Chainsaw Man Episode 5, “Gun Devil,” makes sure that the series’ fans can’t ignore the craftsmanship that goes into what they hear. By balancing palpable silence with carefully timed sound effects, Chainsaw Man pulls its audience into an audible love letter to its influences and inspirations.
Episode 5 picks up with the aftermath of Denji and Power’s brush with the Bat Devil and Leech Devil. Having successfully taken back Meowy from her captor and settling into their new life as co-workers, Power grants Denji’s wish to cop a feel, only for the latter to be sorely disappointed with the reality of it. After Makima gives Denji a lesson in sensuality, she presents him with an ominous challenge in the form of the Gun Devil, offering him anything he desires should he be able to track down and kill the genocide-level menace.
As always, this week’s addition to the series maintains the pull on its viewers with an engaging storyline in its unique world. In terms of narrative, the writers wisely stuck to the timing of the manga by introducing the Gun Devil as an apparent ultimate threat, giving the series a discernable trajectory to keep it from devolving into a “monster of the week” situation like many shows before it. While Kiyotaka Oshiyama’s continued ability to bring Tatsuki Fujimoto’s horrific creatures to life would certainly make such a formula extremely watchable in its own right, the pacing of the series makes it clear that there is somewhere that it wants to go.
As engaging as these storytelling elements continue to be, they have thus far taken a backseat to the sheer brilliance that shines through in the production’s moment-to-moment cinematic execution. Though many working parts go into making the anime the living and breathing extravaganza that it is, the aspect that does this most in Episode 5 is definitely its sound direction. Previous episodes have certainly been impressive in their mastery of the auditory arts, from the hit music that accompanies the opening credits to the realistic revving up on Denji’s chainsaws, but this latest episode times every second of sound to create a true sensory experience.
The show manages to use the most subtle of audio choices to inform the resulting impact thanks to Sound Director Kisuke Koizumi and Sound Effects lead Katsuhiro Nakano’s dedicated work. Early on, they manage to use the mundane rattle of a bathroom fan to skillfully foster anticipation. Later, a touching scene of two brothers in the snow sets the stage with the sounds of trudging through slush and a cold winter’s gale. It is accompanied by a gentle but surreal melody that slowly builds before a split second of silence, acting as a gasp of shock, ushering in a sudden tragedy. This interplay of sound and silence is what drives the intensity of what would otherwise be a fairly uneventful episode.
Of course, this continues to be backed up by the impressive lineup of voice actors portraying the various colorful characters that litter Chainsaw Man’s cast. In particular, Tomori Kusunoki’s depiction of Makima stands out this episode. Her steady cadence and intonation in the middle of some rather hot-blooded scenes give Makima’s character an eerie and unsettling sort of level-headedness. Additionally, though she has not yet managed to get many lines in, Karin Takahashi’s panicked squeaks shows that her character Kobeni is likely to become a conduit for any jump scares to come.
Altogether, Episode 5 serves as an example of how varied an approach Chainsaw Man has taken to its episodes so far, to the series’ benefit. With each one highlighting a different part of the cinematic and animated arts, it truly lives up to its reputation for the innovation and experimentation. As the bar for each aspect is raised, it will be a treat to see how it continues to bring all of its moving pieces together.
Chainsaw Man streams on Crunchyroll weekly, with new episodes airing every Tuesday.