Manga fans are excited to see Denji on the screen, so of course, we’re looking forward to his first ‘proper’ battle as the Chainsaw Devil.

After becoming the Chainsaw Devil, Denji begins working with Public Safety Devil Extermination Special Division 4—a group of extra-judicial hunters who form contracts with devils and fiends to hunt other, more dangerous devils.

After being partnered with the enigmatic Blood Devil Fiend, Power, Denji finds his simple honesty exploited. Power lures Denji to the horrific Bat Devil, intending to sacrifice him in exchange for her abducted cat, Meowy. This begins Denji’s first official fight as the Chainsaw Devil—a splashy, gory introduction to the brutal world of Chainsaw Man.
Also: we’re not saying we’d sell out a friend to save our cat…but is Power wrong?!

The true villain of Chainsaw Man appears to be the powerful Gun Devil, a being that once annihilated 1.2 million people in five minutes, then promptly vanished. The Gun Devil’s expended bullet casings exude a vicious aura that empowers lesser devils, and Public Safety collects these casings to try to understand the Gun Devil better.

Aki Hayakawa serves Public Safety and often acts as the division’s most straight-laced officer. He takes his work seriously, and intends to eliminate all devils—but his backstory makes his determination all the more heart wrenching. Aki indirectly killed his younger brother and watched his whole family die in front of his eyes when the Gun Devil attacked Japan.

This moment is horrific, but provides so much context for one of Chainsaw Man’s main characters. Aki deserves good things—but a happy ending seemingly isn’t in the cards for any characters in Chainsaw Man.

On the hunt for the Eternity Devil, the 6-man crew winds up stuck in a warped domain created by the monster. Having consumed a chunk of the Gun Devil’s flesh, the Eternity Devil possesses the power to manipulate space and time, creating an endless, looping pocket dimension inside the 8th floor of a hotel.

The character interactions in this arc are some of the best, especially when the Eternity Devil offers to free the others in exchange for sacrificing Denji. Denji and Power are (quite typically) acting like children the whole time, while the timid and inexperienced Kobeni is ready to kill Denji to escape this eternal hell.

In the end, Denji engages in a brutal war of attrition against the Eternity Devil, and unironically invents a perpetual motion machine in the process. Winning the day and inventing a Nobel Prize-winning concept at the same time? That’s our Denji!

Let’s rewind. When we’re introduced to Denji, he’s a teenager living rough on the streets, indebted to the yakuza, and surviving only with the help of Pochita—the original Chainsaw Devil. After he’s betrayed and nearly killed by the yakuza, Pochita fuses with Denji and transforms him into the new Chainsaw Devil.

None of this changes the simple fact that Denji is just a teenage boy. Unlike so many shounen series that try to make teenagers have the mental capacity of adults, Denji acts like a teenager. He’s over-eager and reckless, and unashamedly horny. In fact, his dying wish—and one regret—is that he never got to touch boobs.

Far from coming across as perverted, this wish is just the sadness of a boy whom society rejected and tried to erase. To that end, the beautiful (and busty) Makima—the head of Public Safety—immediately becomes the object of Denji’s affections, particularly when she promises Denji her body if he helps kill the Gun Devil. Even Power offers her boobs to Denji in apology for betraying him to the Bat Devil.

Although these moments could come across as dumb, ecchi fan service, in reality, these scenes are handled with a quiet sadness that exposes Denji’s youth and inexperience. We’re really hoping MAPPA can capture the same melancholy emotions as the manga!

Throughout the majority of Chainsaw Man, the reader is given sly hints that there’s more to Makima than what first appears. And although we’re not about to spoil the biggest twist about Makima, there is a key moment in the Katana Man arc that we found particularly jaw-dropping.

In a bloody, unforgiving arc that sees main characters murdered unexpectedly, Denji finds himself facing his greatest threat yet—a katana-wielding man from the yakuza whose father was the mob boss who betrayed (and was subsequently killed by) Denji.

With her back against the wall and the Special Division falling apart, Makima finally reveals her powers. She gathers 30 convicts on death row, takes them to the summit of a temple, and unleashes her innate ability. Focusing on the names of the Katana Man’s allies, she executes the death row convicts—and kills the Katana Man’s henchmen at the same time, regardless of position or distance.

This is our first insight into Makima’s true strength, and the fear she instills in other senior members of Public Safety. Although this entire arc has brilliant, standout moments, we can’t overlook the haunting reveal of Makima’s powers—and the slow, sinking, realization that Denji is just another puppet for her to manipulate.