English Dub Review: Chainsaw Man: “Gunfire”

Overview: Denji (Ryan Colt Levy) makes a decision on how he wants to move forward with sexual lifestyle while growing closer with Himeno (Katelyn Barr). 

Our Take: Retracing the steps of Himeno and Denji stumbling through the house may sound like the show is trying to pad out the pace in which they adapt the manga, which, in a way, it is. However, it gives the animation team the chance to flex their finger muscles, even more than they already have, like Himeno taking off her shoes, with intricacies of how bodies move and react brought to life beautifully. We see this in the gorgeous subtleties like how her skin presses against her shoes with the subtle movement of her fingers undoing the straps with it also extending to other motions, such as her drunken sways or even the depth of her unbuckling Denji’s belt. 

Although, the most important, and only, banging out we get is that of the details surrounding Denji’s fears of his first drunken slop fest of a kiss. And although it may sound like a shame in a way (it is), it’s a compelling look into the effect Makima has on him. How she opens his eyes to the vastness of the world and people he will meet gives him tantalizing sexual perspective, not to mention the seductive way she teases him with her own flavor, continuing to allure and sink her teeth into him. 

Denji’s self-analysis in choosing to be intimate with someone he loves for his first time, or thinks he does, is a heartfelt exploration of his evolving values. However, his honesty also nicely brings him and Himeno together, becoming friends and wingmen to set them up with their crushes, Makima and Aki. 

Before any sparks can fly, bullets do in a sting that is widely orchestrated against Devil Hunters with Denji’s past having come home to roost in the Yakuza’s boss’ son exacting his revenge. His words are brief but poignant in loving what his dad did for him and the man he was, despite the awful things he did to others. 

His actions bring the same level of severity as his words in his sudden attack that leaves Himeno and Denji worse for wear. Aki’s sword ability that enacts death within three blows is stunningly brutal. Even more so is the mysterious man’s partner in a young girl who brings him back to life, really revving up the tension in the extreme threat they pose. With Aki in dire straits against his blades, Himeno’s pact with the Ghost Devil, to sacrifice her life to save Aki’s, is a jaw-dropping and saddening final act. It reaches new emotional heights in delving into the source of her feelings for him in his sheer kindness that persists, despite the atrocities they have faced as Hunters, in the genuine grieving for his fallen comrades. It is a despairing and heart-wrenching goodbye for Himeno in her longing for that very compassion to mourn her own death.