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The Chainsaw Man anime is off to a flying start with its fun and wholesome opening theme. While it was fun seeing Denji and other Public Safety officers watching movies and going bowling, these scenes weren't created by MAPPA but were inspired by several movies and pop culture references.
Chainsaw Man's mangaka, Tatsuki Fujimoto, is known to be a lover of good cinema, and thus, MAPPA paid tribute to the author as well as several movies, whose references were featured in the opening. Here, we will be looking at every cinematic tribute in the Chainsaw Man opening Kick Back, along with other references that featured in it.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Chainsaw Man manga.
Every reference made in the Chainsaw Man opening Kick Back
1) Divine Comedy
The very first scene in the opening sees Denji pulling his chainsaw throttle to activate his powers. Here, the background has an illustration, which is a direct reference to the illustration of Divine Comedy, a narrative poem written by Dante Alighieri between 1308 and 1320. The illustrations themselves were made by Gustave Doré.
2) Reservoir Dogs (1992)
The next instance sees our main trio crossing a street with Makima, as they are in their usual Public Safety outfits. This part is a direct reference to Quentin Tarantino's 1992 film Reservoir Dogs. The scene takes place as an intro to the movie itself, similar to how the clip acts as an intro to the anime itself.
3) The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
The next clip sees young Denji sitting on a tombstone with Pochita. This is a tribute to the late iconic horror filmmaker Tobe Hooper's 1974 movie, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre. Given the film's theme of a gory chainsaw-wielding killer, it goes well with the anime's theme as well.
4) Pulp Fiction (1994)
The next instance in the opening sees Kishibe, the Public Safety Devil Hunter from Tokyo Special Division 1, aiming a gun at someone. After observing the background of the scene carefully, it can be easily determined that this clip is a tribute to Quentin Tarantino's 1994 film Pulp Fiction.
5) Sadako vs Kayako (2016)
The next clip, featuring Denji and Katana Devil jumping onto a well, is a direct reference to a scene from Koji Shiraishi's 2016 horror film Sadako vs Kayako. The film itself features Sadako from Hideo Nakata's Ring and Kayako from Takashi Shimizu's Ju-On series.
6) No Country for Old Men (2007)
The next clip from the Chainsaw Man opening features Galgali as he is shown wearing his shoe, similar to the scene depicted above from Coen Brothers’ 2007 neo-western crime thriller No Country for Old Men. The reference is pretty evident due to the room's layout when compared to the clip from the anime.
7) Once Upon a Time in Hollywood (2019)
The next clip from the opening is a reference to yet another Quentin Tarantino movie, as Aki and Denji can be seen in a car reversing it, which is similar to the scene from the 2019 movie Once Upon a Time in Hollywood.
8) Attack of the Killer Tomatoes (1978)
The next clip from the Chainsaw Man opening seems to depict a meeting of the Public Safety Devil Hunters as Kishibe is already sitting while Kobeni is seen crawling over the table to take her seat. Meanwhile, Arai and Aki can be seen squirming about how they can take their respective seats as well. As seen in the image above, it is a tribute to John DeBello’s 1978 film Attack of the Killer Tomatoes.
9) Don't Look Up (1996)
The next clip from the opening is a tribute to the 1996 Japanese horror film Don't Look Up by Hideo Nakata. The scene has Denji feeling scared of something while Power can be seen making a scary face, who could also be the reason why Denji looks terrified.
10) Jacob's Ladder (1996)
The next clip sees Angel Devil sitting at the bottom of the stairs, which looks awfully similar to a scene from Adrian Lyne's 1996 psychological horror movie Jacob's Ladder. Angel Devil's small stature works well with the reference of the kid sitting at the bottom of the stairs.
11) Constantine (2005)
The next clip sees Aki and Himeno at the top of a room. As manga readers know, Himeno is interested in Aki, however, Aki seems to be too focused on his revenge against the Gun Devil. Thus, the two haven't romantically progressed in the story. Hence, the scene might be a reference to that while directly paying tribute to Francis Lawrence's 2005 film Constantine, featuring Keanu Reaves and Rachel Weisz.
12) The Big Lebowski (1998)
We then see Denji, Aki, Power, and Makima going bowling, and Denji is seen polishing his bowling ball similar to the way John Turturro's Jesus Quintana did in the Coen Brothers' 1998 film, The Big Lebowski. This is a fun scene that lends a good comedic vibe to the anime.
13) Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)
When Aki hits a strike with a bowling ball, the scene switches to a beach where Power can be seen posing for the camera as her name pops up on the screen. The font with which her name is written looks quite similar to the title card of Thor: Love and Thunder, and Thor: Ragnarok. Apparently, Tatsuki Fujimoto loves Taika Waititi's films.
14) Venus Fly Trap
While this reference is not from any film, it depicts the relationship between Denji and Makima. Denji can be seen resting his head on Makima's lap. Here, as he gets up, several venus fly trap plants can be seen next to him. Venus fly traps are known to trap their prey by luring them to themselves. This could be a direct reference to Makima's power as the Control Devil, as she tries to control the Chainsaw Devil.
15) Parasite leucochloridium
As the opening continues, we can see Makima feeding a snail-like creature to Denji. The creature is called Parasite Leucochloridium, a parasite which is known to infest its host, usually snails, to take control over their body. This is also a reference to Makima's powers as the Control Devil.
16) CSM, which is a short form for Chainsaw Man
As the Chainsaw Man opening starts picking up its pace, Denji can be seen crashing into several walls. The shape of the holes that he leaves after crashing look like "C," "S," and "M," which is the short form for Chainsaw Man.
17) Naruto Shippuden
While some people believe that the next part of the opening has been inspired by Neon Genesis Evangelion, we have reason to believe otherwise. The clip of Denji popping his body out of the sphere could be a reference to Naruto turning into the Nine-Tailed Beast in Naruto Shippuden during the Pain Arc. The Chainsaw Man's opening Kick Back was directed by Shingo Yamashita, who previously worked on Naruto Shippuden.
18) Fight Club (1999)
One of the scenes from David Fincher's 1999 movie Fight Club shows us a huge golden ball, which looks quite similar to the ball Power hits in the Chainsaw Man opening. While there is not much to prove that the ball from Chainsaw Man is a tribute to Fight Club, looking at several great movies, this could be the only possible reference to it.
19) Tatsuki Fujimoto's famous explosions
As the opening nears its end, we see an explosion as Power is seen walking away from it. This is a tribute to Tatsuki Fujimoto's love for cool explosions as seen in his one-shot manga, Goodbye Eri, and the first chapter from Chainsaw Man Part 2, as Yoru is seen walking away from a grenade explosion.
20) Manipulacion de los medios
As the end of the opening closes in, we are quickly shown a scene where miserable Denji and Power, Aki and Makima are shown as Manipulacion de los medios illustrations. It is a technique used by partisans to create an argument that favors their particular interest. It basically depicts how ignorance is bliss and gaining more knowledge causes one to learn more about the problems in the world.
21) Mickey Mouse Clubhouse (2006)
As hard as it may be to believe, Chainsaw Man might have been inspired by Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. Denji and Power were seen dancing at the end of the opening, however, the moves looked similar to the ones made by Mickey Mouse at the end of Mickey Mouse Club House. Earlier, fans thought that the dance could be a reference to Kobeni's dance as seen in the manga, but looking at all the pop culture references, Mickey Mouse's dance could be a possible inspiration.
These are the references and tributes that we believe the Chainsaw Man opening Kick Back has been inspired by. If you believe that you have found other references, or tributes, or ones that make more sense, do comment below and let us know.
