Chainsaw Man

Chainsaw Man has been such a wildly popular manga and hyped anime right from the beginning that I've heard and read so many opinions about it like I haven’t heard about any other series this season, this year, and probably in the fourteen years that I've been watching anime. Its popularity can be proven simply by looking at MAL, where it may not have become the best anime of the season by score (because the new season of Bleach has undeniable qualities, too, as well as an already established and devoted fanbase), but now that the first season is over, it is just a few steps away from a million viewers, a benchmark that many series never reach, some only months or years after being released. Hype is real! And I’m proud of myself for being able to avoid spoilers and watching it blind. Anyway, I do agree with a lot of what its devotees have said, just as I can see a few flaws that the critics have pointed out. So where do I stand? I get all the hype, I have enjoyed much of what I have seen, but I have not yet fallen in love with the series. I'm happy to watch the next season, I even wonder what surprises the writers have in store, but it’s not like I want to go and read the manga right now. In some ways, it has left me cold. Why? Let me start with the reasons that prevented me from giving the series a 5*. Most importantly, it’s the characters. There are some interesting characters here, who are certainly well fleshed out thanks to which I can understand them even in situations where others might not. But do I really like any of these characters and is there anyone with whom I strongly resonate? Unfortunately, my answer at the moment is no. My favorite character in the entire first season of Chainsaw Man is Pochita! And I'll go even further and say outright that the best episode that really worked for me emotionally and that I would easily give a 5* was the first one. It's because it's a lovely story about two tragic souls finding each other, a story of a deep friendship between a boy and a dog that managed to move me and evoke a strong emotional response. No other episode has surpassed that or even come close. Sure, there are some pretty powerful moments, but none of them actually got to me. I only felt slightly emotionally stirred today at the beginning of the twelfth episode, when a  character was remembered by someone who I believed had a really strong relationship with them, which gave all that reminiscing a better and more striking ending. Well, yeah, but the actual death of this major character, when it happened, hardly affected me at all. Nor am I able to relate to most of the characters. I feel too old for Denji and his motivations however well I understand them. There’s been a huge red flag with Makima for me since the second episode. This woman strikes me as an extremely dangerous and unscrupulous manipulator, one that I would stay away from, unlike many others (I simply wouldn't trust a woman who would immediately want to wrap me around her finger so tightly). Power is funny and she likes cats, but she's still a selfish demon who'll ditch you if it's in her best interest. Admittedly, it gives her a lot of room for future development, but she doesn't impress me much right now. Plus, like Genji, she's not the sharpest pencil in the box. Aki's pretty cool, but his backstory and motivations seem like the biggest cliché of all so far, and I almost wonder if he was originally supposed to be the main character, but then Fujimoto strategically put him on the back burner. I found Himeno somewhat likable, but I definitely need more time to establish a stronger bond. Well, and Kobeni? I still have no clue what to think of Kobeni, but there was at least one moment when she literally got on my nerves... So much for my current take on most of the important characters. It's quite possible that this is exactly how it's supposed to be, the author intended it this way and will work with it, but it just doesn’t feel right to me now, and it affects my overall impression and interest... But I have only watched the first part, so I definitely plan on giving everyone another chance, and the issue I have with the series might go away. Another shortcoming that a user here has pointed out, and which I've also noticed, are the occasional problems with pacing. The creators try to effectively stretch out some scenes, but it slows down the pace. Other times they step on the gas too much, negatively affecting the flow of the plot. It's not drastic, and I do understand the creative intent almost every time, but then again, I find it rather distracting sometimes. I guess that sums up the negatives, so let's focus on what was so powerful, skillfully done, and great about Chainsaw Man that a 3-star rating is out of the question. Let me start with the most outstanding aspect, which is the animation and the creativity of the camera work. The animation is excellent. I don't necessarily agree with the opinion that this is the very best of 2022 (the top of animation this year is still the second season of Demon Slayer), but Chainsaw Man is definitely up there in the top 10. To put it in perspective – if the animation in Demon Slayer is 10/10 during certain moments, in Chainsaw Man it is 9-9.5/10 during certain moments. The same goes for the use of CGI. It's excellent, but it's still missing something compared to the very top of what I've seen. It’s about one point short of a perfect experience. What is excellent and worth 10/10 is the camera work. For example, it's probably the first time I've repeatedly seen an absolutely brilliant use of a character’s POV, and it gives the series something truly original. Also, the fights, and especially the movement in them, are wonderfully captured. It has energy, it’s powerful and playful. Another thing I really enjoyed and I’ve come to love is the concept of the world and its use of fear as a kind of measure of power. Plus, the fact that "there are demons who are the personification of fear, but because they are fear personified, they, too, can be afraid of something..." seems pretty cool, and Fujimoto works with it in an interesting way. It's not just material things that scare people (like guns, spiders, bats...), but also various abstract notions like the future, and time. It makes me curious as to how this amazing concept will be further used in this work. I’ve kept the story itself as the last point. I find it intriguing, I want to know what happens next and I even have some idea of where it might go next, though I haven't seen enough to be sure. Hopefully, I can keep avoiding spoilers. Now that the show is out it might be easier. After all, the hype will surely die down a little over time until they announce the second season... I strongly disagree with some critics of this anime who say that it has a lot of holes. From what I've seen so far, most of it makes sense to me. I can apply logic and reasoning to the rest, so it does work as a whole. I don't see any major holes, and regarding the possible minor ones, I trust the story to patch them up, which has already happened in some cases. To sum up, let me use an analogy - Chainsaw Man is like a smart, good-looking woman I didn't get bored with on the first date, but I just didn’t feel a spark. I'll definitely go on a second date with her, it might work out, or we might just stay friends, but even those are pretty high on my list of priorities... 8/10 (12/27/2022) (less) (more)