I know the ending of Chainsaw Man got everybody angry and stirred a lot of debate, especially around themes in storytelling. So here I am with my own analysis on the matter, because I can’t resist a good video essay opportunity.
And because I wanted to spice things up a bit, I decided to tackle this by looking at the subject from 2 different perspectives: Chainsaw Man and Frieren: Beyond journey’s end.
There will be some anime spoilers, so beware of those. Manga spoilers are left at the very end, and will be clearly marked, so don’t worry.
Chapters:
0:00 The “Themes and Such” problem
0:46 What is a theme?
1:41 Aristotle, New Critics, and the Heresy of Paraphrase
3:26 How Important Are Themes?
6:28 Chainsaw Man: control & exploitation
7:46 Frieren: Themes through Form
9:39 CSM: deconstruction of the hero’s journey
11:54 Frieren: Living vs. Experiencing
13:55 CSM: the flaws
15:05 Frieren: the pitfalls
16:30 Manga spoilers
21:07 Conclusion: are they worth it?
#animeanalysis #chainsawman #frierenbeyondjourneysend #mangaexplained