Chainsaw Man – Season 1 Episode 2 “Arrival In Tokyo” Recap & Review

Arrival In Tokyo

Episode 2 of Chainsaw Man begins with Denji and the female Devil Hunter chatting in her car. The female devil hunter lays the rules for Denji, who is starting to find her a bit scary.

Denji confirms that Pochita’s dead and doesn’t like how the woman treats him like a pet. They arrive at a rest area, and the woman says she’ll pay for his meal since he’s out of cash. After the woman gives Denji something to wear, Denji starts to take a liking to her.

While the two wait for their udon, Denji starts to feel a little woozy because of the blood he lost in his previous fight. Denji explains his situation to the woman in greater detail. The woman tells Denji that she can sense that Pochita is alive inside of him because of her grand-smelling ability. Denji’s relieved and faints again.

He wakes up and lets the woman feed him despite being able to eat himself. The woman reveals herself as Makima as Denji asks her what type of guys she likes. She responds with the “Denji” type as the two decide to head out to the Tokyo headquarters for Devil Hunters.

Makima informs Denji that Tokyo has over a thousand Devil Hunters and civilians. She argues that Public Safety has the best benefits and a lot of paid vacation time. All Denji thinks about is getting together with Makima.

At her office, Makima presents Denji with his new uniform and introduces him to his new co-worker Aki Hayakawa. Denji follows Hayakawa’s lead, but he’s upset that he’s not working with Makima. To calm him down, Makima tells Denji that if he does a fabulous job maybe one day they’ll work together. Hayakawa takes Denji to a nearby alley and beats him up. Hayakawa tells Denji that he should quit. He feels Denji will die like his other colleagues since he lacks true motivation for the job.

Denji retaliates and overwhelms Hayakawa by kicking him in his family jewels. Denji tells Hayakawa that since he’s living fun and better life under Makima’s leadership, he doesn’t care if the job kills him. After Denji defeats Hayakawa, the two report to Makima, and Denji exclaims his beef with Hayakawa.

Makima ignores their poor partnership and makes Denji an official member of Hayakawa’s unit. Although Hayakawa doesn’t like the idea, Makima explains that his team’s an experimental one that operates differently from the usual method.

Makima explains Denji’s human and devil hybrid attributes to Hayakawa. She tells Denji and Hayakawa that if Denji tries to resign or becomes insubordinate, Denji will be disposed of like any other devil. Hayakawa and Denji head to Hayakawa’s home, as he reiterates that he has permission to kill him if he tries to run off. Hayakawa confirms that Makima isn’t a bad person as she saved his life.

At Hayakawa’s home, Denji indulges in many household activities. After they clean up, Hayakawa and Denji head to a scene involving a Fiend located at an east Nerima residence. The police inform Denji and Hayakawa where the Fiend’s hiding and says they’ll leave it to them. Hayakawa explains what Fiends are to Denji. He confirms they are devils that take control of a human corpse

Denji asks if he’s a friend, but Hayakawa confirms Fiends have characteristic heads. He tells Denji that devils control the Fiend’s personality and orders him to kill them with his devil abilities. Denji murders the Fiend with an axe, puzzling Hayakawa. Denji explains he wanted to make the Fiend’s death painless. Hayakawa says Denji should drop his sympathy toward Fiends when hunting them.

He confirms a devil murdered his whole family in front of him and explains the officers’ depressing situation to Denji. Denji tells Hayakawa that if he can become friends with a devil, he would since he’s been a loner his entire life. Hayakawa departs, and we learn that Denji’s real reason for murdering the Fiend with an axe is, so he can keep blood off some dirty magazines.

Denji looks out the window and shares how great his life’s become since joining Public Safety. He feels like something is missing and thinks about everyone’s differing goals. He ponders more about Makima and conjures the goal of wanting to touch a female’s boobs. The two report to Makima, who assigns Denji a partner since Public Safety requires Devil Hunters to patrol and tackle smaller missions with two-person teams.

Power enters Makima’s office and makes an entrance. Makima tells Denji she’s a Fiend and has been on Hayakawa’s team for a long time. She reiterates how important it is for these two not to mess up and send them away.

Denji and Power patrol the area from the rooftops since Power’s Fiend characteristics can cause problems with the area’s pedestrians. Denji’s willing to put up with Power’s crazy behavior as long as he can fulfill his raunchy goal. Denji and Power run into two officers and present their Public Safety I.D. cards.

Denji wonders where the devils are. Power explains before becoming a Fiend–she was a fearsome devil no one wanted to be around. Denji’s enraged that Hayakawa was the one who set him up with Power. Power senses the Sea Cucumber Devi’s presence and proceeds to take it down with her Fiend abilities.

The episode concludes with Power yelling in victory as Denji looks at the scene from above.

The Episode Review

While this episode of Chainsaw Man didn’t feature as much intensity as the previous one, it was a nice set-up. The episode introduces two new characters with distinct characteristics and immense potential. Despite laying the groundwork for future episodes, this one had some problems.

For instance, it was a missed opportunity not to showcase Hayakawa’s fighting potential. While the episode showcases a morsel of his fighting power when he’s beating up Denji in the alley, it doesn’t do an excellent job of proving why he’s a formidable Devil Hunter. If Hayakawa had shown Denji his abilities, that would have been interesting. It would have helped viewers understand how he achieved his captain-like status.

On that note, there were mixed feelings about Denji’s new goals. While his raunchy mission is hilarious and fits the character, it paints Denji more as a delinquent than a hero. Again, the previous episode did touch upon his fascination with wanting to meet and date a beautiful girl. Some viewers may not appreciate his raunchy goals and foolish decision-making, though. That said, the banter between Denji and Hayakawa was hilarious.

Besides those issues, this episode contained some appealing elements worth keeping in mind. Adding two more formidable Devil Hunters to the team can make for some captivating team-based battles. It will be fascinating to see how Denji’s relationship with Hayakawa, Makima, and Power grows during this season.

Hopefully, the upcoming episodes feature better animation for Denji’s Chainsaw Man persona than the previous one. Otherwise, fans could turn a blind eye to this show despite its great potential.