Chainsaw Man
a review by TheBlueBoxGuy
a review by TheBlueBoxGuy
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Quickie Review #1 (28/7/2024 UPDATE: this review is pretty cringe.
tdlr: it's me saying it's an incomplete show by itself, and though that's justifiable criticism I don't think it goes without saying the review was pretty lacking in substance.)
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There are two sides to those who've viewed this show. Some say it's a blessing, a godsend adaptation from the eccentric and wondrous mind of Fujimoto-sensei, whilst others denounce and criticise the show, calling it overhyped, and it drags focus, unlike conventional shonen adaptations. You could even draw the line that these two sides are like younger siblings, one who proclaims that vegetables are cool and all of 'dat, but since the other sibling disagrees, soon enough they'll get into a never-ending brawl bickering constantly. Simply put, there's no right or wrong answer, and that's perfectly okay, for the most part. But what about RickRoller84's take on Chainsaw Man?
Well, it's been some time since I've fully digested MAPPA's adaptation of the so-called "messterpiece" of Tatsuki Fujimoto's Chainsaw Man, and in the midst of the time, I spent myself processing this hyper-absurd, gore-splattering of a show, and soon enough, I've reached a conclusion. An epiphany.
For all it's worth, it's alright. It's not perfect, it's not atrociously bad. It's just alright.
Now, I know I've pissed off some individuals who would now immediately smash the downvote button, but let's hear me out for a bit, alright?
But let's take a step back after my controversial stance about this. There were teasers, extensive marketing and promotional issues, and with the already massively-popular fanbase/community, generated a lot of traction and hype. They were overbearing, okay maybe a bit tad too overbearing. Therefore, this comes with a promise, that it must live up to one's expectations considering everyone, literally, everyone, was hyping it up to be not only an "Anime of the Year" contender but literally, "Anime of the Year". It definitely quenched my internet as did many others, and I was left wondering, "Would this actually be that good? Ah. time will tell." And so about around 18 months later, it was finally released. So, did it live up to the hype? Was it good compared to the original source material's calibre? Was it that good? It would vary from person to person, but to me, it's only got around like 55% of the deal complete.
Okay, I know now I've angered a lot more individuals who would immediately smash the downvote button even more, but please, let's hear out what I've to say, alright? Good, now let's continue.
I could confidently point out there's a level of sheer commitment and passion plastered over this MAPPA project in terms of its production. To start, the show's inventive technical utilisation of cinematography to capture stellar sequences, panning out, panning in, close-ups and freeze frames - they were damn well executed. Also, on the topic of dynamic camera shots, it certainly fills the frame of the battle aesthetic found in the manga, gritty and crude, and its choreographed animation has a little more grounded, realistic spin onto it, albeit it doesn't always serve the highest results from time to time (the janky CGI-blend with 2D models).
Speaking of animation, that one lengthy slice-of-life sequence of Aki performing his daily routine you've seen before, well, that was an anime-executive scene, and holy, they really knocked the ball out of the park with that one.
Next, I adored Kensuke Ushio's diverse experimental soundtrack, some tracks lurching with churning, frenzied anxiety-inducing instrumentation chopped with some feral beats to others, which is more minimalist in nature, conveying soft electronica-like ambience in the quieter, gentler moments here and there scattered around the show (although I don't find it as memorable to listen to as a stand-alone piece unlike his other compositions) and a hyper-dynamic, crispy audio design following suit with the inclusion of the well-rounded VA performances suiting their fictional characters. The OP is crazily wild filled to the brim with media references, Kenshi Yonezu's "KICK BACK", is oddly catchy and vibrant, I couldn't deny if that was my favourite OP of 2022, and the diverse twelve EDs alongside their own unique animation style were a cool addition to further exemplify MAPPA's passion behind the project.
And lastly, the pacing of Chainsaw Man was surprisingly smooth-sailing, and props to Hiroshi Seko's script! Everything I mentioned before gets the job done with flying colours for the most part, so well done MAPPA!
As for the characters of CSM, it's a mixed bag. Denji just wants a girl's company, Power's doing her own thingamajigs chaotically, the hardworking but depressed Aki, the realistic, frenzied Kobeni, Mads Mikkelsen, Himeno who loves to consume a whole lotta booze and Makima, being Makima. Although some of the aforementioned characters lack personality traits, they do have their fair share of moments and that is what makes them likeable or memorable.
But for the rest, some appear for one episode, some hardly have lines only to never be seen ever again, and some appear only to be shelved to be explored for future seasons. They all fall into the "zero depth" corner for now, but it may change soon, at least, I hope so. If not, well, screw it then. Now, let's talk a bit about Denji.
He's an abnormal protagonist to start, and I actually loved Denji in the first episode than his presence after the first episode, and gradually, I became irritated by his antics and him being a total dimwit overall. I sympathised with him during the pilot episode, and all was snatched away in a heartbeat after that.
Goddamn it.
And now, for the part where I succumb to the CSM fan lads.
The first episode was a 9/10 in my books. The sulky, murky artistic design of the pilot episode interposed alongside the despairing situation Denji, our main character, is confronted with is gloomy, serving as an origin story as Denji becomes the menacing Chainsaw Man. It hooked me deeply. So, how do you follow up on an amazing, engaging first episode? You don't.
The disparity of the first episode marks a complete contrast to what's to follow with the following episodes, rejoicing crude comedy and a sense of newfound fun or wholesomeness, yet slowly but surely, it's obstructed within this gaze of mystery, uncovering certain elements but never really explaining or elaborating about 'em. Denji, the frontman protagonist of this show tries to navigate his newfound purpose in his life finding himself in a new environment, adapting to it, and finding fun and work partners, and yet, we viewers can obviously tell there's so much unrevealed yet with glimpses building up the overarching plot, and it creeps the construction of tension and suspense. And that's pretty much how the next eleven episodes of Chainsaw Man were: very withdrawn.
I mean, you can say that's how worldbuilding works, just set-up to what's to come, but considering I've expected more to come out of this show, the withdrawn plot was kind of a letdown for me considering the hype and all of that. Some drastic things happened here and there though, but ultimately it didn't matter because, still, it only raised more questions. The main, overarching "big bad" antagonist of this first part doesn't even feel like an antagonist at all, but just a bystander we haven't even seen yet. As for the other side antagonists, they aren't taken very seriously and I mean it. More or less, they serve as goons for this primary, overarching main big bad bad guy I mentioned and they shelve no deep complex of a character arc or backstory, but again, zero depth, beckoning, "I'm bad because, the main antagonist told me to do so. Anyhow, devil-no-jitsu!" Oh well, good riddance.
There's one messed-up grotesque looking antagonist introduced earlier that chases through liminal spaces and corridors, and it did pique my interest with the whole sheer scale and ability it possesses, but after that, when the other antagonists were introduced later in following episodes, they failed to match up with said grotesque-looking-ass antagonist, not by design but by their abilities and skills. Oh well, good riddance x2.
Moving on, remember when I said that animation doesn’t always serve the highest results from time to time? Well, let's look further into that.
The original aesthetic of a bombastic, bloodbath of skewing action Fujimoto sketches is rigid to adapt, and MAPPA's adaptation barely touches the surface of the source material, its opaqueness of a greyish filter washing up the animation and quality stylistically makes it look "clean", playing it safe - a major detriment tarnishing its quality, albeit It could've been the censorship legalised on national TV, but that significantly butchers the fierce intensity of Fujimoto's panelling to quite some extent.
To put up an example, the battle sequences are often obscured with thick layers of fog and dust sweeping the image of a computer-generated main lead moving and swaying on a battlefield, it's just all too goofy. And about the post-processed CG, they were a nuisance from the start, and even so over time I quickly grew accustomed to this staple, the computer-generated characters and vehicles were a disservice, what can I possibly add more? Oh yes.
Some scenes overstay their welcome, dragging out moments that feel forced that could possibly be attributed to budget reasons, other scenes felt they lack the needed polish. Some scenes look unappealing as hell when paused, and... Ah! That marks an end to my unwarranted personal view on the show's disappropriate sum of negatives concerning its animation.
And oh, for a positive thing to strike up this to save the review from total demolition is the background art. They look well from a technical and lighting perspective, it's no surprise if I randomly spot a person using one of'em as their Discord banner or whatnot. A round of applause to MAPPA, oh well, I think it's too late to say that again...
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