[Music] in 1747 an English writer named Thomas Gray wrote the poem OED on a distant Prospect of eon college and in late 2018 tatsuki Fujimoto began releasing chapters of the Chainsaw Man manga in his poem gray reflects back on his life contrasting the naive innocence of Youth to the heavy burdens of maturing into adulthood he wishes he could warn the younger college boys how suffering and death are inevitable but he stops himself arguing that it's pointless for them to know such harsh things when they're still carefree and happy and it's here where gray coined a
phrase based in fallacy where ignorance is bliss is folly to be wise meanwhile [Music] chainsaw man explores how denji a teenage boy confronts the trauma of his childhood as well as the pain he endures at the hands of those wishing to exploit him in a world where hardship and despair is unavoidable the idea of remaining oblivious often presents itself as attempting escape and makima the ultimate antagonist of part one ironically presents herself as the savior that will enable Humanity to remain blissfully unaware Fujimoto always hinted that she had ulterior motives yet it's only after we
see the vile act she commits against denji that Fujimoto chooses to reveal her supposedly well-meaning intentions the stagnant nature of mima's character causes the explanation for a villain to come off as abrupt or out of place since it's only included within the final chapters I'd argue that Fujimoto wanted to humanize makima in order to gain audience sympathy but more so to critique the problematic ideology she embraced the ending of Chainsaw man teaches us that the way to achieve happiness is not through the absence of suffering but the capacity to confront and rise above [Music] [Laughter]
it if we don't eliminate maima now the worst possible peace will descend upon Humanity one of the main motifs in chainsaw man is the idea of necessary evil makima has a deeply ingrained belief that the state should be the only ones allowed to decide what harm is necessary to reach an altruistic goal it's said that fearing and strengthening makima I.E the concept of control is nothing less than the history of mankind and the president of the land of the free chooses to shave off a year of each Citizen's life to trade it with the gun
devil in an attempt to eliminate makima but we saw how that ended up on Maria Florence no when Kisha a senior member of Public Safety shows up with a firing squad makima reveals that she can easily regenerate herself because of a contract she made with the Prime Minister of Japan one where he decided to have any damage inflicted on her instead be transferred to innocent civilians this is what makima considers to be the supposed correct form of necessary evil where the state believes it has the right to decide who is collateral damage during utilitarian efforts
but why does she accept this there was an earlier scene where we got a glimpse into mima's upbringing and saw her carefully crafted mask slip when makima is on a train ride to go meet government officials in Kyoto she explains how she doesn't want to see them because she finds them all scary she knows she won't be relaxed in their presence and remarks how much she enjoyed getting drinks with her co-workers the night before this open display of discomfort and vulnerability is unusual for makima especially as she rarely complains to anyone we find out that
makima was raised by the government in an environment completely devoid of affection and centered on control her upbringing surrounded by authoritarian figures would have undoubtedly shaped her worldview and how she interacts with others it would ingrain these manipulative domineering aspects into her personality while also establishing her perception of how relationships are meant to be transactional when makima talks her superiors she's told not to get too attached to denji since her job is only to train dogs and use them showing how she was conditioned into never forming genuine relationships with others and to only see them
as pawns for the benefit of the government the issue with utilitarianism is that it works best in theory rather than in reality Fujimoto subtly critiques the idea of applying questionable morals with the excuse of it all being for a greater good since in this story there is no such thing as a Utopia therefore there is no justification for calculated violence but because of her cold upbringing and instinctive nature as a control devil makima has always internalized the stance that treating people like tools rather than valuing them as individuals is perfectly acceptable her view of humans
has always been demeaning she sees them as stupid easily handled and fun pets that she can use to do whatever she wants saw perfectly because they love her regardless of whether it's consensual or forced we find out the secret to maka's power is that she can control anything she sees as inferior to herself so why is she so hellbent on getting her hands on P well to put it simply she's a fan while Devils who are eliminated end up back in Hell have their memories erased and then reincarnate into the human world the chainsaw devil
is special because he's the only one who can eat devils and permanently erase their names from existence meaning that human history and even concepts of the present can be erased from people's cognitions and the only person who can somewhat retain the memories of what was erased is makima Fujimoto uses a clever trick to pull readers directly into the story through mima's questioning of kab her first one asks about an atrocity that most people in our world would be aware of but kabe has no memory of the heinous perpetrators next maima lists all of the things
erased from existence Fujimoto includes negative things from our reality but then he also adds fabricated illnesses and events that don't exist to make us question our own memory this creates an unsettling effect which immerses US and makes the chainsaw Devil's power feel all the more omnipotent if makima is able to defeat chainsaw man she'll consider him lesser than herself and be able to control him when Kisha asks if she wants to use this power to destroy the world makima once again defends the morality of government by saying that the minister would didn't make a contract
with such an evil devil although we can assume he probably didn't have a choice makima states that her ultimate goal is to erase things that make Humanity unhappy and create a better world even if she fails and gets erased by P she would be honored like a true obsessive fan [Music] would while mima's vision for the world seems Noble at first glance there is one part of it that falls short and it's simple who defines what is inherently bad and what is inherently good mima's vision of the Utopia while seemingly aiming for peace will be
skewed by her personal desires values and most of all her need for control her approach completely ignores how moral relativism Works within Human Society relativism is the idea that there is no absolute truth there is no absolute definition of what is objectively moral or immoral because these views are sub Ive and will differ based on culture or personal experiences with this lens mima's Noble Vision mirrors a dystopia a society that will sacrifice individuality freedom and ethics for the sake of her imposed version of good so just like everyone else in the story makima ironically possesses
her own level of ignorance her black and white view of what is justifiably good and bad for the world lacks the essential component of human nuance meanwhile denji is able to overcome his ignorance during this Last Arc while makima has remained stagnant throughout the story in her methods and beliefs one of her biggest mistakes was to underestimate dji's capacity for change we see denji get rescued and be brought back to a hideout where coony another reluctant member of Public Safety is hiding from makima denji has a chance to reflect on everything and he accepts that
it was his fault for choosing to be happily ignorant and never making his own choices denji believes he's hopelessly doomed to repeat the same mistakes and he accepts that he'll always live as an obedient dog to someone even if he does survive but then ciny States the straightforward truth that denji is still overlooking isn't that normal since denji spent the entire story trying to catch up to everyone else's standard normaly and overcome his stunted childhood development he's relied solely on Mak guidance no one has directly explained to him how suffering and bad experiences are normal
parts of life I mean makima did say it once but obviously any advice she's given him has now become meaningless because she herself gaslighted denji into believing that his trauma and wrong choices made him Unworthy of existing as a normal teenage boy but coiny remarks that the only place free of anything negative is in our dreams so now denji has direct confirmation that he hasn't lost the right to achieve normaly he stares at the television screen crying tears of joy when he finds out how chainsaw man fans are rallying in support of him and more
importantly women are becoming fans of him denji has an outburst where he finally becomes an authentic self-actualized human being he shouts out all of the desires he thought he wasn't allowed to ask for he wants steak for breakfast not toast he wants 10 girlfriends not just one and at long last the selfish Genji we know and love is back he's able to understand his inner human nature people are usually never completely satisfied and are always driven by the constant desire for more this stands in direct contrast to makima she wants humans to remain blissfully ignorant
but fails to realize how suffering is necessary for anyone to truly understand good and strive for it Benji's standard of living was based on the bare minimum since he was deprived of most things and neglected as a child yet without suffering denji wouldn't have grown as much as he did over the course of the story he might have taken things for granted because he didn't have to endure anything painful to reach a better station in life but now that he has suffered he's not satisfied he craves more than the bare minimum and is willing to
fight for it mima's idealistic vision of a world paradoxically strips life of the very struggles that give it meaning it is within our greatest moments of tragedy that we can still find Hope and the strength to overcome hardship back during the gun devil fight we see civilians who've had their homes destroyed and loved ones injured pause to look at a blood deprived denji on the ground rather than blindly condemn him as a devil they offer him their blood and place their trust in lives in his hands this Duality between hope and despair is the same
reason why chainsaw man refuses to erase mima's name from existence even though she's uncharacteristically willing to relinquish control for for the devil she admires without the threat of control we wouldn't be able to appreciate Freedom ignoring the bad or erasing it simply removes any depth from the good one concept cannot exist without the other back in the apartment when denji wishes to surrender and become the human puppet makima desires he mistakes submission for Freedom he believes relinquishing his agency and any control over his life will lead to peace and happiness but there is no such
thing as an easy fix there's no way to entrust oppressive forces with everything without sacrificing the very essence of who you are dji's Journey has always shown the difference between dreams and the disillusionment we face in reality but the solution isn't to retreat into ignorance or suppressive denial instead it lies in confronting what we lack and acknowledging the trauma of what we've lost this lesson is what frees denji from mima's dominance the understanding that freedom and normal happiness cannot exist without choice and struggle denji resolves to eliminate makima so that he can live freely but
one important thing to note is how he still can't bring himself to hate her but makima absolutely despises denji she hates his manorisms she hates how he speaks she hates his appearance and her disdain runs so deep that she insists on personally eliminating him with her own bare hands when denji ultimately loses makima pulls his chainsaw heart from his chest in his final Act of defiance he spits in her face triggering a juvenile Outburst where makima defends her idealized vision of what chainsaw man should be in her eyes chainsaw man is not meant to talk
or wear clothes but to exist as a chaotic uncontrollable Force this moment reveals mima's conflicting emotions her open hatred for denji also has a layer of simmering jealousy she believes denji is Unworthy of P's favor convinced that only she truly understands the chainsaw Devil in Her bitterness she declares if you're going to get in our way then die the wording here feels a bit off while it does capture the tone of a hyper absess a fan it seems to suggest that mima's motives go beyond simply wanting Po's power she has sacrificed everything and everyone in
pursuit of her misguided goal but there's still one piece missing why would makima go to such links to create a perfect world for humans if she still views them as beneath her what is arguably one of the most important scenes for mima's character and also a major point of contention within the fandom is the movie theater scene back when denji still trusts in makima she asks him out on a date they go movie theater hopping and spend the entire day watching boring mediocre movies and denji feels like there's something wrong with him since he doesn't
really feel anything while other audience members are laughing and crying but when he checks if makima has a reaction she doesn't show any emotion either even knowing what makima truly is now there's still no way to definitively judge if she didn't show emotions because she knew denji would feel more isolated or if she actually barely felt anything and was just keeping up with her controlled composure when they leave denji complains that he doesn't seem to understand movies Yakima states that she only finds one out of 10 movies to be life-changing herself once again we can't
tell if this is a calculated lie to comfort him or if it's the truth they head to the last film it's a convoluted movie that no one wants to watch so the room's empty except for them some throwaway scene plays where a soldier hugs his mother and denji begins to cry he feels embarrassed checks if makima saw him and to his surprise finds her shedding a tear and here's the question did makima cry solely because she wanted to mirror denji and show that they had an emotional connection or were her feelings genuine [Music] I'd argue
it does not matter I think the point of the movie theater sequence is to foreshadow mima's hypocrisy what seemed like a bad movie to most people ended up being a masterpiece in the eyes of makima and she mentioned how that one experience made sitting through all the other movies worth it meaning that makima understands relativism she knows that her perception of the world will not align with Humanity's perception of what life truly requires to have me meaning so when denji asks during their final fight whether bad movies would still exist in mima's ideal controlled world
she responds with a definitive no which reveals a fatal flaw in her character it's not that she doesn't realize what Humanity needs or even that she thinks she knows better no she understands but refuses to care and it's this unwavering refusal to change her ways which becomes her undoing the actual motive for mima's grand plan is partially foreshadowed by the scene from the movie a symbol of endearment and mutual affection between two individuals a hug what makima truly wants is to have an equal relationship with another person and P knows this since makim was taught
from birth to always use fear to control those close to her she subconsciously desired a family the purest version of unconditional love the reason she wants to erase things like death is to try and at Humanity to her level of perceived Perfection rather than having humans continue to suffer and remain inferior pets to her she's willing to become the necessary evil which will save Humanity in her own Twisted way but mima's black and white vision of perfection erases the very imperfections that make love and connection meaningful and here in lies the tragedy of mima's character
she symbolizes the raw state of control inherently creating a power dynamic in any potential relationship she forms because she doesn't doesn't know how to have a normal unrestricted bond with others when she defeats denji and holds p in her hand she immediately declares how he belongs to her now and that they'll be together forever once she erases the other Devils makima remains ignorant to the fact that a genuine connection cannot be forcefully created in her downfall lies in her inability to reconcile her desire for reciprocated love with her Reliance on coerced obedience although both she
and denji yearn for the same thing she never recognizes him as a human who could fulfill her dream and instead only sees him as an imperfect blotch on chainsaw man's image and it's this failure to recognize his or anyone else's endearing flawed Humanity which ultimately separates her from the connection she craves so as makima Embraces P stating her dream of living eating and sleeping together a mirror to the life that denji had with him during the beginning of the manga denji slowly gets back up makima is defeated since makima can't exactly receive any lethal injuries
from physical attacks on her then she comes up with a solution which won't be perceived as an attack meant to harm makima he'll bear makima sins and he'll become one with her by eating her this is dji's Ultimate Act of love and mercy towards makima while makima had effectively robbed denji of everything for her own selfish gain he still cares about her despite his Newfound self-awareness of how wrong it is to feel this way makima is defeated because she never acknowledged denji as a person even though he would have likely been the only person who
could have truly understood what she was going through I have been waiting the entire video to say this do you want to know how Fujimoto got inspired for the ending I'm not even going to try and paraphrase this until age 24 or so I lived with my girlfriend in a 15,000 Yen apartment in Yamagata the people around us were kind and would give us fruits and vegetables so while we didn't have much I think we ate a well balanced diet even though we were poor we had a pet Japanese rice fish I found it dead
one summer I went to toss its body into the trash like in parasite but my girlfriend said she wanted me to bury it so off I went to the park alone I tried to bury it under this big tree but the ground was too hard my hands got all dirty and I had no hole to show for my effort out of options I figured I would just pretend I had buried a fish and left it there lying on top of the ground as I watched it for a little while ants found the body and began
trying to carry it away I'm not sure what came over me but in that moment love for that pet fish welled within me for the first time I brushed the ants away and then I ate it the next day I had an upset stomach and when my girlfriend suggested it was something I'd eaten I came up with some lie to cover up the fact that I'd eaten our pet fish I've had people get mad at me many times throughout my life and when I'm scared of that the lies just spill out most of the time
I get caught in them but that time I didn't that brings us to now the memory of lying to my girlfriend is far stronger than the guilt of eating our pet fish then the guilt of eating our pet fish please allow me to confess my sin here anyways Fujimoto is a genius and I will reject any slander in the comment section also we're going to say the reason I chose to talk about makima is because she's phenomenally written and not because she has a cool beach scene thank you so much for watching the video I
encourage you to leave a comment with your thoughts and like And subscribe if you'd like to see more essays in the future Anchor's up cathar is out
