lot* of character death. Will your favorite survive to the end? Chances are, probably not! But despite that, somehow Fujimoto avoids exhausting readers with deaths. You know you shouldn't care, because there's no guarantee they'll live to the next chapter, but you still do. Some deaths are foreshadowed for entire chapters, while others happen entirely out of the blue. But regardless, each serves a purpose, and each is genuinely upsetting.

Beyond that, each character develops and progresses naturally, where even your least favorites start to grow on you. (I hated Kobeni when I started reading Chainsaw Man. Now I would die for her.) They don't all progress in a positive way, but they are constantly changing.

A true standout character in my eyes is Power. She's a fiend -- a devil possessing a human corpse -- who is a fellow devil hunter, and becomes one of Denji's closest friends. She's also a total bastard.

Power is very unique in my eyes, because, yes, she's really cute and funny, but she's also an absolute moron. That's not very common in anime and manga, for female characters to just be stupid! Usually, a dumb female character is a cutesy airhead whose obliviousness is played for laughs and/or ecchi scenes. But Power is just as much of a jerk as Denji, if not more. They get up to antics together, prank their housemate Aki, riff off each other, and generally have an incredibly strong dynamic. As a female anime fan, it's really, really refreshing to see a female character whose gender doesn't limit her personality traits to only 'cutesy' feminine stuff! It's also really refreshing to see a 100% platonic dynamic between her and Denji. (Power is also a very compelling character herself, which I won't get into because Spoilers.)

Chainsaw Man doesn't shy away from depicting unhealthy relationships, either. The relationship between Denji and Makima is one of the most crucial and compelling things about the manga, and it is laden with emotional manipulation and abuse tactics. Depicting grooming is difficult enough, and doubly so when the groomer is a beautiful woman. However, Fujimoto manages to capture the duality of such a relationship: both the kindness which draws a victim into an abusive relationship, and the cruelty which keeps them there. Again, in the interest of avoiding spoilers, I'll stop here. But I will say that reducing Denji to a simp does a great disservice to both characters, and also perpetuates the toxic idea that men can't be victims.

I really wish I could ramble about all the characters in Chainsaw Man, because I love literally all of them (except Santa Claus and Makima. All my homies hate Santa Claus and Makima). But much of what makes them amazing can't be summed up in brief personality descriptions, and instead has to be read through their relationships with each other. For all the brashness and bluntness of the manga, there is a beautiful subtlety to the character development, which is best experienced, rather than told.

PART 3: Art

The art of Chainsaw Man seems to be a point of contention for many! Personally, I've always liked it. I find that Fujimoto's sketchy style lends to the feeling of urgency and dread as you're waiting for the next Big Thing to happen. Also, his expressions and grasp of anatomy is godlike. But the art *is* very sketchy, and sometimes his characters fall a bit out of proportion (especially on profile views). Where Fujimoto's art truly shines is in Chainsaw Man's many gory fight scenes and eye-grabbing panels. In general, Fujimoto's panel construction is incredible. You can definitely see that he's a huge film fan, with how he uses all sorts of different angles and layouts in an attempt to emulate famous cinematography. Chainsaw Man is not a story that happens to be a manga -- it takes advantage of the medium to lay itself out as a storyboard, and lets the reader fill in the gaps. (God, it's going to look so good animated. Hype.)

Although Chainsaw Man loves blood and guts, it's not super intense / detailed -- squeamish folks may want to tread carefully, but most people will probably be fine. The gore isn't gross, but it is fun and flashy. Character design-wise, Fujimoto really shines with designing the various devils, fiends, and half-devil hybrids, as well as making all the members of Public Safety stand out despite their simple designs.

Overall, you can tell that Fujimoto believes in the ten-second principle -- most people spend only ten seconds looking at a panel before moving on. But his artistic chops can't be denied, especially when you're looking at the full-page or spread panels.

PART 4: In Summary

To finish this off, I want to say that Chainsaw Man is good as hell. It's a smart manga that is gory, painful, frequently hilarious, and will make you feel despair like you've never felt before. But beyond the blood, guts, gore, and sex, Chainsaw Man is at its core a story about trauma, chasing your dreams, personal growth, and the connections you make with other people (for better or for worse). I wouldn't go so far as to call it a deconstruction, but if you're a shonen fan who's become a bit disillusioned with the genre, Chainsaw Man is a breath of fresh air. (Especially since as of December 14, 2020, when this review is being posted, the announcement for an anime AND a "part two" of the manga just dropped a few days ago. And part 2... oh boy howdy does it look good!)

While the pacing is quite fast, I think it suits the tone of the story quite well; after all, this isn't exactly a forgiving world, and the characters themselves are rarely given any downtime. The rapid pacing doesn't mean that Fujimoto overlooks his characters for the sake of keeping the plot moving; on the contrary, it allows him to write more subtle, easily overlooked moments of setup and characterization, keeping up the hype while also ensuring that future developments aren't cheap or jarring. It adds a lot of reread value, which I find most manga to be lacking in. Once you know how things end, looking back to analyze in depth how things got to that point in the first place is really interesting!

I want to be clear: this story *hurts*. It's immensely tragic. One chapter was so sad and stressful that another mangaka had to take a week-long mental health break. I was basically comatose for an entire day after binge reading it, and I'm still unpacking all that I read. But, if you've got the time and energy to devote to it, Chainsaw Man is an incredibly unique experience that won't let you down.

so!

i don't know why this exists, but it does. i really, really don't understand why this exists. it may be very deep, but i would have no idea, i couldn't find subs.

i wanted to find the least popular anime on this site and watch it, and, as of 9/4/18, this is that anime... qiezi mabo forever. the fried chicken mix, specifically. i'm just as confused as you are, i swear.

story: as far as i can tell, a sad looking businessman one day encounters a rapper in a hoodie + ski mask, who begins rapping at him so intensely the businessman clips through the ground and ... pills begin dancing around him--my theory is his encounter with the Hip and Happening Youth (TM) made him realize how pathetic and mundane his existence was, so as his world collapses beneath him he falls into a drug-induced spiral of bad decisions, leading him to hallucinate his marriage, only friends, and forcing him to question what's real and what's not.

the actual plot: he sleeps with a lady dressed as a playboy bunny. meanwhile, the rapper dude grows to gargantuan sizes + ascends to godhood. as the Gang is watching television together with them on it, the rapper + bunny lady disappear, and the businessman clutches his head and collapses in despair. then the video loops. it's really good 3/10

art: it's just.. cel shaded 3d models i think?? it serves its purpose, i suppose. it doesn't look outright awful, just a bit boring, but i appreciate the minimalism of the backgrounds, they look neat. 6/10

sound: this song is so sonically confusing, i have listened to it four times and i still don't understand it. 4/10

character: i love the rapper guy so much. 5/10

enjoyment: i'm baffled and delighted. qiezi mabo forever is entertaining, at least, and at the end of the day, that's what matters. do you want to confuse someone? link them this five minute music video, and try to have them analyze it critically. hours of fun for the whole family, 10/10

i don't know what this music video was trying to do, and i don't know if it achieved what it was trying to do, but it has changed me. thank you, qiezi mabo forever (fried chicken mix). i love you. 4/10

UPDATE 10/3/20 - was listening to my personal playlist. heat by brockhampton came on. i was terrified, because its opening is fundamentally identical to qiezi mabo forever (fried chicken mix). i haven't thought about this song since i first reviewed it. anyways. hope y'all are having a good one