Name: Chainsaw Man episode 2
Director: Tōko Yatabe
Released: 2022-10-18T21:30:00

Chainsaw Man’s sophomore episode sees Denji get enlisted as a Public Safety Devil Hunter; instantly butting heads with his superior Aki Hayakawa, partnering up with Power, and falling hard for Makima.

Recap

Makima has taken Denji under her wing, as her personal dog, or so she puts it. That bit rubs Denji the wrong way and he’s conflicted about what to make of this seemingly gentle and affectionate girl who now also calls him a dog.

Meanwhile, they stop on their way to the Devil Hunter organization for a meal, seeing how Denji’s stomach keeps growling from hunger.

They eventually arrive at the Tokyo headquarters for Devil Hunters and Makima gives Denji a uniform. She then assigns him to a superior, Aki Hayakawa.

Denji wants to work with Makima as he’s fallen head over heels for her, owing to all sorts of amenities she has provided him with. Additionally, she also believed Denji’s story about his pet giving him his heart and powers.

Denji goes on a patrol with Aki Hayakawa and asks him if Makima is a good person. Hayakawa calls Denji to a secluded alley and beats the lights out of him.

Telling him to back off from the devil hunting job, Hayakawa tells him it’s for his own good that he quits the job. He says if he’s only in it for Makima, he lacks the motivation to really hunt — something that’ll leave him dead.

Denji answers with a diabolical retaliation. He imparts great pain on Hayakawa via a series of brutal kicks to his groin.

Good food, hygiene, and working closely with a girl are all good enough reasons for him to keep his job; Denji tells as much to Hayakawa, kicking him in the groin again.

The two later go on to exterminate a devil. Denji uses an axe instead of his powers to dispose of the Fiend. Hayakawa asks why he didn’t use his powers, Denji says because he wanted to make it quick and painless.

Hayakawa takes offence and pins Denji against the wall, saying his family was killed by a devil. He asks if he’s looking to befriend a devil.

Denji says if there’s a devil he could be friends with, he would befriend them. Hayakawa walks off saying he’ll remember that.

Back at the headquarters, while Denji is now perving on Makima, she assigns him a partner he’ll accompany on the devil hunting rounds.

Her name is Power and she’s similarly rife with energy like Denji and also a Fiend. The two go on a patrol and after a lot of meandering without finding a devil, Power ends up spotting one.

Before Denji can follow up on the rapid development, Power jumps off the building and conjures a hammer from her blood, crushing the Sea Cucumber Devil to gory, bloody bits.

As Denji gawks at the site with fascination and concern, Chainsaw Man episode 2 comes to a close and the credits roll.

Review

Chainsaw Man continues the titular teen’s story as he steps up in life, thanks to a cryptic, caring, and often weirdly callous devil hunter named Makima.
The second episode introduces the viewers to more core characters while also incorporating a bit of world-building.
Even considering that the show is only two episodes in, the pacing of Chainsaw Man feels like a bit of a slog at times.
There are better ways to convey that a teenager is consumed by his hormones than falling into the usual creepy rut of having the protagonist verbalize how much he objectifies the women characters.
Having said that, it’s also a bit of redundancy in that it’s universally understood that a teenage guy who’s lived most of his life in a shed would be so driven by his hormones.
Objectifying women and making the male gaze tacitly evident in the name of “fan service” is distracting at best and problematic at worst.
That said, Denji’s other reasons that drive him to take up the job are great and inspiring.
Other interesting things in an otherwise boring episode of Chainsaw Man are the grim caveat that comes with Denji’s new job and his dynamic with Hayakawa.