Chainsaw Man Season 1 Episode 3 begins with the aftermath of Power’s bloody slaughter of the Sea Cucumber’s Makima tells Power that when Public Safety kills a civilian hunter’s devil they commit a crime and are usually arrested. Power’s revealed to be the Blood Devil. She can use blood as a weapon and has a tendency towards aggression. When Makima questions whether Power might not be cut out for Devil Hunting duty, she lies and tells Makima that Denji ordered her to attack. It’s not a convincing lie. Makima tells them to be quiet and work together in such a manner that it suggests she has a weird control over Power. 

Rescue Meowy

While Denji gets himself a drink from the vending machine, Power encounters a cat. She tells Denji she hates humans but “enjoys only a cat’s company.” She then reveals that her pet cat Meowy was taken by a devil. Unfortunately, she was captured by Makima and hasn’t been able to rescue her cat. Using Denji’s lust for breasts, Power convinces him to help. Elsewhere, Makima meets with the higher ups. They mention that other countries have started using devils in the military. They hope that one day Japan’s only enemies will be devils. I wonder if they intend to kill off all the other humans or if they assume the other countries will leave Japan alone. 

At the outskirts of the city, Power points out an isolated house where the devil is keeping Meowy. As they walk towards the house, Denji wonders if she should be so close, especially if the devil is going to use the cat against her. Power claims to have “misspoke” when she mentioned this possibility earlier. Tension arises, as the two stop. Suddenly, Power creates a blood hammer and strikes Denji as he attempts to counter with his ax. She wins. Dragging the unconscious Denji inside.

Power’s betrayal and the Bat Devil

Inside is the Bat Devil. Missing his arm, Power and him agreed she’ll bring him a human in exchange for Meowy. The Bat Devil squeezes Denji hard enough to force him to spit up blood. While Denji’s blood tastes disgusting to the Bat Devil, it’s enough to restore its arm. The Bat Devil seeks other humans to “cleanse” itself of the vile taste, specifically children. Having fulfilled her end of the bargain, Power asks for Meowy back. The Bat Devil punishes her for bringing such a bad tasting human by swallowing Meowy and its cage. He grants Power the same fate. Obviously, by swallowing both of them they’ll still be alive. It’s up to Denji to save them. 

As the Bat Devil takes off towards the city, Denji latches on to its leg. Appalled, the Bat Devil tries to fling Denji off, but the latter transforms into the Chainsaw Devil and cuts off the Bat Devil’s arm. The two crash into a building and begin to fight. I’ve mentioned before the similarities between Chainsaw Man and Jujutsu Kaisen, but one of the differences is how the civilians are directly affected by the conflict. In JJK, the Cursed Spirits cannot be seen by regular people and so are indirectly affected, 

Bat Devil vs Chainsaw Man

During the fight between The Bat Devil and Chainsaw Man, it’s not made clear if Denji actually cares about all humans or just women. When the Bat Devil tosses a car with a man inside. Denji tosses it back claiming he doesn’t “care about dudes.” The man survives by jumping out before the car explodes in the Bat Devils’ face. 

The battle between the two is unsurprisingly impressive; the animation specifically when the Bat Devil shoots a sonic shockwave, was beautifully rendered. The power system hasn’t been fully flushed out yet we got some small information. First, Chainsaw Man can retract his chainsaws at will. Secondly, Makima notes that Devils get their power from how much their names are feared. The Devil’s power scale is based on the amount of fear their name induces. Makima finds the Chainsaw Devil to be interesting for this reason and I happen to agree. 

Do you think Makima has some sort of strange control over Power? Will Power learn to like humans? Just Denji? Or will she hate humans forever? Does Denji seem too forgiven? What do you think about the possibility of military based Devils. Is there a Nuclear Bomb Devil? 

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