The following contains spoilers from Chainsaw Man Chapter 77, “Ring Ring Ring”, by Tatsuki Fujimoto, and Jujutsu Kaisen Chapter 120, “The Shibuya Incident, Part 38”, by Gege Akutami, both available through Viz Media.
The anime production studio MAPPA has been responsible for producing some of today’s most popular series’, including the likes of Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan’s fourth season, and the recently adapted Chainsaw Man. The studio is renowned for it’s high quality animation and attention to detail, with the director of Jujutsu Kaisen 0 even policing the team working on the prequel to keep the animators from going overboard with Gojo Satoru’s eyelashes and shiny lips.
However, the studio provides the audiences with more than captivating animation, it truly digs into what makes these series’ unexpected, in a way which is sure to sink the hearts of anime only fans. MAPPA’s creative details within it’s adaptations of Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man in particular have a way of making fans feel very comfortable about the safety of their favorite characters. Details in opening sequences, slight changes in the anime adaptations, and specific focus on certain characters may be MAPPA’s way of making the viewer comfortable, ensuring certain moments are all the more shocking.
MAPPA Incorporates Red-Herrings About Characters
MAPPA has been very smart with its anime adaptation of Jujutsu Kaisen so far, making use of the anime’s opening sequence to incorporate characters who don’t have a bright future. The best example of this is Junpei Yoshino, who Itadori Yuji had a very short-lived friendship with. In the anime’s first opening sequence, there are countless scenes where Junpei is socializing with Itadori, Nobara Kugisaki, and Megumi Fushiguro, while all wear Jujutsu High uniforms. When Junpei was eventually introduced, his place in the opening began to make sense — but not for long.
Junpei got mixed up with the antagonist Mahito, but due to his presence in the opening, fans were certain the strong and caring main character — Itadori Yuji — would save him from the clutches of the villain. This was fair from the truth, as after the two found comradery, Mahito ruthlessly killed Junpei in front of a shocked Itadori.
In the prequel film, Jujutsu Kaisen 0, the much loved Nanami Kento made a surprising appearance. During the Night Parade of a Hundred Demons, organized by Geto Suguru, sorcerers were fighting ruthlessly against thousands of curses — but, Nanami was not originally a part of this battle. However, he was briefly included via a fight sequence in the film adaptation, shown saving his close associate Takuma Ino. While this could have been used to explain Nanami’s use of four consecutive black flashes MAPPA’s track record suggests otherwise. This could be the studio, once again, setting fans up to believe Nanami is a much bigger character than he is. In actuality, his role as Itadori’s mentor is brief as, in the “Shibuya” arc, the sorcerer is also killed by Mahito right in front of his apprentices eyes.
MAPPA Is Shining a Sinister Light on Chainsaw Man’s Aki
If there is one character type fans adore, it’s the reluctant mentor forced to care for reckless subordinates who eventually ends up taking them in as found family. As Chainsaw Man’s resident heartthrob, Aki has had his fair share of fan service in the anime, but something about the spotlight MAPPA is giving the character feels ominous. The studio has already foreshadowed the tragedy of the series through its opening sequence, so pulling the wool over fans eyes again is certainly not out of the question.
So far, MAPPA has gifted fans with sequences of Aki’s tranquil morning routine, his home life, and how he has taken to caring for the childish Denji and Power like a guardian. His moody and dismissive personality plays into the hearts of fans, mirroring other anime favorites such as Attack on Titan’s Levi Ackerman or Demon Slayer’s Giyu Tomioka. However, unlike these characters, Aki Hayakawa will not be present when the anime concludes. In the manga, Aki is killed by the gun devil and turns into the gun fiend, only to be finished off by Denji himself. Special care seems to be being given to Aki by MAPPA, which much like Jujutsu Kaisen’s Nanami, is a sadistic ploy to make fans adore the characters even more, just for the studio to twist the knife when they eventually fall.
Not only is MAPPA excelling with its breathtaking animation, it’s making the anime experience increasingly engrossing — and even more emotional. The studio’s attention to detail and knowledge of whatever series it is adapting, alongside the storyline of these two shonen manga that subvert genre expectations, makes for the ultimate psychological twist.
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