Chainsaw man has certainly set a new precedent for a whole new level of maturity and carnage in the shonen genre. Unique among its peers in the dark trio of shonen jump, it has attracted a huge cult following with fans enchanted by its boggy depths and chapters full of hopelessly dark violence and gore.
MAPPA recently dropped the long-awaited PV trailer for the anime adaptation. Judging from the trailer, the anime is going to be the next upcoming star. However, this article is focused on fan-fav Makima.
Antagonist force is the facet within storytelling that unquestionably can’t be acknowledged enough when done well. Sadly in the anime world, such characters who take the narrative and thrust it upward to brand-new heights are few. As the majority of antagonists are only there to present their purpose within the story.
However, occasionally an author is able to cultivate an awe-inspiring character who crosses over through the land of exception. In recent times, Chainsaw Man has given us one such character who goes by the name Makima, the control devil.
Element of Fear
Makima is a character allied to the eternal stern abyss. Everything in relation to her is shrouded in mystery, hints to her actual self exist all around yet no one knows. Thus, creating a fear of Makima.
One of the most appreciated aspects of this character is how her true colors are continuously masked behind a facade. Ostensibly, she appears to be a savior to our very own protagonist Denji and other characters like Aki as well but look deeper, she is a conspirator, someone who manipulates others and mercilessly exploits others while also staging tragedies all for the sake of her own goals.
This is what makes Makima’s character so dangerous, she knows that people idolize her masked personality, she knows that they love her and with this knowledge, she deliberately percolates through all these delusions. As long as they comply and obey, Makima will continue to make them happy.
Who is she?
Real Makima is someone completely unrecognizable to her first appearance. She loves to make us believe that she is someone who defies the laws within the world where death is common. Fujimoto is able to keep this wonder covered until eventually her real self is unveiled and we are left with feelings of pure shock and terror.
She, the control devil, was molded by her environment. Nevertheless, the culmination of various surrounding experiences, Makima always had the choice to change, the choice to view others as equal but she never did.
Pochita explained that she wanted a genuine relationship with an equal, someone like family. She wanted to create a world without impurities, a world without death, war, and hunger. But, she couldn’t bring herself to see people past a superficial level, and nor did she ever make a real attempt to find any. This is the conflict and tragedy of her character.
Coming back to the trailer, it was such a treat. Although we didn’t witness any CG in the trailer, it is still unknown whether MAPPA has used CGI anywhere in the anime. Where Fujimoto has played his best is the span of chapters where the sense of hopelessness has to be deeply engraved, he perfectly conveyed the pure desperation and horror.
Therefore, adopting such a messy and tone-heavy manga into anime would have been a tricky job but with MAPPA in the saddle, we all can expect something satisfying.
Moreover, the lack of censorship in the trailer is a fantastic sign going forward and it all looked really crisp. The trailer kind of flashes the readers back to the very moments in the manga from Aki’s power to Aki himself, Denji and his chainsaw man transformation, Kobeni, Power they all look absolutely phenomenal.
Their rough sketch-like feel and that sound design helped sell the ambient feel of the Chainsaw Man manga. Let us know what is your take on the trailer.
