Chainsaw Man’s first major fight is a gory smorgasbord of zombified horror
The first episode of Chainsaw Man is an unambiguous success. Produced by studio MAPPA and directed by Jujutsu Kaisen alum Ryū Nakayama, the 12-episode anime adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s breakout action-horror manga sets the tone of the series perfectly with its beautiful animation, brisk pacing, and ultra-violent action.
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The latter quality is on full display in the climax of the series’ first episode, “Dog & Chainsaw.” In the premiere’s first showdown, Denji transforms into the human-Devil hybrid Chainsaw Man in order to face off against the show’s first major adversary, the Zombie Devil.
This will be par for the course. Lifting from the manga, the series takes place in an alternate 1997, where humanity is preyed upon by a race of supernatural creatures known as Devils. The exact origin of Devils is unknown, though what is known is that these monsters are manifestations of negative feelings and emotions shared across the collective human subconscious, similar to the phenomenon of “Curses” in Jujutsu Kaisen.
At the beginning of the episode, we see Denji and his pet Chainsaw Devil dog Pochita hunt down a Tomato Devil before briefly cutting away to the aftermath of the encounter, with Denji standing triumphantly atop the creature’s giant corpse awaiting orders from his yakuza boss. It’s not until the last third of the episode, after Denji is betrayed by his yakuza employers in exchange for a contract with the so-called Zombie Devil promising power, that we get to see Denji fully cut loose to rip and tear into action.
After being dogpiled by a horde of zombified masses, Denji transforms into his Chainsaw Man form for the first time — a bare-chested, yellow-eyed combatant with chainsaw blades protruding from
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