The opening of Chainsaw Man can be viewed as a love letter to the cinema industry, with multiple references to famous films intertwined throughout.

Tatsuki Fujimoto, the creator of Chainsaw Man, is a well-known cinephile, and the opening song for the series anime adaptation perfectly captures his love for the medium.

Most anime openings tend to tease key scenes to entice viewers. While Chainsaw Man does show a few of the fight scenes that will eventually air, the first half of the opening features references iconic scenes from different movies. As reported by Anime News Network, the opening sequence pays homage to several films, including, very appropriately, Tobe Hooper's The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Accompanying the visuals is the funky beat of "KICK BACK," sung by Kenshi Yonezu.

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The opening starts with Denji pulling the string to rev up his chainsaw and in the background is Gustave Dore's engraving of The Divine Comedy, an Italian narrative poem written by Dante. The scene transitions to Denji, Makima, Aki and Bond walking across the crosswalk, a reference to the opening scene of Quentin Tarantino's 1992 film Reservoir Dogs. The next reference is when Denji hugs Pochita close to his chest with the graves in the background, which is a rather ominous reference to the opening shot of the corpse monument in Hooper's 1974 horror film The Texas Chainsaw Massacre.

Kishibe is next shown holding a gun, a reference to a scene in another Tarantino film, 1994's Pulp Fiction, where Jules is locked in a gun stand-off with Ringo and Yolando in a diner. The setting of the scene where Denji sprints to fight Katana Man just as Akane Sawatari jumps into the well, a shimenawa wrapped around it to ward off evil, is a reference to Kōji Shiraishi's 2016 Japanese horror film Sadako vs. Kayako.

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The opening transitions to Galgali, a Public Safety Devil Hunter, taking off his shoe in what appears to be a motel, a reference to the Coen brothers' 2007 neo-Western crime thriller No Country for Old Men. The Tarantino references don't stop when the opening transitions to Aki and Denji driving, a reference to 2019's Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. There's a bizarre scene of the Devil Hunters in an office with blueprints of the Tomato Devil plastered on the wall and Kobeni is crawling around on the table, which is a very clever reference to John DeBello's 1978 parody film Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.

The next reference shows Denji has his hands over his mouth in horror while Power is standing behind him, paralleling a scene from Hideo Nakata's 1996 horror film Don't Look Up. The scene of a lonely Angel Devil sitting at the bottom of the stairs is a reference to little Gabe Singer sitting at the stairs in Adrian Lyne's psychological horror film from 1990 Jacob's Ladder. Aki and Himeno meeting at night is a reference to Francis Lawrence's 2005 horror Constantine.

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To truly nail it home that this is an homage to film, the opening cuts to a scene where all the characters are sitting in the theaters, watching the clips roll. It then cuts to Denji and Aki bowling with Denji using a cloth rapidly wipe down his bowling ball which references the bowling scene from the Coen brothers' 1998 black comedy film The Big Lebowski, featuring the iconic scene of Jesus Quintana using the same method for his bowling ball. The opening includes a reference to the 1995 anime Neon Genesis Evangelion when Denji rips his way out of a devil. The final cinematic reference is to Fujimoto's own work, specifically when the protagonist Yuta in Goodbye, Eri walks away from an explosion.

The anime adaptation, produced by MAPPA, premiered with rave reviews, with many critics complimenting the cinematography and color schemes that exude the desolate situation that the protagonist is currently in. Chainsaw Man follows a young man named Denji who has done everything imaginable, from selling his organs to killing devils, in order to clear his father's debt. After getting killed by the yakuza, Denji comes back to life as the Chainsaw Man after his pet Pochita gives him his heart in exchange for Denji showing Pochita his dreams.

The anime is currently airing on Crunchyroll, with chapters released on a primarily biweekly basis on Viz Media and Manga Plus.

Anime Features Writer for CBR. Loves anything with a good anime OST. Always eager to chat about anything anime/manga/donghua-related.

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