Chainsaw Man Chapter 2: The Place Where Pochita Is

Howdy y'all - second edition of the ThriceHorror Read Along is here for Chapter 2 of Chainsaw Man. For new readers, our goal here is to give you both a quick summary and a friend to read and react in real time while recapping the plot. If you haven't checked out the first post, read it here to get caught up on the story!

If you want to follow along, feel free to pick up the volumes on Amazon, online or your vendor of choice. If you've got any comments or feedback, or want to potentially get your commentary featured on a future edition we can always be reached over at thricehorror at gmail dot com.

The Recap

We left our hero Denji with a car full of the Public Safety Devil Hunters, after choosing to be kept on as a human instead of being killed as a devil. Still starving, Denji is told by the understood leader of the unit that she will pay for anything he wants to eat, and he is blown away. Her kindness when she takes her jacket off to give him a bit of cover sticks out, and we see that he's already thinking he's in love with her.

Walking into the convenience store, Denji informs the unit leader that he wants udon and a hot dog, when suddenly a bloody man barges into the store pleading for help. The unit leader informs him that she's a public safety devil hunter, and he begs for someone to save his daughter from the devil that snatched her. But priorities clash as the curry udon order is ready. The unit leader asks him his name, and he sheepishly tells her that it's Denji.

Denji and the unit leader both ordered udon, but no one wants a soggy noodle, so Denji is deputized and informed that despite his order also coming, he's going to go hunt down the devil that took the mans daughter all by himself. I've also started the anime in conjunction with reading the manga, and this next scene didn't get to make it in. An understandable cut, but a good one for readers to get a bit more character development.

At this point the rest of the Public Safety unit consoles the father, saying that he should remain inside while an 'experienced devil hunter' is on the case. Denji looks understandably stressed about the situation, but is reminded of the promise he made.

Damn. This poor guy can't catch a break. He dreams of someone to hold and play video games with while eating bread with jam on it, and here he's getting blatantly manipulated. I already don't like this lady, and then we get this haunting panel.

The facelessness of the unit and the threat here are compelling, so quickly I'm feeling like this isn't the spot for Denji to be. But it also appears that he doesn't have many options, and given his horrific streak of luck, he takes off in search of the devil and we get to revisit a panel from the prior chapter, with a bit more context.

As Denji is running towards the demon, despite his anger, he also pulls on our own heartstrings (new meaning to that phrase) by reminding us that Pochita is dead. Is he though? It seems to me that he's actually a part of Denji now, given the actual string near his heart. The moment of reflection is broken however, by the sound of nearby laughter, and we've found the little girl and the demon that captured her. The wreath gave me Midsommar vibes - not the panel I was expecting on the page!

As soon as the little girl spots Denji, she cries for mercy for the devil. She shares that she has suffered violence at the hands of her father, and that he hit her in the parking lot. The devil had actually saved her from her abusive father. Denji pauses for a moment, taking in the situation. Reflecting on what the unit leader said earlier. "Our useless dogs get euthanized" makes Denji think of Pochita. He offers to run away with her and the demon, but quickly discovers it was a trap.

It was in fact the muscle demon all along, and what's left of the little girl doesn't seem to be there any longer. The muscle demon can control any muscle it touches, and quickly seems to expand Denji's arm beyond normal proportions. Relieved that he won't feel bad for killing the devil, Denji kicks things into gear.

Quickly dispatching the devil, Denji carries her back to the public safety unit. The leader is there, enjoying a nice corn dog, when Denji collapses in her arms. The act of pulling the drawstrings on his chest and awakening Pochita means that he loses a significant amount of blood. She calls him a useful dog (and it angers me) but she does give us some useful information.

She reveals that Pochita is indeed still alive inside of Denji - he's both a devil and a human, with two unique scents. Whatever caused Denji to become part human and part devil isn't unheard of, but so rare the condition doesn't even have a name yet. Exhausted but starving, she elects to feed Denji his soggy udon.

She then compliments his eating, referring to him as a good boy and indeed like a dog. Don't get me wrong, it's totally cool if you're into that but in the context of this scene and these characters - damn girl lay off the poor dude!

Denji wants to know her name and she quickly obliges: Makima. So obviously the next logical question to ask her is - what kind of guys are you into?

The look on her face when she asked him cracked me up. She looks a bit taken aback, no?

After thinking about it thoroughly while Denji sweats enough to fill a small wading pool, she says she's into guys like him and we conclude chapter two. Not a bad chapter, we got a bit of development and we learned more about the world.

The Review

I'm torn about the manga overall, but curious enough to keep going especially knowing about all the hype behind the series. Denji is likable and knowing he is just a young dude thrown into this chaos after an extremely hard upbringing is easy. I can't lie though, this Makima character is giving me an intense dislike so far. Hopefully she gets a bit more character throughout the series.

Reading this and also watching the anime at the same time, it was cool to be able to remark on the differences of the cuts. The muscle demon went from 'aww' to 'AUGH' real fast, but thank goodness the little girl made it out. The story develops, and we're going forward to Chapter 3 here soon!

This has also been an enjoyable experience so far, so we're also starting a YouTube channel soon. Stay tuned for updates there for another great horror adjacent manga - BERSERK!

Thanks as always to my amazing fiancé and Cute Anime Store for sponsoring the newsletter! Check out the new best seller to her shop below, topical right? Surely Makima must be cool if people are buying up these pins! I'm holding out hope.

The Wrap Up

For news today, we've got a couple updates. Remember in the last issue we discussed the Twitter drama from the Chainsaw Man author Tatsuki Fujimoto pretending to be his little sister, who definitely doesn't exist?

Next up, the amazing opening of the anime got a fun remix. If you haven't seen the Animal Crossing Parody of Attack on Titan, then watch that one (also linked in the article). You're in for a treat.

Last up, if you're a big fan of Makima and already got your pin from Cute Anime Store, check out this new figurine for $200 USD.

Until next time! - Matt & Nicole, ThriceHorror