Well, well, well...it's been a while again, hasn't it? Yeah, sorry about that, I'm not dead or anything...yet. I've been busy with getting back into college and dealing with an even more tense family situation that will (fortunately) be resolved come July, so things will be a lot better from there on out. Anyway, now that I've FINALLY watched the CSM anime and I'm caught entirely on everything until Part 2's Box Set for the Manga and the Reze-Arc film comes out, let's rev up those chainsaws and mow into this review!:
The Story:
Soooo...as someone who's fully read all of Part One in manga form before watching this anime (which I'd 100% recommend doing if you want to get more enjoyment out of this), I would say the story of Denji's rise as the Chainsaw Man and the struggles of everyone in the Beauru is adapted...nearly perfectly. This may just be me being picky, but the overall pacing is a little stop-and-go compared to how it is in the manga. The notable story beats from Chapters 1-38 are all there, but some of the extra character development being cut and the fact that the Eternity Devil arc is two whole episodes (which in a way works but also is a little bit of a detriment to this series's structure as a twelve episode anime) bogs it down a little bit. Himeno's death is well-represented and I do like how the later episodes call back on with Aki as later chapters did in the manga, but I'm sure to some people her death just didn't hit as hard unless you were REALLY into her...like I was. It's hard to really say they did a bad job on it because getting 38 chapters of a large manga like Chainsaw Man into Twelve episodes isn't bad and they DID set up the next Arc in a hype-worthy way. To me, at least, I feel that you'll soak in the story more with the manga cause they're about to flesh out the characters a little more and therefore enjoy the time you have with them and really feel for some of the character's deaths more. As an anime adaptation of the manga, it probably was done the best it could without deterring the viewer's attention. Probably the weakest part of the show, in my opinion, and even then, it's not far from terrible, it just prevents me from giving it a ten.
The Characters:
The characters are all represented EXCELLENTLY here. I have just as much love for these characters here as I do for them in the manga, they're spot on. Denji's brashness, Power's...well Powerness, Aki's cold, yet deeply rooted emotional being, Himeno's playfulness, Makima's calculative, intelligent, all-seeing mind, it's all here. It was great getting to see these characters just being themselves on screen and bantering with each other, which is exactly what I wanted out of it. Some characters get more screen time than others, especially cause the other divisions do feel a little bit forced in just so we know them at the end even though that's how they were indeed introduced in the manga originally, but they're all in all done pretty good justice and as a manga reader first and anime watcher second, I got a real kick out of them. Definitely one of the better parts of this anime.
The Animation:
Oh boy...sooo, this aspect I know is divisive, some people love it, some people hate it, and both sides have their reasons and I'm going to get into that. So, what do I think about it? I think it's...AWESOME! Honestly, I don't see the hate for it, the 2D and CGI animation (for the most part) blends REALLY well together and gives this anime that signature MAPPA style. Speaking of which, as my first MAPPA anime I've watched, I gotta say it looks SUPERB! The aesthetics, the weight of the movements of the characters, the visual characterization with how they all move and fight, the abundance of cinematic and dynamic shots...OOOH, it's all excellent and really gives this adaptation the pizzazz it RIGHTLY deserves. Don't even get me started on the intro and the TWELVE DIFFERENT ENDINGS WHICH ALL ROCK! I mean, need I say more? It's nearly perfect stuff and will no doubt age really well. The visual design and directing alone really shows a lot of care for how the story should've been presented and I have no doubt MAPPA worked their absolute BUTTS off to bring the manga to life...at the cost of their sanity, probably. Characters are consistently on-model, the environments are GORGEOUS, and again, while the CGI and 2D clash a little bit sometimes, the most of the time seen seamlessness in blending the two is absolutely incredible and fits the show very well. It's genuinely probably my favorite aspect of the show.
The Sound Design:
The impacts, the noises of the devils, weapons clashing, and visceral gore sounds, the voice-acting, the soundtrack, ooooooooooh mama...that's what dreams are made of. The sound design really helps in selling you the atmosphere of this show, from the calmer moments when nothing's going on to the absolute madness, screaming, crashing, and explosions, it's goes a long way in giving the show a grungy, yet...somehow elegant atmosphere. The soundtrack is very notable in GOING REALLY HARD, seriously, both the licensed songs and the original compositions all work EXCELLENTLY together with the visuals in giving the viewer an engrossing experience. While some songs (namely during fight scenes) get reused a few too many times and there's a really noticeable cut in early in the last episode where it goes from 'Brutal Life' before where a commercial break would be to an entirely different song, the songs themselves range from grunge to ambient to orchestral and none the tracks feel out of place and are used effectively to add more impact to every moment they're used, and it also helps when there's no music at all too like when Aki's talking with the Future Devil that add tension to scenes so perfectly. The voice-acting performances (in sub at least cause I didn't watch the Dub, though the clips I saw, it seems relatively fine) are all PERFECT! Denji's rebellious-sounding voice, Power's constantly energetic shouting, Aki's serious almost monotone voice, Makima's elegant mistress-esque voice, Kobeni's shy and anxiety-ridden voice (which is actually one of my favorite performances in the whole show), Himeno's playful yet at times serious and even emotional sounding voice, and KISHIBE, ooooh that gruff, worn-down, true monotone voice feels SO RIGHT! It's all solid stuff and I jam out to the soundtrack outside of the anime it's so good.
The Conclusion/Verdict:
While the Chainsaw Man anime has a lot of EXCELLENT qualities in its animation, sound design, and characterization, the way the story was adapted for something this large makes me wish that they would've maybe adapted more, maybe adapting each part as one larger season, but I know that's just being unrealistic. Like I said at the start of this review, I recommend reading the manga first before watching this just so you'd get a little more enjoyment out of this anime because while it adapts a lot of the first thirty-eight chapters of the story, it doesn't adapt everything and I personally feel the manga just gives the reader a little more in the amount these episodes gives to the viewer. With that said, it's still a really solid anime I enjoyed watching and I do recommend it if you're really that curious. It's a near-perfect 9/10 adaptation for me and I mean that rating out of pure respect for those who worked on this and not personal bias because I loved the manga so much (even though some of that may have definitely shown through here.) Let's just hope the Reze-Arc film does what its adapting just as much justice, if not more...though the fact that it's a film DOES worry me a bit.
Post Review Ramble [MAL Exclusive]:
So yeah, this review's a little different than some of my last ones, I know, it's been a while since I've been able to watch anything since I've been binging games and also just dealing with going back to college after not going for a year AND dealing with a really toxic family situation. Like I said before, I should be okay when July rolls around and I'll hopefully be online more again and watching more stuff. I'm debating on binging through ALL of the Fooly Cooly (FLCL), even the later stuff that isn't that great just cause I've been watching to see what all of the online ruckus is about. Maybe potentially watching Persona: Trinity Soul even if it's not canon in more ways than one due to later entries in the series. That and I'd watch it because I've been going back and binging the other games in the Persona series finally as I'd only played Persona 4 Golden back in 2020 on PC when it launched (currently finishing Persona 1 entirely with the Snow Queen route and YES I did the SEBEC route too.) I might be possibly watching through all of the Kino's Journey franchise since I heard the 2003 adaptation is ESPECIALLY good, almost psychological in the same sense as something like Serial Experiments Lain or Texhnoylze, but we'll see. Regardless, I'll be watching the Reze-Arc movie as soon as it drops with subtitles, so you'll get a review on that REAL soon after it comes out. Guess we'll just have to wait and see, I may end up doing something entirely different instead. Hopefully, the next review will be sooner rather than later. As always, thanks for taking the time to read my rambling little reviews and I'll see you all around for the next review!
