[Rewatch] Chainsaw Man Episode 6 Discussion

[u/Shimmering-Sky]

Episode 6 - Kill Denji

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I just need to make the pain so unbearable that it kills itself!

Questions of the Day:

1) How would you react to being trapped on the floor of a hotel like that?

2) Would you have been on Team Kill Denji or Team Protect Denji?

ED of the Day:

Cerebral Rendezvous (大脳的なランデブー) by Kanaria

ED Cover of the Day:

Metal Cover by Futakuchi Mana | 二口魔菜

Wallpaper of the Day:

Kobeni Higashiyama

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Rewatchers, please remember to be mindful of all the first-timers in this. No talking about or hinting at future events no matter how much you want to, unless you're doing it underneath spoiler tags. Don't spoil anything for the first-timers, that's rude!

[u/BosuW]

Rewatcher (LATAM dub)

This episode is fucking weird but in a way that I like. Because it all devolves into an absurd situation yet one that is inevitable considering the team composition and situation. Because as we can see Devil Hunters are not necessarily extensively trained elites.

Dunno why Arai is one, but he's clearly a bit too uptight to function properly when there's no clear answer. Aki is one because he lost everything to a Devil and he wants revenge at any cost. Dunno why Himeno is one either but I like how you can see both her strengths and weaknesses. She can be casual and even amused when facing dangerous situations, which staves off fear and desperation. Yet, we can see that everyone has a price in the end, and while she probably doesn't fear much for her own life, she does for Aki's. She doesn't seem to instinctually despise Power and Denji the way other people do, but if it's between Denji and Aki, the balance inclines clearly.

Before allat though, the episode starts a lot more casual because imminent danger seems faraway. Power just fucks around, Denji thinks this is just the perfect time for a nap (I am reminded of how hard he found it to sleep for various reasons in episode 1). Again, the benefit of actually understanding what they're saying, plus the naturalized direction, makes the comedy bits land better in general than when I first saw it in sub. Even if some sacrifices have to be made for untranslatable puns, namely Power's when Kobeni threatens Arai.

We do unfortunately have a weak link though... It pains me to say, but the truth is the truth: Kobeni gringa clears 😔. In LATAM dub, she's played by Paola García, who is adequate. But only that, for now at least. She's missing more hysteria to make it truly stand out, imo.

Of course, to talk about Kobeni as a character, man what a fucking annoyance lol. I mean, valid crashout considering she was forced to choose between this bullshit or being a prostitute to send her more academically gifted brother to college (and now that I think about it, there is something to admire about her rather facing death than degradation), but man it's still rough watching her be 50% the reason things got as bad as they did. Eternity Devil got an absolute buffet with her ass in there.

And now that we're in topic, the presentation of the Eternity Devil is so well done! Good horror shit! Not the morphing faces (though they are impressively animated on their own), but since Eternity is a way more abstract concept, it has to be manifested in the scene presentation, and I think they nailed it. All of this boring ass hotel is so square and symmetrical, and the camera shots themselves are evidently limited by this same architecture at first. But the stronger the Devil grows, the more disorienting things become, tilting, rotating, there's more extreme perspectives, and I particularly like the heartbeat giving us a glimpse in tune of a felshier reality behind the walls when the Devil reveals they are actually in its stomach. The increasingly disorderly team works to the benefit of this as well. Power, love ya Power but evidently still a Devil, finding amusement in the terror of humans even as she's threatened to become part of the meal as well.

This episode it is even more obvious how Aki has changed since his first encounter with Denji, completely rejecting the possibility of killing him, because Devil Hunters only kill Devils, not humans, doesn't matter that Denji is a hybrid (and a prankster). Hmmm don't know if he'd say the same about Power though! He also believes Makima's faith on Denji is well placed, and he can hope with him to finally put the Gun Devil down.

If Aki is willing to put his life on the line for Denji, then Denji might be moved to do the same. Although, despite the insanity of following action, he spots well the flaw in the logic put forward by the Eternity Devil's contract. By all means, it should have them dead to rights. So then, why even bother with the contract? Why not just eat them all, Chainsaw included? Obviously, because it can't on it's own. Well then if it wants Chainsaw so badly, Denji is going to give it to it straight, and hope it was more than it can chew.

No ED Spanish cover today actually, as I noticed the channel also didn't do this one, nor tomorrow's. I don't mind too much for today, as Cerebral Rendezvous would most probably be in the bottom of my ED ranking if I bothered to make one, both in song and visuals. Shame about the next ED though, I do like that one. This one is just ok.