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Chainsaw Man Episode 5, released Tuesday, November 8, 2022, saw what many manga fans consider to be the series’ introductory arcs conclude. Succeeding the Introduction and Bat Devil arcs is the Eternity Devil arc, which many fans call a positive turning point for the series overall, in everything from character development to worldbuilding and more.
With this arc, Chainsaw Man Episode 5 takes this palpable change and elevates it even further, evolving the series one more step, thanks to its superb animation.
This feeling has permeated the series thus far, and truly comes to a head here in just its fifth episode, a testament to the pacing MAPPA Studios has decided to adapt the manga with.
Follow along as this article fully breaks down the latest, and very arguably greatest, episode of the Fall 2022 season, Chainsaw Man Episode 5.
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Chainsaw Man Episode 5’s overarching plot marks a noticeable turning point for series
Review
Chainsaw Man Episode 5 primarily focused on the introduction of the Gun Devil, its associated Aki Hayakawa origin story, and the beginning of the Eternity Devil arc. While the beginning of the episode focused on the Bat Devil arc, there was a noticeable change in tone, narrative, and characterization as soon as the Eternity Devil arc’s adaptation began.
Additionally, every single scene from the Eternity Devil arc is elevated well beyond the quality fans saw in the manga. Although the author and illustrator Tatsuki Fujimoto’s original manga is still exceptionally well done, MAPPA Studios just continues to take a great story and crank it up to 11.
A scene that particularly highlights this is Makima’s brief s*x-ed lecture with Denji, roughly one-third of the way into the episode. The entire sequence, from animation to music to voice acting and more, is a complete and utter elevation of the manga. Kikunosuke Toya as Denji and Tomori Kusunoki as Makima continue to impress, and show their incredible range here in this scene.
A particular highlight for Kusunoki in Chainsaw Man Episode 5 is Makima’s explanation of the Gun Devil's origins. Given how serious and dire the discussion at hand is, Kusunoki’s calm, cool, and collected voice as Makima never waivers, always maintaining the distant chill she has thus far in the series. It’s an incredibly eerie feeling which is wholly carried by her work in this scene and is responsible for elevating it.
The transition out of the Gun Devil origin story and into Aki Hayakawa’s origin story is also brilliant. While this transition is the same in essence in the manga, the fluidity of the anime makes it feel so much more immersive. Rather than feeling like a switching of origin stories, it truly feels like marrying the two in a way that the manga didn’t quite nail.
In fact, the only aspect of the Gun Devil and Aki origin stories that Chainsaw Man Episode 5 didn’t elevate is the description of the death toll. While Makima gives watchers the overall numbers, the scope of the Gun Devil’s power is somewhat lost in translation without the country and time breakdowns. Nevertheless, the overall effect is the same, making it hard to genuinely criticize MAPPA Studios for this decision.
The beginning of the Eternity Devil arc’s major conflict in Chainsaw Man Episode 5 also matches this overall elevation. MAPPA Studios beautifully blends 2D foreground animation with pristine, smooth 3D CGI backgrounds, combining the two as well as any other episode has done so far, and possibly even better.
The interactions between Special Division 4’s members are also much more engaging here than in the anime. Each and every voice actor does a phenomenal job here, bringing a new life to their character which, while present in the manga, is much more apparent and embodied in the anime.
Chainsaw Man Episode 5 is, overall, the series’ best outing yet. It takes almost every frame adapted from the source material and improves it in some way or another.
Be sure to keep up with all Chainsaw Man anime and manga news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2022 progresses.
