Debunking The Great Fujimoto Lie | Chainsaw Man

[@HidinginPublic]

I hope you all find the message of this video important in stopping misinformation and anti-intellectualism. If so I appreciate the likes, comments- and ofc any financial support you can spare. I am going live on twitch as well! www.twitch.tv/hidingkun

[@followthewhiterabbit884]

This Story isn't very deep, but about when the whole world seems to misinterpret something. I hope this is maybe interesting for someone anyways There was this german Song, I assume, 10 years ago and the people thought this song is really positive in it's message and you could here it at every party. Really. Everyone thought it has just this one positive interpretation and I remember me saying "This song is really sad" when I heard the song for the first time. My friend was wondering why I would say something like that when everyone says it's about saving the world and being strong. A song for partys! A little time later I saw the artist in an Interview and he was disappointed and said it's a heartbreaking and sad song and nobody understands and how hard it is for him to see his art misunderstood by everyone. I thought:"I knew this Song is sad, but I liked it. I hope you make more." Everyone thought it was about someone who saves the world, but in reality it was about a man who tells every lie to his girlfriend just to be without her. The name of the song is: Ich geh mal kurz die Welt retten I'm going to save the world for a moment

[@CrucibleOfHate]

So hear's the deal: A year ago you made a video named "The Point of Chainsaw Man" and Casidel Bowen commented thus: "Chainsaw Man is stupid simple: Denji comes into the story as a dog. He's called a dog. His heart is a dog. Then, he falls in love with a dog owner. Later, he saves a cat and befriends its owner. Going along, he learns that he's actually a human. He meets a lot of people and obstacles that teach him what it means to be a human, until he becomes one. As he's no longer a dog, he betrays his owner despite even his love for her. Chainsaw Man is about being human." This is not anti-intellectualism, it's simplicity. That's like saying FLCL is anti-intellectual. Art is not complexity. I was going to write down your opening from that video to make my point, but that feels mean-spirited. The point is, Chainsaw Man is a masterpiece in both the regard of the "elitist" and the "moron"

[@arjunmanoj2155]

@@CrucibleOfHate Noone is saying that "Claiming a work (in this case CSM) having a SIMPLE meaning is being anti-intellectual", but that saying it has NO meaning besides 'dumb, crazy fun' (like reducing this work to simply "OMFG, look at that guy with Chainsaws for limbs! Oh now someone's puking into his mouth, LMFAO! Oh now he's riding a shark! In a tornado! Now he's lighting himself on fire!" etc) and shutting down those who are pointing out even surface level themes, references & meaning by saying "It's not that deep lol" IS being anti-intellectual.

[@CrucibleOfHate]

@@arjunmanoj2155 :)

[@niccoloparker3548]

Please do a video on the gun devil

[@XxjeffersonDkidxX]

Saying Fujimoto hates art is absurd. The number of reference this man put in his manga shows that he loves so many works of art.

[@HidinginPublic]

Yeah

[@vronji]

Ngl ive seen a lot of takes on Fujimoto but i can never get the people who think that Fujimoto hates art. Its clear he has an appreciation for all things film and has even gone to art school (something not even some big mangakas say they've done). He's made art his life ever since he was a child.

[@kingoftropes922]

It's similar to how people love to say the creator of Eva hates anime and weeb culture despite the fact the series was clearly inspired by and is filled to the brim with loving and painstaking references to stuff like Gundam. I think it's just people wanting to 'other' the rest of the community and its flaws through an interpretation of the art that fits their MO and then supergluing that to how the creator must feel despite that not being the case if you actually take the time to 'listen to the song'.

[@HerMi.T]

@@kingoftropes922 i don't think that this interpretation is bad at all. Eva shows both good and bad things about these culture. i don't understand what is bad about criticizing weeb culture which both have great and bad things about.

[@kingoftropes922]

@@HerMi.T The thing is that's not interpretation the people I'm talking about are making, they straight up believe Anno just hates it wholesale. No nuance or anything.

[@Pieguy123456789100]

Fujimoto literally has a degree in art. Anyone who says “he doesn’t like art” isn’t paying attention.

[@nickredheadedmut]

Anti-intellectualism is so common and so agitating to read. Even if Fujimoto or any other artist really does just want to make art for the sake of art, it's still worthy of discussion and analysis. Art has meaning, and calling that meaning cringe or saying "it's not that deep" or whatever else dismisses the humanity at the core of any piece of art.

[@justiron2999]

Cringe.

[@Stryfe52]

@@justiron2999 farty

[@pp2475]

@@justiron2999 🤓

[@Stryfe52]

@@justiron2999 go eat your dinosaurs baby. 👩‍🍼👩‍🍼👩‍🍼🐣🐣🍼🍼👶👼

[@HidinginPublic]

The logical throughline of anti-intellectualism always leads to death. Either to the self or of others

[@projectmessiah]

I feel people have this weird obsession with wanting something to be just "Dumb fun" then proceed to for some reason get offended when others think it's more than that. You can see this in a lot of fandoms like JoJo or Chainsawman.

[@HidinginPublic]

Unfortunately true. Araki has a overwhelming passion for fashion, modeling and the human form- it's not "deep" to acknowledge and respect that

[@sexmansex4776]

@@HidinginPublic wait does he? Maybe because Im dumb I thought jojo characters were just fabulous funny men doing fabulous funny things. Can you do a vid about that?

[@wordsoflove8787]

It's honestly quite funny yet sad that people see JoJo that way when the series goes out of its way to have such thematic and esoteric storytelling, especially in the later parts from part 5 onwards. To dumb all that down just feels stupid to me.

[@jaydrawz53]

it's anti-intellectualism, dunning Kruger effect, and lack of media literacy; which really sucks how mainstream this is.

[@kingoftropes922]

These people seem to fail to get that something can be "dumb fun" and also have deeper meaning. It's not a binary thing. You can very well thought out allusion and discussions about the nature of man and human experience while also having story filled with poop jokes and sexual innuendo. You just have to be good at writing it. And you know, nothing wrong with something *just* being "dumb fun" of course, and it is admittedly obnoxious to see people make a mountain out of a molehill or try to spin a clearly unintended meaning to fit their preconceived notions of things or reach some faux-deep conclusion. But these people seem to have conflated the idea that some things written a story just being surface level means EVERYTHING about it is surface level which is kinda telling of their own ability regarding literary comprehension.

[@PajamaSenpai]

Honestly I'm not good at picking up on the bread crumbs that artists leave in their stories. That's why I like videos like these that explain to me what I was too stupid to miss.

[@HidinginPublic]

I miss plenty of things myself, but I enjoy seeing the overlap of so much art I love in inspiration and themes

[@plebkeilo]

don't give up! i'm not sure if this is how you feel, but "accepting" that you can't draw your own meaning from things and that the only thing you can do is absorb other's meanings not only isn't helpful, it also isn't true! youtube creators like hiding in public are a great help to open up your mind to thought processes, and with that first step, next time you're reading or watching something you enjoy, try hard to extract meaning from it too! things that really connect to you, try to put in words how and why! you need a bunch of practice to do it well like her, but the only way to get practice is by practicing i say that as someone who was thoroughly clueless about figuring out themes and stuff like that, and now i can even do a decent job at it!

[@whirlwind872]

Watching videos about it will help train you to identify those kinds of things on your own. Unless they are specific / direct references to JP pop culture or something. But if you mean watching vids that help you identify all the little details in stories that you missed on your own, then yes watching video essays absolutely will help you to automatically think analytically about what you're reading/watching. Consider "why did they put this scene here" as you read/watch and actively put effort into interpreting the author's intent. It helps you appreciate these stories so much more Like why did they put this panel here, why did they make it this size or draw it this way, what did the author go through all the painstaking effort of drawing THIS picture specifically like what were they trying to portray what was their thought process when they created this drawing If you think like that while you read manga, it's a whole new experience. Especially if you reread with that analytical mindset for your 2nd time through the story. You pick up on 10x more

[@SupurNeoDude]

Same. It can be fun to watch as long as the interpretation isn't too much of a stretch. I'd say to always keep other's theories separate from what you got out of it though. Like, "I reread this and still walked away feeling the same, but THAT guy found something pretty interesting related to this character's actions/mentality/motives."

[@Gundamguy-py3ir]

BRO... The fact that you can put aside your pride, Acknowledge that you don't think you completely understand something even if it ends up happening you do.l, And also be open to seeing other peoples interpretations and actually have an honest conversation about it. Puts you above 95% of people that read this god damn manga. I swear to God... The comments and videos of people trying to gate keep. And trying to rationalize the dumbest and most stupid interpretations of the manga are rampant for some reason. I don't know what the fuck it is. It's like only Andrew Tate incels read this manga.

[@ItzKerbecs]

"Fujimoto hates art" - "Fujimoto's love of art" great example to test out which people pay attention and which just see what's on the surface. This video is already well made in my eyes LOL

[@nayshaclarke5078]

This reminds me of the DHMIS creators. When asked about the web series and it’s many interpretations, they answered they’re all correct. Not only the answer is fitting of the theme of the show; it allows a constant reimagining of the art piece to continue. Finding new angles to perceive the media

[@HidinginPublic]

Ah yes I remember that

[@badpiggy4177]

Media stops being fun if you're not allowed to discuss it

[@HidinginPublic]

Largely yes- why limit yourself or worse limit others by forcing them to disengage?

[@topcat59]

Honesty that’s pretty silly that people think that fujimoto doesn’t like art, since it’s clearly obvious he likes art and he puts a lot of passion in the effort to making it and every individuals we follow in the story are very expressive and interesting that it gives the story depth.🐱

[@elsv99]

Yeah! Just reading any of his stories are pretty much proof to the contrary. He loves art

[@abura2980]

Fr, idk how tf some people misinterpret Fujimoto loving art to hating it💀

[@shizachan8421]

@@elsv99 A google search kinda debunks it really. Like, this man practiced oil paintings and is a graduate of western art. Like, yeah this guy clearly is passionate about art and due to his degree we can assume he is also pretty well educated about art.

[@vernerstinger]

To be honest when reading "Debunking The Great Fujimoto Lie" in the title i was expecting the topic of the rumor that he cosplayed makima to be brought up, but yeah, this is good as well xD

[@HidinginPublic]

That's not a rumor he privately texts me his makima cosplay pictures every day (real)

[@indifference1015]

​@@HidinginPublic I need proof for....science

[@SCP-173peanut]

@@HidinginPublic can i get the pics? Asking for a friend

[@vernerstinger]

✝️

[@shizachan8421]

Him cosplaying Makima would be pretty based. would remind me of ikuhara, his Sailor Moon cosplay was hella cute and its always wholesome to see guys having the courage to cosplay female characters.

[@onlycompetentscoot]

The real meaning behind Just Listen to the Song is that Fujimoto really likes getting bullied by girls.

[@HidinginPublic]

Wow me too

[@lordpvt]

@@HidinginPublic same

[@janreiafrica]

Theories and interpretations are what makes stories so fun to talk about, especially on ongoing stories. Yeah, it may suck when the thing you intended to be one thing was interpreted to be another, but one job of an author is to make sure your message can be conveyed to the readers. It's not your fault if the readers decide to interpret it as another if the message is in front of their faces.

[@nowhereman6019]

I almost feel like this sort of asinine mindset within the fandom was developed due to the more wild and "unhinged" nature of Chainsaw Man and the way Fujimoto presents himself. People see all this as the crazed writings of a madman who just writes things that he thinks are fun, but they don't see how a person like this could also have fun presenting a deeper meaning in their story while still being wild and passionate. Also, thoughts on the new chapter? I'm getting straight up Evangelion thematic vibes from it, I'm so hyped.

[@MrZlocktar]

May i ask you what Evangelion was all about? I like when people say "vibes" of Evangelion or imply that something seems like Evangelion. It's fun seeing this considering that only 1 out of 10 person can actually tell what Evangelion was all about. So, can you?

[@nowhereman6019]

@@MrZlocktar SPOILERS In the most recent chapter, Asa struggles over her desire for intimate relationships as well as the pain that opening oneself up to another person brings. She ponders retuning to social isolation and not feeling anything again, but admits that that would be essentially death. I feel that she will ultimately realize that being in a relationship despite the potential pain is worth is. All these themes are the core meaning and messages of Evangelion.

[@arjunmanoj2155]

@@MrZlocktar In this instance, the OP is talking about how the "Hedgehog's Dilemma" was a core theme for both Evangelion as well as the character of Asa (particularly in chapters 120 & 121 of Chainsaw Man Part 2)

[@Metzelbarsch28]

Yeah assuming Fujimoto is just some crazy guy that somehow wrote chainsawman is really doing him a disservice. He KNOWS what he is doing and has amazing Talent to express a deep story with such human characters. Also I like the new chapter as it once again deepens Asa as a complex character. She really is a great female lead that stays believable in such a fantastical setting. I really enjoy her monologue and once in my life i would have related a lot. I have a feeling she is at a very low point and I am excited to see how Fujimoto will resolve Asa and Denjis feelings. Two weeks wait will be once again tough.

[@MrZlocktar]

@@nowhereman6019 Well, it may seems "deep" to you, it may seems like some sort of deep psychological drama about relations and all, but you got tricked. This is not what it's all about. You are one of the 9 people who watched all series in looking for the grand finale, the true ending, the true meaning behind it all, the answer to every question. And i am pretty sure on the final episode you had to get the message because it was so clear.. and you didn't? The "Hedgehog dilemma" is nothing but a trap to involve viewer into story, to create emotional connection. The real meaning behind this "Hedgehog dilemma" is that you loving/hating character of Shinji. That's what author was trying to achieve, but failed miserably. What really was going on, is that author had severe existential crisis and tried to get away from it, by sending a message to himself and others who will watch it. The message was - GROW THE FUCK UP, YOU LITTLE SHIT. Make your own decisions, do what YOU love, not what OTHERS told you to. Find something in your life and be in harmony with yourself doing what YOU love. BE responsible, BE active. But because he was so bad at it, he created a convoluted mess on a first try and most of his fans got confused by it. The common question back then was - "what the fuck did i just watched?". The author was so bad at this, that in order to fix this narrative mess he added the Eva-curse concept into the story making all kids unable to grow up physically. This was a key component for the same message in which he failed with so many times - but this time he finally was able to create the needed emotional connection between characters and viewer. See? He grow up. "You stuck in the middle and can't decide for yourself what is best" that's what he was trying to say by it. Eva curse was added to the story to mirror all people who can't grow up. By that time, author already found himself and he was doing what he loved. But others still didn't managed to get his message even the second time. They were asking "what the fuck did i just watched", EXPLAIN! x2 It was that moment when author realized that he is dealing with idiots who look at the story, not what behind it. And then he created more and more, milking his fans, laughing maniacally seeing this (i imagine). And he did really well, fans barely expected what was coming towards them. You see, he was mildly trolling his audience with all of this since then. The Eva-curse is his best trolling attempt in fact. Especially considering that most people didn't even realized what it was all about. The idea was simple, to create connections between characters, to create emotional connection between them and viewer, to invest viewer into story to make them like Shinji and then.. Then he said it loud and clear in the end chapter. Look at Shinji. Even this little shit can grow up, and look at him now. Your turn? Roll credit.

[@prometheus5405]

You can see more how Fujimoto feels about being an manga artist in his one-shot titled "Look Back." The main characters FUJIno & KyoMOTO are two sides of Fujimoto himself.

[@MisterDillPickle]

here a year later after the Look Back movie and... yeah the man def loves art, he prolly just hates the expectations and sacrifices that come with it

[@AdriftInVR]

It's odd to me that people would get so aggressive over others trying to find meanings in media. If you find meaning to something then that can make it special to you, and usually you'll get more enjoyment out of that work as a result, you can share what you found with others, they *don't* have to see the same meaning as you since there can be multiple interpretations of any work, and if they found none that's also fine. There's no reason to shit on others for trying to get more enjoyment out of something, if anything it sounds like gatekeeping, so why don't we just have some dumb fun with it and analyze it?

[@tdotitan8855]

It's because people are looking for validation more than wanting to be entertained or contemplate a different perspective. People are afraid of a differences in opinion. Like if someone says "why you shouldn't like this manga" and spends an hour says why it's bad. Puts a lot of thought into it great editing. And so you, a person who liked this manga in the first place suddenly see the "flaws" in this manga that you once loved. You were told that what you liked was wrong or problematic and so you no longer like this thing. You now look to try and find a new series and maybe you find one. Or you listen to what people say and try out a manga that someone else recommends. And the exact same manga if it is recommended by someone whose opinion you care about vs someone whose opinion you dont will have different feelings. It's not about the manga. Very few things are as objective as they seem they are. Many of our wants and desires come from somewhere else. Nobody lives in a vacuum. I think it's important to realize the effect of other people and their opinions while also realizing the entire point of media is to showcase a point of view. Not everyone will like the same art and there is no point to "making" someone change to fit your tastes. People don't like to be told what to think or what to do. While also liking to be told what to think and what to do. It's a contradiction but it's true. The real struggle is that so many people do not want change they want how it has always been or how it was before. the only difference is that what is the point of media people don't like being told what something else. Art is not objective that is the point of art. A banana taped to the wall is more beautiful then the sistine chapel. Frankly kinda obsurd but by the very nature of art this can be true. It's just one of those things what is the point of media? To entertain to inform to bring attention to something? If it's to entertain then why? How? At the end of the day it's just people being mad that someone doesn't think they are right. It's nothing new and it will continue forever. The more deeply you dig into a piece of media you will find differing opinions and where you find differing opinions you find conflict. Idk I always enjoyed so many different theory videos and reviews and stuff like that but at the end of the day many of them are interesting because of the impact it had on the person creating the review. In a way it allows us to connect to that person and see things from their perspective. But ironically what makes something interesting in a subjective way makes it worthless in an objective way. There is no way to judge art objectively. Well unless you want to say "this line is straight, this is a book" etc. Just would be boring But everyone is looking for someone to tell them the answer looking for someone to tell them what is right or wrong. And if someone tells them an answer they don't agree with they get mad but they dont change themselves.

[@TheUnseenKrab]

I recently got into CSM all of part one is spoiled for me.😅 now I just like Annalising Makima's death because to me it's ironic that she died to a someone she thought was below her even though Denji and pochita are one person due to Denji being a hybrid.

[@Satepin]

You can't debunk Fujimoto's levitation powers

[@HidinginPublic]

Because they are real, he showed me

[@sitorchallenge5691]

You cant debun the truth

[@Reliccontent]

14:58 I see better to have misinterpretation than zero discussion because it at least expresses interest

[@tamalandro]

i'm really glad i got into chainsawman because your essays are among my favorites in this website.

[@HidinginPublic]

Thank you! I like ot talk about broader ideas when I can

[@SunriseGirl]

I love over analyzing things, its just so fun to find evidence for your theorys in amazing works of art

[@theradionicrevival8068]

I don’t think I ever typed it out before, but it’d been on my mind since I found this channel years ago,. you have a super adorable and and attractive voice dude.

[@dallascoggins1534]

Thank you for this video. I hate when just listen to the song is used to do a "its not that deep bro." I hate when ppl say that regardless though.

[@HidinginPublic]

It feels cruel. To use an artist's art to devalue their art. Like forcing me to stab myself with my own hand

[@JohnWick-ut1tj]

For the ending of Just Listen i thought she finally realised LISTENED to The Song and appreciated him for his efforts tho she said it was Cringe . I mean we feel cringe at things we did when we were young but also appreciate it, appreciate that Cringness,enjoy it,laught at it even

[@syrusangi8743]

Yeah, I don't think she didn't care. If she really didn't care, she would've just left as soon as she told him the song was cringe, but instead she sat with him n even shared her earpiece with him so they could listen to it together. Sure at first, she came a bit of a jerk sharing the personal song to their classmates to tease him but I think after the whole commotion from the first song, she also thought the theories were stupid n probably took the time to confirm this by actually listening n understanding the song herself without brushing it off like she did at first. She may have been brutally honest n blunt cuz she said it was cringe, but she still appreciated his gift enough to still keep it in her playlist.

[@trstmeimadctr]

I also want to point out that in the oneshot, it's a live-action video, where someone has considerably limited control on what happens during a recording, but in manga every single thing on the page was put there with intent and considerable effort

[@annanymousren]

I had a real shit art seminar today, I feel this video contributed more to my understanding of the subject discussed in the seminar than the seminar itself, all I learnt from the seminar was that people are so shit at discussing with each other, especially when they've flawed ideas/mindsets and they don't even try to understand one another. People always project their ideas first onto the subject (that's fair everyone has their own experiences but just dismissing everything else pisses me off). The seminar is about art and society, originally the topic today was about photojournalism and how a given photo is flexible in how we interpret it and that how we interpret it is factored by our individual values and experiences and the intricacies of how we go about assessing a photo (the photographer could be capturing a point they're trying to make, the editor picks a picture that would get a lot of clicks, finding the context behind the photo before interpretation, the viewer's projection and interpretation), it then derailed into talking about BLM (as it has examples of photojournalism) which was a horrible idea as it's a fresh event that was given not enough time to rest for people to be able to have thoughtful reflections on the subject without being riled up and undermining the point of a discussion. The discussion just had this real sickening tone underneath it all where people just wanted to declare their point more than anything, if someone made a point for discussion the immediate thing for others to do was to take a stance, which it then became for some reason a conversation in black and white instead of actually discussing. They wouldn't listen to each other's "song". The initial point of anything will be at the mercy of the audience. I've come to despise the narrow-sighted nature of the audience and fanbase of anything.

[@NewtrendsMe]

From Evangelion to Velma, the more things change the more things stay the same, but I see your point.

[@crackracing7900]

I'm so glad someone brought up this topic,especially after someone replied to me with a "just listen to the song,bro" comment! It's still so weird to me how so many people ended up subscribing to this line of thought, especially since,you know,the one-shot came out barely a week before the start of Chainsaw Man part 2. Wonder if there was any reason why,uh? I remember coming out from my first readthrough of it and thinking "Oh,Fujimoto is clearly feeling the weight of the success he's built up since CSM first started its publication,and the thought that everything might come crumbling down when the fans realize that part 2 is not what they were looking for scares him",but the ending felt to me like the exact opposite of a downer. It kinda tells me that Fujimoto has made peace with the idea that people might not get you or scoff at what you make,but that's just the process of art. If even one person understands you,even if they reject your message,then it's enough. It very much feels like a conclusion to the theme of what his art even means to himself that he explored during Look Back and Goodbye Eri too (works which he also wrote in-between said parts),finding a reason to keep drawing and writing at the same time. To me,that notion of "the curtains are simply blue" reeks of insecurity about what others may think of you if you're enjoying something too passionately. So you just have to express yourself under many layers of irony,simply to feel like you're being treated seriously. Wouldn't wanna show yourself being vulnerable,not on the mean 'ol internet,right? It's why it's always saddening when I see some people that enjoy CSM describe it as "B-movie action gorefest",as if that's all that can be taken away from it,and nothing else. Those movies have a lot of meaning in them too, in all their weird,unusual ways. That's what Denji believes too.

[@TheShenlong07]

i do love how passionate u get talking about the topics u choose to make videos on, as I am pursuing my own endavours, get lost in the grind and forget what I even liked about it in the first place. Tldr, your videos serve as a great reminder of passion to me and i am genuinly happy seeing you still making videos.

[@shiwakao]

the fantastic irony of just listen to the song is that ppl didn't even read it before coming to that conclusion. in a way it feels sorta gatekeepy or like a baseline test for artistic literacy which im really grateful to fujimoto for doing.

[@Bannedd567]

The "Fujimoto's Body of Work's Artistic Value Protection Squad" is rolling up, we ride at dawn

[@HidinginPublic]

Glad they are coming. We need reinforcements

[@francisnorthwood7862]

body of trash you mean

[@venturelord32]

This might legitimately be one of the most valuable videos you've ever made.

[@HidinginPublic]

Thanks, well it's certainly a topic I find value in

[@theotherfritz2643]

God, this reeks of a strawman argument. In what universe is anyone saying that a mangaka (i.e. an artist) hates art? That spiel about critics of overanalysis being "anti-intellectual", "anti-human" and "evil" is something one might hear from any number of proponents or defenders of the vapidly masturbatory, as if the art world hasn't produced more than enough examples of how an overly generous analysis can lower standards past the floor and reframe the work of frauds as if it were the second coming of Van Gogh.

[@WorthlessWinner]

if you oppose cringy youtubers making stupid over-interpreretations of anime, you are an antihuman nihilist who wants everyone to die. Says cringy anime youtuber.

[@diehard7517]

I also think people need to learn the difference between "i don't like something" and "this is objectively bad". Just because you don't personally connect with a particular work doesn't mean it's actually bad. I think a lot of people struggle with it partially because internet culture made a habit of mocking people for not "getting the art" and instantly assuming they are simply not intelligent enough to understand it, even though a person might see the themes clearly enough, they just don't really care about them because they don't connect with them personally. And that's fine. You don't have to connect with art the same way other people do, just don't dismiss it, say "i don't get it" or "that's not for me" and move on.

[@Angelic_Materia]

Reminds me a lot of the horrid take aways from Evangelion. The amount of times where I've seen people say "oh well Anno said the religious element was only done to sound cool therefore the entire series that stretches for literal decades has no meaning outside of flashy presentation" is enough to make me fume. The complete unwillingness to see Eva for the uplifting series it is because they are too busy tweeting about how Anno hates Otaku for the billionth time is unreal.

[@Gundamguy-py3ir]

Bro YEEEES. I will say I do think Anno intentionally made EOE more dark and grim just to throw people off and spite them.

[@LiveConcertJunkie]

Thank you for this video!! It was needed to be put in there especially for Fujimoto

[@HidinginPublic]

I think so as well. Thanks for watching it

[@dontworryhouston]

It's so ironic that by manipulating the oneshot's message to their convenience, these people are becoming the obsessed crowd Fujimoto criticizes

[@zacharywong483]

Fantastic script and superb editing here, Hiding! I love the way you make manga panels look in your videos. Well done!

[@HidinginPublic]

Thank you, I try to give my editing a distinct visual identity

[@zacharywong483]

@@HidinginPublic It definitely shows! The editing of manga images in your videos always make them look super cool!

[@tamalandro]

"it's evil" so true bestie

[@HidinginPublic]

Thank yu

[@madeliner1682]

I feel like this argument about how deeply people engage with art can also be applied to theory crafting, although to a much lesser extent. When this latest chapter dropped, all I saw was death devil hype (ch 121 for people from the future). The chapter is long and filled with well crafted dialogue that touches on some interesting perspectives and gives us new room to chew on the philosophical discussion of city mouse vs country mouse themes set up in part 1 as well as flesh out things that chainsaw man as a whole says about relationships... but when I go to look at what people are taking from this beautiful chapter of manga everyone's just going pixel by pixel over the last panel for what the next chapter is going to reveal. Like, bro. That next chapter is coming - have a little patience. It is much more interesting to theorize about what the characters will do in the future and how they've already grown. I think it's interesting that in this chapter Denji states he'd rather use the safe emotional outlet of being adored by the masses as chainsaw man instead of going the risky way of trying to have a deep romantic relationship with someone else - this clearly show his arc has progressed from who he was in part 1; Denji used to be the narrative's prime example of a city mouse. And the thing is, this isn't something that will be resolved next chapter. We won't know exactly what Fujimoto is saying until we see how the manga deals these character motivations progressing and the situation as a whole moves forward and evolves in response to the characters' established outlooks

[@Gundamguy-py3ir]

Well theory crafting is fun. It's people gate keeping, being disingenuous, or just factually wrong is what's annoying. Like Theory people are okay with being wrong. That's half the fun.

[@madeliner1682]

@@Gundamguy-py3ir yeah. Like, I don't hate theory people or anything, but I just think that - mostly those at the extreme end - are missing the point all the same. Albeit not quite as hard as the "durr it dum manga why you not turn brain off 😡" crowd Which is not to say I think theorizing should never happen, but if it's the only thing you ever do with a work and you've stopped engaging with it on an artistic level you're basically just poking at a dead horse with a stick trying to get new substances to ooze out. Theory crafting is an auxillary tool to gain a deeper understanding of something at a level separate from taking it at face value, not the universal sledgehammer of nitpicking that never yields its time to any other viewpoints I even like me a good theory, and I've spent more time storing random facts about FNAF and DHMIS than I'd like to admit, but when you treat a piece of media as if it's a random assortment of puzzle pieces first and a cohesive piece of art second you're sucking all the fun out of life

[@karstensingh343]

That was so good! I love seeing new perspectives on what makes a piece of art(like chainsaw man) so interesting and unique!

[@seaweather]

Still... it's not that deep though. On the serious note, if you understand "it's not that deep" people as people who are saying there's no meaning in CSM, it's not art and just an empty shell, then I agree. But if you're actually debating "it's not that deep" as "it's not that deep", then I don't agree. And I don't agree because it is indeed not "that deep". CSM is thoughtful, rich on references, has meaning and parallels. But it's not some groundbreaking philosophical tractatus with convoluted allegory on human society. It has some parallels, but having parallels doesn't automatically make CSM "deep" and especially "that deep". CSM is work of art, it's beautiful and cinematographic. The art is the way of conveying your feelings and vision, it's like saying "this is how it's feels to me, does it feels same to you?" (Kazuo Ishiguro). CSM being thoughtful/good written doesn't equate it to being deep. But CSM doesn't have to be deep to be good (and it doesn't have to be deep to have enough things to discuss). Just enjoy it, just play the song and listen whatever you're able to listen, it's just some other people don't hear the same

[@rileyninja9733]

I love chainsawman because it's deep even without realizing it you can feel the complexity when reading it, assuming you read the whole thing

[@rileyninja9733]

I could have said this a million ways and this is probably the worst but the brain is complicated and giving your heart into shoving your thoughts all represented in your work is going to be deep even if no one sees it

[@davizi6146]

I get what you mean, it's unconsciously "deep", which is a concept people can't seem to fathom for some reason. I doubt Fujimoto is deliberately trying to make these characters and their situations "deep", but simply because he's trying to make real characters and put them in real situations, it becomes "deep" because reality is "deep". This happens in a lot of mangakas' writings, though it's very prevalent in Fujimoto's.

[@rileyninja9733]

@Davizi yeah I mean I think I understand where your going with that, for it to be deep it means the author put the effort in to make it nuanced. not to specifically to have people call it deep, even if that's what the end result causes

[@francisnorthwood7862]

nothing deep in chainsawman

[@rileyninja9733]

@francis northwood so truuuu~

[@juanperret7044]

I have another take of the ending of just listen to the song, it's a bad ending from a romantic point of view but it is a good ending from an artistic point of view because his message was received clearly, it was just not to her taste

[@AuspexAO]

This is not just a Fujimoto take, it's actually a pretty large political/philosophical wave right now. People hate analysis, science, art, they want the noise to stop because the world is getting confusing and it's impossible to know everything. These people hate experts, journalists, doctors. For them the pursuit of anything outside of the surface is scary because they just want comfort. They want to abnegate. People want gods and kings to tell them meaning, to tell them right and wrong. They don't want to try and pull meaning from something, and even worse they don't want to put out a theory that could be 100% wrong. I'm glad you have intellectual curiosity, Hiding in Public, because you're a young man and this is definitely not a generational disease. Anti-intellectualism IS evil. It is the act of putting your hand in front of your eyes and screaming at the beautiful of human expression to just shut up and die already. Deep water is terrifying. Paddling in the shallows is something everyone can do. Let's hope that even the more terrified people can learn to embrace the world as complex, chaotic, and even full of things that may be wrong or misinterpreted. It's the human experience, like you say: "pro humanity". I know of a woman once who wanted to devour all the evils and complexity of the world and give her followers a perfectly bland and orderly world. A world of pure control. I somehow think that Fujimoto wouldn't sign on with that kind of woman. I'm not sure why, but I think he'd rather have a messy world full of nonsense and chaos. Even if it meant not being able to enjoy that gilded peace to get it.

[@yisforyellow7014]

THANK YOU FOR SAYING THIS! People can really be ignorant like that, and I'm glad you highlighted the importance of art to Fujimoto to prove your point. It means a lot to me as an aspiring writer.

[@plebkeilo]

i gotta say, your last few vids have been having phenomenal editing. i can tell you're putting work into it cause it shows so much, the visuals are incredible and it flows really well! keep it up!

[@HidinginPublic]

Yeah this video took like 4 more days to edit than I originally planned lol. Glad you like the editing

[@bodextroushamstring949]

Genuinely, thank you for making this video, this video describes a feeling I’ve for so long and perfectly encapsulates how I feel about it, and even made me realize a couple things, thank you.

[@hectic_777]

Your videos are great! I’m having a great time listening to you speak about Chainsaw Man and why we should care

[@minibluemonkey]

Amazing video as usual one of my faves

[@HidinginPublic]

Thanks!

[@neonwaffles]

ur videos r really high quality, especially the editing

[@HidinginPublic]

Thank you

[@euwi]

Hey guys let's doing theory crafting, for fun only! random guy that just joined: "jUsT LiStEN tO tHe sOnGs bRo, it's nOt tHat dEEp"

[@HidinginPublic]

We should never let those guys cook

[@stefand439]

ur videos are so well done. the quality, the script, the everything. keep up the good work

[@makotomachiyuki]

Dude you really bring my memories back of school ost lmao subcribed

[@satanyourlord1134]

Man i love your videos and works of Tatsuki Fujimoto i wishni cojld be this well spoken and understanding of art like you

[@gktheweirdo]

It've been a while seen I first saw one of your video (I think the first video of you I saw was about Mob ss2) Your point and view are still getting across so nicely and I love them so much. You sound a lot more outgoing and confident now, the passion in you get across even better! You sound happy

[@kristoffer2250]

Thank you so much for making this video

[@HidinginPublic]

Sure thing thanks for watching it

[@casidelbowen2675]

I feel like there are two sides being played out here. You have anti-intellectualism, so smoothly open-minded it drags its cortex at its feet, that wants to engage emotionally and have fun. You have intellectualism, which seeks meaning and depth in practically everything, often overreaching and destroying what it dissects in its pursuit of an essence, and blocking out and diminishing those who would just like to vibe and partake in a more straightforward experience. In my mind, neither are right and neither are wrong. You can plumb too deep and too greedily that you lose any sort of innocent enjoyment a surface level experience can give you, but if all you do is remain on the surface then you're left with something shallow and disposable. I think... you should think and feel about the art you experience. But not to the degree that you become blind to the obvious or numb to your surroundings. *Neither thinking or vibing need be mutually exclusive.*

[@Monbeasto]

Thanks for the video you put a lot of thought and effort into it and I learned a lot tbh a lot of stuff you said helped me

[@HatiLeeVODS]

I just like looking at how people interpret art and compare it to my interpretations and it’s bothersome when people dismiss stuff u get me

[@DRNOval]

One of your old chainsaw man videos made me read it as my first ever manga and im so glad I did now having read so many amazing manga

[@vincentgarcia1132]

14:25 if it’s not too much could you elaborate on what the Good Faith interpretation of the OS is? For the protag, everyone is interpreting his love song as anything but, his crush doesn’t reciprocate his feelings and to nail it home thinks the song itself is cringe. BUT the intended recipient does understand the true meaning he put in the song, not a happy ending by every standards but she saw the love song for what it was. I’m guessing that’s what the catch-22 of being a successful artist is? TF is afraid we won’t like his art anymore if he makes it only mean what he wants it to, but at the same time he fears that the real meaning of his art will/has been lost in this swell of interpretations and expectations.

[@badger-1984]

It's up to each individual how they want to interact with a piece of art. If they don't want to read too deeply into it, that's fine but others get enjoyment from doing that. If you don't like deep dives then don't interact with them. Just consume the piece of art and move on and let other people enjoy analysing. It should be that simple

[@HidinginPublic]

Agreed

[@LeylaKaratas]

Analyzing art and coming up with theories are some of my favorite parts of fandom culture. Why would you go out of your way to take that fun away from people who enjoy it? The people I see in comment sections going "Stop overanalyzing! It's just a fun story about a badass chainsaw dude" are absolutely baffling to me. Like, these have to be 12 year olds I refuse to believe otherwise lol.

[@izzymosley1970]

I think one of if not the main reason why people don't like it when people interpret meaning form stories is a cultural issue we live in the age of instant gratification where people want to spend the least amount of time thinking possible so when they see other people are thinking about something that they like that they are not thinking about they feel bad because it makes them feel like they're lazy so instead of reflecting on themselves and their behaviors they criticize the people who dare to think so they don't have to feel bad anymore but that's just a theory a cultural theory thanks for reading.

[@Naruto-mn1dy]

Your thumbnails are great lol, when I see such thumbnails I know that it's going to be a good video

[@HidinginPublic]

Glad to hear that. I put a lot of time into them

[@ConvincingPeople]

I am reminded of Susan Sontag's famous essay "Against Interpretation", in which, as a literary critic, she rejected the attempts to define art in terms of "what it's trying to say" à la the close readings associated particularly with the New Criticism, instead favouring what she called an erotics of art rather than a hermeneutics of art-"How does it make you feel?" rather than, "What does it mean?" But at the same time, Sontag was not saying that attempting to parse subtext or context is useless by any means, in fact championing the extremely detailed poststructural analytical essays of Roland Barthes, but rather saying that the *importance* of those things is not in some illusion of objective meaning, but in what this context gives to the reader, and that we ought to stop prioritising the purely intellectual aspect of what we think the author is trying to communicate over what we actually experience when we partake in a work and how it speaks to our own lives and prior experiences. What this anti-intellectualism feels like, to me, is an understandable frustration with how media analysis is taught and presented in an academic setting taken out not on the systems which frame art criticism in such a way but on other people attempting to explain how they experience art in their own right, thus doing the same disservice of undermining individual aesthetic experience which they are ostensibly attempting to preserve, particularly when it does not match their own perspective because, in the absence of an inculcated understanding of subjectivity, any contrary perspective is seen not as an addition to their worldview, but as a challenge. I honestly find that very sad.

[@HarvenHaven]

the whole appeal of fujimoto to me at least is that he can take seemingly goofy ideas like a guy who can turn into a chainsaw or a guy who kills literal devils just because he is down bad for his boss and adds humanity and depth to them. if it was just the dumb ideas like these fans want then the series would be way less interesting and unique

[@simpking1457]

Interesting video. I'll watch it later, m8

[@amigaway]

Well edited video - really enjoyed it.

[@acjackson127]

I really like your content, started watching since I found the P4 vids and am so glad you talk about Fujimoto's work as well. Always nice to see new perspectives on art I enjoy so all I wanted to say was keep up the good work. It was also funny seeing you show up on Vaush's steam a few months back, didn't expect that lol.

[@alexiserubeymoralesheras1185]

Holy i shit i never think about the ending of that one shot like that, its make so much sense

[@Gundamguy-py3ir]

Welcome brother... You have awoken.

[@MagnificentCreature]

Lovely video, really tells you why AI will never replace human artists

[@wordsoflove8787]

You won me over as a fan of your channel with this video and I look forward to exploring your other ones: I strongly agree with you on how reductive and harmful anti-intellectual sentiment can be, I always feel like people don't give CSM and other works of Fujimoto the credit they deserve at times for being so genuinely well-written!

[@zeo4481]

0:30 I can't stress enough how good Undertale music is in this section as it is a perfect example of something that became so popular because of the mythology around it and not so much because of the thing itself. 3:10 Well i mean that's the deal whit Memes isn't it. People taking popular good/or bad online culture and twisting it's meaning to a unified feeling until the original message becomes unrecognisable. A popular song ,,This is my kingdom come" that is about the struggles of battling cancer has become a joke song about repressed sexual tension. An emotional,,One Piece" moment that cemented the end of an incredible ark (twice) Bout whit the One Piece being real and The Crying emoji personified both lost their original meaning and became,,Can we get much higher parody". When one thing is viewed trough a billion lenses it sometimes loses it's original meaning.

[@liamthellama8386]

Gurren Lagann is another series that suffers from a lot of anti-intellectualist takes. It is very often called “dumb fun” or a turn “your brain off show”, and many people refuse to actually listen to what it’s trying to say, which makes me pretty sad as I consider it to be one of the most thematically rich shows I’ve watched.

[@otohikoamv]

Yep, and it connects very well with Hiding in Public's point that "anti-intellectualism always leads to death" - one of the key themes is its blatant stand against death, entropy, and authoritarianism. People who think it's just entertainment with big robots beating the crap out of each other are missing the very heart of that show.

[@XxjeffersonDkidxX]

nate aka the bestguyever made a video about gurren lagann,i think you would love it.

[@liamthellama8386]

@@XxjeffersonDkidxX yeah I've seen that video it's great

[@Reliccontent]

4:40 this reminds me of that meme where Akira is giving a test and he has a question “ And the curtains were blue What does this mean?” in the kid responds with all the curtains are blue. And then the professor says incorrect, and then goes on a long rant about actually ment the author is sad, and then the kid finds out that the actual author meant “no the curtains are fucking blue”

[@simelstre-512]

That final line of yours hit me so hard my chest swelled up and my eyes burned

[@HidinginPublic]

Oh no, you may want to visit a doctor, I hope you are alright

[@lepokebloc4198]

I can't stress enough how much of a good point this is Great video as always !

[@HidinginPublic]

Thank you! I like to make my csm/fujimoto related videos cover broader ideas

[@emberdragon4248]

They themselves are making their own interpretations of the manga to reach their opinions, therefore making them a bunch of hypocrites.

[@Vanny_ro]

It takes a really arrogant person to say "This doesn't reflect my worldview therefore it doesn't have anything worthwhile to say." It's kind of gross... This way of thinking, from my observations, also seems to be common with the politicly obsessed.

[@CammyDDubs]

Love your videos man

[@SamTheGumMan117]

I'm kinda lost on this whole thing, but I'm just happy Hiding uploaded another heat video

[@HidinginPublic]

Good to see you Sam

[@SamTheGumMan117]

@@HidinginPublic

[@HotBlasterBot]

Keep up the good fight against the Reading Comprehension Devil. o7

[@neilstephennavigar950]

Reminds me a lot about the fan theories that become popular for almost every chapter of Tokyo Ghoul. Shit like tarot card numbers appearing in random panels, the meaning of Saiko's kagune when it was first revealed, the foreshadowing of Hairu Ihei being resurrected as a ghoul because of some symbolism in a cover art, etc. That was wild, and I wonder if Ishida Sui actually cringed when some fans became disappointed at him because of how he ended the manga.

[@faiq4278]

Great video. You perfectly articulated the feelings i felt whenever i saw the 'not that deep' comments. I love the passion in your delivery and the passion for the things you like. I hope i too can be able to express my feelings for my interests as well as you do

[@CollieD-vc9bv]

Whenever I wrote a poem or did a drawing and I put a lot of effort into the meaning behind it, it would annoy me when people just look over it or just completely misinterpret it. Then it would be judged on a basis which it isn't even standing on. I could also see that this could extra stress on people because it creates hype for something that doesn't exist and in turn put a bunch of expectations on the artist. BUT part of the fun was incorporating their interpretations and ideas since sometimes it compliments or better your original plan. Also I like to write just the most random stuff to screw with peoples perception of what their reading. So in short what I took from "Just listen to the song" was that it is ok, fun and sometimes helpful to the author when you theorize and analyze but to act like your theories is truth and force those expectations on the author is taxing and stressful.

[@arjunmanoj2155]

Hats off, good artist.

[@HidinginPublic]

I like Art

[@kirokye]

I thought ppl would be agreeing with this video?? I’m surprised so many ppl r hating on it in the comments

[@kirokye]

like he makes a great point?? I don’t see anything wrong about it. ig ppl are mad cus they got called out

[@HidinginPublic]

I don't see a ton of disagreements. People who disagree are positing an anti intellectual opinion though so I doubt they can rebutt with anything substantive

[@SJ-sg5iz]

Truly just reading one of his work will let you know this man is an artist through and through. As a creator, if people tried to say I didn’t care about art after having consumed my content? At the very least id be incredibly insulted

[@vvvvaaaacccc]

beautiful thoughts. thanks for sharing.

[@Sappysappster]

Araki 🤝 Fujimoto Fans discrediting their work of any value because it gets wacky and crazy sometimes

[@HidinginPublic]

Rip indeed

[@lightspaceman5064]

Listen To The Song is about looking at random shit in the background instead of focusing on the point of what the artist actually made. Using it to say the Fujimoto doesn't think about what he's writing... is looking at random shit in the background. It's media illiteracy inception.

[@francisnorthwood7862]

So this is your brain on high fructose corn syrup and community collage

[@cycy8699]

omg the pickaxe murderer in Look Back was fujimoto self inserting his alternate self that didn’t get good enough at art

[@yahboi3640]

God I love your videos so much

[@HidinginPublic]

Thank you!

[@AdBlock-xl3tt]

Completely agree with the sentiment but people raving about how deep and meaningful Fujimoto's works are because they have themes, allegory and references are also extremely cringe. From what I've read the guy's writing is massively overrated, very much lacking the weight, depth and overall impact people ascribe to it. While his works obviously have artistic meaning and intention, that doesn't inherently make them well-executed, insightful or worthwhile. There's no such thing as thing thinking too deeply into art but there's plenty of people thinking they are deep for being capable of basic media analysis.

[@RS-xy1sf]

Fujimoto definitely does have deeper meaning written throughout the story, but I feel like "Just Listen to The Song" was trying to get people to stop making up stuff that isn't there or obviously wasn't the intention. That doesn't mean to throw away the messages and obvious themes, because there are some things he's clearly trying to relay. Just don't analyze to the point where the original meaning was lost.

[@Devilelf]

That is literally what the story is presenting, its not anti art or super deep like this vid showcases, so its funny that he is missing that

[@martingomez6644]

I think it's beautiful that everyone finds different meanings to art. But to say that art has no meaning or one meaning is stupid. Art can be interpreted in different ways depending on who you see it, but i don't think Fujimoto is denying this with "just listen to the song", i think he means he has his own meaning about Chainsaw Man and probably it's a bit sad that people on the internet say "The truth about Fujimoto and Chainsaw Man!" Just to complete miss the point. Have you own interpretation, but never say that yours is the absolute truth, art is far more complex

[@rileyninja9733]

That's so funny that so many people took that from Just Listen to The Song the internet is wild

[@wormywave2220]

Absolutely excellent video!

[@HidinginPublic]

Thank you

[@NightHao]

The thing with his stories is that they are art because, like you mentioned, they have an intention and deep though into how they are made. This is a high contrast with what most media, silver screen, video games, paintings, etc. have nowadays. There's no deeper meaning other than entertainment or being contrarian, or like you put it, being anti-art. I believe that's the reason why people nowadays dont think there's a deeper meaning to what he is doing or even actively read both his frames and dialogue. Most people think is just another vapid battle anime when it's not.