Chainsaw Man

Episode 7

Let it never be said that Chainsaw Man deals in false advertising, because, if nothing else, “Taste of a Kiss” gives us exactly what it says on the tin. If we were grading this show in its ability to make us regret munching on a snack while watching it, I would have no choice but to award this episode a perfect score. We thankfully do not live in the horrible reality where we use barf bags instead of stars to quantify our feelings about anime, and that's just as well, because it turns out that every other scene in “Taste of a Kiss” also delivers the good, which means that Chainsaw Man gets to add a seventh notch into its hot-streak belt.

I know there's been some discourse on whether MAPPA's weighty and relatively “realistic” house style is a good fit for Tatsuki Fujimoto's madcap aesthetic, and while I can absolutely see why folks might feel that the anime's approach isn't the ideal fit for the material, “Taste of a Kiss” is a perfect example for why the MAPPA marriage is working so well, at least so far as I'm concerned. The opening scene, where Denji makes good on his promise to torture the Eternity Devil into self-annihilation by going buck-wild on the monster's guts for three days straight, does an excellent job of capturing that Eau de Viscera that is so integral into making the shlocky aspects of Chainsaw Man really sing. The character animation for Chainsaw Man, Kinosuke Toya's delightfully funny voice-work, and the fluid camera work all combine to successfully sell us on Denji's victory. Is there a version of this anime that utilizes crazy, Day-Glo colors and ultra-stylized animation to similarly effective ends? Undoubtedly. Given how much importance the series has placed on maintaining its “cinematic” bona fides, though, I am more than happy to vibe with the direction MAPPA has decided to go in.

It's also important to note that Chainsaw Man's appeal has always been just as much about what lies underneath all of that ultra-violence, which the episode reminds us of with another round of excellently deployed flashbacks. Denji's Chainsaw Charleston isn't just an excuse for empty spectacle; as Himeno herself is all too aware of, the lives of the Devil Hunters are mostly defined mostly by fear, trauma, and untimely demise after untimely demise. The only way to be “successful” in this business is to deny the enemy the fear that they feast on for their power, and the only way to go into battle with the demons without fear is to be ever so slightly unhinged. A bit deranged.

Or, in Denji's case, you can go all in and commit to be so completely fucking bug-nuts that not even Hell's worst emissaries can withstand the awesome power of your bullshit. This, Himeno can appreciate. Maybe even a little too much.

Yes, it is time we talk about “The Kiss”, a moment that many manga fans (including yours truly) have been eagerly anticipating, if only to see how the anime would do at adapting such a gross and emotionally fraught sequence of events. You'll be surprised to learn that I do, in fact, think the anime did a great job, once again. The whole dinner sequence is great, sprinkling lots of funny little character moments with the mounting tension of an increasingly drunk Himeno getting awfully friendly with her eager (and very much underage) new coworker. I'm not even going to waste time describing the gritty (heheh) details of Himeno barfing straight into Denji's mouth, since That One Guy Whose Name I Don't Remember put it best: “That's traumatizing”.

Again, I just want to point out that what makes objectively disgusting and morally fraught situations like this so entertaining is CSM's ability to tie even its grossest, raunchiest moments to meaningful character beats. The flashback of little Denji and Pochita berating a rat for eating puke isn't just hilarious juxtaposition; it's a reminder that this kid has spent the better part of a decade living an essentially feral life, devoid of meaningful human interaction. His obsessions with booby groping and spit-swapping go beyond simply being a horny, straight teenaged boy; Denji has likely never known affectionate human touch before, especially from any women, so of course his goofy, traumatized brain is going to smash the Lizard Brain Button and send him careening down any path that will make him feel validated and human.

Even Himeno taking Denji back to her apartment to drunkenly proposition sex to him is more sad than it is titillating; the woman clearly loves Aki, and is resentful of how much consideration her partner gives to Makima. Inappropriate power-dynamics and age gaps aside, this moment between Denji and Himeno is a sensible way for the story to go, given the thematic throughline of the entire episode. In order to be a Devil Hunter, you have to be just a little (or a lot) broken. Chainsaw Man understands that, if its going to tell this completely bananas story about chainsaw dudes and devil hunters doing battle with freaky flesh demons, it has to acknowledge all of the baggage that comes with a job like that. It can be kind of funny, and it can be kind of sad. If Chainsaw Man can continue to perfect the balance between those two tones, I wager we'll be in good hands.

Rating:

Stray Scraps

• Power's Playlist Okay, so last week's ending was a bit of a letdown, but let me tell you, Episode 7 brought the bangers back with a vengeance! I haven't decided whether I like Ano's "Chu, Tayōsei." more than “In the Back Room”, but it's a neck-and-neck race. Plus, I'm a sucker for slapping a CRT filter over some pleasingly retro visuals. It's another damned-near perfect ED for Chainsaw Man.

• Kids Say the Denji-est Things! I'm going to give the Line of the Week award to Kobeni, not because she said something funny, but because she said something that was so deeply true that it shook me to my core: “Nothing tastes better than drinks someone else paid for.”

• Speaking of Kobeni, for all of the shit she got on account of drinking toilet water and almost killing Aki, the girl's got a cute fashion sense. Or, at least, whichever one of her eight goddamned sisters that lent her that outfit she wore tonight has good fashion sense.

• It's not actually a manga spoiler to mention this, but I'm wondering what other fans of the comic think of the show going with the “pixelated vomit” gag instead of depicting Himeno's regurgitation in all of its chunky glory, the way Fujimoto did.

• Sound off in the comments, y'all, because I want to know: What are your traumatizingly humiliating first-kiss stories? I can tell you mine: I awkwardly tried to kiss my first ever girlfriend in the middle of watching Requiem for a Dream (I was not an intelligent boy), and right afterwards I got the worst leg cramp of my life and spent the better part of ten minutes writing on the floor until my girlfriend's little brother got me a banana. We dated for five years, after that.

Chainsaw Man is currently streaming on Crunchyroll.

James is a writer with many thoughts and feelings about anime and other pop-culture, which can also be found on Twitter, his blog, and his podcast.