This Geek in Netflix: Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge

Sometime in the mid-2000s, someone translated a manga to its English title, Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge, and was immediately fired for their translation skills.  But due to freak accident involving a stapler, a copy machine, and a micro-ferret, it was too late to retract the press release.

Thus the live action Japanese film, Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge, was released with its bizarre title in 2008, allowing yet another triumph to go to the side of the micro-ferrets.

What can a film with such a title be about?  Well, I think it’s quite obvious—if you rearrange the letters in the title, you’ll get one of the main character’s names: Eri.  And because of where the chainsaw’s sun sign was at the moment of its birth, we know it’s a Leo with a Gemini rising and, therefore, has Venus in retrograde, meaning the male lead’s character name is Yosuke.

So we have the pretty Eri and the doubtfully attractive Yosuke, who we know has a bit of an afro due to the reaction of magnets and a hair pick to this homeopathic water that we have taken from set.  Now, because of the vibrations coming off this theremin, the story rapidly opens up…

Yosuke is a not-quite-devoted high school student with no real passion for life, other than “topping Noro”—no, not in a BDSM sorta way.  Noro was one of Yosuke’s good friends, a charismatic, devil-may-care, other clichéd descriptors blond who died in a motorcycle accident.  After Noro’s death, Yosuke realized that he’d never be able to naturally do something as cool as die in a motorcycle accident, so he began searching for a way to “top Noro”.

Fortunately for Yosuke, on the way home from a recent bout of kleptomania, he comes across the haunted figure of Eri, a young girl with a tragic past.  Recently, Eri has found herself in possession of super powers—the usual magical girl stunts without any of the sparkly powers or light-show enchanced transformation: speed, ability to jump thirty feet in the air, sudden prowess with weapons, etc.

With this odd blessing comes a curse: the Chainsaw Man.  Unlike the very clear title of the movie, the Chainsaw Man is a bit more complex… he has a chainsaw.  And he’s a man.

Eri and Chainsaw Man do battle every night.  From what I can tell, the Chainsaw Man lives either on the moon or underwater and his arrival is always preceded by a halting snowfall.  This is never explained.

In their battles, it is Eri’s job to pierce the Chainsaw Man in the heart with some sort of weapon.  When she does this, he does not die, merely gets a little irritated and flees back to the moon.  This is also never explained.

Yosuke decides, with all of this, that the best way to “top Noro” is to force his friendship on Eri and stalk her until something goes horribly, horribly wrong with one of her fights and then dramatically save her by sacrificing his own life.  You know, the basis for a healthy relationship.  Hijinks ensue.

This movie is pretty typical for a manga translated into a live action film.  The male characters, especially Yosuke, are completely over the top—think Great Teacher Onizuka over the top, but expressed in live action, which can be a little disconcerting if you aren’t used to the usual anime tropes.

Other than that, the movie was beautiful, the acting was solid, and, yes, while the pacing definitely seemed as though someone was taking a very long plot line and condensing it into a little less than two hours, it was still entertaining.

Almost makes me to want to forgive it for the bizarre title.  Almost.

So if you’re an anime fan with an interest in live-action films… or if you just want to see what a battle between a chainsaw and a golf club looks like, fire up Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge on Netflix Instant.