TV Review - "Chainsaw Man" - Season 1 Episode 3 - "Meowy's Wherabouts"
Aw, finally ... PERFECTION.
The third episode of the Chainsaw Man is finally here and while the series in my opinion was off to a rocky start, it accomplished an impressive recovery in episode two due to the introduction of two other very important characters -- Aki and Power.
Episode two established Aki as the slick professional golden boy, nowhere near as rude and wild as Denji but we did see nanoseconds of pity for Denji in his eyes. Episode two ended with Aki's recommendation of the devil fiend, Power, to be partnered with Denji. If there's one thing Power is good at it's somehow making Denji, a shark-toothed orphan, look a lot more sane.
Episode three's "Meowy's Whereabouts" starts with Makima explaining to Denji and Power that killing a devil that a private devil-hunter is targeting, can be considered a major offense. Scared of the consequences or Makima herself, Power blames Denji and claims that he told her to do it.
Without spoiling the rest of the episode, Denji and Power's new working relationship just gets more complicated from there.
Episode three does a good job of establishing Power as a wild powerhouse but also somehow making her slightly endearing with a rather simplistic but touching backstory.
Drama isn't the only area of this episode that shines, the animation is pretty impressive throughout but its in its last half that MAPPA studio really starts showing what they're made of by giving audiences one of the most explosive fight scenes I've seen in recent anime.
(Power, Meowy, and the Bat Devil)
(Aki driving Makima)
(Denji and Power on a train)
One of Chainsaw Man's strength is that the original manga used a smaller number of panels, meaning it relied on large panels to convey huge sentiments in ways that I can only describe as looking like paintings.
While there were a few really short glimpses of bad CGI which I'd seen in previous episodes, overall maybe 90% of the episode may have been pure gold. By gold, I mean a level of quality that should be expected from MAPPA studio since they've shown the ability to seamlessly blend 2D animation and computer-generated imagery.
Right now I don't think the show knows how to properly depict loneliness and give characters the time to single-handedly inhabit a scene but whenever main characters are interacting it has been rather enjoyable due to the immediate conflict or insights.
One of the strengths of the "Chainsaw Man" manga was how it depicted antisocial characters and what could make it possible or impossible for them to connect with others. The best way to show an example of this is with wild and sometimes deranged characters who appear to have no place in society due to their primitive behavior. This shows to what lengths society is willing to go to civilize an animal, or what lengths an animal is willing to go to be considered a citizen of society.
Anyway, the anime has rocking visuals and great music this episode again but to a higher degree and the outro was pretty sick and very fitting of a story called Chainsaw Man.
