Chainsaw Man Season 1
Episode 2 Recap And Review
Episode 2 of Chainsaw Man opens with Denji and the female Devil Hunter talking in his car. The female devil hunter lays down the rules for Denji, who begins to find her a little scary.
Denji confirms that Pochita is dead and doesn’t like the way she treats him like a pet. They arrive at the rest area and the woman says she will pay for his meal since she doesn’t have cash. After the woman gives Denji something to wear, Denji begins to like her.
As the two wait for their udon, Denji starts to feel a little nervous about the blood he lost in his previous battle. Denji explains his situation to the woman in more detail. The woman tells Denji that she can feel Pochita alive inside her because of her wonderful sense of smell. Denji relaxed and passed out again.
He wakes up and lets the woman feed him even though he can eat himself. When Denji asks her what type of boys she likes, she pretends to be Makima. He replies with a “Denji” type as the two decide to go to the Tokyo headquarters for the Demon Hunters.
Makima informs Denji that there are over a thousand Demon Hunters and civilians in Tokyo. He argues that Social Security has the best benefits and plenty of paid vacation time. Denji only thinks about getting together with Makima.
At his office, Makima presents Denji with his new uniform and introduces him to his new co-worker, Aki Hayakawa. To calm him down, Makima tells Denji that if he does something incredible, maybe they’ll work together one day. Hayakawa takes Denji to a nearby alley and beats him up. Hayakawa tells Denji that he has to leave work. He feels that Denji will die like the rest of his colleagues because he has no real motivation for the job.
Denji retaliates and gets the better of Hayakawa by kicking his family jewels. Denji tells Hayakawa that he doesn’t care if the job is killing him because he has a fun and better life under Makima. After defeating Denji Hayakawa, the two inform Makima and Denji shouts his beef with Hayakawa.
Makima ignores their tenuous partnership and makes Denji an official member of the Hayakawa division. Although Hayakawa doesn’t like the idea, Makima explains that his team is experimental, working differently from the usual method.
Makima explains Denji’s human and demon hybrid attributes to Hayakawa. He tells Denji and Hayakawa that if Denji tries to resign or is disobedient, Denji will be destroyed like any other demon. Hayakawa and Denji go to her house as she reiterates that they have permission to kill her if she tries to escape. Hayakawa confirms that Makima is not a bad person for saving his life.
At Hayakawa’s house, Denji takes care of many household chores. After cleaning up, Hayakawa and Denji head to the scene involving the Fiend located east of Nerima’s residence. The police tell Denji and Hayakawa where the Fiend is hiding and let them have it. Hayakawa explains what the Fiends are to Denji. It confirms that they are demons controlling the human body.
Denji asks if he’s a friend, but Hayakawa confirms that Fiends have distinctive heads. He tells Denji that demons control Satan’s identity and orders him to kill them with his demonic abilities. Denji kills the Devil with an ax, confusing Hayakawa. Denji explains that he wants to make Fiend’s death painless. Hayakawa says that when Denji hunts the Fiends, he should lose sympathy for them.
confirms that Satan killed his entire family in front of him and explains the plight of the officials to Denji. Denji tells Hayakawa that if he could be friends with a devil, since he’s been lonely all his life. Hayakawa leaves and we learn that the real reason Denji killed Satan with the ax was so he could keep the blood from some dirty magazines.
Denji looks out the window and shares how great his life has been since joining Public Safety. It feels like something is missing and thinks about everyone’s different goals. He thinks more about Makima and fantasizes about wanting to touch a woman’s breasts. The two report to Makima as Public Security assigns Denji a partner as Public Security requires the Demon Hunters to patrol and tackle minor missions in two-man teams.
Power walks into Makima’s office and signs in. Makima tells Denji that he is the Devil and has been on Hayakawa’s team for a long time. He reiterates how important it is that these two don’t mix and separate them.
Denji and Power patrol the area from the rooftops, as Power’s Fiend traits can cause problems with the area’s infantry. Denji is willing to put up with Power’s crazy behavior as long as he can accomplish his crazy goal. Denji and Power confront the two officers and present their public safety IDs. cards.
Denji wonders where the demons are. Power explains that before he became Satan – he was a terrifying devil that no one wanted to be around. Denji was furious that Hayakawa was the one who tied him up with the Power. The Force senses the presence of the Sea Cucumber Demon and proceeds to eliminate it with its Devil abilities.
The episode concludes with Power shouting in victory as Denji looks down on the stage.
Episode Review
While this episode of Chainsaw Man didn’t have as much intensity as the previous one, it was a nice build up. The episode introduces two new characters with different characteristics and great potential. While it set the stage for future episodes, it did have some issues.
For example, it was a missed opportunity not to showcase Hayakawa’s fighting potential. While the episode does show a glimpse of his fighting power as he beats up Denji in an alley, it doesn’t do a great job of proving why he’s such a formidable Demon Hunter. It would be interesting if Hayakawa showed Denji his abilities. This would help the audience to understand how he got his captain status.
On that note, Denji had mixed feelings about his new goals. While his crazy mission is funny and in character, it paints Denji as more of a criminal than a hero. Again, the previous episode touched on his fascination with wanting to meet and date a beautiful girl. Although some viewers may not appreciate his outrageous goals and mindless decision making.
Along with these issues, this episode had some compelling elements worth remembering. Adding two more giant Demon Hunters to the team can be interesting in team-based battles. It will be fascinating to see how Denji’s relationships with Hayakawa, Makima, and Power grow this season.
Here’s hoping the upcoming episodes bring Denji’s Chainsaw Man persona better animation than before. Otherwise, despite the great potential, fans might ignore this show.