[as of chapter 88]

Chainsaw Man is rough, sleazy and fundamentally nihilistic. Ceaseless destruction and death is on the menu, and the plot isn't slowing down service. It is horrible, but it is also horror. Having watched several videos recommending "Chainsaw Man" and distinctly remembering some mentions of the MCs emotional development as being uplifting I feel I've been sold a bag. The MC has had a HORRIBLE life, and is a rather disgusting and strange individual partially as a result of it (possibly also because he has a devil for a heart). He does develop and change as the manga goes on, struggling against hedonistic sexual desire and nihilism, but has he conquered them? Certainly not at the point I've got to in the story. I'm not sure he will either given the current situation he has found himself in... And that's the real struggle for me! Yes, the story is littered with rather strange, and raw pieces of emotional ammunition. But broken people are everywhere, both by design and as a result of the circumstances they find themselves in. It's hard to feel like you are witnessing the birth of the transcendent when the latest characters have just gone through the blender. I would like to give propts to the rather unorthodox art style though (whether it born through ineptitude or conscious deliberation). It magnifies the raw, unfiltered show on display quite fantastically. Character replies are given in a single loosely constructed frame, almost begging to be read in to. What do they really feel? Fellow reviewers would do well to recognise that not all stories benefit from the universally acclaimed art of One Punch Man or Vagabond. After all, the mind of the maniac is unlikely to draw you a pretty picture. So, while I wait for the end of Chainsaw Man, and debate whether there is anything redemptive or uplifting about this journey, I do recommend it purely for the ride itself. It's manic and disgusting with some morbidly creative ideas and arcs. It even strikes with a red hot poker of crystalline emotional clarity every now and then.