As of writing this,Chainsaw Man’s first anime season is wrapping up. So far, the anime has been one of the best adaptations in recent history, doing well to portray the manga’s cinematic influences and adding in stellar voice acting and anime original scenes.
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However,Chainsaw Manstill has a long way to go, and the anime can’t afford to slow down now. The manga just recently entered its 2nd part, and won’t be ending for a while, but has already featured plentiful moments that are itching for that touch of animated magic.Chainsaw Man’s anime will never be able to capture the quirks of the source material, but it at least has to give these scenes a fitting representation.
8Asa’s Introduction
Most of these entries are focused onCMpart 1, but eventually, the anime will have to step out of Denji’s shoes and into Asa’s.CM’s new protagonisthas quite the comedic and tragic introduction, as she accidentally kills her class’ new pet, Bucky.
This sequence is the introduction of a new major character, and already does that job well in the manga. It’s unlikely that the anime can make it worse, but the comedic timing of Asa’s misfortune is important to getting it just right, and the anime has already fallen a bit flat with adaptingthe manga’s comedy.
7Quanxi vs Everyone
Moving to something more action oriented, Quanxi is easily one of the most powerful humans in the series. In fact, she’s explicitly said to be the strongest human by far. In the ‘assassin arc’ of the manga, she and a host of others all converge on Japan to kill Denji and take his heart.
Quanxi is the real spectacle here. Her blinding speed and ruthless efficiency is something to behold, and is just itching for some high budget animation to really sell just how powerful she really is.
6The Devil Hunters vs Reze
Denji has an awful history with women. Almost every woman he interacts with in the series causes him some form of harm, and Reze is one of the ones that hurt him the most. After luring him in and revealing herself as a devil hybrid, the resulting fight is easily one of the best in the manga.
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This battle not only benefits from Reze’s host of powerful bomb-based powers, but also the chase-based structure it adopts. It fittingly paints her as a horror movie monster, and the conclusion is an extremely emotional moment for Denji.
5Pochita’s Burger
One of the things theChainsaw Manmanga does better than the anime is comedy. Fujimoto’s panel to panel progression creates some wonderful build up and visual punchlines. Few moments show this off better than when Pochita orders a burger at a restaurant Kobeni is working at.
By this point in the story, Pochita has taken over Denji’s body, and is in the middle of a confrontation with Makima. However,he decides to go get a burger, which is terrifying for the people working there. If the MAPPA can land the precise comedic timing here, this will easily be the funniest scene in the anime.
4Aki’s Death
When he meets with the Future Devil, Aki is told that his death will be “in the worst possible way”. This is completely accurate.Aki’s deathis a severe status quo change for the story, and is in many ways the beginning of the end, as it starts Denji down a dark path.
There are many emotional elements leading up to his death, but the fight between him and Denji is by far the most important. Unlike any other confrontation, this scene needs to be treated as the tragedy it is, with fitting music, pacing and tone.
3Power’s Death
While Aki’s death needs to be treated like a proper tragedy, Power’s needs to be treated like a horror flick. The manner in which she dies is actually quite quick and understated, but it is the tension and dread before and afterwards that really makes this moment what it is.
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The manga has the advantage of letting the reader hold on the preceding panels, helping build their own tension. The anime however, has to perfectly pace out the preceding moments before Denji opens the door, and loseshis 2nd friend.
2Makima vs The Gun Devil
TheGun Devilhas been hyped up for anime watchers as the final boss ofChainsaw Man. When it finally gets unleashed and comes forMakima, the anime needs to replicate the sheer insane spectacle of the two of them.
While it has already nailed a display of Makima’s terrifying power, the anime did weaken the Gun Devil’s appearance. While the manga listed the full number of victims for effect, the anime omitted that entirely. It needs to find a way to preserve the list of the Gun Devil’s victims to make it truly terrifying.
1The Darkness Devil
Even before watching or readingChainsaw Man, a lot of people likely saw a panel featuring a line up of bisected astronauts. This is already some terrifying imagery, but in context, it is even more horrifying, as it heralds the arrival of the Darkness Devil.
After being trapped in hell, a group of characters are approached by the Darkness Devil, who goes on to effortlessly butcher them without even moving. It is easily the scariest devil in the series, and benefits strongly from the medium of manga. Capturing it’s very unique presentation will be a challenge, especially when the similarly foreboding Curse Devil has already been somewhat undersold in the anime.
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