Katana Vs Chainsaw
Episode 12 of Chainsaw Man begins with Hayakawa fighting Sawatari and the Ghost Devil. After recalling a flashback with Himeno, we see him bowing on the ground next to some of the Ghost Devil’s arms. The Ghost Devil offers Hayakawa a cigarette with the phrase “easy revenge” written on it. He climbs on top of the Ghost Devil and chops its head off with his sword. Before Sawatari summons the Snake Devil, Kobeni approaches her from behind and holds a knife to her neck. Kobeni tells Hayakawa she’s staying with Public Safety because she knows they’ll get their bonuses soon. Meanwhile, Denji and Power are in an elevator and plan to capture Katana Man. They reach their destination but must defeat an army of zombies. Power fights the zombies, but Denji stays in the elevator to fight Katana Man alone. He meets Katana Man and his cronies. Katana Man asks Denji to apologize for murdering everyone’s family members that night. Denji refuses, upsetting Katana Man. Katana Man’s bewildered by Denji’s lack of care for murdering zombies. He argues they were once humans, but Denji doesn’t budge. Katana Man and Denji fight in the air on top of buildings. They land on top of an ongoing subway train. They pause their battle for a few minutes to discuss what Denji is fighting for. He admits he fights to protect the life he has right now. They continue their fight–which leads them to enter the train itself. People start screaming as Denji tells Katana Man to relax. The train reaches a stop, and all the pedestrians flee the area. Katana Man cuts off two of Denji’s arms and tells him he’s lost and to apologize for killing his grandpa. After another epic clash and some banter, Denji defeats Katana Man. Katana Man wakes up and finds himself tied down to the train. Denji approaches Katana Man and says he’ll be waiting here with him until the police arrive. He reminds Katana Man that he killed Himeno but knows he won’t feel bad about causing her death. Denji plans to hold a tournament for some reason. Hayakawa arrives and reports on Katana Man’s capture to the higher-ups. Denji explains the tournament will involve him and Hayakawa kicking Katana Man in his family jewels. Whoever can get the loudest scream out of him is the winner. Hayakawa says he doesn’t want to participate because making Katana Man suffer wouldn’t make Himeno happy. After looking at the cigarette the Ghost Devil gave him, Hayakawa goes against his earlier judgment and participates. Meanwhile, Makima reports to her higher-ups about who led the terrorist attack on Public Safety. We learn that Sawatari was a former civilian Devil Hunter. She explains that Sawatari was working with the Gun Devil and had planned to swipe the Chainsaw Devil’s heart from Denji. One of them asks Makima why Sawatari was after the heart. Makima says before they could get that intel, Sawatari used the Snake Devil to murder herself. Makima proposes it was involuntary suicide because of her contract with the Gun Devil. However, they took over 1.4 kilos of Gun Devil flesh from inside the building and now have over 5 kilos of it. With all its flesh in its grasp, Makima notes it started to move toward the Gun Devil itself. The gentleman asks Makima where it leads, but she doesn’t respond. At night–Hayakawa sits on his porch and lights the “easy revenge” cigarette. In the living room, Power and Denji sleep. We peer into Denji’s mind, and it appears he’s experiencing the same dream sequence he had in episode one. He walks toward the same alleyway and encounters the same door. He appears to be a child in this dream and wonders why he keeps dreaming up this scenario. Pochita calls out to Denji from behind the door. Pochita tells Denji not to open this door after he attempts to open it. In the daytime, we see a woman walking around the area and talking about Denji as the episode concludes.
The Episode Review
Do you enjoy cliffhangers? Studio Mappa does as we are left with not one but three scenarios to think over until we receive another season for Chainsaw Man. This episode is jam-packed with some fun action sequences and nice closure for our cast regarding Himeno’s demise. It’s not perfect, but it provides a nice setup for the future. From gaining the Gun Devil’s location to Pochita warning Denji about not opening a door in his dream world, it leaves enough questions to toy with fans’ minds. There’s even a hint toward a specific female character near the end. If you’re going to make that your final scene, it must mean that this particular female holds significance to the story. Could she be working for the Gun Devil? Does she have close ties to Denji? These are a few questions I’m left with going into the next season of the show. Speculation aside, the series of action scenes we receive this week carried mixed baggage. While it was fun seeing Denji and Katana Man fight in the sky, on buildings, and on a moving train, their character animations and designs looked jarring from multiple angles. Their bodily movements while talking and fighting weren’t as immaculate as the show’s previous bouts. It may ruin several folks’ experience with it, especially those who were looking for a brutal fight with immaculate visuals. On that note, seeing Sawatari fall in battle felt too plot convenient. While it makes sense given the situation, earlier episodes depict her as this cunning individual who can work her way around a tight spot. She could’ve easily fought Hayakawa and Kobeni with the Snake Devil’s help. Although it appears she would’ve lost, either way, many fans may have wanted a better bout than her surrendering and taking her own life. Otherwise, there were some charming character moments and a few jokes thrown in that made me chuckle. Overall, this was a satisfying conclusion to Chainsaw Man’s first season. It had some decent fights and leaves viewers with many things to contemplate about before heading into season two. Let’s hope the show can continue this momentum as we wait and (hopefully!) head into the next season.
