Arrival in Tokyo

In the first episode of "Chainsaw Man" we were introduced to Denji, an impoverished young man with a pet "devil", part-dog, part-chainsaw, who hunts other "devils" to pay off a massive loan his father left him to the yakuza.

However, when Denji is betrayed by the crims, he was presumed killed, but he fused with his chainsaw-dog to become Chainsaw Man, kind of like a superheroic alter-ego with chainsaws sprouting out of its limbs.

This was all so bizarre, but the show had a quiet logic of its own, and it put me in Denji's world immediately. I empathised and understood him.

In the second episode, Denji has joined the Public Safety Division, a group that either hunts devils or employs them. The group is led by Makima, whom Denji immediately falls for, and he has a co-worker, Hayakawa, who mistrusts his commitment to the job.

Remember when I said the PSD also employs devils? We find out what that means when we are introduced to perhaps the most entertaining character yet, a female "fiend" named Power, with whom Denji gets paired.

After trying, and failing, to get into "Jujutsu Kaisen", I was telling myself that I just hate comedy in anime, that it just isn't for me and always ruins the show. Well, imagine my surprise when I laughed three times during this second episode of "Chainsaw Man"?

Perhaps I can work with humour in anime, after all...

Episode 1 gave us a lot of beautiful static shots but I think the overall feel of the episode was off due to the constant use of CGI among these static shots. Episode 2 continues to rely on CGI, as I would expect to be the case for the rest of the series as well, however it does so to a much lesser extent. Even when it does use CGI, it fits in seamlessly with the 2D animation.

Outside of animation, the adaption has stayed very close to the manga. This episode exempted a brief passage from the manga but those panels aren't necessary in order to understand the story. Another strength so far is that the voice actors fit their roles perfectly and every character has been brought to life exceptionally well.

CSM leaves quite a bit of room to improve thanks to the potential brought along with the source material, however two episodes in and you can already tell this show is destined for greatness. I can't wait to see what the rest of the series has in store.

So I'm happy to say that it looks like we're getting unique ending animations with each new song after all!

That aside, this is the episode where a lot of people are gonna look sideways at Denji's character development and either find it funny or have a problem with it. Soon enough everyone is gonna realize how deep that kind of characterization can get and see a new type of shonen hero emerge from the degeneracy. Can't wait for all the controversy, lol.

Aki is a jerk at first but Denji doesn't take jerkiness lying down, and it's funny in a bad ass kinda way. But the biggest plus is Power!!! Power is just lovable crazy and her upcoming arc is all hype. Episode felt very short but it still looks just as beautiful as the first episode. Next episode please!