Review of Chainsaw Man

Chainsaw Man to me is the beginning of the new age of anime. MAPPA has absolutely set the standard for what should come in the future with this stunning cinematic masterpiece, every shot exudes pure cinema and the sheer attention to detail in the environments and characters blew me away from the very first shot. My expectations for this were already astronomical and I was still swept away at how well everything was done, from the voice acting to the direction to the character animation I couldn't find fault in anything. Speaking more about the animation and cinematography I was enamoured at how consistently detailed andfluid every frame felt in this show, it's so incredibly rare to see nothing looking out of place or lazy across an entire anime, especially in aspects like the character animation where in Chainsaw Man they show constant expression and emotion and there is never a single dull frame. Cinematically this show is a masterpiece, I've never felt like I've been sitting in a cinema watching anime before - not even during anime movies, but this really gave me that euphoric feeling of just everything clicking and really making you feel like the world is alive, I'm sure the author Fujimoto is elated too with his undying love for movies. Animation-wise I really don't have much to say, this is as good as anime can get in the current day, absolutely nothing to complain about I don't think MAPPA could have done a better job. I hate that we see so many people complain about the CGI when it's some of the best we've ever seen in anime, really upsets me that people have such shallow meaningless criticisms for a clear passion project such as this.

I was a bit nervous at first when I heard the voice actors were going to be relatively new, especially Denji's with his first anime role ever but oh my goodness did they all nail it. They managed to bring these already expressive and strong willed characters to life in a way that I could never have expected, the sheer talent displayed in some of the scenes from the VAs of Denji, Kobeni, Power really just everyone was insane, they took exactly how I felt the manga pages would have read and hit every emotion they should have in their voices. I really hope this show can give them the recognition they absolutely deserve because they really gave it their all.

The art and lighting in this show were an absolute feast to the eyes, everything from the background art to the cities to the interiors I felt like I could step right into my screen and enter the CSM world. It really felt like these environments were authentic and they didn't lazily draw any of it, in part definitely helped by the masterful sound design and soundtrack both of which were so incredibly well done throughout this anime. The sound design even from episode 1 hyped me up so much, obviously the wonderfully gritty chainsaw sounds add a ton to the tension and explosive nature of the show but even the quieter sounds such as lighter flicks were all perfectly placed and executed, absolutely no complaints from me. The soundtrack itself really stood out to me, it's haunting but optimistic, it creates tension when it needs to and can also create peace but still with that slight feeling of unease that this show revels in. Of course speaking of the soundtrack I couldn't not mention the OP and TWELVE EDs, my god they did not miss ONE SINGLE TIME - what kind of crazy person do you have to be to not only think to have a different ending every episode but also with unique creative visuals for each one??????? And to have every single one of them stand out amongst the rest with it's own clear distinct style both visually and musically, I was absolutely blown away every single week and it was always so exciting waiting for the new ending after the episode. I can only hope they continue this in subsequent seasons because it puts this show even higher above the rest (as if it didn't already tower over them already)

Overall this was the first anime I saw after reading its manga and my goodness was it a wonderful experience, I cannot possibly recommend this show enough you are missing out on a piece of history if you skip it for whatever insane reason, truly one of a kind and at my #3 spot after only one 12 episode season. Bravo.