This scene in the Chainsaw Man movie is crucial to understanding the Res arc, and it doesn't even feature any of the characters or dialogue. Welcome back, Screen Crush. I'm Ryan Ery, and today we are going to explain the pivotal moment from last year's Chainsaw Man, the Res arc. Now, this movie is a beautiful tragedy that was definitely snubbed for an Oscar nom, but hey, that's a topic for another video. The one scene that fans can't get out of their heads is all thanks to a spider and a butterfly. Now, we're going to break down what this late-night swim really means and the different interpretations of this metaphor that expand on every character in the film.
Now, in case you missed our recap of season 1, here is a quick bit of context before we get to the scene. Dingji is a poor orphan who's been taken advantage of for most of his life. He was forced to hunt devils for the Yakuza before befriending the chainsaw devil. As soon as he frees himself from the Yakuza, he becomes a pawn for public safety and its leader, Miss Machima, which means woof or yes are all you say. Things like no don't come out of my dogs.
Now, because of his upbringing, Dingji chases what he believes is a luxurious life that is really just the bare minimum. He is content risking his life for public safety as long as he's fed and housed. His growth is so stunted that he believes bread with jam and sleeping on a couch is living it big. His perception of love is also broken. Dingji literally falls in love with any girl who shows him a bit of kindness. At the beginning of the movie, Dingji questions whether or not he has a human heart since the constant devil fighting and the deaths of his friends make him feel numb. And this is when we get to meet Resi, a cute girl that he becomes enamored with. Now, because of his dedication to Machima, Denji wants to refuse this call, but he and Resi bond over the course of a week.
You sound like a little kid. Denji loves Machima, but is aware on some level that she doesn't respect him or his autonomy. Res is the first girl to show him sympathy and express that he deserves to live a normal life. The two of them sneak into a high school at night so Denji can experience what normal education is like for the first time. They decide to dip into the pool, which brings us to the scene.
So, the scene comes in a third of the way through the movie, which is usually where the hero breaks through the first threshold, gaining new allies and enemies. Think Tony Stark deciding to build the Mark 1 suit or Luke leaving with Obi-Wan. Up until this point, Dingji believes that he is staying loyal to Machima. He refuses to swim because he thinks it'll betray his first love. But he says to Resi, "I hate to tell you, but I don't really swim." Which is true. However, Rees's response solidifies her as a new ally and a mentor for Denji. "I'll teach you." So, Denji jumps in and the two splash around before Res starts teaching him how to swim.
Now, the scene cuts between them and a butterfly caught in a spider's web, symbolizing many things, but mainly how Dingji and Res have fallen for each other. The Predator and Prey don't just mirror Dingji and Resi in this moment, but also represent their entire relationship dynamic. In both scenes, the spider, the butterfly, and our two main characters are surrounded by water, doing something seemingly innocent, like splashing around or eating with the prey falling into a trap. These characteristics also apply to their first meeting, hiding from the rain, and their last embrace in the ocean. Now, Res and Dingji don't work out in the end, but she did give Dingji a desire to learn and want more for himself.
Combine that with his love for snacks, and Dingji really should have gotten himself a Tokyo Treat box. They're the sponsor of this video. Tokyo Treat is an exclusive monthly snack box with authentic Japanese snacks. Let's take a look at what's in this one. Now, every month, their boxes are themed with limited edition chips, noodles, and treats straight from Japan-owned stores. Each box also includes a cultural booklet to let you know the significance of each item, allergy information, and insights into Japanese culture. Okay, so let's try some out. Let's see.
Sweet potato pie. Can't get that in America. I love chocolate, but there's usually a Kit Kat. Ah, there it is. They always have the best Kit Kats in Japan that you can't get in the States. So, I go here to the page where I can read about the Strawberry Shortcake Kit Kat says, "Creamy white chocolate and tangy pops of strawberry flavor come together for an irresistible treat. I can't wait." See, I love Kit Kats and I love that in Japan they have all these different flavors, but you just can't find them anywhere in the US. Why don't they make this in America? This is amazing. But I also want to try something savory. So, let's see what we have here. These are black pepper biscuits. Says here, "They are lightly sweet, crispy, and balanced with a gentle black pepper kick. These biscuits mix the best of both worlds. One bite, and you and your sweetheart will be racing from one another in no time." Let's try it out. It's amazing. And again, I've never tasted anything like this before.
Guys, Tokyo Treat is the perfect gift for any anime fan or anybody just looking to experience Japan from home. February's theme is for Valentine's Day, so this box will be perfect to share with your special someone. There's also just an incredible variety of stuff in here. Like, I love how much stuff you get in every box.
So, whether you're treating yourself or surprising someone, Tokyo Treat has you covered. You can check out their Valentine's deals through the link below or use our code on screen right now to get $5 off your first box. You won't regret it. I love Tokyo Treat. Now, back to what I was saying.
So, now let's go through the significance of the spider and the butterfly. The most obvious read is that Res represents the spider while Denji represents being caught in her web. Before Denji jumps in the water, we see an establishing shot of the spider alone on its web. Simultaneously, Res wades alone in the pool, inviting him in.
Dingji being the butterfly is also significant to this point in the timeline. Meeting Res has changed him like a caterpillar going through metamorphosis. From this point on, Dingji wants to learn. He wants to truly love someone. He wants to live for himself just as much as he lives in service of others.
EVERYBODY'S AFTER MY CHAINSAW HEART. WHAT ABOUT MY HEART? IT'S DENJI'S HEART. RES fits the spider because we soon learn that she's a trap. Her chance meeting with Denji was all orchestrated because she wants to steal the chainsaw heart that is inside of him. The spider is about to kill the butterfly, which plays into Res's allegory about the country mouse and the city mouse. They were talking about mice now. Yes, but specifically the Asop's fable, the town mouse, and the country mouse. The fable essentially asks which lifestyle is better. The country mouse lives a simple but happy life, but they can't enjoy the luxuries that the city mouse has. And while the city mouse lives more lavishly, they are in constant danger from cats or humans.
Would you rather be the country mouse or the city mouse? Res brings up the fable shortly after the pool scene and likens herself to the country mouse, while Denji says the city life is where it's at. However, both of the characters are fooling themselves. Res is quick to point out that Deni's idea of city life is the bare minimum. Just food in a futon. Like I said earlier, that's like the bare minimum standard of living in Japan, not something you should celebrate. In that way, Dingji is actually a country mouse who thinks that he's a city mouse. And the opposite is true for Resi.
This ties back into the spider and the butterfly. This is specifically a monarch butterfly. Monarchs are poisonous because of their milkweed diet, which fits how Denji affects Resi. Now, we learn at the end of the movie that Resi is a Russian spy who was raised in a Winter Soldier-esque program. Her mission was to take Denji's heart, but she decides to run away with Denji. Now, Machima stops her before she finds Denji. But the mere fact that Resi was looking for him means that her plan backfired. Ensnaring Dingji and making him fall for her. She got too close to the sun and fell for him. Just like a predator being poisoned by their prey.
We believe Res when she says she prefers the country mouse and that her downfall is in the moment that she tried to be a city mouse and took a big risk for the sake of her own happiness. Even though their plan was to run away to the countryside, Res's hope that Dingji quits public safety is a luxury belonging to a city mouse. This fable also applies to the other duo in the movie, Aki and the Angel Devil. They are both forced to be city mice with Aki being a slave to his own revenge and Angel being forced to work for Makima. Angel desperately wants to be a country mouse, which will be important in a second.
Both storylines imply that the choice between the two lifestyles is irrelevant. In the end, the idea of being with Denji infects or poisons Res into being a city mouse, and the duo who kill Resi, reflect the same idea. Machima, a city mouse, makes Angel kill Resi. Remember, the angel devil wishes to be a country mouse, just like Resi. So, this is really two country mice being turned into city mice by Machima and Denji. There is a difference in the method with Angel's ambitions being a result of Machima's threats and Res's ambitions being unknown to Dingji.
Now, throughout the movie, there's an emphasis on the subject of eating through Denji. Is that ice cream? Looking at the pool scene through the lens of eating, the roles work in reverse with Re as the butterfly and Denji as the spider. Now, we've already talked about how Denji's relationship to eating shapes his choices. In this scene, the spider eats as just an average part of the cycle of life. It's not malicious in any way. It's just trying to survive, much like Denji's reasoning for staying with public safety. Is it really a good place? Sure. I mean, it's pretty much cool as [ __ ] Those guys feed me three meals a day.
There's also a lot of importance placed on the idea of eating with the chainsaw devil, but we won't get into that to avoid spoilers. If you know, you know. Now, Resits the Butterfly motif as well. She might have deceived Denji, but she fell for him just as hard because the mission changed her. Kind of like how butterflies disguise themselves in nature and go through metamorphosis. Later on the beach, she says, "Every time I touched you or smiled at you, it was a lie, part of my performance. I even trained myself to blush." Which reveals more about the program that she was in.
Now, what kid needs to teach themselves to blush? This tells us that Res's childhood was similar to Dingji's, one of a child soldier. We see how feared Res is when the typhoon devil acknowledges her as, "Forgive me. I didn't know you were here, Lady Res." And Res also takes no joy in killing. When she strangles the mugger, she sings a Russian poem like she's trying to calm herself or like the song is her trigger phrase. In the bonus book for the movie, Chainsaw Man's author confirmed that every explosion Resi launches still hurts her. She is not immune to the damage.
So, you can see why she wanted to run away and stop being someone else's weapon. This is also why transforming into the bomb devil was her last resort. All of these hardships take a turn after Res spends time with Nji. Even though it was all a ruse, Resi learned that there's other people who can relate to the horrors that she witnessed as a kid. She tries to self-sabotage and denies it all when she says she was lying, but Denji sees right through her when he replies with, "You can tell yourself what we had was a lie, but some of it was real, like that swimming lesson."
All of this coaleses in her last words when she looks to relate to Denji. I wonder why I didn't kill you the first time we met. To be honest, I never had the chance to go to school either. Both of them are the same, never enjoying the true luxuries of the city mouse or the comfort and safety of the country mouse. They're both just prey right to the end. Res also fits the poisonous butterfly angle because her absence saddens Denji and sends him right back into public safety's hands.
So no matter how you look at it, the movie and this allegorical scene end in tragedy. Both Denji and Resi are doomed to fail. But there's one character who we're forgetting about, and that is Ms. Makima. During Res's death, Machima reveals to us that she has some sort of omnipotence that lets her watch Re and Denji's budding romance. Now, we know this because she enters the alleyway, saying, "I'm quite fond of the country mouse, too."
Which the theater scene earlier in the movie supports. The movie also frames some of its scenes through circles or through small animals, almost like Machima was watching through the camera or the mice. During the opening sequence, Iris out, the spiral motif from Machima's eyes is repeated over and over in the background of the visuals representing the way that she is always watching. In the final scene, it's also revealed that Mchima seems to have some kind of connection or control over the mice that appear in the alleyway.
This shows us that in the end, it doesn't matter whether Resi, Denji, or the rest are city or country mice. Machima has power over them either way. The anime and the movie make clear that Machima is the current apex predator, so she fits the spider easily. In this scenario, Dingji is Makima's web and Re symbolizes the monarch butterfly. Now, while she considers herself a country mouse, Mchima is actually closer to the cat or human in the original fable since she represents an external force here and in the anime.
Denji as the web is pretty self-explanatory. He might believe Machima is a love interest, but she's been slowly manipulating him throughout the show. Makima leads him on and promises him dates like a webw weaver creating new nodes on a tapestry. So if you prove me right and execute the Gunvil, you may tell me any wish you have and I'll ensure that it comes true. And finally, Resi represents the monarch for all the same reasons as before. She was enticed by Deni and fell into Machima's web.
Machima used the bait of something that Resi wanted, love and a normal life, to capture her and to kill her once and for all. Without getting into the manga spoilers, the poisonous butterfly aspect works, too. Since the events of this movie have a huge ripple effect for the next few arcs.
Now, keep in mind, this scene is completely new to the movie. In just four shots over 15 seconds, the movie could be interpreted in so many different ways. That's not even getting into how AI story plays into the idea of being trapped, but that's a lot harder to talk about without spoiling the books.
So, what do you guys think? Is there an interpretation or detail that we overlooked? Huge shout out to the writer of this video, Ethan Ing. You can tell him if he's missed anything in the comments or feel free to join our Discord or find us in our social links below. And thanks again to Tokyo Treat for sponsoring this video. The link for that is in the description for Screen Crush. I'm Ryan.
