The new television series “Chainsaw Man” met all expectations with flying colors, surpassing the hype generated by the trailer and other promotional materials. The Japanese anime, produced and developed by Studio MAPPA from the original work of Tatsuki Fujimoto, is directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara and features the voicing talents of Kikunosuke Toya and Tomori Kusunoki.

At the start of the first episode, the premise of the series unfolds, and we see main character Denji and his loyal devil-dog Pochita on their way to work as Denji has to pay off an incredible debt from the local mafia. It is a difficult life they have lived since their meeting when Denji was just a child, and they have spent every moment since being poor, hungry, insulted, and yearning for something better. During a seemingly normal job, however, Denji is attacked by a mob of zombies controlled by the Zombie-Devil, and it seems as if both he and Pochita meet their gruesome demise in the garbage bin of a warehouse.

 All of a sudden Denji comes back to life seemingly revived by Pochita’s heart and without wasting a minute mourning his loyal pet, transforms into the Chainsaw-Devil himself. As adventure unfolds, Denji makes use of his newfound powers inherited from Ponchita.

The quality of the opening episode was beyond expectations. The story and accuracy to the source material were spot-on and the emotional aspects were conveyed through the use of appropriate music and camera work. The animation was smooth and fluid, and the voice acting was well-suited to every character.

Most impressive of all were the action sequences. During the fights, the camera angles and animation were amazing, and the sound effects alongside the choreography looked almost as good as if they were designed to be put into a movie. Everything was incredibly well-rendered, from the monsters to Denji’s transformations, and even to the backgrounds and settings. The tremendous amount of work and production value of the project could be seen in every frame.

Overall, the show’s first episode definitely raised the bar for the industry when it comes to high-profile anime projects and I, personally, cannot wait every Tuesday to see the story unfold. 

Chainsaw-Man is rated R-17 for its gore and language and it is available to watch on Crunchyroll at a $7.99 monthly premium membership.