An opening this dense has to be broken down into separate parts, so we will have a look at it in two halves, the first being the build-up that uses movie references to demonstrate our main cast's characteristics to be expected throughout the anime. The first reference is more historical than pop-culture related, pointing to a picture from Dante’s Divine Comedy of a devil who a politician fools as Denji pulls his chainsaw cord, foreshadowing his subservience to Makima. The next ten seconds are packed with Yamashita’s love of cinema as Makima leads our gang of Denji, Power, and Aki across an empty Tokyo street in black ties and suites, mirroring the intro to Reservoir Dogs.

There is a short nod to Texas Chainsaw Massacre straight after, followed by Captain Kishibe mirroring Jules Winnfield’s wallet scene in Pulp Fiction, another nod to Quentin Tarantino’s works. Then, in quick succession, we get a reference to the horror movie Sadako vs Kayako, Galgali posing as Anton Chigurh from No Country for Old Men, another Tarantino flick in Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and a comedic scene from Attack of the Killer Tomatoes. Finally, the first section is rounded out with three horror references starting with Hideo Nakata’s lesser-known movie Don’t Look Up, the psychological horror Jacob’s Ladder, and the superhero thriller Constantine.

There is much to unpack here, with our character’s power dynamics illustrated in these references. In addition, Denji’s position in these movie scenes helps us understand his role throughout Chainsaw Man. This is best exemplified in his being led around by Makima to show his obedience towards her, his friendship dynamic with Aki demonstrated by the car ride from Once Upon a Time in Hollywood, and the terror in his eyes as Power laughs in ode to Don’t Look Up. Further, into the opening, we get a reference to the opening title of Thor: Love and Thunder while Makima leads Denji on a leash hitting the nail on the head of his subordination to his new master. In complete contrast, we have a reference to The Big Lebowski, where our four main characters are goofing around playing a game of bowling to bring forth the tone that these people look out for each other. Similarly, the scene mimicking Attack of the Killer Tomatoes brings out the comedic value Chainsaw Man has woven into its bloody story.

The second half of the opening begins after an interlude with Makima leading Denji through a forest and feeding him a multi-coloured snail before we get the crashing crescendo of the song Kick Back, with the beat ramping up as Denji smashes out of a wall in his chainsaw form. Denji, Power, and Aki are fighting a giant devil before we get our following reference which presents Denji’s chainsaw form in parallel to EVA 1’s escape from the angel Leliel in Neon Genesis Evangelion. The blood and gore illustrate Chainsaw Man’s most iconic theme of violence, part of what has made the manga so popular.

The final two references in the opening note fall to Power as she whacks a golden ball down the street, mirroring the detonated statue scene in Fight Club, foreshadowing her character’s exploration of anarchic and nihilistic motifs much like the film. Finally, Power walks away from an explosion as director Yamashita pays homage to the one-shot manga Goodbye, Eri, from the same creator as Chainsaw Man.

Panning past a few of the show's villains and devils, we reach the end of the opening, where Aki is seen smoking whilst watching Denji and Power doing the Mickey Mouse Hot Dog dance. The ending perfectly encapsulates the two brain cells shared between Denji and Power and Aki’s absolute ambivalence towards the two as we finally fade to black in one of the most densely backed openings anime has ever seen.