Chainsaw Man

The first episode of Chainsaw Man was an excellent pilot for the introduction of this long-awaited series, MAPPA did an excellent job (as always) and I am eager to see where the story will lead. Very good storytelling, character design and voice acting, and impeccably handled animation. World and characters equally interesting. At the moment it still feels quite derivative, but certainly as the story develops the anime will have the possibility of portraying its real strength and uniqueness. In any case, a really intriguing start for an anime already destined to become a new classic in the next few years.

So this guy takes on his father's debt, which is enormous, and is so desperate he even trades one of his eyes for a small relief of his debt. He's at his wit's end, and he makes a pact with a special and most likely underrated demon pet to save his own skin. He gains massive powers, but at what cost?

It's a story we've all heard before. The show uses techniques to lure us in, such as mixing bizarre with common demonology, to give us a character on which the main character depends, portraying a dynamic of friendship, and dependency, that relies on the bond of loyalty and cuteness. A cute "chainsaw creature"? I mean c'mon, it's new and engaging, but almost too much of a stress for attention.

Regardless, so far, it's a fun, violent watch. Suspend disbelief, because before the REAL absurdity starts, the audience is expected to believe that the main HUMAN character has sharpened teeth, and a demon chainsaw-dog as a pet, which will become the focus device of the plot.

It's kinda hammed up, and predictable so far, but well worth a watch. To this reviewer, it's nothing TOO new, and yet, I find myself wishing more than the first episode was available.

Edit: 2nd episode in, and it's not getting much better, but it's not getting any worse. We're introduced to a couple new characters, one of which is absolutely bonkers and has potential to go from interesting to fascinating REAL fast. The mannerisms of the characters are still odd, but, this is a show about a dude merging with an adorable chainsaw-demon, sooooooooo, yeah.

Edit: 3rd episode in. I find it fascinating that the main character's primary motivation is boobies. As a guy who went through puberty, I can relate. But also as a guy who loves kitties, this episode had me on edge the whole time. Gotta say, it's getting even better.

Further edit: 9 episodes in. There have been MANY surprises, both fun, horrifying, and shocking. The latest episode had several such moments. I LOVE the reveal of how powerful even a character with an incipiently minor and inferior role could be (see 17 and a half minutes into the 9th episode). I was like, "oh SH@#!!!!" Lots of crazy moments lately, my love for the show continues to grow.

This was really good ep, it had amazing animation and amazing storytelling. The voice acting was so good, I have been waiting for so long for this to come out as an anime so when it did, I wasn't disappointed, i was super impressed and so happy that chainsaw man is finally here. If chainsaw man keeps this up it can may be the number one show this year, but there is a lot of competition. Although this episode was amazing it wasn't perfect at any means, the cg wasn't that impressive and I thought they used way to much of CGI and I'm not that big fan of the 3d.im not saying that that it is bad but I'm saying that I was expecting better in the cg, and another think is sometimes in the anime the quality wasn't all that god it was like it was 720 but i had it in 1080 that was strange, I also wished the background was bitterer and cleaner and have better lighting I found that in some shots the lighting was a bit bland but over all I would give the first ep 8,4.

It'll bow your mind with insane plot-twists and world-building. I wasn't a fan of the beginning of CSM 'cuz it seemed a bit ludicrous and it took me some time to understand this unique world. After finishing the first vol, it was one of the best piece of manga I've ever got to experience. Top-notch quality.

Now, onto the first episode, I have to point out the wonky CGI fight was quite distractive. I thought they would only use it to an extend, at least for the first episode, but it felt over-used. Then, the OP was fire both visuals and music. And so was the ed. Then, the Cinematography, direction was very cinematic. So was the OSTs. Anyway, I'm looking forward to more CSM content.

This show is both pretty incredible, and incredibly pretty - not only is MAPPA's workforce of animators full of some of the best in the industry, but the cinematography, music, voice acting, and use colour and storyboard off the charts, making it one of the best looking shows of the year.

The story itself is amazing, although that's to be expected from a work written by Tatsuki Fujimoto - the characters are all highly enjoyable to watch interact and grow, the worldbuilding is always interesting, the comedy is hilarious, the horror aspects are unsettling, the pacing helps to make the show entertaining constantly, the action is intense and bombastically over-the-top in the best way possible, and overall the show is a treat. If there's any show this month that you need to look out for, it's Chainsaw Man.