Chainsaw Man Episode 2 review: Denji’s first day on the job

❘ Updated: 2022-12-22T04:22:01

Crunchyroll

Chainsaw Man Episode 2 may not be as bombastic as the first installment, but it successfully sets up a lot of bombastic characters.

Chainsaw Man has been one of the most hyped-up anime in recent years, and it’s finally arrived on Crunchyroll, with its two set-up episodes available to watch.

The plot is described as Crunchyroll as “Denji is a teenage boy living with a Chainsaw Devil named Pochita. Due to the debt his father left behind, he has been living a rock-bottom life while repaying his debt by harvesting devil corpses with Pochita. One day, Denji is betrayed and killed. As his consciousness fades, he makes a contract with Pochita and gets revived as ‘Chainsaw Man’– a man with a devil’s heart.”

The first episode managed to make a big splash, but the the second episode continue the hype? First, spoiler warning for Chainsaw Man ahead…

Chainsaw Man Episode 2 is a more relaxed affair

It’s typical of anime that after an initial onslaught of a first episode, the following episode will calm things down a little. Chainsaw Man is no different, as it focuses on setting up Denji’s new life as a government demon hunter and the characters that now surround him – though the opening credits remain as kick-ass as ever, with plenty of fun film references that we’ve discussed before.

Each character has their classic – some may say stereotypical – archetype, but they are all easily identifiable and this new cast will likely bounce off each other well in the following episodes. Their initial relationships are also successfully established in a short amount of time.

This includes the first scene, which has Denji and Makima discussing what their roles will be to one another at work. It’s a very funny scene that goes back and forth, and it shows from the get go how their relationship will be sweet with a dark underlining. It’s obvious that she’s using him, but he’s so immediate blindly devoted that it’s borderline endearing to watch.

Raunch and blood remain a constant

Denji himself is an endearing character, even in his raunchier moments. He acts like a teenage boy, grabbing explicit magazines after he’s slaughtered demons and, when trying to decipher what his new colleague’s serious dreams are, states, “I’ve got something to be serious about! My goal is… boobs!” One could argue that the show is raunchy to the point of juvenile, but his dialogue is acted well enough that it still comes across as humorous.

There’s some short and limited action scenes in this episode, but they still mage to stand out. His alleyway confrontation with Hayakawa – who acts as a great straight man to Denji – is hilarious as Denji only aims for the nuts, and the final scene, which has Power jumping off a building to slam a demon with her hammer, proves that she’s going to be a hit character with audiences.

The animation is faster than the previous episode, thankfully, and even the small amount of blood that gets spilled this time is enough to have us pumped to see what happens next.

And with Denji bound to work as a demon hunter until he dies, there’s sure to be a lot more blood to come.

Chainsaw Man Episode 3 premieres on Crunchyroll on October 25.

Want more Chainsaw Man reviews? Check out our other episodic reviews below