chainsawmanthoughts

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reze for alive and well zine on twitter

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i love this moment, the way yoru wields the disposability of asa's body over her; the way this is followed up w/ her disposing the twig she is unable to weaponise.

the two's relationship is crouched on such levels of intimacy & utility — & especially w/ the revelations of the last few chapters, that undercurrent of fear from early p1 hammering back home.

i'm also really normal about yoru kissing denji in the end. i think like in part obviously with prior chapters — the stress on "growing up" with the backdrop of normality made me very invested in a domestic horror-esque direction for asa & denji. factoring yoru in here makes it even more interesting: you already have this — threat of war, mother figure slash nationalist icon, who operates through possessory violence — superimposed on the body of a teenage girl. & the fact yoru articulates this through denji — her inability to possess (as part of her claim to power) in this world turns into a frustrated recourse towards sexual ownership over him (who is simultaneously internalising the idea of "punishment"). this is right at the heels of her stopping herself from hitting him because of his "stupidity."

it's intensely fucked up, especially because it re-enacts the earlier scene of SA [yoru vav asa & denji in that alleyway]. there's a dispossession of asa's own body. "hasn't this happened before?" asa & denji: thrust into the idea of "growing up", mediated on having your body taken away from you, having your body be violated without your consent, all framed into a kind of "romance", into cycles of abuse & Family well trodden, within aging's picturesque land which swallows you up into its landscape and transforms you into its history, in the end.

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I’m actually going insane over Gun Devil: Lady Liberty edition bc her design is fucking crazy

She’s all bones and no guts. Gutless, heartless, only cold and unfeeling bones.

The only flesh on her is her arm muscles, developed by repeatedly performing one action: raising the gun. There is no substance to her besides her right to “bare” arms. She has no hands, she is not able to put down the weapon. Her sole function is to uphold violence.

She has eyes to see and yet she keeps them closed. She has ears to hear, but no hands to cover them. So she cannot avoid hearing all of the cries from all of the people who suffer by her and her mother. But she has no mouth to speak with.

She has no voice. She has no ability to communicate outside of violence. She has no choice.

All she can do is raise the fucking gun.

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*sighs* I love Chainsaw Man

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these mind-reading bitches keep pulling the asa mitaka™️ card on him and denji has ZERO poker face when it comes to asa, his (((distraught))) expression just easily gives away the fact that they're absolutely right on the money about him thinking of her.

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Consumed by brainrot over the vol 16 cover and how loaded with symbolism it is...

The most notable aspects of the design (apart from Miri) are the butterflies, the peculiar sword (which he doesn't use, to our knowledge, as his arms have blades in his hybrid form), and the four-leaf clovers. The pattern on the hilt of the sword is distinctive, reminiscent of insect wings or even a chrysalis. Themes of transformation? A part of his identity, no doubt, but maybe this hints at future character development. Miri is easily manipulated but seems not Fully Okay with the church's planned attacks--perhaps this hints at his departure?

It's hard for me to ignore the way the butterflies in the background are in no particular pattern; they come in different shapes and sizes, much like in a collection. Living as a hybrid (the concept of which having been eaten by Chainsaw Man) makes him something of a specimen, especially in the eyes of governmental orgs like Public Safety.

His hybrid form features two antennae-like swords on his head.

Finally, butterflies can symbolize innocence or freedom (even if fleeting), and Miri is definitely innocent in his understanding of things, his grasp of his own feelings and desires, his impressionable nature. Being a member of the church is absolutely not conducive to having his freedom, and so the image of him trapped in Barem's web feels very fitting.

As for the clovers...I am not quite sure yet.

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Had an awesome time discussing chapter 147 on the Public Safety Special Broadcast Podcast! Thanks for having me!

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I’m a day late but happy Halloween!

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My favourite part of Makima's design is the way it supports how she places a great deal of importance on appearances and "playing the part." She has these restrictive, preconceived notions as to what humans *should* be like, how Chainsaw Man ought to be, and does not acknowledge the existence of what she deems imperfect (as she said, her ideal world would not only allow for any bad movies). This self-inflicted myopia made it such that she never truly perceived Denji--a key factor in her downfall.

She supplements her public safety uniform with a trenchcoat that evokes authority but is curiously ill-fitting. On her date with Denji, she wore an outfit that wasn't simply attractive--it reflected the fantasy of a "youthful first date" with targeted precision.

It's not a coincidence that the one time she wore the witchy ground-length black dress happened to be when we first witnessed her monstrous nature. It's a strange choice for the beach, but for a character who was almost always seen in a shirt and tie, the emphasis is unmistakable.

Anywho, Makima's a great example of a character with a minimal but effective and thought-provoking design. Fujimoto did well by presenting her in the form of a mostly ordinary-looking young woman who puts effort into fitting in only to have her do the craziest shit imaginable.

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Queer Speed!

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Alright "Quanxi does the Howl's Moving Castle while carrying Denji, Nayuta and Fumiko" wasn't on my bingo card this week either

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These Yoshida panels have me in a chokehold. The way he can't make eye contact with her while apologizing and would sooner look at her severed arm. The way those two lines of dialogue have me revisiting all of part 2 just to take in all the memories of a "normal life" he and Asa share (ofc eternity aquarium doesn't qualify as "normal" but I mean hijinks with schoolmates).

I think given the isolating nature of his career/worldview, even the limited capacity of their relationship would occupy a meaningful spot in his life. I think he even had a bit of fun at times.

He chose to express his remorse while acknowledging that Asa even followed his instructions, which suggests reflection and sincere guilt. I can only imagine that he's already mourning their short-lived school days and feels that having a hand in ending them was inevitable.

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His eye bags dude 😔

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Something seems significant to me about the fact that Asa was already planning to turn her apartment (and thereby the door itself) into a weapon. There's a clear contrast between her mentality and Denji's at this time, and her vigilance is actually kind of concerning.

Things are starting to move fast, barreling towards their inevitable outcomes. Our last Door Scene was preceded by Asa's Recurring Metaphor Nightmare, the one in which her life takes a route where casualties are numerous and unavoidable, a point of no return.

Given that she's got no choice but to square off against Public Safety now, and that she's resolute in her self-defense (to the point of having been prepared to leverage her home)...the point of no return foretold in her nightmares is imminent. What does this bode for Asa as a character? She's a battle-hardened public enemy now with honed survival instincts, capable of making sacrifices. In spite of their conflict during the last arc, she and the War Devil appear to operate with more unity than before. I suspect we're in for some harrowing chapters.

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The pieces are falling into place. Yoshida wasn’t merely doing his duty but operating with the knowledge that Public Safety already has it out for Denji. He's been working tirelessly to intercept threats from multiple directions.

And true to his word, Denji's "peace" does seem to matter to him. It almost seems like he thinks he can protect Denji better by not alerting him to the threats that surround him. His antsy hovering and loss of composure make more sense now, too. Given the state of things, there is much for him to worry about. It's super interesting to me that he was the one that got dispatched to take out War Devil...like, what is Public Safety's assessment of her strength, exactly? I mean, it's not unlike them to toss outmatched cannon fodder hunters at major devils, but if this was a calculated match-up then it's pretty exciting. (Sidenote: I'm even more convinced now that whatever denomination Yoshida is operating under is spearheaded by Kishibe...)

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If she creates an arm out of a weapon I'm gonna lose it