Anime Lectio: Chainsaw Man

                                                              1. Why do Anime Lectio? 

Anime Lectio is a time for us to stop and take a breath. Between work, activities, family life, and social media, our minds are always moving. We rarely take time to contemplate and ask, why am I watching this anime? What’s the point of all this? And, how is this making me feel? 

2. Put away all distractions 

(phones, work, etc.)

We are so enslaved to things that stimulate our minds. Let this be a moment for us to free our minds, look inside of ourselves, and be at peace.

3. Deep Breathing

Take several deep breaths. Let your mind relax. If you’ve had any questions, desires, or struggles that you’ve been hiding or stuffing away, let them rise up to the surface. 

4. Open yourself to God’s Presence

Remember God places all our thoughts and desires inside of us, and He uses them to draw us closer to Himself. God gives us a community to help us understand who we are and what He is calling us to do. The faces of other people you know and don't know are like signs of God’s presence.  

5. Think About What’s on Your Mind in Relation to the Anime

Think about what’s been on your mind in relation to the anime.  The following is an example of such thoughts written by me.  

We don't always know what we want due to things like how we grew up, why we grew up that way, and what happens that causes this growing up to change.  How we react to this change is also important and can be seen in many ways.  An example of this can be seen in the anime series Chainsaw Man.

6. Brief and written explanation of the anime

Pay attention to how the brief and written explanation of the anime seen on this blog, or seeing the anime for yourself since that's better than any explanation, might “speak” to you or shed light on the things that have been on your minds.

The anime series Chainsaw Man starts off with a young man who does what he can to pay off a debt to the yakuza, which is a debt he inherited from his father after his father decided to kill himself instead of pay it. The young man started working for the yakuza as a boy as a devil hunter with the help of an injured devil he found one day and helped, forming a contract with this devil. One day, the yakuza decides to betray and kill the young man, but because of the contract he made with his devil, which looks like a dog with a chainsaw as a nose and chainsaw cord as a tail, he lives on with this devil functioning as his new heart. Since the chainsaw cord comes out of the young man's chest now, he can pull it to fight with chainsaws when needed to fight devils. After killing the yakuza gang who betrayed him, who become devils themselves in an attempt to get more power, the young man ends up with a new and better life when fighting devils for a devil hunting organization.

7.  Reflect on the anime

Has this brief and written explanation of the anime shed any light on what's been on your minds?  The following is an example of a reflection on the anime from me.

The main thing that caught my attention with the anime series Chainsaw Man is the difference between the life of the young man before becoming part devil and part human and his life after becoming part devil and part human. Before becoming part devil and part human, he lived on his own without much except for his pet devil to help him make a living and pay off a debt he didn't owe himself, but had to pay anyway. After becoming part devil and part human, thanks to the sacrifice of his pet devil, he lives a better life for not just his sake, but for the sake of the others that he eventually learns to live with and accept, which is true of the others also, as well as his pet devil. Adjusting to change is difficult, especially when the change is something you're not used to, which can be seen with the young man in this anime, but adjusting to change is important since it makes us better people.

8. Final Prayer

Please voice any prayer intentions for friends, family, or people around the world that relate to this anime.  The following is an example written by me.

Let us pray for the strength to adjust to change, as well know, and learn, how to do it.