It’s nuts or nothing

Chainsaw Man Season 1 Episode 2 gives us a general sense of Makima. She’s manipulative and domineering. She tells Denji that he should “only” answer her using “yes,” and “woof”. For Makima Denji is a “dog” that should be obedient otherwise he’s useless and should be “put down.” In fact Makima threatens to kill or have Denji killed a number of times in this episode. Denji’s relationship with Pochita contrasts greatly with his relationship with Makima. 

Despite this, Makima is able to use Denji’s hunger and his lust to her advantage. When Denji asks “what type of guys she likes” Makima responds (in unconvincing fashion) “Denji” type guys. However, in the first episode we learned that despite Denji’s appearance and behavior he’s actually capable of making his own decisions. At least when he wants to. Right now he’s obsessed with food, boobs, and Makima. 

At Devil Hunter headquarters in Tokyo, Makima introduces Denji to Aki Hayakawa, a hunter that started working three years ago. They get off to a poor start. Denji wants to work with Makima and Aki assaults Denji in an alleyway. Aki claims he’s trying to “be nice” and spare Denji from dying. He doesn’t believe Denji actually wants to fight devils and would likely get himself killed. I think he’s right. 

However, Denji has different ideas. Aki gets kicked in the nuts for his violent attempt to convince Denji to quit. Personally, I found the moment to be a bit juvenile and a little funny. Plus Aki had it coming. 

I don’t have any friends

The first mission Aki and Denji attempt together is one regarding a fiend. A Fiend is a devil that has possessed a human corpse. Aki wants to see Denji transform into the Chainsaw Devil but Denji just decapitates the fiend. It would have been overkill to transform and likely to frighten the cops outside. Furthermore, Denji states that he doesn’t want to make the Fiend suffer, so he gave him a painless death.

Aki finds this offensive. His entire family was killed by a devil and the police are protecting their families. To Aki, Denji isn’t taking the threat of Devils and Fiends seriously. Denji’s motivation reminds me of Tanjiro’s from Demon Slayer. He’s willing to kill them but has a soft spot for some. Tanjiro has met “good” demons like Tamayo and Denji had Pochita. 

When Aki leaves, Denji admits that he “ just wanted to keep the blood away from the porn magazines on the ground.” Denji had nothing. So to him, getting to bathe daily, eat good food, and hang out with a “hot chick (Makima),” makes his life perfect. He’s a simple man. But something’s missing. A goal. Denji decides his goal is to try to touch a woman’s boobs. 

My name is Power

Denji is given a partner. Her name is Power and she’s a Fiend. Makima explains that Public Safety Devil Extermination Special Division 4 is an “experimental” unit. Without results the “higher ups,” will dissolve the team resulting in Denji and Power being killed. Power is blood crazed and she’s eager to kill devils. She finally smells blood and takes off. The Sea Cucumber Devil is attacking Nerima Station. Power leaps off a building and mashes it with a hammer made from her blood and laughs while covered in its blood. 

I definitely think Power is the most interesting character introduced so far. I’m intrigued by the fact she’s a Fiend. I really want to know how that happened. The power system seems to be more fluid so far. I wonder how specific and limited it becomes if it does at all. So far the Devils haven’t been too difficult to defeat. I don’t expect that to remain the standard but other than the Zombie Devil the rest don’t really stand out except for their design. 

So what did you think of episode 2? Do you think Makima is as manipulative as I do? Is the humor of this series too juvenile? Are the Devil too weak? How did you like Power? 

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