Exploring the Latest in Pop Culture: Daredevil, Sakamoto Days, Split Fiction, and Chainsaw Man!
This episode of Systematic Geekology presents an engaging and insightful discourse on the most recent developments in pop fandom, as our esteemed hosts—Christian Ashley, Herbie Ramsey, and John Erdely—are joined by the esteemed Mark Flower, the host of the "Grub & Grace" podcast. The conversation pivots around the highly anticipated Disney+ series "Daredevil: Born Again," which revives a beloved character while introducing complex themes of justice and morality. Additionally, we delve into the vibrant narrative of the anime "Sakamoto Days," characterized by its unique blend of humor and action, followed by an exploration of the innovative video game "Split Fiction," which cleverly intertwines themes of creativity and collaboration in a virtual reality setting. Our discussion culminates with a deep analysis of the manga series "Chainsaw Man," focusing on its recent revelations that challenge conventional perceptions of fear and power. Join us as we unpack these captivating narratives and their implications within contemporary pop culture.
A comprehensive analysis of the latest episode reveals a profound exploration of themes surrounding identity, morality, and the implications of vigilantism. The episode delves into the intricacies of the narrative, particularly focusing on the character arcs in 'Daredevil: Born Again'. As Matt Murdock grapples with his dual existence as a lawyer and vigilante, the complexities of his psyche are laid bare. The series deftly navigates the moral quagmire of justice versus legality, prompting reflections on societal expectations and the nature of heroism. The juxtaposition of Matt's internal conflicts with the external chaos of New York City serves to heighten the tension and engage the audience in a dialogue about the efficacy of vigilante justice in a flawed system. Key moments within the episode challenge preconceived notions of right and wrong, leaving viewers to ponder the true cost of heroism in a world rife with corruption and moral ambiguity. Overall, this episode stands as a testament to the rich narrative potential of the superhero genre, elevating it beyond mere entertainment to a thought-provoking commentary on the human condition.
In the discussion surrounding 'Sakamoto Days', the episode provides a vivid portrayal of the intersection between humor and action within contemporary manga. The narrative centers on Taro Sakamoto, a retired assassin who, in an ironic twist, seeks a peaceful life devoid of violence. This thematic dichotomy is further enriched by the comedic undertones that permeate the series, as Sakamoto navigates humorous encounters with various assassins trying to claim his life. The episode highlights the unique storytelling style of the manga, characterized by its vibrant art and engaging character dynamics. The juxtaposition of high-stakes action with lighthearted humor not only entertains but also invites the audience to reflect on themes of redemption and the pursuit of a tranquil existence amidst chaos. As Sakamoto's journey unfolds, the narrative cleverly subverts traditional action tropes, presenting a protagonist who embodies the struggle for normalcy in an extraordinary world. This blend of genres resonates deeply, offering insights into the nature of personal transformation and the quest for peace in a tumultuous environment.
The episode culminates with a riveting discussion on 'Chainsaw Man', particularly the revelations concerning the enigmatic 'Death Devil'. As the narrative progresses, the complexities of fear and power dynamics among the various devils are examined in depth. The dialogue reveals how devils embody the fears of humanity, with the 'Death Devil' representing the ultimate existential dread. The implications of this character are explored, particularly in relation to the evolving dynamics between Denji and Asa Mitaka, the new protagonist introduced in the latter part of the series. By weaving in elements of psychological horror and societal critique, the episode elevates 'Chainsaw Man' from a mere action manga to a profound exploration of human fears and desires. The intricate character development, paired with the overarching themes of mortality and the human experience, prompts a reevaluation of the genre itself, pushing boundaries and challenging audiences to confront their own perceptions of fear and justice. This episode serves as a compelling reminder of the narrative depth that can be achieved within the realm of manga, leaving viewers eagerly anticipating the next chapter in this ongoing saga.
Takeaways:
- The Disney+ series 'Daredevil: Born Again' successfully continues the character's journey, exploring themes of trauma and redemption.
- In discussing 'Sakamoto Days', the hosts highlight its unique blend of action and comedy, appealing to fans of lighthearted storytelling.
- The video game 'Split Fiction' captivates with its co-op gameplay that emphasizes teamwork and innovative storytelling about authors and their creativity.
- The manga 'Chainsaw Man' reveals significant plot developments, particularly regarding the emerging identities of its devils and their implications for fear in society.
- The hosts collectively appreciate the moral complexities presented in 'Chainsaw Man', especially regarding justice and the consequences of one’s choices.
- The discussion underscores the cultural significance of these modern IPs, reflecting broader societal themes through the lens of pop fandom.
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Transcript
Foreign.
Speaker B:Truly born again.
Speaker B:What is sakamoto days?
Speaker B:What can we learn from split fiction?
Speaker B:Do we now know who the real death devil is in chainsaw, man?
Speaker B:We're gonna be asking these questions and a lot more in today's episode of Systematic Ecology.
Speaker B:We are the priests of the Geeks.
Speaker B:I'm your host, Christian Ashley, joined by three excellent men.
Speaker B:Oh, sorry, two.
Speaker B:Two excellent men.
Speaker B:And John.
Speaker B:John, how's it going?
Speaker A:Well, thank you for that lovely introduction.
Speaker A:I'll always pale in comparison to the mighty Christian Ashley, but it is good to be here.
Speaker A:How are you?
Speaker B:I'm glad to have you around, man.
Speaker B:I'm all right.
Speaker B:Also joined here today, Herbie.
Speaker B:How's it going, Herbie?
Speaker C:It's going all right.
Speaker C:It's springtime, Allergies, colds, all that.
Speaker B:Oh, my favorite time of the year.
Speaker B:Just love experiencing this every year.
Speaker B:But we're not alone today.
Speaker B:Returning guests.
Speaker B:You know him, you love them.
Speaker B:Mark Flower.
Speaker B:How's it going, Mark?
Speaker D:It's going fantastic.
Speaker D:We got a wonderful winter weather here in Colorado.
Speaker D:It was pretty nice in the 50s and 60s, and then we got dumped on with a little snowstorm the past couple days.
Speaker B:Lucky you, man.
Speaker B:Let's trade.
Speaker B:Love the snow.
Speaker C:I'll take snow.
Speaker D:All right.
Speaker B:So guys, it's a what's New episode.
Speaker B:We're not geeking out on stuff.
Speaker B:We're talking about the stuff that we just got into recently.
Speaker B:But let's quick lightning round.
Speaker B:What have you guys been getting into that we don't want to focus on for today's episode?
Speaker B:I know, Mark, you had one you really wanted to point out.
Speaker D:So I'm a really big fan of the claymation media and Wallace and Gromit has been one of those big inspirations for me as a child watching, you know, Grand Day Out, Close shave, Wrong Trousers.
Speaker D:And Netflix actually just released a direct sequel to a Wrong Trousers called A Vengeance Was foul.
Speaker D:And it's 32 years after it was released from that original 30 minute short that they had made.
Speaker D:So I've just been geeking out on that and it's just been fantastic and it's, you know, it's lovely.
Speaker B:Okay, Herbie, John, anything new for you guys?
Speaker A:Well, me and the missus, I have been playing through, actually.
Speaker A:We just beat Star Wars Outlaws and now we're working our way through Final Fantasy 16.
Speaker B:Perfect.
Speaker B:What do you think, Outlaws.
Speaker B:You enjoy it?
Speaker A:Outlaws?
Speaker A:I enjoyed it.
Speaker A:I.
Speaker A:I mean, if I was to give it a quick one through 10, I'd give it a solid eight and a half because it was consistently busy.
Speaker A:And the.
Speaker A:There's a lot of funny moments because driving on the speeder, you know, whenever you piss off, the syndicates and the death squads come following you.
Speaker A:And.
Speaker A:And Barbara always has a propensity of crashing her speeder bike at every inopportune moment.
Speaker A:So there was a lot of enjoyment in that.
Speaker A:And I thought the plot was interesting.
Speaker A:I didn't think they utilized the syndicate stuff enough.
Speaker A:But the game was enjoyable and the open world was filled with NPCs.
Speaker A:And that's something that I really enjoy seeing.
Speaker A:A world that's fleshed out perfect.
Speaker B:Yeah, I haven't tried that one out yet.
Speaker B:It's on my.
Speaker B:Wait till it's on real cheap to get it.
Speaker A:But yeah, I'm 35 at Walmart right now.
Speaker B:Oh, that's nice.
Speaker B:Herbie, how about yourself?
Speaker B:Anything new?
Speaker C:Nothing new, but I have gotten back into the Tetris craze again.
Speaker C:That happens about once a year where I have a couple weeks where I just enjoy playing Tetris with every free moment I have.
Speaker B:Okay, very nice.
Speaker B:Now, me stuff that just came out kind of recently.
Speaker B:I just finished watching two of these movies.
Speaker B:Batman Ninja vs Yakuza League is a sequel to Batman Ninja.
Speaker B:It's done dumb goofy fun.
Speaker B:Like this movie was made for me.
Speaker B:It's not good.
Speaker B:It's not amazing.
Speaker B:It's stupid anime BS.
Speaker B:And that's exactly what I wanted from the movie.
Speaker B:10 out of 10, no notes.
Speaker B:Except maybe less Harley Quinn because she's overused these days.
Speaker B:Yeah, I love that stupid movie so much.
Speaker B:And then I also watched Popeye the Slayer, man.
Speaker B:Because you know what happens when someone falls into public domain.
Speaker B:You have to make a horror movie about him.
Speaker B:Forever ago, I did review Winnie, Winnie the Pooh, Blood and Honey, which I gave a 1 out of 10.
Speaker B:This movie's not that bad.
Speaker B:I actually think it did a fairly good enough job.
Speaker B:I'd say a 7 out of 10 for a stupid premise that they make work.
Speaker B:So that's it for our lightning round.
Speaker B:So we're gonna get into the meat potatoes today.
Speaker B:We got four topics to discuss.
Speaker B:First off, being Daredevil Born again.
Speaker B:All right, who else is watching the show with me?
Speaker B:I already know of one who isn't.
Speaker D:I'm watching it.
Speaker B:Okay, Mark, John, you're behind.
Speaker A:I'm uncultured.
Speaker B:Well, I knew that.
Speaker C:I will be watching it soon.
Speaker C:I just am a student and have.
Speaker D:Very little free time.
Speaker B:You know what?
Speaker B:That's perfect.
Speaker B:I'm a student.
Speaker B:I have insomnia, so I use My lack of free time that I gained through the night to actually watch things, and this being one of them.
Speaker B:This is, of course, a sequel to the Netflix series now done by Marvel Television, instead released on Disney plus and the like.
Speaker B:Mark, do you want to give, like, a brief overview of what's been going on and I can help you out?
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:So it picks up directly.
Speaker D:It picks up directly after those previous seasons that Netflix had where, you know, you got Matt Murdock and you got Foggy and what's her name.
Speaker D:You got the whole crew together.
Speaker B:Aaron.
Speaker D:And Aaron, yes.
Speaker D:And I'll just say that something traumatic happens that impacts Matt Murdock, and it kind of put in a more seclusive mode.
Speaker D:So he's not really.
Speaker D:He takes the Daredevil moniker kind of away and kind of stops doing that for a little while and just ends up being a lawyer.
Speaker D:And through a series of events, he ends up jumping back into the role of Daredevil, obviously.
Speaker D:I mean, the show is called Daredevil, so you kind of have to have that, but that's kind of where we're at with that.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'll say.
Speaker B:They've done a good job.
Speaker B:Normally, I like my superhero to be in the suit.
Speaker B:It takes Matt a while to get back in the costume, but those episodes are really worth it.
Speaker B:The buildup is great, and we've got all new things happening here.
Speaker B:Wilson Fisk has been let out of jail, and he's been using that to, like, prop it up.
Speaker B:Like, I was unjustly convicted because of a vigilante, and he's got the support of the people behind him, and he's just become mayor of New York City, while he's also keeping his criminal ties run by Vanessa, his wife.
Speaker B:They're estranged at the moment because of things that happened there at the end of the Netflix series, but they're going through couples therapy to get back together.
Speaker B:And Matt, of course, is ruining his life as best he does, you know, through relationships, and denying what he needs is pretty great.
Speaker B:So, Mark, is there anything you want to, like, discuss about this new season that kind of jumps out at you?
Speaker D:I know in the notes, you did write something about the Punisher and how that kind of relates to how superheroes and not superheroes but vigilantes are viewed within the world.
Speaker D:I thought that was pretty interesting, putting that back in there.
Speaker D:I know with the role of filling the role again with Jon Bernthal, the actor.
Speaker D:He originally declined the role of coming back as Punisher just because of the way they wrote in the script and they had to reread the script to.
Speaker D:To have to have a character that came back that he enjoyed much better.
Speaker D:So I thought it was kind of interesting revolving around that character and just how, how big of a story, plot that vigilantism is within this whole story.
Speaker B:Oh yeah, that's a good one.
Speaker B:So John and Herbie, just so you guys are aware, real world people have say, let's say, utilized the symbol of the Punisher and people that you don't want to do that.
Speaker B:You know, cops, army, marines, so on and so forth.
Speaker B:People who shouldn't be having to have that symbol and are now taking it for their own.
Speaker B:And Marvel in response in the comics has gotten rid of Frank Castle essentially because he's too much of a hot button issue.
Speaker B:And they can't write stories around that apparently, and they don't want other people to use it.
Speaker B:So in the series, other people are using Frank's Punisher symbol for their own.
Speaker B:You guys have anything you want to add to that before I have my say?
Speaker C:I haven't seen it, so I don't really have anything to add at this point.
Speaker B:Okay, John.
Speaker D:Yeah.
Speaker D:So the use of that symbol, what you're saying is they're using it in ways that Punisher doesn't actually enjoy.
Speaker D:It's being used, it's being used for more ill gotten gain versus what the Punisher actually stands for.
Speaker D:That's kind of what you're referring to, right?
Speaker B:Yeah, absolutely.
Speaker B:Because the reason the Punisher became a thing is because gang violence was so bad, corrupt cops were everywhere allowing things to happen like this.
Speaker B:So the ideal isn't to have policemen using his symbol because he only exists because the police aren't doing their jobs.
Speaker B:The ideal is that the police are doing their jobs.
Speaker B:And one day there's no need for Frank Castle to be the Punisher anymore.
Speaker B:And so it's been taken different ways in the comics of him being angry at people utilize something like this.
Speaker B:And right now, like I said, they're just pretty much getting rid of Frank completely because they're just doing their own thing, I suppose that I don't like.
Speaker B:But in the show proper, Frank is kind of almost given up to an extent.
Speaker B:Like kind of sees his war on crime as failing.
Speaker B:Even when Matt meets him, like they both know who each other are, so they meet out of costume.
Speaker B:He's still got all of his, you know, guns and gadgets and everything, but he's just not actively fighting right now.
Speaker B:He's kind of just basically just at the events of his own series too, which is pretty good that Netflix did kind of given up.
Speaker B:And we do see cops in the show utilizing his symbol for their own to say, oh, we're better than those other cops.
Speaker B:You know, we're just going to bring our own brand of justice versus actually working within a system which once again, was only created because the system wasn't working like it should have.
Speaker B:So there's all this controversy there.
Speaker B:We haven't gotten everything together with Frank yet.
Speaker B:I know they're building up to it.
Speaker B:I'm looking forward to it because it sounds like we're also going to get a special with him down the road.
Speaker B:Kind of like what they do with Werewolf by Night and Man Thing and all that.
Speaker B:Anything else you want to add there?
Speaker D:I thought it was really interesting what they did in the show by including kind of like a docu series or a documentary, interviewing people on the street and asking them about vigilantes and getting this variety of inputs and opinion on vigilantes and specific vigilantes.
Speaker D:Vigilantes in general.
Speaker D:Are they good?
Speaker D:Are they bad?
Speaker D:How people kind of viewed it.
Speaker D:I thought that was a really interesting take to kind of humanize and bring the story kind of back home in real life sort of thing.
Speaker D:Because everyone's got different perspectives on this in real life, here in the real world.
Speaker D:And so I thought it was kind of neat that they kind of put this perspective within the show as well.
Speaker B:Oh, yeah.
Speaker B:And what they're doing with BB since they of course killed Ben Urich in the original Netflix series, which is always a huge mistake in my opinion.
Speaker B:But they do a good job with her.
Speaker B:She's got daughter or niece or something like that in the series and just having like a kind of essentially a nobody, as it were.
Speaker B:Like becoming an influencer in a good way of just talking to average New Yorkers and getting their takes on things.
Speaker B:I appreciate what they're doing with her.
Speaker B:And a huge part of that has actually been, as mentioned before, Fisk, the kingpin, has become the mayor of New York City.
Speaker B:And as part of that, he's some very obvious connections, like no subtlety involved with recent politicians.
Speaker B:And I stress politicians, even though there's probably one more prominent than others.
Speaker B:So, like that in our as what's happened here?
Speaker B:Like, how fitting of a critique does he serve of those people?
Speaker B:And does Fisk himself have a point about vigilante justice?
Speaker B:It's like something that's outside the system that can't be controlled.
Speaker A:Is this kind of like a Captain America civil war Kind of a question.
Speaker B:Kind of.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:In that respect you build off of.
Speaker A:That because I'm not familiar with the show, but I know in Civil War it's like the idea of do the heroes need to be regulated or do they need to fall under the same system which allows corruption?
Speaker A:Kind of a good.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker A:General question.
Speaker A:I don't have the answer.
Speaker A:I'm just saying that's a good question.
Speaker B:Fair enough.
Speaker D:I feel like his, his whole take on vigilante justice is more a benefit for his ill gotten gains, which, I mean, there's a lot of people that are disenfranchised with politicians in the real world here.
Speaker D:And I think we can kind of see even just perspective wise from people about politicians.
Speaker D:I mean you can see a lot of Kingpin's old, old habits and old ways of living with like, you know, working with crime and being like a crime syndicate that you see a lot of that kind of transferring into his current role as a politician.
Speaker D:And I think going with that perspective, I think you can see how this kind of mistrust that a lot of people have within politicians.
Speaker D:You can see a lot of this public opinion within the show about Fisk and it kind of fluctuates and wavers.
Speaker D:Sometimes people love him some.
Speaker D:There's a lot of times that people hate him.
Speaker D:Obviously that new article that comes out with him about being the, the trash mayor and then he's completely upset with that.
Speaker D:You see a lot of that with like, you know, news articles here.
Speaker D:And depending on which news outlet you're actually watching or listening to, different politicians can be painted in different lights.
Speaker D:So as far as his take on vigilante system, I, I think that it's more for his gain.
Speaker D:He's more using that as a tool to try to gain favor with the people and gain getting that opinion.
Speaker D:And I think we can see that with a lot of politicians nowadays where they're, they're using the tools, whether they're, they're good tools or bad tools against them or for them for their gain as a politician and for, you know, gaining power or structure or something like that.
Speaker C:I do think this shows.
Speaker C:I do believe the entire conversation also needs to pick up is there a time when it is justified to be the vigilante who is going to go and do what you feel the system is failing society on?
Speaker B:Yeah, I mean, that's why Daredevil exists.
Speaker B:That's why the Punisher exists.
Speaker B:That's why a lot of these heroes exist.
Speaker B:That stuff isn't being done and they have the power, therefore, do we also have the responsibility?
Speaker B:I would argue yes.
Speaker B:In this world, that's what you're supposed to be doing.
Speaker B:When it comes to Fisk himself, like, it's extremely obvious.
Speaker B:The number one guy he's supposed to be a critique of is, you know, Trump himself as, you know, New York guy, some criminal background in some respects, and someone who's always looking out for number one.
Speaker B:So I just kind of roll my eyes and move on with that because the subtlety just doesn't get to me there.
Speaker B:And I'm not a fan of the guy to begin with.
Speaker B:Well, either one.
Speaker B:Kingpin is a character, sure.
Speaker B:If he were real, not so much.
Speaker B:But the idea that he brings up, the only reason he cares about vigilante justice in the first place is because that's what's got him busted.
Speaker B:Because he was doing fine when there were no vigilantes running around.
Speaker B:Because he could pay off every cop he wanted to, and those that didn't, who were honest cops, he'd kill, and no one would look into them because he also paid people off.
Speaker B:And he had a lucrative empire based off of that.
Speaker B:So now he's having to change things.
Speaker B:But he's also kind of realizing the limits of his new power, which I really enjoy.
Speaker B:There's a really funny segment where he has to meet with all these different cultural clubs and school children, and you go from singing the English version of We Built the City to the.
Speaker B:Was it the Latvian or Lithuanian version?
Speaker B:And just like the.
Speaker B:The.
Speaker B:You see the life just drain from his.
Speaker B:His face as this is happening.
Speaker B:It's very, very cathartic.
Speaker B:I also can't help being reminded, I know how many of you guys have watched the Justice League animated series, but there's this time when Lex Luthor runs for president and it's all a ruse.
Speaker B:And he has this line to Superman.
Speaker B:It said, do you know how much power I'd have to lose to become President of the United States?
Speaker B:Because he has much more power.
Speaker B:Not doing that.
Speaker B:And I think Fisk is starting to realize that, yeah, he can make policies, but he's also hindered by red tape.
Speaker B:And so now he's working as a vigilante in his own system to get what he wants passed, which, unfortunately, plenty of other politicians do.
Speaker B:So I think that's a solid critique.
Speaker B:Well, that they're doing here at that point, at least.
Speaker C:It doesn't seem like he's pulling a Nixon and says, when the president does it, it isn't illegal.
Speaker B:Oh, I guarantee he'd say that we.
Speaker D:Still got a few more episodes coming out, so you never know what's going to come.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:So, yeah, as far as rating reviewing goes, what do you think out of 10 so far, Mark, for the series?
Speaker D:I'm really enjoying it.
Speaker D:I really enjoyed the original Netflix series, and I thought this continues on with that energy that it had.
Speaker D:I really like the raw and grittiness that it has.
Speaker D:Some of these fight scenes, they have a sense of semblance of violence to them.
Speaker D:It's not like over the top, but it's like just enough so that we have enough action and engagement with all these action scenes.
Speaker D:And even the dialogue is written really well.
Speaker D:Even just the character development.
Speaker D:We already know the characters.
Speaker D:But, you know, since it has been a time pass from the Netflix series, I feel like they're doing a good job reintegrating the characters back into this role.
Speaker D:So I would give it, I mean, it's hard to say, a 10 out of 10 for anything.
Speaker D:I would say nine out of 10.
Speaker D:I've been really enjoying it so far, so I'd like to see how they wrap it up and finish it.
Speaker D:Of course, that could change it, but as it stands right now, I would say nine out of ten.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah, I'm with you right there.
Speaker B:Nine out of ten seems very fair to me.
Speaker B:The most recent episode was probably the weakest we've had, in my opinion.
Speaker B:I would have preferred if they built Muse up and his relationship with his therapist more.
Speaker B:It is kind of like, oh, this is a thing now.
Speaker B:Accept it.
Speaker B:And what happens in the episode happens, which is still satisfying.
Speaker B:It just could have been more satisfying.
Speaker B:I think they're doing a great job.
Speaker B:They're respecting what came before, but building off of it, doing their own thing.
Speaker B:It's a fun series.
Speaker B:So unless anyone has anything else they'd like to add on Daredevil, I think it's time we move forward to our next topic of discussion, which is Sakamoto Days, which once again, Mark, this is your baby.
Speaker B:Explain what the heck Sakamoto Days is.
Speaker D:Which is funny because I never actually read, really read the manga.
Speaker D:I think I just started into reading the last few chapters coming out, and it's really fun.
Speaker D:It's really well illustrated.
Speaker D:Really well fun.
Speaker D:I've been getting to more of the Netflix animated show that they come out with, and they're actually dropping the second half of this, the animated show, in July.
Speaker D:Sometime in July.
Speaker D:So the first half, I think it's about 12 episodes or 10 or 12 episodes.
Speaker D:It's fantastic.
Speaker D:It's fun.
Speaker D:It's bright, it's colorful.
Speaker D:So basically the whole story is that it's a retired hitman.
Speaker D:He gets married, has a family, runs a small convenience store, and he devotes his life not to violence as an assassin, a retired assassin, but he wants to protect his family and to, you know, stop doing violence, stop killing people.
Speaker D:And he has these kind of, like, rules of.
Speaker D:Of codes of, you know, how to live.
Speaker D:And so along this whole journey, all these assassins get a contract to come and kill Taro Sakamoto.
Speaker D:And through all this, you get these really corny, like, quirky little engagements where they're trying to kill him.
Speaker D:But of course, he's a retired assassin.
Speaker D:He's the best assassin that's ever lived, so he's able to take him out with ease.
Speaker D:Like he can flick a rubber band at them and take him out.
Speaker D:And through all this, some of these hitmen, he actually brings them in as people that runs a store and help him on these little adventures that he goes on.
Speaker D:And it's just fun.
Speaker D:You get these really intense battles that he has with some of these other assassins that are trying to get him.
Speaker D:But at the same time, it brings this whole umbrella of humor with it, and it's just really funny.
Speaker D:You get this one scene where one of the villains is throwing people from a subway car directly at him, and he's just catching the people and casually putting them back on the be as.
Speaker D:As these.
Speaker D:As these people are being thrown at him.
Speaker D:So it's.
Speaker D:It's all these really kind of funny moments that kind of come through it.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:This is an action comedy kind of series.
Speaker B:Shonen Jump manga originally that's just been adapted to anime.
Speaker B:I think there's what, only 12 episodes for that first season is what they're doing.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I will confess, I'm not big on Sakamoto days, so I know it's a huge blow, especially to tj who won't listen to this episode anyways because he doesn't care about us.
Speaker B:But it just doesn't click with me.
Speaker B:The comedy doesn't work as well for me.
Speaker B:The action is good, I'll give it that.
Speaker B:But the combination of the two doesn't really work.
Speaker B:But I'm curious, Mark.
Speaker B:I want to see what about this series engages you specifically.
Speaker B:It works for you, but it doesn't for me.
Speaker D:I wouldn't say it's my favorite.
Speaker D:If you like one punch, man.
Speaker D:I'd say it's along the same veins as that.
Speaker D:I've heard it's along the Same veins of Was it Spy.
Speaker D:Spy Family kind of has that humor and whatnot along with like intense action scenes and everything kind of mixed in.
Speaker D:But I think I like the colorfulness and something that I can just put in the background while like, while I'm doing dishes or working on something that has a little bit of humor, has a little bit of that fun action scene.
Speaker D:Just kind of a little bit of everything.
Speaker D:But it's bright, it's fun, it's engaging.
Speaker D:I think that's why I've kind of enjoyed it.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:I'm not trying to like yuck your yum here.
Speaker B:What you like.
Speaker B:It's just.
Speaker B:It just doesn't click for me.
Speaker B:The jokes kind of fall short for me.
Speaker B:The characters aren't the best and I kind of gave up around the time of when the first season would have ended if they're doing like about three or so episodes, chapters per episode.
Speaker B:But as I understand it from reading on other people, what their opinions of the manga is is that it gets more action oriented from here.
Speaker B:That.
Speaker B:Did you say that you were caught up with it manga wise?
Speaker D:No, I read a couple of the issues, but that's it.
Speaker B:Yeah, there's only so much time in a day, so.
Speaker B:Yeah, it just doesn't work for me.
Speaker B:It doesn't make it bad.
Speaker B:It just means it's not for me.
Speaker B:There's some things that are bad and also not for me.
Speaker B:This is not one of those things.
Speaker B:I'm not willing to fight someone over if you like this or not.
Speaker C:Christian, I think you've sold me on watching this show now.
Speaker D:There you go.
Speaker B:You know what?
Speaker B:If you enjoy it because I don't like it, have at it.
Speaker A:Contrarians.
Speaker B:I built my life on being one.
Speaker B:I can.
Speaker B:I can appreciate someone else doing it.
Speaker B:So as you kind of mentioned, like part of this series is that Sakamoto himself, former hitman, some assassin stuff too, has now given up killing.
Speaker B:You know, he's found a nice woman to settle down with.
Speaker B:He's living his own kind of private life, started a family.
Speaker B:So like, in your opinion, how well is this handled in the series itself?
Speaker D:I'd say it's handled fairly well.
Speaker D:I think it's through the comedy that it's really shown.
Speaker D:I think if it was taken seriously, it might have been of a difficult sell.
Speaker D:But I think you kind of have to have this like slapstick kind of comedy along with it to sell this kind of storyline that he has helping his family and no violence and everything.
Speaker B:Yeah, I do remember that being one of the better parts of it.
Speaker B:I mean, other than it falls in that cliche of the only person that he actually fears is his wife.
Speaker B:That didn't land for me that well.
Speaker B:I know it did better for other people.
Speaker B:But the general heart behind it, the guy really hard did all these terrible things, falls for a good woman who changes who he is and he grows.
Speaker B:And then I can get behind the spirit of that.
Speaker B:So that's where I'm at here.
Speaker B:So as far as like, rating and reviewing goes for Sakamoto goes like, what do you think out of 10, how's the series feel for you?
Speaker D:I know a lot of the critique that you had mentioned about the animation, the action, everything like that.
Speaker D:A lot of people have critiqued the animation style.
Speaker D:Honestly, I don't mind.
Speaker D:It's bright, it's vibrant, it's colorful, which I feel like you don't necessarily.
Speaker D:The manga is all black and white, but I feel like the art style in it.
Speaker D:I feel like I wouldn't naturally add that much color in there, but I feel like they add a lot more color.
Speaker D:The animation style itself, like the drawing.
Speaker D:A lot of people had a critique that it was kind of lazy and.
Speaker D:But I don't mind.
Speaker D:I don't if the artists could spend less time on this.
Speaker D:I know a lot of the artists for these animes are overworked, so I don't mind at all.
Speaker D:I would say overall, with humor, the art style, the movement, the everything about it, I would say maybe seven.
Speaker D:Seven out of ten.
Speaker D:Maybe six.
Speaker D:Six or seven out of ten.
Speaker D:Like I said, it's not my favorite, but it's something fun to put on the background.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:And that sounds low, but like rating as you do, like, it makes perfect sense.
Speaker B:Like it's not amazing, but neither is it middling or just boring to you.
Speaker B:It's just like, it's good.
Speaker B:I'll come back to it.
Speaker B:So, John, you haven't said anything on this issue.
Speaker B:Do you think.
Speaker B:Does this sound appealing to you in any way?
Speaker B:What?
Speaker A:The Sakamoto days.
Speaker A:I would to look into it a little more and kind of add it to the backlog of the million animes that I'm behind on.
Speaker A: s, early: Speaker A:At a local show that I'm just like, oh look, this is like, like.
Speaker A:Like Tenchi Muyo or Yu.
Speaker A:Yu Hakusho and Rurouni Kenshin and a bunch of other things that I haven't seen that.
Speaker A:I'm uncultured for.
Speaker B:It's okay.
Speaker B:Once again, other people are not me.
Speaker B:They have lives, you know, they have children and wives and, you know, husbands to take care of.
Speaker B:I'm a single loser.
Speaker B:I have all the time in the world.
Speaker B:Even with seminary, I can watch all this whenever I want to.
Speaker B:I get it.
Speaker B:Take the time to actually watch what you care about.
Speaker B:Get to it.
Speaker B:So with that in mind, let's move on to our next topic.
Speaker B:And this is John's that he brought up.
Speaker B:So John, you brought up the video game Split fiction.
Speaker B:Go ahead, give us a recap of the game itself.
Speaker B:And like any other thing that you think is relevant, we need to know.
Speaker A:Cool.
Speaker D:All right.
Speaker A:I actually looked up a nice summary for it because you remember me trying to rely on memory.
Speaker A:I get tongue tied really easily.
Speaker A:So here is the the summary of the game, of what it's about.
Speaker A:It follows authors Mio Hudson and Zoe Foster after they become imprisoned in the world of their own stories in a virtual reality machine which is designed to steal creative ideas and the whole.
Speaker A:It's a video game which takes place in their own creative worlds.
Speaker A:So this kind of strikes a chord with me and probably Christian too, that we're both authors, write fantasy science fiction.
Speaker A:So the idea of being able to go into a virtual reality version of our own world is super appealing.
Speaker A:But the premise of this game is that the Big Bad is using this machine to steal their ideas.
Speaker A:Which kind of plays off the idea that AI is stealing the ideas of authors because in the beginning of the game it's a like a dozen writers who are getting told or getting promised that they're going to get published.
Speaker A:So they go to this meeting and they put on these virtual reality helmets.
Speaker A:But what's really happening is this Big Bad is stealing all their ideas in a virtual reality machine.
Speaker A:So AI stealing author ideas?
Speaker A:Oh yeah.
Speaker A:I am 100 on board and it's topical.
Speaker A:The, the game itself I feel like really pushes the boundaries of technology because it is required co op play which is bring, you know, keeping the couch co op alive.
Speaker A:And I'm a big fan of that because I love playing the game, playing games with my family, with my kids, with my wife.
Speaker A:And this is required co op.
Speaker A:So we like to, we you have to work as a team to solve puzzles, to progress in the plot and to fight bosses.
Speaker A:You have to coordinate attacks and all kinds of stuff.
Speaker A:You rely on each other a lot.
Speaker A:It is super creative because it goes back and forth between fantasy realm and sci Fi realm and, and they're all telling, quote, like different stories and they're using different elements of fantasy.
Speaker A:Like there's dragons, there's magic in the sci fi realms.
Speaker A:There's like, you know, animatronic machines or it plays off of like Meccas and all kinds of just really cool tropes.
Speaker A:But there's also these side stories.
Speaker A:They're like these little random portals and in the middle of a mission that you jump into and they're just nuts.
Speaker A:It's like this complete aside.
Speaker A:Like one mission specifically is like you're.
Speaker A:You're a pair of pigs and you're trying to gather apples, but you, in order to move around, you have to jump.
Speaker A:And when you jump, you fart rainbows.
Speaker A:And it, it's just this completely nonsensical, like, aside to it.
Speaker A:And it's like.
Speaker A:And the authors in the in game are like, oh yeah, this was some story I created when I was a kid.
Speaker A:And it's like, it's hilarious.
Speaker A:It's just some completely random, you know, junk thrown into the middle of the plot.
Speaker A:And it, the game itself is just really enjoyable.
Speaker A:And I have to say, I don't, I don't give like 9.5s or 10s very often, but I would say with a little refining, I feel like the game didn't have very many NPCs at all, but I would still give it like a 9.5.
Speaker A:It's, it's solid.
Speaker A:It's really enjoyable.
Speaker A:The co op, like, working together dynamic is killer.
Speaker A:And I love the topic of, you know, AI or some machine stealing the ideas of authors is like.
Speaker A:It strikes a chord with me because I'm just like, yeah, stick it to the man.
Speaker C:You mentioned, you mentioned the required multiplayer.
Speaker C:Is it in any way.
Speaker C:Would you kind of liken that to It Takes Two and how that gameplay happens?
Speaker A:It is actually created by the same studio.
Speaker A:They are.
Speaker A:This is the same studio that made It Takes Two, created this one.
Speaker C:Nice.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:When you brought it up, I was like, oh, what?
Speaker B:Sounds kind of cool.
Speaker B:You know, it sounds like a game that you and I might have played on the couch together back in college.
Speaker A:Yeah.
Speaker B:If it had been around, we would have squabbled with each other how best to proceed through the mission.
Speaker B:And I'm sure you and Barbara never had that problem at all while you were playing.
Speaker A:Oh, you know, perfect sanity, you know, always polite, never had any problems trying to coordinate puzz or solve, you know, problems together.
Speaker A:Nope.
Speaker A:Just absolutely perfection.
Speaker B:See, that's what this game will do strengthen marriages.
Speaker B:That's perfect.
Speaker B:That's what the world needs more of.
Speaker C:Just remember, even in that it takes two.
Speaker B:Right?
Speaker B:There you go.
Speaker B:There you go.
Speaker B:So, like, you bring up some really good points about what the game is about and the idea of authorial creatorship being stolen from them through this kind of AI kind of process that's happening in real world.
Speaker B:Like, what do you think beyond that that the game is saying about authorial intent and creativity and how we treat them?
Speaker A:I think the game is making a pretty poignant point that, you know, these are the authors creative works and they are the ones who control because the whole point of the game is that they work together and beat the big bad and he goes to jail.
Speaker A:Kind of an idea.
Speaker A:So it's like the idea that our creative works are ours, they're no one else's.
Speaker A:And AI kind of needs to focus on like cleaning dishes and doing laundry than stealing from people's art and putting it together.
Speaker A:You know, it's kind of like, was it a spongebob episode?
Speaker A:Was like.
Speaker A:And now it's art.
Speaker B:Gotcha.
Speaker B:Gotcha.
Speaker B:Mark Kirby, anything you want to add here?
Speaker C:I don't really have much.
Speaker B:John.
Speaker B:Anything else?
Speaker D:I just love It Takes Two.
Speaker D:I just love that Herbie mentioned earlier.
Speaker D:That's the one that I always think of when it's co op split games.
Speaker D:And so I might have to check this game out too.
Speaker D:I never heard of it before.
Speaker C:It is actually awesome to have games that do force you to play with other people and not in like a massive multiplayer.
Speaker C:Like, one of the reasons I never played Skyrim Online is because it was massive multiplayer.
Speaker C:I'm playing with people that I.
Speaker C:You know, it's not in my sphere, in my sphere of friends that I'm having to play with, but when you have games like this where it's like you're almost intended to be in the same room as the person you're playing with, one, maybe a second other player.
Speaker C:Those are amazing games to have.
Speaker B:I don't play MMO RPGs because I don't like other people.
Speaker B:So there's that.
Speaker C:So can't you out for any of these games then?
Speaker B:No.
Speaker B:If.
Speaker B:If we were on the couch playing together, I'd play something like this with a friend.
Speaker D:You would rage.
Speaker D:So I'm more of a retro gamer.
Speaker D:So I actually think of a game like Pocky and Rocky.
Speaker D:I don't know if you guys know that it's like a Super Nintendo game, but it was kind of the same lines of the split Co op screen where you have two players playing the same time.
Speaker D:And you know, a lot of those SNES games, you know, same kind of concept where you're bonding with somebody right next to you.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Oh, this is just a fundamental part of the games.
Speaker B:It's always fun, like back in the day just playing Halo at the same couch together or someone else even on the same.
Speaker B:In the same house but on a different tv, just having parties like that.
Speaker B:I'd love doing that, but other people, I don't know.
Speaker B:Count me out.
Speaker B:So you said you gave it like a 9.5 out of 10.
Speaker B:That seems pretty solid.
Speaker B:It sounds like a really fun game, so.
Speaker B:Sounds like people should be checking it out.
Speaker B:So I'm glad you brought it to my attention.
Speaker A:Absolute blast.
Speaker A:I mean, so much fun.
Speaker A:So a lot of the side stories, it's just bananas, nuts, and I need some of that craziness in my life just to like laugh and to be like nonsensical and escape from things for a little bit.
Speaker B:Yeah, it sounds great.
Speaker B:So.
Speaker B:So it's now time for our final topic of the night.
Speaker B:That of course being Chainsaw man, the manga, which has just had a major revelation inside of it.
Speaker B:There of course has been an anime for first parts of A Little Bit of Part one.
Speaker B:We're getting the new Reze movie coming up pretty soon, and I'm hoping to announce the season two after that comes out because the rest of Chainsaw Land needs to be animated too.
Speaker B:So mark for everyone, since we get to.
Speaker B:Once again, heavy spoilers for this.
Speaker B:By the way.
Speaker B:As we're getting through this, can you like give a brief recap of what happens in part one of this series and I'll take care of the second part.
Speaker D:Oh man.
Speaker D:How do I recap this first part in just so briefly?
Speaker D:I wrote some notes because I did this and there's so much that happens in this first half, so I'll just go and jump into it.
Speaker D:So the story starts out with our main protagonist, a dim witted kid named Genji, who inherited a large debt to the Yakuza through his father's death.
Speaker D:He befriends an injured Chainsaw Devil who looks like a cute little dog with a chainsaw for a nose, who becomes his pet after letting it drink his blood to recover.
Speaker D:He renames, he names it Pochita.
Speaker D:After becoming severely injured and bleeding out, Pochita merges with Denji, allowing Denji to control the powers of the Chainsaw Devil.
Speaker D:Denji is introduced to Makima, an official devil hunter who is part of a larger association and is welcomed into the association.
Speaker D:Makima tells him that he is now her dog and is in his simple mindedness, accept this role as her dog.
Speaker D:Denji teams up with several characters, including Power a fiend, also working directly from Akima.
Speaker D:Fiends are humans who have been overtaken by devils, so they're not exactly the same.
Speaker D:Denji, humorously, throughout the entire thing, has his mind on one thing only, which is sex.
Speaker D:And while battling devils, he only opts to save female civilians, which is one of those humorous things.
Speaker D:Throughout the whole thing, he's also very easily persuaded by promises of sexual favors like touching or kissing or anything like that.
Speaker D:Makima makes it a habit to squash any relationships Denji could have to have that power over him.
Speaker D:And we'll find out later.
Speaker D:While I'll mention in just a sec.
Speaker D:After investigating the whereabouts of the Gun Devil.
Speaker D:So the whole series are talking about the Gun Devil and trying to hunt it down and battling a number of incredibly over the top battles.
Speaker D:The President of the United States makes makes a contract with the Gun Devil to basically take out Makima, and which you find out through that that she's the Control Devil.
Speaker D:So she likes to control things.
Speaker D:After Denji inevitably defeats the Gun Devil, he asked Makina to be treated as one of her real dogs so that he can live a relaxed, guiltless life and not think for himself.
Speaker D:The big baddie ends up being the Hell Devil, which drags Denji to hell after smashing him.
Speaker D:Makima then reveals that she would like to use Chainsaw Devil powers to create a world without pain, war or death.
Speaker D:And the very last part that after fantastic final battle between Makima, Denji defeats her and the Control Devil begins anew.
Speaker D:And a child who has no previous knowledge of what happened before.
Speaker D:So that's essentially in a nutshell, everything that happens.
Speaker B:Well said.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:The beginning of part of Chainsaw man, there's some ups, there's some downs.
Speaker B:Like Genji does grow as a character.
Speaker B:He's not just all about sex like he learns along the way.
Speaker B:Not if that's ever really left him as a character, but there's more to him.
Speaker B:He grows.
Speaker B:He gets some fine side characters there.
Speaker B:The supporting cast.
Speaker B:Yeah, part one ends really well.
Speaker B:There may be something that happens there you might be a little squeamish about, but it's Fujimoto.
Speaker B:If you've read anything else the guy has made, he's a little deranged.
Speaker B:It's a common joke that the most depressing thing in the world can happen in this chapter.
Speaker B:And it's like his author notes that they always do for Jump.
Speaker B:They say one thing about their lives.
Speaker B:They're not weak.
Speaker B:Always says, oh, I just ate the coolest, like, you know, fondue or.
Speaker B:Or cake or whatever.
Speaker B:And the character is like, bleeding out on the floor.
Speaker B:The final panel of the most recent chapter.
Speaker B:It's a very fun series.
Speaker B:The Part two takes place.
Speaker B:There's a time skip.
Speaker B:We are introduced to a new character, Asa Mitaka, who kind of becomes our viewpoint character.
Speaker B:And along the way, she ends up being bonded to the War Devil, who has come into the world to introduce new wars.
Speaker B:Because the big thing in the series, devils are only as powerful as much as they're feared.
Speaker B:So kind of in this part, there's.
Speaker B:There's a class mascot they have called the Chicken Devil, because nobody's really afraid of chickens.
Speaker B:So it's like one of the weakest devils in the world.
Speaker B:And Asa accidentally kills that devil through that series and through all the shenanigans happening there with her also interacting with the Justice Devil.
Speaker B:She and War Devil, who kind of takes the moniker Yoru, end up as merged as one being Yoru, taking control sometimes Asa other times.
Speaker B:That's where we're reintroduced with Dingy, who has tried to make Chainsaw man become a superhero because his goal is once again to get laid.
Speaker B:And unfortunately for him, everyone around him misattributes who he actually is, so he never gets what he wants, which is a constant part of Denji's characterization and everything that goes wrong in his life, to the point where they've started a Chainsaw man church where they worship Chainsaw Man.
Speaker B:But there's also a fake Chainsaw man running around, which of course gets him angry.
Speaker B:And at the same time, he and Asa kind of start developing feelings for each other, and that goes to all Hell because of a lot of shenanigans involving an aquarium.
Speaker B:But also Nayuta, who Mark mentioned, who has become the new Control Devil and is basically like a younger sister to Denji and kind of just wants to have him all to herself, so she erases her memories of him.
Speaker B:But he can remember it.
Speaker B:It's his own thing.
Speaker B:And that they kind of end up hating each other after this, as we're doing, introduced to the Falling Devil, who kills a bunch of people and gets to the point where they're barely able to take care of her.
Speaker B:We're also introduced to this character called Fahmi, who reveals herself to be the Famine Devil.
Speaker B:So we're getting like kind of the Horsemen of the Apocalypse here, and she's manipulating everyone for her own ends.
Speaker B:No one really knows why until we get to our most recent arc where we're all afraid that the Death Devil is coming.
Speaker B:Because when the Death Devil comes, the world is supposed to be completely destroyed.
Speaker B:That's what they're actively fighting.
Speaker B:They're trying to get stronger so they can kill the Death Devil.
Speaker B:Before the Death Devil, she kills the world.
Speaker B:And we're introduced to who we think is her.
Speaker B:And it's this shy, unassuming girl who's a like total very cringy, as put by one character in the series.
Speaker B:And it's revealed that she's not actually the Death Devil, she's the Famine Devil.
Speaker B:And Famine has been pretending to be her slowly accruing power, slowly manipulating people for her own ends.
Speaker B:And that's what we just left on the final chapter.
Speaker B:So this series just keeps getting better and better.
Speaker B:Are things that would change?
Speaker B:Yes, absolutely.
Speaker B:But Fujimota is going to Fujimoto.
Speaker B:Mark, what do you think?
Speaker B:What can be said about what's going on here?
Speaker D:Well, I thought that was kind of cool.
Speaker D:You brought in the whole Horsemen.
Speaker D:I mean, she brought in the Horsemen family talked about that.
Speaker D:Because this whole thing, it's.
Speaker D:It's very Japanese in, in the devils and the different devils with everything.
Speaker D:But then you bring in the Horsemen of the Apocalypse sort of imagery and you get this Christian concept.
Speaker D:So I thought that was kind of neat.
Speaker D:There were.
Speaker D:There were three questions that were kind of brought up through these last three chapters that had come out.
Speaker D:So.
Speaker D:196, 197, 198.
Speaker D:8.
Speaker D:First was the inner conflict by second guessing the justice that was delivered to family.
Speaker D:So Denji, or Denji the.
Speaker D:The Chainsaw man, which looks dramatically different than any other chainsaw adaptation that we had before.
Speaker D:So that's up for question to begin with.
Speaker D:But it humorously mirrors the idea of the blind justice and how justice systems don't always get it right.
Speaker D:He's constantly second guessing, you know, the students, like, but she was just a weird, cringy girl.
Speaker D:And he's like, no, of course you meant to die.
Speaker D:And secondly, the idea of justice and how it is now intertwined with Chainsaw Man.
Speaker D:So he even says that we, by saying we don't make mistakes.
Speaker D:I don't recall devils actually ever referring to themselves in this whole story as a singular in the plural sense.
Speaker D:And he isn't very consistent here because he also says that I'm Chainsaw Man.
Speaker D:Devil killing Avatar Justice.
Speaker D:He also seems to talk, talk to the Justice Devil inside of him, saying by, you've never steered me wrong before.
Speaker D:So did Chainsaw man devour the Justice Devil?
Speaker D:Like, what is the.
Speaker D:What is the relationship here?
Speaker D:What is the connection here?
Speaker D:So I think there's a lot of up in the air as far as, like, what's going on here.
Speaker D:And thirdly, he mentions that he needs to stop the coming prophecies of Nostradamus.
Speaker D:There have been a number of big reveals in the last few chapters, but they.
Speaker D:But are they subtly settling up Nostradamus as the big baddie Devil?
Speaker D:So I'm kind of curious as they're like, why would they drop this name name as, you know, as everything's kind of happening so subtly.
Speaker D:It just feels like a throwaway in the whole dialogue that Denji's having.
Speaker D:Or Chainsaw Man.
Speaker D:So I thought that was kind of interesting with everything.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:In regards to Nostradamus, he's been mentioned before.
Speaker B: us was a French mystic in the: Speaker B:He wrote in a quatrain kind of style where it was very, very vague to the point where, as opposed to most biblical prophecies that are more direct in certain responses, he is kind of like, has tons of people across the world who believe in anything he says because you can apply anything when you write it so nebulously.
Speaker B:And I say that as someone who owns a complete edition of all of his prophecies.
Speaker B:I've read through it multiple times.
Speaker B:It's a really cool thing to explore, but you can make it applicable to anyone if you just write as vaguely as possible, which is what Nostradamus was great at.
Speaker C:So adding up to where it's useless.
Speaker B:Yeah, yeah.
Speaker B:Pretty much adding him to the story makes perfect sense.
Speaker B:Is like someone pre existing character in our real world.
Speaker B:We can look back and say, oh well, they can add him in and if he makes a prophecy, it's true or something like that.
Speaker B:Now the difference is this is the fake sawman dealing with the fake.
Speaker B:Well, the real Famine devil who has been affected possibly by the justice devil.
Speaker B:It's all over the place.
Speaker B:It's really hard to understand at times.
Speaker B:And I'm.
Speaker B:I'm okay with that because it's done in a fun way.
Speaker B:Normally I hate convoluted things that don't make sense.
Speaker B:And I said, as someone who writes convoluted things, I hope they make sense at the end of the day.
Speaker B:So it's all there.
Speaker B:You had another point.
Speaker B:I've forgotten about your first one about.
Speaker D:Justice and kind of mirroring the.
Speaker D:The blind justice and everything.
Speaker D:I thought that kind of mirrored well with Daredevil too, actually.
Speaker D:This was perfect that we have both of these in this episode.
Speaker B:That's a good one too, because, you know, from a vague human perspective, like, what is justice?
Speaker B:You'll get 15 different answers versus, say, like.
Speaker B:Like a more absolute form would come from, you know, biblical studies or God and what.
Speaker B:Who is the ultimate arbiter of what is just.
Speaker B:And of course, this is written by a Japanese magica.
Speaker B:I'm not expecting biblical truth to be dealt out here.
Speaker B:And it doesn't matter anyways when the horsemen of the Apocalypse are brought in.
Speaker B:We don't even know what that means.
Speaker B: nd we've been studying it for: Speaker B:I'm not expecting a.
Speaker B:An accurate treatise on the Bible from a shonen manga meant for, you know, kids and teenagers.
Speaker B:It's fine.
Speaker B:They just use it in the same way.
Speaker B:John.
Speaker B:We've watched Neon Genesis Evangelion.
Speaker B:All those things about angels and the Christian imagery that were thrown in there.
Speaker B:It's because it looked cool.
Speaker B:They didn't actually care about the actual religion itself.
Speaker A:Correct.
Speaker C:I will say it's interesting for justice to be a demon.
Speaker C:And the idea that it.
Speaker C:It is only powerful in as much that it is feared.
Speaker B:Yes.
Speaker B:That's a huge concept in a series.
Speaker B:It's one of the best parts is which devil you would think would have more power than another, since obviously war.
Speaker B:Plenty of people are afraid of war.
Speaker B:Famine.
Speaker B:Plenty of people are afraid of famine.
Speaker B:Then you also have things like the bat devil or the katana devil and stuff like that.
Speaker B:It's like, oh, who's afraid of a katana?
Speaker B:Well, I guess someone who's been struck down by a katana or at the threat of that happening to them.
Speaker B:So that's why they're as strong as they are.
Speaker B:But you also have like, that chicken devil.
Speaker B:It's like, who's afraid of a chicken?
Speaker B:I'm sure someone has like an irrational fear of a chicken.
Speaker C:Have you ever been attacked by a rooster?
Speaker B:No.
Speaker C:It shows.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker D:If you've seen the good dinosaur.
Speaker D:I know the main character, he's constantly harassed by the chicken in that movie.
Speaker B:There you go.
Speaker B:That's a solid movie.
Speaker C:But the idea of people having, you know, a large fear of justice, though, it.
Speaker C:It's an interesting thing and it kind of harkens back to Death Note in a way that Kira was enacting justice and it struck fear into all of the population.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Because it was his justice as defined by light.
Speaker B:And of course, that causes fear.
Speaker B:And yeah, for this series as well, it's like, well, the entire population is scared because not only are devils real, they can affect the world and justice being brought out.
Speaker B:We have bureaus that are trying to, like, subjugate devils and use them for their own ends.
Speaker B:And they're supposed to be the good guys, so how can you trust them if that's what they're doing?
Speaker B:So, yeah, I like the idea of justice being warped to the sense that people are afraid of that concept to enough to where it's as powerful as it is because enough people are afraid of justice being abused.
Speaker B:But another huge thing here is across the series, people are just afraid of death.
Speaker B:They don't handle it well.
Speaker B:And one of the things I think Fujimoto was saying about death is that it's an inevitability.
Speaker B:It's something that we kind of.
Speaker B:Of need to wrestle with.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker B:But accept at the end of the day.
Speaker B:So what do you think?
Speaker B:In the general idea, how do we handle the inevitability of death?
Speaker B:I hate to tell you.
Speaker B:Spoilers.
Speaker B:You're all going to die.
Speaker C:I'm going to live forever.
Speaker B:Sure.
Speaker D:I think I heard we're hovering right around 100% of a possibility of death for all of us.
Speaker B:We've got Enoch and Elijah.
Speaker B:Those are the only two people that haven't been murdered or killed, as far as I know.
Speaker C:Yeah, but you see, those of us in Christ will live forever, so death is not forever.
Speaker B:Good thing.
Speaker B:John, you had something you want to say?
Speaker A:Oh, I was gonna say I'm terrified of, like, the idea of dying.
Speaker A:Even though I know the promises of the Bible.
Speaker A:I know that you know where our soul is going or whatever.
Speaker A:But even still, like, the idea of losing everything and, you know, leaving your family, friends, everything, you know, behind this whole reality and then moving into the ether or whatever is next after this is like.
Speaker A:It's a terrifying thought.
Speaker A:And I don't like to think about it.
Speaker A:It causes me great anxiety.
Speaker A:You triggered me.
Speaker A:I'm kidding.
Speaker B:Well, I'm glad you said that.
Speaker B:That's a very honest response.
Speaker B:Of course it's natural to be afraid of death.
Speaker B:It's an unknown.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:Even as someone who feels very secure in salvation, and we can argue about what that means all day long on a different podcast, but for me, I.
Speaker B:I'm one and done.
Speaker B:You know, I Gave my life to Christ.
Speaker B:That's it.
Speaker B:I'm his.
Speaker B:But it's still something I know nothing about.
Speaker B:It's as the undiscovered country as Shakespeare put it.
Speaker B:And later Star Trek would take for the sixth movie.
Speaker B:It's.
Speaker B:It's the great unknown.
Speaker B:What, what happens after death.
Speaker B:We're all fearful of we're here, but then one day I won't be.
Speaker B:What does that mean?
Speaker D:You know, these would be great devils to add to the show that the manga as well is fear and unknown.
Speaker D:I don't think they've actually touched on those two.
Speaker D:Like fear itself.
Speaker D:You know, people fear fear and things that are scary and fearful.
Speaker D:So.
Speaker D:But yeah, moving in, you know, from death to the afterlife or if there is afterlife.
Speaker D:I know there's a lot of debate on, you know, especially within the Christian world, you know, is there going to be an afterlife?
Speaker D:Are we just going to move on to the ether and the nothingness, the darkness?
Speaker D:So I think yeah, with the unknown and spending so much time on this earth is, you know, the way we see it.
Speaker D:You know, we, we've built up like, even with families, built up friends, we've built up all these memories and to leave it all behind, that is very frightful for anyone.
Speaker D:Even if someone says that they don't fear it, I think it is very, you know, scary or anything to add.
Speaker A:I was gonna say we could do a whole show on its own talking about what we think's gonna happen after and discuss the idea of spirits and what, you know, other dimensions and other stuff like that.
Speaker B:But yeah, yeah, I'll say.
Speaker B:Like, yeah, I am afraid.
Speaker B:I don't know at the end of the day, but I do feel security that if I were to go right now, I'd be okay.
Speaker B:It's like, I'm fine.
Speaker B:It's not what I want to happen, mind you.
Speaker B:I'd rather live for another, you know, 50, 60 plus years, you know, start a family, all that jazz.
Speaker B:But if he takes me now, I'm not going to be too upset about it.
Speaker A:Like, I'm not okay, but I'm okay, basically.
Speaker B:Yeah, I can deal with it.
Speaker B:So, rating and reviewing.
Speaker B:What do you think out of 10?
Speaker B:Chainsaw man, overall, if we're comparing it.
Speaker D:To the first half, oh boy.
Speaker D:I feel like it's completely different vibe.
Speaker D:They completely went completely different way with this.
Speaker D:But compared to the first one, I would say it's still rated pretty high.
Speaker D:It's very enjoyable.
Speaker D:Denji still has a lot of this kind of simple mindedness humor that comes with it.
Speaker D:But there is a lot of character development which actually gives a lot more depth to his character, a lot more of that.
Speaker D:So I think I would actually rate the second half a little higher just because of that.
Speaker D:The depth in that character building that has with Denji and the characters around him.
Speaker D:I rate it high eight or nine.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker B:Yeah.
Speaker B:For overall, I'd probably give chainsaw man a 9.5 out of 10 if this continues on.
Speaker B:If Fujimoto sticks to landing, I could even be convinced to call it a 10 overall.
Speaker B:There's still gripes I have with the story.
Speaker B:Denji gets annoying at times with the single mind in this book, but he has grown.
Speaker B:You have to give him some credit along the way.
Speaker B:So that's where we stand.
Speaker B:Those are our four topics for today, gentlemen.
Speaker B:Out of those four topics, what do you think would be your top recommendation?
Speaker A:I'm kind of biased with Split Fiction.
Speaker B:Split Fiction.
Speaker B:Okay, Mark Kirby, I was going to.
Speaker D:Say that I haven't checked out Split Fiction yet.
Speaker D:I actually just learned about it pretty much through this conversation here.
Speaker D:But it looks like a lot of fun and I really like that it takes two games.
Speaker D:So if it's anything like that, oh boy, that might be at the top of my recommendation, even though I haven't actually checked it out yet.
Speaker D:So I would say oh boy, Chainsaw Man, Daredevil, Split fiction.
Speaker D:I mean, I feel like they're all pretty up there.
Speaker B:Okay.
Speaker C:For me, I won't give a recommendation because I haven't haven't really interacted with any of these media.
Speaker C:But what I am sold on is the Sakamoto Days.
Speaker C:Thanks to Christian for arguing against it.
Speaker C:But he was arguing against it because he was saying it's a lot like things that I do like.
Speaker C:So I mean he sold me on it.
Speaker B:I too will be contrarian and not pitch fiction like I was going to since the majority took it.
Speaker B:And I'll do.
Speaker B:I'll do Daredevil.
Speaker B:Solid series.
Speaker B:Go watch the original Netflix series too.
Speaker B:Lots of fun.
Speaker B:So guys, thank you for all you do here.
Speaker B:Leave a like subscribe as well if you can or comment down below.
Speaker B:We really love reaching out with you guys, hearing what you have to say.
Speaker B:If you're listening to this on podcast form, leave a five star review on your podcasting platform of choice as well.
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Speaker B:Thank you.
Speaker B:Ethan Overcash, Austin Nance, Amber Riley and Jonathan Augustine.
Speaker B:You guys are the best.
Speaker B:But remember, we're all the chosen people.
Speaker B:A geekdom of priests.
