Usually a pervert in anime is the most insufferable, annoying, pointless, time-wasting archetype of character. Look no further than My Hero Academia’s Mineta to see a perfect example of wasted space on the screen. Not always, there are outliers like Naruto’s Jiraiya or Jujutsu Kaisen’s Toudou that break the mold and give perverts a better name. This season, Chainsaw Man is making waves and its main character, Denji, is surfing alongside it. Viewers instantly gained an appreciation for him thanks to his love for his pet-like demon and the fact that he was poor as shit. However, some were worried about his reputation for being a pervert, and I have to admit I held that same reservation. I’ve been scarred too many times by these fucks you know? Regardless I had to check out the hype and I’m happy to say that so far Denji is on the right side of perverted. But why exactly?
One of those villians better take this dumbass out for good.
We legit liked Denji so much, Kinky and I had a conversation about why we can enjoy his screen time even when he’s being a pervert, yet other characters who do the same shit feel like they are taking time off our lifespan. The answer that immediately came to mind was “he doesn’t bother anyone”. Make no mistake, right now Denji’s goal in the series is to feel some boobs. He’s a simple man who had a rough life and he wants to enjoy the basics. Yet so far he has kept that to himself. He doesn’t mindlessly oogle over the girls every second, asking if he can feel them or begging for them to date him. He merely thinks to himself how best to acquire some boobs to touch so the audience knows, but we aren’t drawn into overplayed conversations that end the same way every time: “Oh my god, can I PLEASE touch your boobies Marie-sama?” “Ew, no baka, that’s never happening”’ “UGHHHHH another shitty day!”. Often if a guy is interested in sex, he’s portrayed as a massive simp or pathetic loser for comedic relief in anime, but unfortunately I think that joke ran into the ground a long time ago. Since I’m not a manga reader, Denji’s tendency to not be an annoying guy groveling at women’s feet could disappear, but I’m at least happy that all signs so far are pointing to him being something better.
I may not condone the simping, but I do understand it this time.
It’s almost like people in real life also have perverted thoughts, but they keep them to themselves to not be a shit person… kinda like Denji which makes him more relatable. I’m not saying every character ever who is perverted needs to be reserved, but when I remind myself of how cool Kakashi was despite reading lewd books all the time, it’s hard not to think that’s the best style of representation for a character interested in lewd content. Just make them reserved about it. To counteract my own point I’m trying to recall a lewd guy character that is over the top who I still enjoy, but I’m afraid I’m drawing a blank outside of characters where the point is that they’re too much and that’s utilized for scrutiny. Are you watching Chainsaw Man? Do you know a perverted character you really enjoyed? One you hated? Fuel it, start up your chainsaw, and slice through demons in the comments below!
