Chainsaw Man's Opening is WAY Smarter Than You Think | WIAOP? KICK BACK 

For everyone commenting about the Snail & other details, remember there is a manga spoiler section where I go more in depth on certain symbols and references.

The anime community might think it's ready for the gloriousness that is Kobeni they will never be ready for Kobeni's car

Denji reaching out for Makima only to be touching water is a Japanese (originally from classic Chinese) idiom 「鏡花水月」, which literally means flower in mirror, moon in water, a metaphor for something unreachable or doesn't exist.

My friend who is a forester brought up to me that the song's name "Kickback" is a real life Chainsaw reference that they experience where the chainsaw will sometimes "kick back" to the users face causing deadly injuries. Everything ties together so well it's actually awesome

MINOR SPOILERS One thing I think was missed is that Denji reaching for Makima only to hit water is a clear allusion to the Japanese allegory of the monkey reaching to grasp the moon's reflection in a lake and then drowning, foreshadowing that the thing he's chasing after is an illusion.

Another bit on the movie theatre part: In Fujimoto's other manga Fire Punch, the ideal way to experience a movie in the theatre that was given was to get popcorn but avoid a drink as that would just lead to you having to leave midway for the bathroom. Here we see Denji and Makima sharing popcorn (with Makima directly feeding Denji at one point) but have no drinks. Aki and Himeno don't have drinks either, though they seem to be having fries instead. The only one with a drink is Kobeni, who of course has to leave midway through, giving Power the opportunity to steal her seat and claim it as her own.

I think it’s no coincidence that a montage of our main cast acting out in movie roles (everyone EXCEPT makima) is followed by a long shot of everyone watching a movie, and then a shot later of Makima doing a picture frame with her fingers before the splash of blood almost like she said “action”. Followed by a Hollywood-esque action montage, such a sick way of representing Makima directing the entire story/cast

[SPOILER] Something I haven't seen mentioned about this opening is a small detail in the scene where Denji tries to reach Makima. You can clearly see some kind of bug on his left hand, which kind of looks like it's stinging him. The same bug (I think) is then found on his head in the following scene. I'm pretty sure it's one of those parasitoid wasps that lay eggs directly in an insect, thus turning their host into "zombies" and later leading them to their death. This would be yet another warning sign Denji is ignoring, in addition to the more obvious parasite-infected snail.

Not sure if this was covered in the spoiler section as I'm trying to be anime-only here, but a detail I think is interesting is that Makima only appears in one movie reference - the Reservoir Dogs scene at the beginning, and she stands in for Quentin Tarantino, the director of the movie. This suggests she's the director behind the camera for all the other "scenes" (especially since there's so many more Tarantino references), and explains why she "lines up the shot" (also a double entendre) in the first blood splatter scene - going further to characterize her as the one who has vision and calls the shots while everyone around her are just actors in her movie.

my favourite parts of this opening is just seeing Denji and Power share their one collective braincell like good friends should

I don’t think i could go on for half an hour just analyzing an anime opening. I applaud your effort.

The boner joke being exactly in the middle of the 2 golden balls ,while the japanese word for golden ball also meaning testicle, really sealed the deal for me. absolute genius.

I thought Aki standing on the snow was a reference to what happened. He was playing outside in the snow with his brother when *stuff happened*. So that ended up making him grow up much faster and deal with reality head on. But that event has also frozen him in place (the snow on him) as it's the foundation of everything he does. He's unable to move on with his life. Power and Denji staying child-like are their coping skills. Makima being who she is, and the very calculated play she made, would have her be the only one on a book stack as her knowledge is wide spread and more grounded. She's 10 steps ahead of everyone else which is why she can see into space/the future

Something that maybe you missed (SOPILERS): In the Makima's reflection scene, she looks at Denji's face for a brief moment and then just looks at Denji's chest (heart, Pochita), which I think is alluding the fact that she never noticed Denji and only cared about Pochita.

I really like that Power is the only one introduced by name in the OP. It fits Power's personality, as if she insisted that the OP focus on her, while adding to the chaos of the video.

The Big Lebowski opens on a tumblin' tumble weed, so that's why it is used in the transition to the bowling alley.

Also, the "Broken Egg Shot" is more obviously another allusion to the whole "nut-shattering" foreshadowing going on. I don't know if it's a more popular innuendo for hitting your nuts in Japan than it is in America, but it's a pretty popular one in both.

A thing you missed is how when makima is in the same shot as denji and his friends, she's always separating them into two groups. A classic abusive relationship move is to push someone's friends away from them to keep them isolated and dependent

Animators: "So,how much symbolism and references do you want us to put in the OP?" Mappa and Fujimoto: "Yes."

Kenshi Yonezu has always been a phenomenal songwriter and singer to me. While nowadays being popular for his song "Peace Sign" for MHA season 2 and now Chainsaw Man, he was a name within the vocaloid community years ago also under the name "Hachi". Who is well known for the song "Donut hole" and many others, with a notable thing about the songs being very much dark in tone but with an almost quirky spin on it making it feel that much darker. His songs made in that time also reflected a dark time in his life, more notably he was very depressed and this was shown in alot of his work, almost like a cry for help but he has gotten help over time, I believe with support from family. Even now, it feels like some of that time remains even in "Kick Back" and his newer releases but not as prominent since he has been doing better but it still shines through subtly, though I feel this is what makes his music iconic, to me at least.

SPOILERS I also really like the small detail that Angel is sitting right behind Himeno because he’s the next in line / going to take her place as Aki's buddy. It would be so cool to see him actually move to the front and sit next to him in the OP after she passes away, if we get that far.

One of the things you missed is after the first round of movies, you'll notice Makima is only in one of them. 1 out of 10 references, like how she says she only connects with every 1 out of 10 movies.

Kobeni is the only character in this show who can represent how the audience would do in that job.

One other note in the snail scene: if you look at Denji's head as he sits up, you can see an emerald cockroach wasp, or jewel wasp, sitting in his hair. Jewel wasps are known for injecting cockroaches with venom in order to disable their escape response, before leading them back to their burrow, laying eggs on them, and allowing their larvae to eat them alive.

(HUGE HUGE HUGE SPOILERS) Another thing you seem to have missed in the movie theatre is that in addition to Aki, everyone else sitting in the back is also looking straight forward... that could be an allusion to how they are all under makima's control. And Himeno could be looking back to recognize how many others share this blank stare.

Don't forget that when Denji looks to Makima and blushes, Makima also looks at him back with kind of sussy eyes.

19/10 as a non-manga reader my mind is blown, thanks Jeff

I might be reaching but the Donut devil may be a very subtle nod to Kenshi Yonezu’s tenure as the Vocaloid producer Hachi and his hit song Donut Hole featuring Gumi

Denji is also on Makima’s right in every shot. While Power and Aki and the others are always on her left. Surprised you didn’t mention that.

The jade wasp on Denii's left hand as he reaches out to Makima is yet another parasitic species that manipulates the infected host.

It’s a shame What’s in an OP isn’t a great fit for the algorithm, because everytime one comes out I’m reminded of how much it really is my favorite thing you do

For the spoiler section: One additional thing to note during the moment when Denji is reaching for Makima's chest. Look where Makima's eyes are. She's not meeting Denji's eyes, which would be the camera. They're pointed down, to about where Denji's chest, and therefore heart, would be.

13:14 I think that shot of power with the glasses is also a reference to when kishibe is training them, and they try to "be smarter" by wearing glasses.

I am unconvinced this OP wasn't intentionally designed for Geoff to analyze

the fact that the lyrics for when Denji is getting his hair stroked in Maikima's lap is "I want to be happy, I want to live an easy life" gets me every time

Honestly the idea that it isn't obvious that there's something VERY CLEARLY WRONG with Makima has got to be one that only applies to people as dumb and horny as Denji. I read the manga a week ago with pretty much no spoilers going in and Makima was setting off all the red flags.

The nut shot metaphor becomes even more clear when you consider that it smash cuts to Denji breaking an egg right after the ball collides with devil

Two things stand out to me as extremely major plot points not addressed in the video (MANGA SPOILERS): 1: The amount of books Makima is standing on is a pretty decent amount. The Space devil describing knowledge of the whole universe as a library comes to mind quite quickly. Her also claiming Santa Claus doesn't even have the knowledge to fill a single page of a single book, even after gaining knowledge from darkness, all while Makima is displayed with at least a hundred or so full books? Unlikely to be a coincidence. 2: Another semi-obvious reference for Power's intro is how loose the bikini top is, pointing out how she blatantly pads her chest.

I'm so happy someone finally mentioned that subtle yet obvious chainsaw slowly getting bigger while Denji looks at Makima

"and the a tumbleweed roll by, for some reason" killed me

So. About that slug snack. That glowing rainbow shit is actually a brain eating parasitic fungus that mind controls slugs. Im sure that represents Makima's control over Denji. Its just too awfully specific of a reference to ignore

MAPPA did one hell of a job in giving this series the justice it deserves, it’d be crazy if you covered every ending to this extent as well

4:18 - 4:25 That Shot mostly symbolizes The friendship between the two leads as they drive to their dead end jobs. Cliff to Denji, Rick to Aki respectfully. And while they both like each other and are basically blood brothers. Both pairs have a distinct superior/subordinate roll(s). It doesn't interfere with their friendship in the film but it does strain it and adds tension in certain scenes.

Chainsaw man is masterclass in writing Also I saw the carnivorous plants blossoming out of Denji as a symbol of Makima's grooming. She planted those seeds. It's further reinforced by her reaching towards him in that creepy way. The way her eyes flick down knowingly as an experienced adult, while he reaches for her chest. How it transitions to her watching him transform into a devil with her hands positioned over her eye with in a photographer's framing. He's an object of her malicious hunger to posses him.

DISCUSSION OF SPOILR SECTION BELOW So I didn't get spoiled by your video, but Makima's identity was spoiled to me by a merch website I was shopping on lmao. I wasn't super surprised, it makes sense given her introduction. If anything, having that aspect spoiled for me might have improved my appreciation for this story and its writing because it reframes everything she does in a much more sinister light. Watching Makima manipulate the gang is chilling and her VA really does a good job of giving Makima's every word just a hint of danger.

In a couple of REALLLLLY blink and miss it few frames, when Denji is smiling at Makima, she herself is glancing with a knowing smirk without actually showing her face to him. Right before the scene darkens her face. Showing she's fully aware of their dynamic and will exploit it as much as possible.

I loved that the songwriters of the OP added Denji's catchphrase "It's Denjin time" to the lyrics. Bravo Tatsuki

I'd love Geoff do What's In An ED every week for Chainsaw Man because the ending of each episode is amazing.

The plot twist with makima is. There is no plot twist. With girls like her usually we will get why she is a good guy also. But not makima. That's actually a very very meta plot twist. Also kick back the song, is 100% deji theme song. I love it so much

Another point with the whole “the initials represent denji/csm’s impact on the world” is that he has no control over it, having been quite literally thrown into the whole thing.

So, after watching the first half of the video, i paused at the recommended time, read the entire manga, took a month to recover, and have now watched the second half. Good shit. 10/10 video.

This man accurately predicted where s1 was gonna end by analising the placement of the obscure cock and ball joke in the opening holy shit

Fujimoto is a huge movie fan not surprised by all the references, glad to see his work finally animated!

I will never accuse anyone of over analyzing anything again for the rest of my life. You set a new high bar and beat it ruthlessly with what used to be the high water mater mark of analysis. This is over the top analysis, like I just watched the Matrix for the first time.

Okay quick late note: the Texas Chainsaw massacre reference is really cool. The scene Chainsaw Man is referencing is one of the first opening scenes in TCM. It’s a scene of two rotting corpses holding each other who had been killed by the brother of the main horror movie monster (Leatherface). Specifically, this scene I s meant to convey the death of innocents and lurking danger that underlies the horror to come. It’s also meant to create a distrust of everyone the characters meet because ultimately, these people weren’t even killed by Leatherface and were killed by someone who seemed comparatively normal. For chainsaw man, this quick reference is a nod to the loss of innocence that follows Denji and Pochita, and also points to the fact that the one wielding the chainsaw isn’t necessarily the one to fear. Anyway if you can stand horror films, go watch Texas chainsaw massacre. It secretly has a lot going on and isn’t really that gory.

I was afraid to watch the opening before reaching the end of the anime buuuut episode 9 scared the shit out of me and I binged the manga. My BF didn't and we're still watching the anime together, but now I now the whole truth. And I have to admit, the opening is extra full of references, way ahead of the current chapter but if you don't know what's coming, it's not that spoiling according to him and me.

*SPOILERS BELOW* The snow aki stands on could also be noted to be temporary and once it melts he's back in that childish place just like denji and power. Aki has built his perception on reality from his past (in his snowy home) but when it all melts he's still just a kid, so when Aki and Denji fight and his mental state of "worldly understanding" is gone he's a child again having a snowball fight.

I just listened to a man explain ball jokes for 20 minutes and somehow I agree with every single thing he said

7:36 you're gonna love this; there is SNOW on that mountain, much like the kid-sized pile of snow that Aki stands on. Aki stands on that pile in order to get more elevation, while the Gun Devil is at one of the highest elevations on earth you can get, which coincidentally has snow on it. Or perhaps....it's a mountain of snow. A mountain of kid-sized and adult-sized snow piles. So the connection that we're supposed to make is that the Gun Devil is literally on top of mountains of bodies, one of them Aki stands on. And that connection is solidified because that pile is literally next to kid-Denji. Or if that's too much of a stretch, you could just say it's a shot of that snowy scene, you know the one...

One more thing about the bowling fight - instead of hitting the demon with the bowling ball, Denji uses it as means of transportation - same as the battle with Bomb when he "rides" the shark. Because that was the best thing to do, right. 😂

15:25 Aki standing on a snow pile while having snow on his head and shoulders make's me tear up a bit.

I missed your opening analyses, Mother's Basement. I really, really did. Not just for how good they were but for what it symbolised in the great internet timeline, haha. God, those days

I forgot about half of the stuff that happens in the manga, so remembering all of them with your analysis of the OP was mind-blowing. I'll go re-read CSM now

Also notice how through out the OP there are two golden balls which the bowling scene confirms they 'belong to Aki' however there is only ever one red ball which is associated with denji, though you could say the appearance of the second ball AFTER denji is revved by Makima could symbolically represent his regrowth of his second post transformation into a devil

The part with Denji's third eye opening at the bowling connection is actually so fucking funny but easy to miss, thank you anime pope

OK now that Ive fnished the video, I can now say THIS is the best WIAOP ever made, the analysis was top notch and the way u structured this video (as mentioned in Layer 3) is just phenomenal. This has got to be one of ur best videos ever. Congrats, made me love Chainsawman even more.

When he just gleaned over the snail bit of the opening, I was so ready to rage about how significant it had to be. When he came back to it, I was very satisfied at how well it tied into everything.

“Now let’s bounce back to after the first testicle” Truly a wordsmith

I just wanted to point out the one moment where Aki breaks his stoicism is when he's alone with Power and Denji in a completely mundane environment. So if you know you know.

The part that blew my mind was the 7 frames of him frowning! You cant even see it at normal speed but THEY ANIMATED IT ANYWAY! As someone who is currently teaching myself animation, this blows my mind because I know how much work can go into one frame! The 2nd part that blew my mind was about the zombie eyestalk parasite--because holy hell that's so freaking cool but terrifying?!?! WHAT THE HELL, NATURE?!

29:24 Holy shit that's a 10/10 spoiler for me

The very ending as I didn't get to chapter 97 yet. But damn so many movie references. I recognized Constantine correctly. YAY. Thanks for the cool indepth analysis.

Something else worth noting about the snail is... SPOILERS The bright colours of the parasite are so that they attract birds to eat the snail, so that the parasite reproduces inside the bird, its offspring being pooped out and spread to other snails that eat the poo. In other words, the parasite reproduces by being eaten, just like Makima becoming Nayuta after Denji eats her.

Another meaning to the "I think I'm forgetting something" line from later on in the OP can be found in the original "Souda! We're Alive" song. The original chant didn't just go as "doryoku, mirai, a beautiful star", but also changed with each line, with its variants including "doryoku, zenshin, a beautiful star" and "doryoku, heiwa, a beautiful star", both of those new words meaning "progress" and "peace" respectively, things absent from CSM's world. It could also be a reference to (spoilers) Chainsaw Devil's secret.

I've seen the opening a quite a few times now, however, I did not catch this many subtle references, foreshadows, and inspirations. *A fantastically detailed video to say the least!*

Pleaseee do more of these! These are my favorite videos from you! Been Lowkey waiting for new WIAOP's for Boku No Hero 😭😭

Ngl, I had 0 idea about the references made and I was just in it for the Denji x Power dance. This makes it so much better

A few details not mentioned in the video: At the start of the opening, we see illustration from Divine Comedy and sound of chainsaw. According to Dante, place depicted on the picture - lake of fire is place where demons are born. And in manga, it's said that when demons are born they hear the sound of the chainsaw. So, it all adds up. The second detail is that in the Jacobs Ladder movie, son of the main hero sitting on the stairs has the name Gabe, which in Bible is angel Gabriel, accompanying dead people on their way to heaven. And in the opening we have the angel devil with pretty much the same abilities.

Just subscribed to your channel because of this video. Recently watched the show and read the manga, and...wooo boy, what a roller coaster ride.

Despite only having read the first 3 volumes of the Manga, the spoiler you mentioned in part 3 has some fairly obvious tells in it.

“Let me know which bits blew your mind in the comments…” All of them. All of the bits. I was pulling that ‘eureka-Denji’ face for a half hour straight. My god, man. BRAVO 👏

Before this, I thought chainsaw man had the best opening of all time, but now i realized it has THE BEST OPENING OF ALL TIME!

I absolutely LOVE the symbolism in current day shonen, whether it be in the openings or the show itself. I knew a lot of the references and symbolism in this particular opening, but miniscule details such as Aki's permanent neutral face or even the locations of characters were really interesting to see!! I've definitely been on an analysis kick for things like csm and jjk lately.

Thanks for covering all of this, good content

In the part where denji is reaching out towards makima (from his pov), i believe her eyes shift down from his face to his chest

Potential spoiler? So read with caution. One thing I haven't seen anyone mention but that stuck out to me immediately was that in every ensemble shot involving our main 4 characters (Aki, Denji, Makima, Power) Makima is always positioned in such a way as to keep herself between Denji and everyone else. The only real exception is the scene where she's walking Denji on the beach, but even then she's walking Denji away from Power, which could be taken as a reference to that one scene in the Manga where Denji asks to become a dog while completely leaving Power behind. Anytime Denji is with a group while Makima is around she is framed as a kind of divider, which I thought was really interesting, given the context of Denji's relationships with the other Demon Hunters

another thing, the opening begins with the chainsaw buzz what is the one thing that all of the other devils apparently remember from hell a chainsaw buzz coincidence, I think not

I've been saving this video until I caught up with the anime. The OP has given me weird chills, a sense of future plot points, and I have been looking forward to diving into your analysis.

I'm still convinced that Kobeni got up to use the restroom because she finished her drink, and Power is just crunching on the ice. I'm not sure what deeper meaning this has if any, but it's great visual storytelling.

The other thing that BLOWS MY MIND about the zombie eyestalk parasite is that they probably knew most of their audience wouldn't know what that creature is--I certainly didn't until now--so not only did they load it with symbolism but they ANIMATED IT ANYWAY! This is so freaking cool!

I'm honestly impressed! Thank you for really going into this, it's way more interesting than I thought! 😊👍

God, I LOVE this analysis, and I can’t even tread into layer 3 because I am (currently) an anime-only. I shamefully admit that with a name like ‘chainsaw man’ I expected nothing more than a schlocky horror, which yeah, it is at times, but the heart and soul of this anime is so much more than I deserve. After the first season airs I plan to read the manga, but I decided to stay unspoiled while enjoying season 1, except for one point. I had to make sure meowy (nyanko?) survived unharmed, or else my little kitty-momma heart couldn’t take it. I can’t believe how attached I’ve become to this story is such a short time, and watching your beautiful analysis here, as well as your watch through of the first episode and other mentions of CSM have really helped my hype factor for this show. I can’t wait until I can catch all the way up and finish watching this video!

10:40 The scenes with Denji on the golden Ball as Well as Power throwing blood and DonutDevil dodging are animated by YenYen / Ct_Bm, He confirmed it himself :) He's Made 5 shots in the OP in total

Speaking of parasite symbolism - when denji is reaching out to makima and when he is being fed a snail, you can see insects on his hand and head respectively. Its hard to tell the species for sure, but i am willing to bet the one on the head represents parasitic wasps due to its general shape, and the one on the hand seems to resemble an ant, which is probably a reference to so called zombie ants, infected by Ophiocordyceps unilteralis fungus

I absolutely love this breakdown. Well done 🙏🙏

In the cinema scene there is also a fun little detail dome mightve missed. The only member of Division 4 missing from it is Violence while Arai is present, and considering Arai dies before we are introduced to Violence its not too hard to say maybe Violence is using Arai's body Manga Spoilers! Also later on, we learn that Violence retained part of his human brain and is often seen hanging around Kobeni much like Arai does when they're introduced and when Arai dies. He also has a very similar build to Arai and when his face is revealed he looks remarkably similar, minus the missing scar on his face (that may have similar healed when his body was taken over, much like how Denji gets his eye and presumably his testicle back after Pochita replaces his heart)

Here's three more references that I caught. 1. Fujimoto has stated in interviews that his inspiration for Power is Walter from the Big Lebowski and Eric Cartman, and in the shot where Aki winds up for the bowl, we can see Power behind him sitting in Walter's spot, and drawn rather roundly, pointing and laughing in complete Cartman fashion. (She's probably laughing at the weiner joke) 2. The balls and chain have been individually referenced in the OP's main fight scene, but the combination of the ball and chain further contributes to the workplace prisoner and leash motifs that are present throughout the story, as well as the greater scenario for Denji that has been set up. 3. This isn't from the opening itself, but from the single cover for KICK BACK. Denji in his chainsaw form is being pulled by a certain hand, and we know this because this hand, aside from *two fingers*, is referencing a very specific pose made by this person. The connection between these two poses didn't click until I saw this cover, and continues to blow my mind with its implications.

On 9:55 you can see the eyes of the snail are throbbing.. I think it's a reference to Leucochloridium, a parasite that invades snails, eats their eyes and basically pilots the snail by pulsating where to go via it's eyestalks.. could be that Denji is never truly in control of his own life

I already subscribed 🤯🤯🤯 all what you've analyzed is 🤯🤯

I saved this video from a year ago to finish anime sub, dub, and catch up on manga. I’m so happy you made this!