Left to pay off his father’s debt to the yakuza, Denji ends up being chopped to pieces and tossed in the trash. This... isn’t the way you expect things to go for the main character of an anime series. Fortunately, he gets a second chance at life courtesy of his chainsaw pup, Pochita, who somehow is not the strangest devil to be seen (I’d say tomato or sea cucumber wins that category). 

After massacring the ones who betrayed him, Denji’s taken in by Makima who kickstarts his new life as a Public Safety Devil Hunter. This new job gives him all sorts of perks, like a roommate to annoy (sorry Aki), a bathtub where he can sing the song of his people, and food — more specifically, toast.

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My bad, I mean SUPER TOAST!

When speaking with Ryan Colt Levy, the English voice actor for Denji, and Reagan Murdock, the English voice actor for Aki, I had to ask about Denji’s infamous meal. More specifically I wanted to know if the aptly named Chainsaw Man would, perhaps, explore other options for his bread. Avocado, perhaps? Maybe garlic butter? What is Denji’s stance on egg-in-a-hole?

Kudos to both for taking my question seriously.

“The thing is, I don't know how ready his palate is for anything more refined just yet. I think he needs time, you know?” Levy said. “You know he's got the sweet and the fatty butter... what he's got right now is like, I get it. I totally understand it. I feel like the second you give that guy something a little too savory or funky on there? He's gonna get real thrown, you know?”

It’s a valid point. When you’re used to eating a certain kind of food it takes time to warm up to other options. Granted, we’ve seen Denji eat other things, but when it comes to toast it seems to be the same jammed-up formula. Changing it up may be too tall of an order at the moment. Levy agreed and added, “I feel like he’d have Power’s response to vegetables.” 

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I mean, sure, Denji told Power to think of the farmers who grew those veggies, but with toast being his go-to food he may not be as kind about it. 

Levy admitted to being sensitive to this sort of thing as a kid but went on to say that he grew out of it as he got older. Murdock echoed those sentiments and compared it to chicken nuggets. “When I was a kid it was chicken nuggets and nothing else,” he said. Don’t worry, we were all in agreement about chicken nugs being delicious, but as Murdock went on to say, “It's great being able to expand your horizons and try some things that might not work and, you know, sometimes, you find something you really enjoy.”

This is why we all agreed that we don’t want to rush Denji in his food exploration. He needs to take his time in being able to enjoy things since he hasn’t been able to do that, well... ever. Someday, Denji will be able to try all kinds of food. In this regard, Levy mentioned New York and pizza. Now I’ve never had New York pizza so I can’t judge, but I was born in Chicago, so... 

This led to an incredible idea for a Chainsaw Man spinoff with Denji going on a food tour called Eat Slay Love — copyright Reagan Murdock. 

At least we’re at a point in the series where Denji and Aki are on good enough terms to contemplate such a thing. Their first encounter had been a bit... rough. I had to ask Murdock if he thought Aki would ever forgive Denji for that whole Testicle Devil thing. “I don't know if he ever will,” he said with a laugh. “At the very least now he knows—”

“To wear a cup,” Levy stated, matter-of-factly. 

After sharing a laugh with his fellow voice actor Murdock continued. “He knows he can't bully Denji around in that physical way that he thought he could. He had that very emotional response to Denji being so crass and wanting to get in on Makima, and Denji kind of taught him a lesson about underestimating people and being condescending to people. I think that's something that Aki is gonna have to grow out of.”  

Levy added, “And I love that. You never see somebody end up in a street fight like that where they're like, ‘I don't care about being noble. I care about getting you on the ground.’”

Whether forgiveness ever happens it’s clear that the two are forming a bond. There’s a wild difference between the beat down in the alley and Denji being excited to eat Aki’s curry in Episode 4. Even the toast isn’t as messy. 

This moment of peace when starting your day is something both actors appreciated because it’s something they both do themselves. “I have my little grinder and coffee, to me, is definitely part of my morning ritual,” said Levy. “I like waking up early enough where I don't have to just rush out the door. I have a tiny little balcony that I sit out on. I have my coffee and I talk to the squirrels. I have that little serenity time to myself as well.”

For Murdock, it’s all about the tea. “A big part of mine [morning ritual] is getting up and making the tea. I love my tea. Then I go sit at my desk, open up a book and start reading out loud.” He went on to explain that he reads out loud to practice speaking. “I am not a big talker. A lot of times in the vocal booth I tend to really stumble over my words, so getting a little bit more practice of reading words and not screwing them up is very good for me. Plus I love books. I love reading.”

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A calm morning routine is something I’ve been very fond of these days. Instead of waking up and trying to rush to work I take my time, brew my coffee, and make a little bit of breakfast. It’s nice to have this before the day sends you into hours of work or whatever other tasks you have to finish, and like Denji, I’m a butter-and-jam girl when it comes to toast. That being said, I do hope my boy gets hip to garlic cheese toast, or maybe even breadsticks or rolls. “I believe in our boy,” Levy said.

You know what? I believe in him, too.

Briana Lawrence is the Senior EN Features Editor here at Crunchyroll. When she’s not writing she’s taking care of her three butthead cats and playing Hades for the 100th time. You can check out her writings and her book series over at her website and give her a shout-over on Twitter.