chainsaw man deep dive: chapter 1
warning: there will be spoilers for the entire manga since this is a rereading. all aspects of csm will be discussed in full detail.
two words basically sum up chapter 1: "poor denji".
the first thing i noticed that i didn't pay as much attention to during my first read through is how fujimoto added the physical details of denji's less than ideal condition: he's thin and bony, and has undereye circles. it fits where we find denji at this point of time; starving, sick with the illness that killed his mother, and recovering from illegal organ extraction procedures to cover his late father's debt.
beyond that, we're immediately introduced to the 3 important themes in denji's life summed up briefly here: the things a person wants and the things a person needs in order to live well and happily.
these themes are:
money
stability
love/acceptance/validation, which I'll just shove under the umbrella of "unconditional love"
these three needs motivate every interaction denji has with the world around him.
money
denji is essentially a slave to the yakuza who will kill him if he tries to escape the immense debt his father left him with. he has no family, no role models, no education, and yet he doesn't seem as bitter as you'd think someone in his situation would be. and that's because of pochita, who is not only a devil contracted to him but loyal family. they live together, work together, and dream of a better life together.
despite all of his troubles, denji's characterization is made known to us through the words of the people around him. he's obedient (and described as such numerous times in chapter 1 alone) and grateful even when he doesn't need to be.
he's also naive and loyal, and is aware of the inevitability of his situation.
stability
this goes without saying. denji wants what most people would consider the bare minimum. a roof over his head, basic food (toast and jam), and to act his age (stay in his room and play games).
but he has none of this, so pochita listens to him intently, doing what he can to ease denji's burdens. pochita is awesome emotional support.
unfortunately, to make matters worse, denji's life gets cut even shorter when he suddenly starts coughing up blood. he doesn't even have time to process that he's got his mother's terminal illness before he's called over by his yakuza handler to hunt another devil.
this is precarious balance between denji's idealism and his inevitable short, brutal death is shown really poignantly in the panel below. all denji wants is to just be able to hold onto the illusion that things can be alright as long as he keeps chipping away. it doesn't matter that he'll most likely die young, whether it's because he's an amateur devil hunter, or at the hands of the yakuza, or by his mother's sickness, or his body giving out from the starvation and surgeries. he only wants his three basic needs met.
unconditional love
fujimoto is clever about how he portrays this, in that he never explicitly states what denji wants. maybe it would be more accurate to say that he doesn't allow denji to know what he himself truly wants. fujimoto leaves it to us to do the math.
this is refreshing since a lot of manga, shounen in particular, are afraid to let the audience think.
fujimoto's choice to introduce denji this way serves to beat an important trait that foreshadows a twist we see at the end of part 1.
it tell us that denji isnt very self aware, and that its in some ways unintentionally, but in other ways it absolutely is.
denji is young, naive despite his exposure to the worst of the world, and he's the type to put the worst experiences into a tiny little box deep within his mind.
or, more accurately, lock it behind a door.
this is how denji copes with his life. this is how he's survived. and so far it's served him well. if he were to think hard on the terrible things he's done and has been forced to do, he'd crumble. fujimoto expresses this from the very first chapter in a very unique, humane manner.
im going to go so far as to say its particularly refreshing to see such depth given to a male protagonist. it defies genre tropes and expectations.
now, to slightly shift gears a bit, denji's sexual desires are, from the very beginning, indistinguishable from any other desire he has to connect, particularly with women. fujimoto's usage of the pervert trope is a fantastic way to introduce denji's complex, heavy, and tragic character to an audience without boring them with angst. it also allows for maximum usage of the medium to show the various ways human connection can be explored. even more significant is that we get to see this through the lens of someone who has limited social conditioning, a high degree of plasticity, and little understanding of what himself and what he ultimately desires.
I'll continue to expand on this later.
denji the dog
funnily enough, everything we've been shown about denji are classical traits of dogs. i didnt think much of these comparisons during my first read because "mongrel", for example, is a fairly common insult thrown around, especially in anime. but fujimoto chooses his words carefully (although i unfortunately cant read japanese so im relying on translations), and these choices are multifaceted with long-reaching narrative implications.
basically, if you know you know. since this is only the first chapter I'll just move on until there's a more appropriate time to elaborate.
the warehouse
denji's life could not get worse, except it did because he died. and it was NOT a peaceful death.
i get that this was necessary for the plot to move forward but for all the shit the yakuza made denji go through, this just feels like a piss poor call.
i guess if he's really sure he can make that much more money giving up his bodily autonomy to the zombie devil for some level of strength, go ham. knowing the public safety bureau would get on his ass would be enough deterrent if i were him, though.
either way, denji dies, and pochita is tossed with him like garbage into the dumpster. pochita, loyal companion that he is, uses his energy to permanently merge with denji as his heart. pochita is now denji's life force. and for the second time, they form a contract.
pochita grew to truly love denji and selflessly wishes for him to realize his dreams and live happily.
once they're fused, chainsaw man is born.
and then we get a hilarious reaction from the ZOMBIE devil, who is unironically disgusted as denji's zombified state:
a great moment of levity.
also this dude:
classy.
now we get some incredible, gory shots of what's essentially chaotic ultraviolence as denji rips through the zombies like paper.
and finally, as denji stands alone in the darkness of the warehouse, tired and victorious, the sun begins to rise and in comes makima.
makima the angel?
i really love this panel. the way the men are standing behind makima, the long shadows, the chaos of the battle. its just really well done.
most importantly though, is this last panel:
denji in the darkness, makima stepping into the shadow with him.
the pages leading up to this play with light in a fantastic way. fujimoto uses the visual medium of the manga to show us that makima is eerie, sinister, and even confusing. she's charming but cruel, and she doesn't care to hide it.
she doesn't need to. everyone loves her anyway.
and now that makima is about to make all of denji's dreams come true, so does he.
