by: Gen/Esis

“Kill Denji” is the name of the aptly titled episode 6 of Chainsaw Man. With practically half the episode being about the group struggling over whether or not to kill Denji to escape the terrifying never-ending floor 8, there is little going on in this episode apart from that.

But don’t let that fool you, this episode isn’t weak in any stretch of the imagination.

Some things can be hard to pull off when making an anime adaptation. Either due to it being hard to capture in a different medium or due to the studio adapting it, there’s plenty of scenes that can be ruined if done wrong. An episode like this one where it isn’t about flashy fight scenes but rather the atmosphere, dialogue, and pacing, is one that could easily fall into this trap. It can be difficult to pull off scenes like these without them being static or boring, but thankfully MAPPA pulls no punches when it came to adapting this part of the arc. Every scene feels purposeful and pulls you in without boring you for a moment.

While it wasn’t my favorite part of the manga by any means, the anime enhances these scenes with it’s creepy and claustrophobic ambiance to a level that, personally, surpasses the manga. MAPPA uses it’s medium to deliver a wonderful episode where the camera along with the music add layers to every scene that otherwise wouldn’t be there.

With the added humor from characters like Power and the rest, it becomes a perfect mixture of comedy and terror that is Chainsaw Man’s forte.

The characters are shown losing their minds as they continue to spend an undetermined amount of time inside a single floor that has no exits. Kobeni really was a highlight (?) in this episode, showing her jumping straight off the deep end as she was overtaken with fear.

You know, I’d heard people saying she was really annoying, but I never really got that from the manga—now I understand. But even so, you can understand why she’s the way she is. Early on they establish her character, and although it’s done in a way that isn’t necessarily my favorite, (Just saying it all in an exposition dump to someone else) it does the job.

This episode even gives Aki a bit more development and strengthens his bond with Denji. Here is where you can really see each character as they are changing. While Denji’s carefree nature continues to be present, there’s more to him that is revealed through his small comments, especially when Aki helps him out.

Here, the relationship between Aki and Himeno is expanded upon in a heartfelt way. Seeing glimpses into her past, and the death that follows behind her, set a precedent not just for devil hunters like them, but Himeno’s partners. In this case, that would now be Aki. And with it has added intrigue about the weapon Aki carries on his back, you could say that everyone got a bit of something this episode.

If I had to give negatives, it would be how much time was spent in the endless floor. While it was the entire episode, the quick degradation of their mental state made it feel a little rushed in that department. Before getting to that point and while they were at that point it was great, but it was the leadup that I felt needed work.

Still, the episode set up what it had to set up and left it at a cliffhanger that is sure to have a fantastic payoff.

Apart from that, this is another solid Chainsaw Man Episode.