Warning! Contains spoilers for Chainsaw Man Episode 7!
The Chainsaw Man anime has pushed the envelope on showing both horrific gore and intensely sexual scenes, but its latest episode featured a moment so extreme it has been censored out. This is a real shame given how important that moment is in the manga, where it is presented in its full disgusting glory. But it also is important as it shows the limits of what the anime is allowed to show.
Chainsaw Man is no stranger to breaking taboos. Its main character Denji is extremely horny to the point that it is his main motivation. As such the anime has featured some incredibly sexually charged moments. Denji’s style of fighting using chainsaws to cut up his enemies also leads to some incredibly gory fight scenes. All this makes Chainsaw Man much more explicit and mature than other Shonen series like My Hero Academia. The anime so far has been able to air even its most extreme moments, but it seems that there is one bodily fluid that the censors drew the line at.
In episode seven, Denji and his fellow devil hunters go out to get drinks together after defeating the Eternity Devil. Since Himeno offered to give whoever defeated the devil a kiss, Denji asks her to deliver on her promise. But Himeno drinks too much, and Denji's first kiss becomes a nightmare as she pukes into his mouth. He then swallows the puke, making the situation even worse. In the manga this moment is shown in graphic detail, down to the chunks of food floating in Himeno's vomit. But in the anime, this is blurred by censorship pixelation, lessening the disgusting impact of the moment. This isn't the first time the Chainsaw Man anime changed the manga, but it is the first majorly negative change to the series.
Chainsaw Man's Censorship Diminished The Impact of Denji's Kiss
This censorship is unfortunate, as this is a very important moment for Denji and the series as a whole. While he has already realized conceptually that sexual acts without emotion aren't fulfilling, he still accepts Himeno's offer of a kiss, showing that he is still willing to give in to his carnal desires even for a moment as important as a first kiss. But after such an abjectly disgusting experience, Denji learns that he can't just follow his sexual urges whenever it is convenient for him. This will become more important for him as the series continues.
This all isn't to say that the moment wasn't gross in the anime, despite its censorship. It was still incredibly gross. But given the level of detail present in the Chainsaw Man manga, it was much more impactful on the page than on the screen. Hopefully the Chainsaw Man anime will not be forced to censor any more of the manga's best moments, as outside this instance it has adapted the series almost perfectly.
Chainsaw Man is available to stream from Hulu and Crunchyroll.