#i LOVE makima as a villain and i think she's a really fantastic one

[cocksuki2]

Hey I finished reading part one of chainsaw man and like I don’t understand why people call it a masterpiece. Like the first half was great and the revelation of makima was great but afterwards it became messy and the plot just disappeared.

Like really? Makima reasoning of fucking everything up is bc she’s a fan of OG chainsaw man? There’s zero background information about the OG chainsaw man other than what makima said in the manga. Characters with the exception of aki,power, angle, denji aren’t even fleshed out and they just died like that. There were no hints that denji power erased devils existence like NOTHING was fleshed out or informative. The ending was so bland ig, like I was expecting some explanation but no, I received nothing. Chainsaw man is only great when it comes to fights, artsyle, and making people uncomfortable, but the plot wasn’t going anywhere and completely erased itself from existence.

Like people was hyping up the manga so much and I agree the hype was worth it until after makima revelation. I’m the type of person who likes good written plots like attack on titan or cliche shouen plots but not boring like jujutsu kaisen. Of all shouen manga I read I feel like chainsaw man is the only one I don’t feel like continuing. I’m in part 2 now and I don’t feel like forcing myself reading it, waiting for something great to happen or waiting for the PLOT to come back.

Anyways I’m just wondering if you can convince me to continue it.

hmmmmmmmmm while i can see what you're saying, i kinda disagree.

chainsaw man part 1 is exactly that... part 1. im under the assumption that the things we're going to learn about denji and the og chainsaw man will continue to develop as the series goes on, but i can see what you're saying about it not feeling fleshed out. but it's also not over yet.

as for csm being a masterpiece, i personally think that that part comes in with the visual storytelling. fujimoto's art is fantastic at indicating tone and power through the positioning of his characters, as well as putting symbolism within the art itself. i think fujimoto's skill shines through in the way he demonstrates denji being manipulated by the people around him, as well as how he goes about telling denji's perception of love, sex, and human connection. it's a manga about manipulation, set in an alternate universe.

imo, chainsaw man really shines when you read between the lines of what's being presented to you at face value. if you're reading the manga at face value... then you're only seeing one aspect of it. it's really clear that fujimoto put a lot of thought into the interactions his characters have in the manga, as well as how he positions them in the frames themselves. i think this is actually ESPECIALLY true for makima and the way she's portrayed.

also, when it comes to fleshing out characters, i agree that some weren’t fully fleshed out but i also kind of look at it as like... some characters are present to push the narrative forward. sometimes they aren’t fleshed out and that’s totally fine. like while i love the violence fiend, i don’t feel like the plot suffered because we didn’t get his backstory or like... a full character arc for him. he’s a side character, sometimes they aren’t fleshed out. i wanted to see more about kobeni, but i think she’ll come back later and we’ll learn more. the story isn’t over yet, so more information about characters is going to keep coming. it makes sense to me that they haven’t laid everything out already... bc that’s the continuation of the plot lol

fact is though, if you didn't like it, then it's probably just not the manga for you and that's totally fine. you don't have to like the story the way i do or even agree with me that it's a masterpiece. it's media, everyone is going to read into it differently. i just happen to think it's worth looking at further than face value because when i read it that way, it completely changed the way i see the manga.

though i am going to say... if you don't like jujutsu kaisen... you probably will not like chainsaw man. they're very similar series and fall into a super similar genre. jjk functions the same way, with its characters and stories having more depth (imo) than just what's being presented at face value. i happen to find jjk to be very interesting and well-written (aside from the way it treats its female characters on occasion) and that's probably why i like chainsaw man as much as i do. i enjoy media analysis and those two series happen to be ones that benefit GREATLY from it and have a lot to unpack.

i think you and i just happen to have differing opinions about the series we enjoy bc while i love aot, i think both jjk and chainsaw man have more coherent plots (though neither of them are finished yet). that's not to say i don't like aot and think it's good, i just think that csm and jjk are better.

anyway, i don't think i can convince you to like or continue csm if you don't already like it 😭😭😭 especially if you don't like jjk (since they're p much the same genre)

#cal.ask #series.csm #csm spoilers #csm manga spoilers #there's a lot of things i find really compelling abt csm #i LOVE makima as a villain and i think she's a really fantastic one #i think she makes sense.. though i do wish they fleshed out 'a desire for equal connection' a little more.. but i think that will come- #back into play with nayuta #i love the way she's drawn in the final arc... with the chains coming from her womb #i think it's so indicative of her relationship to denji and the somewhat oedipus-like relationship they have #and i love the way fujimoto demonstrates manipulation through the narrative.. indicating power imbalances between denji- #and the people around him #i think the manga really excels in displaying denji's desire for affection and conflation of sexuality with genuine love #and the way he shows the difference between the relationship denji has with makima vs the relationship he has with aki and power- #is really intriguing to me #but it may not be that way to you and that's totally fine 😭😭😭 i think we'll just end up disagreeing #esp if you don't already like it 😭😭 #don't force yourself to read if you don't dig it

[prettyboykatsuki]

i saw a taking saying you’re meant to hate makima and not like her and though that reveal of what she really was (control devil)/wanted (chainsaw man and only him) was meant to be a shocker and the obvious moment of “oh fuck her” it disregards the fact that she was very much meant to be a liked character. and even after that reveal and despite everyone hating her she’s still meant to be liked as a really prominent character. people still find her attractive even after the twist because she’s always been an attractive character. it’s like people on tiktok attempt at nuance and no one succeeds. it’s like that video of dj khalid on the basketball course fumbling around with the ball but it’s people on tiktok. (this obviously wasn’t the worst take compared to a lot of others)

along with that it’s sort of weird how there’s a sort of fixation on how you shouldn’t like makima at all in comparison to evil male characters, which for some reason are fine to like compared to makima. still liking makima is not equal to being fine with what she did to denji. i hope that tiny rant made sense it’s just a lot of people saying “you’re meant to do this” and them not knowing what’s really happening

anyways i want to suck on that woman’s tits so badly

also none of that is meant in a negative way at all it was just an observation i made and obviously not meant towards you :-)

cw ; mentions of grooming, trauma, poverty, HUGE CSM SPOILERS HOLY FUCK SERIOUSLY.

i promised myself i would never write csm meta (mostly bc i dont think i have a good enough grasp on every element to give consolidated analysis on the series) but this ask reallllyyy resonated with me because makima is SUCH a fantastically written villain and i think that while everyone who hates her is mostly justified in said hatred because she is awful but it's like. never for the right reasons and never with any real nuance or genuine thought. makima is FANTASTICALLY written and we as the audience aren't meant to hate her because the story is told mostly from the perspective of denji.

to understand makima, you really have to understand denjis circumstance as a protagonist. denji is a character who's motivations are overly simplistic and that's because of his upbringing. not once in his life did he experience genuine love, especially not parental or motherly love. ontop of that he was in such deep shit and financial debt that he was destined for poverty. he was poor, hungry, and lonely. all main characters suffer from sort of tragedy but that tragedy is meant to feed into their motivations and trigger a particular action.

yuujis grandfather dying would translate into his integration into jujutsu society. the death of tanjiros family with only nezuko remaining would give tanjiro a reason to become a demon slayer.

"show me your dreams." is a very intentional line in the context of who denji is because at the start of the series he has none.

all in all when examining denji as a character - you'll first notice characteristics he lacks before you notice things about him. what can people say about denji other than calling him a horny teenage boy? denji is a character defined by poverty, both metaphorical and literal. his experiences have tainted his character so that he's relatively amoral without the guidance of aki later in the series. and he, in general, is a character who is strangely empty despite his yearning desire to live. who is denji really? what does he really want? he has no idea.

denjis lack of motivation and that sense of emptiness is also very directly written in the text in this panel. it's a huge issue that he has no internal motivation and that is due to his trauma.

and worst of all, denji despite his sexual urges or perceived sexual urges, is deeply innocent in many of his perceptions. fujimoto confirmed in an interview about a year or so prior that what denji sought from makima was motherly love. and that always throws people off because he clearly seems to want to sleep with her... right?

that's the thing though and that's what you have to understand about denji and makima. denji is naive. and makima, as a character, caught onto this fact early and made use of denjis utter naivety. that power imbalance between them where makima offers her body to denji in exchange for his obedience is like textbook grooming. much in the same that afo groomed shigaraki to become what he did, makima groomed denji for her own benefit.

and maybe you and me and the other people who are reading the story can recognize the multiple read flags that are very obvious about makima. the way she casually mentions making denji her dog for one, but also her clear lack of respect for his agency and strange possession. the way she dangles her attention over his head. all of these things, we as the viewers can see and understand. but this story is not about me and you, but about denji.

the way makima is potrayed is through denjis eyes is always exceptionally beautiful. denji views her with complete reverence and that's why saying she's meant to be disliked is absurd. because even to the bitterest end, where makima has effectively robbed denji of everything for her own completely selfish gain - denji admires her. he cares for her, in spite of himself and in spite of knowing how wrong it all is. he wants her approval and that is all in thanks to what makima was able to do in the time they spent together. the deep attachment that she had created to crush in the end. grooming, again.

this panel is one i often reference because its one of those scenes that shocking and a lot to see. but what i want to discuss is the framing because it's so relevant so intentional. the near holiness in which this deeply inappropriate action is framed. the light behind them like a halo, the hand in which makima guides him, their positions and the obvious line of the window frame that separates them.

makima makes it so that denji idolizes her. and for reasons denji can't wrap his head around, he does and always will. makima planned that.

i think there are plenty of reasons to hate makima but her villanous actions are without a doubt impressive and well-written to the point it's alarming.

but i think the biggest crime she commits is that she, not once in the entire series, saw denji for who he was. to me, the most painful thing to watch was that reality. to realize that she didn't care about denji in her own fucked up way either but that everything was a ploy and what denji experienced in spite. for denji to cannabilize makima in the end is an immensely powerful scene, and i do hope that much later in the series denji is able to reconcile with the abuse he suffered at her hands.

she is an utterly evil person. like truly what she did is inconceivable.

all that being said, i like her as a character. it's because i like evil women in the same way plenty of people like evil and fucked up men. and because makima is MEANT to be liked. that's the whole point. that's how she got control over denji and orchestrated the chain of events that was his happiness.

because makima was kind to him. because she was beautiful and graceful and nonchalant. because she appealed to the part of denji that yearned for admiration and praise and approval. the reason makima could commit such deep atrocities is because denji likes her. every single moment that we see her from denjis eyes potrays her as beautiful and unobtainable and she does everything in her power to make sure it stays that. so that she can give denji a reason to have her.

it's that from the very beginning. she is meant to be a very beautiful poison and i think pretending you're supposed to hate her from the beginning is stupid because that's not true. maybe you, as an adult with awareness, caught onto how awful she was and you disliked her for that. that's plausible for sure.

but she's always meant to be the thing that denji reveres and fujimoto makes the clear from the very moment she comes on screen. perhaps the most sincere we see her is in the first panel in which she hugs denji but not a minute after.

hate makima all you want. but to pretend that was the intent when really we as audience are meant to feel the extent of her betrayal along side denji is silly.

#return to sender #grooming cw #fang.csm #csm meta #csm spoilers #csm manga spoilers #i get annoyed when people get mad that people simp for makima. there are so many horrible men in manga #YES she is the worst character on her yes she is fucking awful. she's sexy what do you want me to say