The most anticipated new anime of 2022, the Devil Hunters are gathered around a table, and crawl on top of it, is a reference to the conference room scene in Attack Of The Killer Tomatoes, the cult parody movie from 1978. There are more than a dozen movies referenced in Chainsaw Man's opening theme, including Fight Club, Jacob's Ladder, and The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Twitter @NezukoSocial has gathered them all on in one useful thread, which you can find below.
Every Reference In Chainsaw Man's Opening: Cult Movies And More
Movies are not the only source of reference for Chainsaw Man's beautiful opening, however. The shot where Aki and Makima are standing in front of a wall, with the girl standing on top of a book pile that lets her look behind, is a reference to a common composition present in many artworks referencing the concept of "manipulation of the media". When Denji pulls the chainsaw cord coming out of his chest, the background shows paintings from Dante's Divine Comedy illustrated by French 19th-century artist Gustave Doré. The reference for the Denji and Power dancing scene was one of the hardest to find, and it's to the opening song itself: Yonezu Kenshi’s KICK BACK samples Morning Musume’s song Souda! We’re ALIVE, and the dance that the characters are doing is part of the song’s choreography.
Finally, fans of the Chainsaw Man manga may have caught some important foreshadowing of future developments in the series. Without giving any spoilers, let's just say that the snail, wasp, and plant appearing in the shot with Denji and Makima all have one common meaning. The opening theme of the Chainsaw Man anime, with its incredible amount of references and homages, proves that MAPPA Studio has once again delivered a product of the highest quality, just like fans of the series deserve.
Source: @NezukoSocial on Twitter.
