[Ext. Dark alleyway.]
(We enter with the point of view of someone walking slowly down a dark and empty alleyway. They’re breathing hard. They soon round a corner and are met with a short alleyway ending in a gray, dirty looking door. It’s covered in blank sheets of paper. A lone peephole is in the center. We see from the shadow on the door that the person has short spiky hair. The person reaches out their hand to touch the doorknob and their breathing gets heavier. They never reach it.)
[Int. Storage shed.]
(We see a teenage boy lying down on an old mattress in one of the corners. Miscellaneous junk fills the rest of the shed. He groans as he sits up. He has short blond spiky hair and is wearing faded old clothes that look like he found them in the trash. A strange orange creature lies next to him. It has a chainsaw sticking out of its head, and many handles on its body. Pale morning light drifts through the window.)
Boy: “Better get to work.”
Creature: “Arf!”
[Ext. forest trail.]
(The boy and the creature walk through a forest. A branch breaks under his oversized shoe. They come upon a road. It overlooks a small grey town in a small grey valley.)
Boy: “Tree cuttin’ nets me about 60,000 yen a month… And that kidney I just sold was, uh… 1.2 mil. My right eye was… 300,000. Sold one of my nuts too. How much did that go for again? Not even 100k I think.”
(We see that he has an eyepatch over his left eye. He walks up to the courtyard of a traditional house. He pulls out his chequebook)
Boy: “So as of today I owe… over 38 million yen.”
(The exact number in the book is -38,040,120. Around $235,812 USD)
Creature: “Arf!”
(It starts growling and fluffing its orange fur.)
Boy: “What, Pochita? You ready to kill something? Well, that makes two of us!”
(He puts away his chequebook and walks to the entrance of the walled courtyard.)
Boy: *Most devils ain’t what you’d call good, but a dead one’s good for about 300 thou’.*
(The boy holds Pochita like a chainsaw and revs his ripcord shaped tail. The chainsaw on Pochita’s head begins spinning! The boy hides behind a piece of broken wall and looks out on a monster lumbering around the courtyard. It looks like a tomato, with a large round body and a leafy green stem on its head. Numerous eyes are all over its body and many legs sprout from its base. Its vertical mouth is drooling.)
Boy: “Huntin’ devils is easily the best way to make some cash.”
(The devil spots him and turns toward him menacingly and opens its mouth letting out a guttural growl.)
(Intro plays.)
[Ext. Courtyard.]
(The battle is already over, and the boy stands atop the devil’s mutilated body. He pulls Pochita’s bloody blade out of its flesh. He wipes his forehead and sighs.)
Boy: “Yeah, this thing’s gotta be the Tomato Devil, sir! Burn the seeds or it’ll use ‘em to come back for round two!”
(An old bearded man walks up to the carcass.)
Old man: “Ah, excellent work Denji. Someone on the black market is bound to pay a hefty sum for this fresh corpse. How’s 400,000 sound to you?”
Denji: “Sounds awesome!!”
Old man: “That’s before subtracting your debt payment and interest, though. Which whittles it down to 170,000. Then there’s the finders fee, admin fee, management costs, and so on.”
[Ext. Town street.]
(Denji and Pochita walk along the sidewalk. He looks in the envelope of cash that he was paid.)
Denji: “Just 70k left for me. I definitely gotta use this cut to pay the water bill, and then there are the debts I still owe to other people. Funny how that works. We’re already down to 1,800 yen, Pochita. There’s nothin’ to eat back at our place. Which means we have to make this 1,800 yen last the rest of the month. For dinner tonight, let’s go full on carbivore and split a slice of bread, okay?”
(Denji walks past a man in a parked car. The man takes a long drag of a cigarette. The old man from before is in the back seat.)
Smoking guy: “I really don’t understand why you hire a punk like that to take out devils.”
Old man: “It’s to ensure he pays off the mountain of debt he owes us. Though his worthless dead dad accrued it, Denji’s the one stuck with the bill.”
Smoking guy: “Is a broke-ass kid and his creepy little pet honestly the best fit for this sorta job?”
Old man: “Authentic devil hunters wouldn’t do what Denji does. Dealing the carcasses of their kills to the yakuza’s too scandalous for them. But not him. Denji’s biggest perk is how obedient he is.”
(The yakuza guys drive to catch up to Denji and pull up next to him and Pochita. They drive a legally distinct Volkswagen Mk1.)
Smoker Yakuza: “Hey, Fido!”
Denji: “Hm?”
Smoking Yakuza: “I’ll give ya 100 yen if ya swallow this cigarette! Hehhh?”
Denji: “Whoa, you will?? Alrighty, down the hatch this sucker goes! Houmm…”
(He puts the cigarette all the way into his mouth.)
Smokeless Yakuza: “Haha Hahahaha!!”
Old Yakuza man: “We’ll be in touch. Keep in mind you’re pig slop if you try to skip town.”
(The smokeless yakuza guy tosses the 100 yen out the window and Denji lunges to catch it. The yakuza guys drive away. Denji is smiling a toothy grin that really shows off that his teeth have been sharpened into points.)
Denji: “He he he heh. Bleh!”
(He spits out the cigarette. He didn’t actually swallow it. He squats down to pet Pochita.)
Denji: “Now we’re set for another three days!”
Pochita: “Ruff!”
[Int. Denji’s shed.]
(It’s raining outside. Denji is sitting on his mattress with Pochita. They’re sharing a slice of bread.)
Denji: “Guess what I found out recently. It’s considered normal to eat your bread with jam on it. Too bad normal’s a pipe dream for folks down on their luck like us, huh. Bet that I’ll bite the big one before I ever pay off this debt.”
(Denji takes a bite out of the bread.)
Denji: “Prolly won't kick it with a girl before I kick the bucket either. My rinky-dink shack doesn’t exactly scream romance. And no dough to go on dates.”
(Pochita whines. Denji looks out the window.)
Denji: “If dreams do come true, then before I croak I wanna be with a girl.”
[Ext. Flashback to a grassy field.]
(It’s raining. Child Denji stands before a grave. The yakuza guy’s car is parked next to them. little Denji is soaked.)
Old yakuza man: “That cowardly bastard strung himself up before paying this month’s installment. Look, kid. I don’t care if you beg or whore yourself out. I want 700,000 yen by tomorrow. Otherwise, we chop you up and sell the bits. Got it?”
(The old yakuza man drives away, leaving little Denji alone with his father’s grave. He looks incredibly traumatized. Suddenly, the sound of a chainsaw rings out from behind a tree. Denji glances over to see Pochita coming out from behind it, growling.)
Denji: “A- chainsaw??”
(He falls backwards in shock.)
Denji: “It’s a devil. Hh- Hurry up and do it if you’re gonna kill me. I’m dead either way.”
(He hears the chainsaw stop and Pochita breathing irregularly. He looks up to see that pochita is leaking blood from three bullet wounds.)
Denji: “You’re hurt… Death’s comin’ for both of us, huh.”
(Images of his father hanging from a noose flash in his mind. He gasps and holds out his arm towards Pochita.)
Denji: “Take a bite! I heard that by drinking blood, devils can heal whatever wounds they’ve got!”
(Pochita begins to stand up again.)
Denji: “If you don’t wanna die, then bite me!”
(Pochita slowly walks towards Denji’s arm. He bites it, sinking his teeth into Denji.)
Denji: “Augh… My blood doesn’t come free. You’re signing a contract. I helped you out and saved your life, now return the favor. Because, like you, I’d rather not die yet.”
[Ext. Alley off the town street.]
(Three yakuza guys are gathered around Denji as he throws down the sliced corpse of a small devil to their feet. He breathes heavily as he wields Pochita, dripping with blood.)
Denji: “Here’s an idea. Hire me as a devil hunter so I can pay off what I owe.”
[End of flashback. Int. Denji’s shed.]
(Teenage Denji is curled up on his mattress around a sleeping Pochita. He transitions to lying face up and sighs.)
Denji: “I’m way too hungry to sleep right now. I think about money when I can’t sleep, which makes falling asleep even harder.”
(Pochita wakes up to listen to him. He climbs up onto his chest to stare directly into Denji’s face.)
Denji: “When I do cop some Zs, I know what dream I wanna have. Gonna put jam on all my bread, and split every piece with you. Then I’ll lay on the charm and flirt with a girl. We’ll spend the night playing video games together and hug each other as we doze off. Sweet, right?”
Pochita: “Harf!”
(Denji’s face suddenly contorts in pain. He coughs up thick, oozing blood into his hand. It drips onto his mattress. He winces.)
Pochita, scared: “Arf Arf!!”
Denji: “It just runs in my family. They said my mom died from a heart condition that made her cough up blood.”
(Someone knocks twice on Denji’s door. He turns towards it.)
Denji: “hmh?”
Old yakuza man: “Got a new devil for ya’, Denji. Time to go ta’ work.”
(Denji slumps in his mattress and lightly groans.)
[Int. Yakuza’s car at night time.]
(Denji is in the back seat. The old yakuza man is driving.)
Denji: *Wish they’d let me dream, ‘least for a little bit.*
(They drive up to an abandoned looking run-down industrial building.)
[Int. Abandoned industrial building.]
Denji: “You sure a devil showed up in here, sir?”
Old yakuza man: “...”
Denji: “Apart from us, I don’t see a soul. Ya’ think it’s hiding somewhere? Or… maybe it made like a bird and flocked off…”
(The old yakuza man stops walking.)
Denji: “Huh?”
Old yakuza man: “Denji my boy. Yannow we’re grateful for yer years of service, yes?”
Denji: “Um, Yeah ‘course.”
Old yakuza man: “You’re as loyal and obedient as a dog. And to top it off, you work for cheap treats like one as well.”
Denji: “Uhhhh…”
Old yakuza man: “Only problem with dogs is I can never tolerate the stench.”
(Denji and Pochita are suddenly stabbed through their chests with a sword from behind by a zombie. Denji winces before puking blood. Pochita follows suit. The zombie takes the sword out of their bodies. They collapse. The old yakuza man turns around.)
Old yakuza man: “The yakuza may be powerful, but even the ones on top dream of getting bigger and richer.”
(A tentacle attaches itself to him from behind, and it moves around under his jacket. Denji is still twitching on the ground, puking blood.)
Old yakuza man: “So we took a page from your book, and struck a deal with a devil. We wanted to obtain demonic power and see ourselves grow stronger.”
(The yakuza man rises off the ground, hanging from the huge tentacle. A huge bulging disgusting looking devil that resembles a torso with no limbs or head materializes from the shadows behind him and lumbers towards Denji and Pochita.)
Devil: “Whereas I want to see every devil hunter in existence… PERISH!!”
(The devil is surrounded by zombies. A huge grotesque face lies in the center of the devil’s “chest”. The tentacles it uses to locomote resemble entrails erupting from where the stomach would be.)
(Denji gasps for air and winces, blood still pouring from every orifice.)
Devil: “I have to tell you, little devil hunter, I’ve met rocks that were smarter than these louts. Such gullible fools! I offered them a shred of my demonic power, and they willingly handed their freedom to me on a silver platter! Little did they know the power they sought would turn them into zombies, since I’m the Zombie Devil!! You really should have chosen an occupation that doesn’t butcher my kind. Because now I have to butcher you!”
(Denji gasps.)
Zombie Devil: “Go, mindless minions. Tear him apart and toss every piece you collect into the dumpster.”
(Denji manages to get back on his feet and turns around to try and flee.)
Denji: “Shit!!”
(He breathes hard as he stumbles away, coughing blood on the way. His path is blocked by another group of zombies. He turns right to avoid them.)
Denji: *Where’s the exit??*
(He spots a door ahead with a green exit sign above it. Convenient! He throws a metal box down behind him to trip up the zombies. The first zombie falls over onto it but the rest step over it. Denji clutches his abdomen wound. He starts to slow down.A zombie easily gains on him and grabs his shoulder.)
Denji: “Get off me!”
(The zombie brutally slashes his back with a machete. He falls to the ground and grunts. He attempts to stand up again but his legs are paralyzed. The other zombies come up behind him and begin stabbing him with knives over and over again.)
Denji: “AAaaAAAUGGH AAHG- AAAAGAGGUGHH” *It’s not like I was askin’ to be freakin’ king of the world! Just dreaming of a normal life is enough to keep me going! But I don’t even get to have that much??*
(He continues screaming as the zombies chop him up, with the exit just out of reach. The scene fades to black.)
[Int. Dumpster.]
(Denji and Pochita's bodies are completely cut up. Denji’s severed head rests next to his foot. Pochita is cut in half straight down the middle. A drop of blood travels out of Denji’s agape mouth onto Pochita's head. It makes its way right into Pochita’s mouth. With his last movement, Pochita swallows it. His eye opens.
[Ext. Flashback, in Denji’s shack.]
Denji: “Pochita! Pochita! Rise n’ shine! We gotta long day ahead!”
[Ext. Still in Flashback, in forest.]
(Denji uses Pochita to cut down a tree. Afterwards, he shares a slice of bread with Pochita.)
Denji: “Real talk, I’m 99.9 percent positive I’m gonna die fighting a devil someday. My one regret will be leaving you on your own. What if you can’t feed yourself and just starve to death? Or another devil hunter slaughters you in cold blood? There’re some devils in the world that can take over dead bodies, or so I’ve heard. If you happen to be one of ‘em, Pochita, I hereby give you full permission to take whatever’s left of me. Wait until after I’m buried though, so… the yakuza won’t be on your case. Then… you could up and leave this town… and be ordinary. Hm. I want you to live a normal life, and die a normal death.”
(Pochita stares cutely at Denji with his big round eyes. Denji lifts him up.)
Denji: “You’ll live out the dreams I never could.”
[End of flashback. Int. dumpster]
(Denji’s body is piecing itself back together, seemingly using chainsaw chains where his bones would be. Pochita is physically stuck to Denji’s chest now, pulsating like a beating heart. Spreading to encompass him. Denji’s eyes open.)
[Int. Dumpster in Denji’s mind]
(Pochita is sitting on his chest in a much brighter and cleaner dumpster, presumably in Denji’s mind.)
Denji: “Pochita!”
Pochita: “Arf!”
Denji: “You did it, huh? Took my body like I asked?”
Pochita: “Just so you know… I’ve always loved listening to you talk about your dreams, Denji. Here’s a new contract for you, this time you’re getting my heart. In exchange, show me your dreams. That’s all I ask of you.”
[Int. Actual dumpster]
(Denji bursts out of the dumpster reaching out his hand.)
Denji: “Pochita!!!!!”
(He breathes frantically.)
Denji: “I’m in one piece!”
(He looks down at his chest to see a ripcord protruding from it. He notices that it’s the exact shape of Pochita’s tail.)
Denji: “Pochita?!”
(The zombies turn around to look at him.)
Zombie Devil: “Hmm? What’s going on here? You’re still alive after being cut to ribbons? Repulsive freak! I hate devil hunters because of how persistent you are! Go ahead and eat him, let’s see him bounce back from being devoured.”
(The zombies start running towards Denji. He jumps down from the rim of the dumpster.)
Denji: “These guys had plenty goin’ for ‘em already. Why is it they wanted even more? Well maybe we’re alike. Pochita made me happy and that should’ve been enough. But I kept on dreaming of a better life. I guess… we all fantasize about getting an upgrade. Can’t really say I blame you for that. Dreaming’s not a bad thing, but…”
(He reaches for the ripcord on his chest.)
Denji: “If you’re gonna get in our way…”
Zombie: “Ruaah!”
Denji: “THEN YOU CAN ALL DIE!!!”
(He revs his ripcord and is buried under a pile of zombies.)
Zombie Devil: “Eating him’s bound to keep that whelp dead for good.”
(The zombies claw and scratch, but the faint sound of an idle chainsaw can be heard beneath them.)
Zombie devil: “Huh? Huhh??”
(Denji explodes from the pile of zombies, shredding them with his new chainsaw body. Two chainsaws protrude from his arms and one from his head, which is encased in an orange helmet with huge sharp teeth. His eyes are glowing orange. He’s breathing heavily and raspily. His voice sounds more metallic than usual.)
Denji: “RAAAAAHHH!!!”
Zombie Devil: “What in the world are you?? Did that runt of a devil you were with take control of your body?? That means you’re one of us!!”
(Denji leaps towards the Zombie Devil, instantly shredding the pile of zombies he’s standing on into red ribbons. He flies through the air and gouges his chainsaw arm right into the Zombie Devil’s eye.)
Zombie Devil: “Uhrh?? AAAAUUAUUAUAUUAUUUAUAAAAAUAAUUAA!!!!!!!!!”
Denji: “UAHAHHAHAA UUUAAAAHHAHAHA HAHAHAHAAA!!!”
(Denji pulls out of the devil’s eye and leaves it to squirt blood everywhere as it keeps screaming. In retaliation it launches Denji away with one of its tentacles. Denji flies right into a metal beam. but still manages to land on his feet.)
Denji: “My… back…”
(A zombie whacks Denji’s head with a pipe. Denji is fazed for only a moment before tearing the zombie up with his chainsaws. He then starts carving up the other zombies too.)
Zombie Devil: “AAUUHHH IT HUUURTS!!! STAY AWAYYYY!!! HUUAAAAHHH!!!”
(The zombie devil grabs a few zombies and desperately throws them at Denji.)
Denji: “Huh?”
(He gets pushed back a little bit but easily shrugs them aside.)
Denji: “MOVE!”
Zombie Devil: “Get back!! Don’t come any closer!! Don’t you dare budge from that spot!! Stay where you are, you freak!!”
(Denji grunts and screams as he slices and dices the zombies in his way and runs towards the Zombie Devil. He lunges at it.)
Zombie Devil: “GO AWAAAAAAY!!!”
(It hits Denji again with a tentacle but Denji slices through it and his chainsaws to propel himself towards the devil. The Zombie Devil screams as Denji flies towards its head.)
Denji: “HUAAAH!!”
(Denji begins cutting the zombie devil in half vertically. The devil sprays blood everywhere and can’t stop its intact eye from spasming.)
Zombie Devil: “AAHHGHUGHAGAHAGAUAAGAUAGAGAGUAAHHAHUAHUA!!!!!”
(They both scream as Denji slices the Zombie Devil clean in half. Denji is bathed in all the blood being sprayed at him. Once it’s done, he looks around at all the other zombies.)
Denji: “You guys went full devil, right down to your twisted greedy little hearts. And I’m out here tonight ‘cause you said you had a job for me. I’m on the clock!! So I SHOULD KILL YOU DEVILS DEAD!!”
(He revs his ripcord once more and dispatches all the zombies one by one with no difficulty.)
Denji: “Oh yeah!! Once you jerks are worm food, IT’S BYE BYE DEBT!! AAAHAHAHAHA!! I WON’T OWE A DAMN THING!! AAAAHHAHAHAA!!”
[Ext. Warehouse, the next morning]
(A black car pulls up. Three people in black trenchcoats exit the vehicle and walk towards the warehouse entrance. One of them has long braided pinkish red hair. They stop in the doorway and stare at the carnage inside.)
Red haired woman: “Someone beat us to the punch.”
(She has strange yellow eyes with several red rings in her irises. She spots Denji, standing ominously in the corner, covered in blood.)
Agent #1: “Looks like that one there is still alive.”
(The red haired woman walks right up to Denji.)
Red haired woman: “Huh. Your scent is… rather peculiar. It’s neither a human’s nor a devil’s. So then, this your handiwork?”
(Denji weakly groans and starts to fall backwards.)
Denji: “Please… will you hold… me…”
(She hugs him before he can topple over. Denji’s chainsaws start to melt away and collect in goopy piles at his feet. His face is revealed under all the goop. He looks shocked.)
Red haired woman: “He’s a human.”
Agent #2: “Is there any indication that he’s been possessed?”
Red haired woman: “None! It’d be written all over his face if he were.”
(Denji’s legs give out. The woman slowly crouches down with him.)
Red haired woman: “Just so we’re clear, I’m a Public Safety Devil Hunter. I came to kill the Zombie Devil that was here.”
(She holds him on her lap.)
Red haired woman: “You have two options. Either you die by my hand as a depraved devil, or you let me keep you as a human being. For the record, my pets get delicious food.”
(Denji stares at her, entranced, but then looks away at all the dead zombies around them.)
Denji, weakly: “Delicious food, huh? So what’s on the breakfast menu?”
Red haired woman: “Hmm… Bread with butter and jam is always a given at my table. Coffee and salad’s also good. And then… maybe… dessert? Yeah.”
Denji: “Huh?”
Red haired woman: “Hm?”
Denji: “It’s like one of my best dreams ever just came true.”