Review of Chainsaw Man

It's good. It's not the show-stopping, revelatory, be-all-end-all show the anime culture train at large would have you believe it is, but it's still good at the end of the day. Animation is stellar. Reminds me of 90s animation where things can be static sometimes, but when the characters move, boy is it dripping with expression. Action is good. Wild scenes, hyper violent, your usual modern dose of cgi, etc. Characters are a mixed bag. Most of them are assholes, selfish or apathetic, but they at least make it entertaining. I think this show is a perfect example of how die hard weebs can find moe in literallyanything they're obsessed with, even if the character is specifically written to be unlikeable. "OMG she is EVERYTHING!!" - about a character who wouldn't think twice about shitting in her hand, throwing it at you and leaving you to die. Hey, at least she's cute tho!

OST didn't leave an impression on me, but the opening is a banger and the outros are very unique.

Story is... just enough to support the real appeal of the show, which is watching whackjobs kill each other in crazy fashion. Let's be real though, it's not that interesting. They throw out some exposition for world building and character motivation, but only touch on it further when absolutely necessary. This is most definitely a character/event driven series(don't stay for the narrative).

The thing that caught my attention the most with this one is it's clear reverence to gonzo-esque cinema. The creator is clearly a huge fan of Tarantino, Gilliam, Jonze, Coen Bros, etc. This is also why I said it's a character/event driven show. People don't necessarily remember the story from the movies by those beloved directors more than they remember moments and dialogue.

I'll be back for the animation at least, and if the story actually gets interesting that'll just be a bonus.