Chainsaw Man Episode 12 review: A cathartic and bloody ending

❘ Updated: 2022-12-27T18:19:00

Crunchyroll

Chainsaw Man’s finale has plenty to enjoy, in fact, this may be one of the best episodes of the whole series.

Chainsaw Man has been one of the most hyped-up anime in recent years, and its first season has finally ended, much to the sadness of its fans. But it certainly left with a bang.

The plot is described as Crunchyroll as: “Denji is a teenage boy living with a Chainsaw Devil named Pochita. Due to the debt his father left behind, he has been living a rock-bottom life while repaying his debt by harvesting devil corpses with Pochita. One day, Denji is betrayed and killed. As his consciousness fades, he makes a contract with Pochita and gets revived as ‘Chainsaw Man’– a man with a devil’s heart.”

This season finale has both action, suspense, and catharsis, so without further ado, let’s get into it. Spoiler warning for Chainsaw Man ahead…

Chainsaw Man ends with a bang, or rather, a slice

It wouldn’t be an anime finale episode without some killer fights. While Chainsaw Man has yet to really wow us with animated action – the CGI still slows it all down unfortunately – there’s plenty in this episode to get hyped about.

Firstly, there’s the emotional battle between Aki and the leader of the enemy, during which Aki comes to terms with Himeno’s death. Aki has solidly placed himself at the heart of the series, which makes him far more interesting than your usual stoic swordsman. The fight is somewhat rushed, but it is effective nonetheless, as we see the cigarette that has carried their relationship throughout the series play a pivotal part within the battle.

Secondly, there’s the hilarious scene where Power and Denji stumble upon a load of zombies, and Denji simply takes the elevator out while Power faces them all. The comedy of this series has been somewhat hit and miss so far – depending on your taste – but this moment is a definite hit.

Denji of course doesn’t get away unscathed, as he fights the katana-wielding Devil that blames him for his grandfather’s death. You wonder if this could all be resolved if people just talked to one another, but that would obviously get in the way of the action, which usefully ups the stakes by jumping from building to moving train, and has that true Shonen action moment, in which Denji finally outsmarts an opponent. Chainsaw Man hasn’t given us much in terms of battle tactics so far, so this has definitely made the fighting more riveting.

There’s plenty more on the way

While Season 2 of Chainsaw Man has yet to be officially announced, it’s clear that something big is on the way. We’ve yet to complete Part 1 of the manga, and for those who’ve read it, you know that there’s a lot of great stuff yet to happen.

And the finale does a good job of setting this up without forcing it too much. There’s no big cliff-hanger this episode, and the defeat of the enemy is cathartic – Denji and Aki repeatedly kick the groin of the big bad after tying him up – which ultimately leaves you with a small but significant sense of peace after all the bloodshed of this recent arc. You even get to see Aki smoking the cigarette that Himeno gave him, in a lovely quiet scene. But you can’t help but feel uneasy about it all.

When Makima speaks to a superior about how the chunks of the Gun Devil are starting to move, you aren’t allowed to hear what they are moving towards. A person? A devil? Despite an honestly heart-warming end credits scene that follows Aki, Denji, and Power on their after work routine, you almost expect Aki to get shot down on his own balcony. The Gun Devil is on the rise, and we’re both terrified – and elated – to see what happens next.

Chainsaw Man Season 1 is available to stream in full on Crunchyroll.

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