Chainsaw Man

I am really speechless when it comes to how unique this is, in its take, and the execution down to the main character and the cast. Denji is a really sad character, no denying it, and the series certainly doesn't hold back on the twists and the turns and there is certainly no plot armour for most of the characters. And it fits, this is a really brutal world.

And the characters are charming, they make you care for them, and intensely aware of how brutal the reality is. And how tragic it can take a turn. And how unexpected. But the art is phenomenal, some of them are gorgeous and the horror is so well conveyed and gives me chills.

And once you pick the story up you simply cannot put it down, I had to restrain myself and then just simply not care a little bit and just read it all. An intense, thrilling ride that only takes your heart through twists and turns and then some more.

Fully recommended.

Ill try to make this review quick, and on point.
Please note, that its just my subjective point of view.

I gave it 6 just because of art.

Everything is crap except art. Visuals are just amazing and are ONLY thing, that made me read that thing. Everything is extremally gore, fights are well drawn, you just have that feeling, that you are facing those demons arm to arm with the protagonist. And that's the only good thing about that manga.
Rest is just piece of shit, bad characters, that you'll probably forget right after you finish reading, story that just sucks and protagonist with development of hobo's puke. I definitely won't recommend that manga.

I just read all of the 52 chapters available at the moment, and I am really enjoying this story. In a nutshell, it manages to feel refreshing by beating common shounen troupes in romance, characterization, and death, while still remaining unabashedly a romp action-comedy at its heart. The power system in the series offers a lot of variety, and the brutality with which fights and death are handled is also not common in the shounen genre (although some in this new generation, like Demon Slayer, are similar).

Something that contributed greatly to this feeling was the the MC, who is supposed to be a naive, uneducated, horny teenager, and actually feels like one. Without going to much into details, its refreshing to see an MC who actually wants to make romantic progress and doesn't have unrealistically unflinching devotion to his crush. The supporting cast has its highlights, but I will admit that many of them feel insubstantial given how little is know about most of them and how short some of them remain in the spotlight.

The story moves at a very quick pace in most respects, which makes it a very exciting read at the expense of fleshing out some of the supporting characters, as mentioned above. Nonetheless, the story was able to make me care genuinely for characters at certain moments, and emotional moments manage to be impactful. As we learn more details about the world and the secrets in the plot, I expect that my rating in the story section will increase.

If I had to deduct points for one aspect of this series, it is definitely the art. While I appreciate the gritty feel that the messy line work gives, and the high points of character design and double pages are astonishing, the average art on any given page is below lackluster at times. The art is inconsistent with impressive highs and more common shoddy lows.

Why is everyone so hyped about this manga? What's so special about it? Should I read it?

Short answer: Yes definitely give this manga a chance, I think you won't regret it

Why: Because it's different, it's different but in a good way. It does certain things and it does it right. It is super fast-paced with a unique art style and approach. It makes you care about the characters, the world, and basically, everything that happens in the world. It is full of surprises and it seems like it always exceeds your expectations. It is gory, fast, emotional, cool, and most importantly fun. Once it sucks you in, there is no turning back.

It starts with an average shonen set-up but after 5-10 chapters you realize how different it actually is. It has amazing concepts and characters you truly care about. Even tho every fan is waiting for an anime adaptation, I don't think it will successfully capture the essence of the manga.

I didn't want to write the usual: this is the story, these are the characters, etc ...
Chainsawman is something that you need to experience for yourself and decide whether it fits your taste or not. But if you take my advice you give it a chance...

PLEASE DON'T SLEEP ON CHAINSAW MAN

Alright, after reading chapter 79, Im saying this without any spoilers. This manga is fucking godly.

It is a wild ride, with great art and good characters. Its scenes are impactful, its characters feel like real people. You never know where the plot is going in this manga. The character designs, especially for the devils and hybrids is awesome. I only give the art an 8 because the action feels stilted and doesnt convey movement that well.

This is truly a masterful subversion of the battle shonen genre. The world is dark and gloomy, battles are portrayed as bloody and destructive. Theres edginess, but it feels justified and real in a world that is dark, depressing, and dangerous.

There are some ridiculously hype moments that are classic to the battle shonen genre, but if you think about them from a realistic point of view they are pretty sad. What Denji is forced to do carries emotional impact.

Twists are foreshadowed, literally go back and reread and a major twist was obvious upon close reading.

This manga also deals with heavy topics, such as turbulent growth through the end of ignorance and living life to the fullest(the town vs country mouse), rather than the stuff like the power of friendship.

If Fujimoto can keep this up, it will be a classic battle shonen manga.

People call this creative but it's the same old reskinned shounen story. Im guessing people find the chainsaw part creative which it is but the concept is just Devil man, aot, boy turns into strong monster ability all over again. The story is just the same old organization of people featuring a bunch of teenagers who fight some sort of race of supernatural monsters except its edgier.

I don't like any of the characters. Denji's little gimmick of touching boobs gets annoying really quick, I also find boob jokes to be unfunny and immature. Denji beats everyone just cause (ah yes, another bullshit power fantasy). People claim Denjis character is relatable, I can somewhat see that until you reach the part where Denji would risk his life for some boobs. If you find that relatable and not pathetic, then I hope you have enough money to buy yourself a prostitute. Denji's recklessness over boobs would be fine if the mangaka stop trying to take their series so seriously, you can't do both.

Aki is the billionth, edgy sidekick who hates the MC after barely talking to them until the MC does something cool and earns the edgy sidekick character's respect. Can we please retire the SasukeGrayTodoroki ultra sad back story characters. Power is something a 13 year old boy would come up with, whose personality is killing and blood in an attempt to be edgy. Makima is boring and there's definitely not something up with her. She won't possibly turn out to be some sort of antagonist, no way! I think the mangaka was trying to give her a "Johan" feel (Johan from Monster) except he only used the personality of Johan for Makima and zero depth.

I don't find the comedy to be funny because a lot of the punch lines are haha sex. I guess people can get caught up in the gore and character designs and immediately think this manga is amazing but rarely think about the writing. The pacing is ultra speed so it's hard to get invested to the "story" because shit just happens (yeah, I think that's the best way to sum up chainsaw man, shit happens) you don't feel any connection to the characters or plot whatsoever. The art is okay, (IDK why ya'll are raving about, I'm pretty sure most of ya'll are just confusing liking an art style and actual skill) Power's design is way too similar to zero twos for her own good, the anatomy gets a little iffy (everyone's always stiff af, like they're smiling for the camera. This is especially noticeable in the fight scenes when everyone is just in some generic pose) literally all the characters have the same face (The only differences are the pupils lol) and the paneling/composition can sometimes suck.

I recommend Dorohedoro, it's a lot more creative, has more interesting characters. The art may not be the best but it's great for gore fans since ya'll seem to love that stuff. Damn if I wrote a story and all I had to do was write a gore fest and sex jokes for everyone to think my stuff was amazing, I'd take it. Anyways 3/10.

*This is a spoiler free review*

Let's start with the story/worldbuilding:
While I did find the world they were in interesting at first the author doesn't really tell you anything about how it ended up that way other a few comments here or there slipped in waaay too late into the manga. I was able to piece it together simply, for newer readers it may have been confusing.

Characters:
I don't like Denji. That's it honestly. It's not because he is a pervert, I don't care too much about perverted characters. But it would have been better if he were just a pervert. A character that lets himself be taken advantage of like a dog, and that constantly risks himself just for the cheap goal of being able to touch women doesn't entertain me.

The only characters I actually like is Aki and that's because he was the only relatable character. I don't even care for character relatability most of the time but it was only this character that genuinely made me crack a smile or laugh whenever he did something stupid. He feels more grounded and fleshed out than Denji which makes it easier to like him.

Power is okay. She reminds me of a rabid dog only there to please the simp community. It feels as though she gets weaker and weaker throughout the story and is only there as plot point for Denji. So much so, in fact, that she isn't even her own character anymore. How does the author makes his own character feel OOC? I don't know how he did it but that is what Power felt like to me.

Makima. I never got the hype around her. I liked her design but she never felt like a character. She felt like the shadow of a character instead. As if she wasn't quite ready to leave the drawing board. She is the personification of life hacks and it starts getting annoying later in the story

Art: It's good. The sketchiness kind of reminds me of Jujutsu. Though, there are some scenes where it is hard to tell who is who due to similar faces but it's not too bad, so that's about it. I liked the art.

Overall thoughts and extra's:

The women in this show. Either they are kickass and sexy/raunchy or not as sexually appealing and useless. There is no in between. The fact that there was an actual orgy of girls and nobody in the comments complained but once we got a small speck of tension between Angel and Aki people were quick to get homophobic in the comments really showed me just exactly who this manga appeals to.

Kobeni: I don't hate her. She is pathetic but she didn't have much of a choice so I can spare her my annoyance.

I just wish that the plot brought itself together quicker. It took over 30 chapter for it to really start moving and even the fights in this manga have quite a repetitive nature.

*minor spoiler*

Denji kind of feels like a major Gary Sue with how he just never dies. The fights become repetitive because of this and they never excite me or make me hold my breath.

*spoiler end*

All in all. The show is severely overhyped.

A Deconstruction of the Shonen Genre. The Tarantino of Manga. A story written for people who have seen it all. A spoiler-free review.

If any of those descriptions sounds like something you'd be interested in, then boy do I have a manga for you.

Tatsuki Fujimoto, the author of Chainsaw Man, is a well known film buff. In fact, the advice he gives to aspiring young mangakas is to get a Netflix subscription. And this shows in his work. Neat pop culture references aside, what really shines in Fujimoto's work is what he intentionally leaves unsaid.

Chainsaw Man from beginning to end is a thrilling, chaotic, often depressing, yet oddly hilarious, rollercoaster of emotions. And to express this, Fujimoto's favorite language to use is Atmosphere. Whether shown through paneling, or his signature rough and unrefined art style, or through the quiet moments shared between characters, the emotions he wants to convey have never been heard more loudly.

This is what I feel like separates Fujimoto's work from other Mangaka's. But what about Chainsaw Man? What makes this series in particular, so absolutely brilliant? And why has it developed such an intense cult following?

I would say it comes down to three things: Characters, Theme, and Expectations.

The characters in Chainsaw Man have this odd power, the ability to instantly make you fall in love with them. I say its odd, because the world of anime and manga has always taken an excruciating amount of time developing each and every character (often at the expense of others). So how, despite Chainsaw Man's blistering pace, do we find ourselves so emotionally attached to these characters?

I think the answer is in what I already explained as Fujimoto's genius: His language of atmosphere. Everything he draws, and everything he doesn't, all culminates into telling a story and conveying the emotions he wants to express. His characters use this language, and in every panel you can find them doing something or saying something that characterizes them even further. And that makes their growth, pain, happiness, and destruction all that more intensely satisfying.

So what happens when you take Fujimoto's genius language of atmosphere, combined with lovable characters that have no need for exposition, and tie it all together with a theme? Well then you have the makings for one of the most incredible stories in the game. I could spend hours talking to you about the themes portrayed in this series, and some of the reviews here have already done an incredible job of doing just that. So instead, I want to end this review on a little bit of an anecdote.

Fujimoto writes Chainsaw Man for people like Fujimoto. People like me. Someone who has watched hundreds of anime, read countless manga, binged endless novels, has a hulu, netflix, disney plus, and amazon prime subscription, and has generally spent their life watching film and television. After a while, people like us begin to crave the same thing: The Unexpected.

Tropes and Cliches have existed for as long as stories have, and when you see enough of them, you gain the ability to predict plots from beginning to end. When I watched Game of thrones with my friend for the first time, I was accused of never being surprised. And to be honest, I wasn't. Yet, every week, no matter what predictions I had in my head, Chainsaw Man never failed to completely blow away my expectations. And because of that, I have never been more excited for a manga in my life.

I don't know what Fujimoto has planned for the rest of the series, and honestly, that's what makes it great. And I hope you enjoy it as much as I do.

i don’t think there’s any words to fully describe how great Chainsaw Man truly is, good doesn’t even cover the wonders of this series. Tatsuki Fujimoto wrote an incredible story with amazing well written characters i can easily say this manga is a rare practically perfect story. the twists are incredible everything about this is just a holy shit moment.

this is a series i’d recommend to anyone in a heartbeat, genuinely deserves a chance to anyone questioning if it’s worth it or not. it's completely worth it and just truly a refreshing read, i cannot say it enough but this was just amazing.

What happens when you put a schizophrenic psychopath writer in the shonen jump?

If your first contact with Fujimoto was Fire punch well this is more lighty version of that manga, is more a black comedy /action than a emotional insane incest rollercoaster

This manga works better reading it in weekly schedule than finished series; The reason? Is simple, Fujimoto's narrative is unpredictable, that dude is a weirdo writer, not because he's a genious but mentally ill, yeh all the plotwist in CSM are not at the level of trainwreck masive shitposting drugs 180grades as in fire punch (DUDE STAR WARS) but still, chainsawman got his own proper twists and really good ones eh

This is the best current option for read every week, you cant never expect what is going on in the next chapter... A very based manga for a very based mangaka

You know? You dont need a fucking review, go ahead and read this shit, if you enjoy things like devil my cry or dorohedoro you wil feell at home

(try to find the chapters on a page other than mangaplus, the translation sucks as fuck)

RIP AND TEAR https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Oi7WH7_NO9I

Chainsaw Man.

It's all in the title. No context is needed; no barriers to break when you start the wild ride that is Fujimoto's latest attraction. Having previously published Firepunch, a delirious work of its own, in the online platform Shonen Jump+, the move to the mainline Jump magazine was met with some expectations. His style has always leaned more on the graphic, arguably tasteless, depictions of the human condition and how chaotic and uncontrollable it is, even evident in the way he unfolds his stories. To see how he will continue this while being constrained by mainstream censorship was an intriguing matter. Having read through all of it now, I can say confidently that it was never a problem to begin with.

The story you ask? A boy and a chainsaw-dog-devil combine to make chainsaw man and kill other devils. I do love how direct it's surface-level pleasures are in the initial chapters, a gory and violent smorgasbord of sawed bodies and gushing blood. Not that this pleasure ever wanes, it just learns to give space to the worldbuilding, the characters; the meat beneath the skin.

It's dumb fun was already enticing, if not especially clever. But what's great about it is that, over the course of the story, it becomes something much more. The way its story and characters twist and turn, the tone adjusting to whatever feels necessary, showcases his versatility and flexibility in spite of the chaos. It is indeed a rollercoaster, where the thrills of the moment can trick you into never seeing the tracks already laid out.

Even beyond his storytelling, the art already is enough of a justification for this exist. He has an eye for character design, and his depictions of the various devils within in this world are memorable and defined. The way its action scenes play out are simple and easy to follow, but are elevated by the grandeur "metal"-ness of it all. Plenty of the panels know how set a scene, with the purposeful use of visual metaphors and environmental shots, giving it a cinematic feel.

Or just ignore everything I've said and read it cause its fun and enjoyable, which it truly is. It's a man that's a chainsaw, how can that not be awesome?

Story - 8
Art - 9
Character - 8
Enjoyment - 10

Chainsaw Man doesn't seem very impressive from first glance. The art's sketchy and unrefined, and the story doesn't seem too grandiose or interesting. But as I kept reading, I began to think I'd found something special.

This isn't a story with grand complex schemes or batshit insane plot developments, but rather a story about broken people trying to find their way in life. Himeno, Power, Aki, Denji, Reze, and more- every major character is fleshed out and developed in such an emotional and compelling way that I can't help but be drawn to them. Although the art is rough, the character-based panels of dialogue have a unique charm that can't be found elsewhere, and action scenes are brutal and gory.

Give Chainsaw Man a try, if you will. It's worth it.

Warning: The summary spoils the first few chapters if that bothers you.
Chainsaw man is about Denji a homeless 16 year old who struggles to survive every day until one day he is betrayed and killed. He's revived as the chainsaw man after fusing with his pet and is taken into a government demon slaying organization.

Story:10
Chainsaw man is slow to start, its beginning chapters draw you in but to get where its going takes a while but for a very good reason. Once everything is firing off halfway through the story sucks you in and has some of the best payoffs I've seen. Chainsaw man is emotionally gripping and by the end i had felt so many feelings and can't praise how well the story is handled enough.

Characters: 10
Chainsaw mans' characters are maybe its strongest aspect. Beyond the badass art and cool fights this series is all about connections to characters and building Denji's connection to those characters. Everyone has their reasons for being there and no one feels underwritten.

Art: 9
The art is arguably rough sometimes. There can be a lack of backgrounds at times and the characters can look simple but I've found i really love the art because even though it's simple the characters all look incredibly distinct. The sometimes empty feeling art juxtaposes really well with the really messy and explosive art for the fight scenes which are absolutely stellar and communicate the large amount of brutality in the series.

Overall:10
Chainsaw Man was at both times one of the most fun and badass manga ive ever read while also being one of the most touching things I've ever read and some of what it says and the progression of Denji and the rest of the cast will stick with me forever.

Yeah by the end of this I felt really detached from what was going on, like it was just a bunch of stuff happening on the page and I felt nothing really emotional besides Aki's ending and how Power and Denji were together. I think it didn't help that while I find the style fine enough, I have trouble tracking what is actually going on during fights, and who characters are and what change they've gone through and what it all matters given the status of death for these characters. The battle with the Gun Devil and Makima at the end was like that. When Makima really starts to take control and Denji finds out "what's behind the door" I just wasn't feeling it. The core of this manga that at least somewhat kept things together and interesting was Denji's pitiable circumstances that lead him to want only the most basic of things at an id-like level. That made Denji's carefree attitude interesting and held up as an emotional core with him and his relations to Aki, Power, and Makima that informed the rest of the shonen story, but it all just got lost on me.

**Minor spoilers ahead
I have never written a review before but this manga is really something else and I feel the need to write one. I had heard some great things about this manga before coming into it, and had very high hopes. I was sad to find that this manga really doesn't go further than fanservice and bloody battles. If thats what you want, great! If you want well written and carefully crafted, then we're in the same boat, brother. I recommend you find something else to read.

Story-2

The first few chapters were interesting and easy to get into. It wasn't the most unique, but it still offered a compelling premise and a taste of something different than most of what comes from shounen jump. After a few chapters though, the writing became stale, and the main characters objective became... well ...boobs. The story nearly turned into a harem with Denji deciding which girl he wanted to kiss or have sex with. Besides Denji's pervy shenanigans, the writing really became dull and boring, especially between the fight scenes, which the decency of the manga seems to rely on heavily. This makes the story into not much more than a mess of blood, boobies and ...barf...

Art-7

The art is decent, but mostly average, peaking at the fight scenes which are nicely stylized. Besides Denji's chainsaw form, the character designs aren't very special or unique, especially Power who is literally just Zero Two.

Characters-2

The characters had tons of potential in this series. From Denji and Power, especially as devilmen, to the female characters, there was so many possibilities, which sadly went mostly unexplored. My first concern was Denji. This kid does not seem to have any concerns in life besides boobs and food, which is a dynamic that can work for side characters, but when the main character's brain lives in the head of his dick, it takes a lot away from the story. To sum it up, Denji is absolutely disgusting and I hate him. Another thing that bothered me was the female characters. I thought Himeno and Power would turn out to be amazing female characters who would bring a lot to the story, but both ended up essentially as sex objects for Denji. Himeno was written more misogynistically than I could've possibly expected, and Power may as well have been a pair of boobs with and affinity for blood and food. The rest of the characters were nothing special either, and are quite forgettable. I hate each and every character, with the sole exception of Pochita, a sad matter which I need not elaborate on.

Enjoyment-3

There were a few scenes that i did enjoy, and overall, it was pretty interesting, but any real enjoyment i had was totally overshadowed by a culmination of poor writing and bad creative choices.

Overall-2

Again, this manga had potential, and it was definitely enjoyable at parts, but this manga is not a whole lot more than hype and fanservice, and I absolutely cannot bring myself to read another chapter. If what you are looking for in a manga is violent battles and a nice serving of fanservice, then this might very well be the manga for you, congratulations! If, however, you're in the market for a manga with great writing and beautiful designs and characters, why are you still here. This is probably not the manga for you, and you should find something else to read. I especially recommend Jujutsu Kaisen by Akutami Gege, and Jigokuraku by Kaku Yuuji.
Thank you for reading, and I hope you have/are having/had a great day! :))

Before I say anything of substance, I would first like to state I am not halfway through this manga, so if you would the opinion of somebody who just started reading today, you came to the right person.

Initially I found the plot quite fascinating, it isn't anything out of the ordinary, I personally believe it's like a merged version of Fire Force and Tokyo Ghoul. However this isn't a negative conglomerate, not to mention it has quite a pleasant form of humor, very morbid and dark but still comedic.

The art style is quite frankly awesome in my opinion, not to mention the interesting color palettes on the front pages, however there is barely any plot depth or growth in characters before they are killed off. The character design for 'chainsaw man' is also very interesting and not common to say the least.

If you like shounen (jump), a decent amount of gore and somewhat comedy, I'd say this is the manga for you.

A proud city mouse visits his cousin living in the country and is treated to a modest meal. Unsatisfied, he invites the country mouse back to the city to taste the fine life. There, they gorge out on delicious food, but are soon interrupted by a pack of dogs and have to run for their life. After the ordeal, the country mouse decides the opulence is not worth the risk and returns home.

Which mouse are you, dear reader? Are you willing to risk your sanity going into this manga, or would you rather live ignorant of it?

Chainsaw Man is the second work from the tragedy aficionado Tatsuki Fujimoto, whose previous work Fire Punch caused quite the stir in 2016–2017 for killing off pretty much its entire cast so playfully and at such a brisk pace it made its famed contemporaries like Attack on Titan and Game of Thrones feel almost uplifting in comparison.

Indeed, Chainsaw Man and its predecessor share many similarities, including (but not limited to) gritty art style, graphic violence and nudity, massive death counts, and heaps of suffering for everyone involved—audience as well. And, as such, will alienate many readers from the get-go. If this is something that upsets you, it's totally okay not to like it, and I would not insist you read either of the two works. However, dismissing either of them for all the negative stuff as if they were a dumb edgy piece of action schlock without acknowledging the positives would be missing the forest for the trees.

You see, Fujimoto is, at his core, a passionate artist and a very clever writer. He really enjoys and knows the strengths of the medium he's working with. He portrays his characters with a confident hand, keeping precise track of their personality and emotional state and relaying this information to the reader with minimal effort—very often in just a passing panel that may not even strike you as some sort of important foreshadowing until much later. Every tiny bit, every expression contributes to a character, and as such he makes them very human, so you connect with them almost instantly. You can love them, you can hate them, but even the minor cast members are perceived as individuals and may often steal attention from the leads for several chapters in a row. And when they die like most of them eventually do, their loss becomes all the more apparent and solemn.

This makes for an interesting contrast—or, perhaps, even a dynamic—between the setting and the characters inhabiting it. Where the setting has obvious battle/horror fantasy and mythical elements to it and is, at times, quite surreal, the emotions of characters, their socialization, the problems they experience and the consequences they bear are *very* real—almost hyperreal, in fact. In one particularly haunting episode of Chainsaw Man some of the characters are briefly transported to Hell, where they are exposed to one of the most powerful devils who overwhelms them in a quick and chaotic onslaught. The way this scene taps into the primal fears is incredibly efficient: in just a few panels both the audience and the characters are subjected to an intense feeling of powerlessness, disorientation, and dread on such a deep conceptual level that when the characters eventually return, we learn that some of them have died in the process, a few end up maimed, one resigns, and one is so deeply traumatized they revert to a child-like mental state. Most of this information is presented in a scene that takes place next day just before breakfast, quiet and undramatic to the point of being casual. And that underlines the reality of what happened: these characters know they are dealing with terrifying phenomena and lethal threats; death and loss of limb are expected but will still hurt every time. So if one started out on a mentally healthy baseline, they will either have to try desensitizing themself, or commit to using alcohol and other chemical means to force it, or be forced to resign if they're lucky to have the opportunity before they're killed in action.

"Wait, that actually sounds like real life", you say. Well, doesn't it? It's been a while since a manga published in a magazine full of battle fantasy manga preached these simple truths, almost as if it were an act of purposeful sabotage. Battles are dangerous. Guns are made to kill. War is not a fun adventure. Death is deeply traumatizing even if averted. Seeing your friends and colleagues die will scar you for life. Being maimed does not make you a better fighter. Taking the life of another is neither easy nor something that anyone should be subjected to. Grass is green. These messages are clear but they're never shoved down your throat; the only thing that makes them apparent is that, for once, you're shown the *actual consequences* of armed conflicts without glorifying any of their purposes.

The sheer reality and apparent obviousness of trauma and death which most of us—especially the adults—can relate to are a perfect counterpart to Fujimoto's trademark blend of the conceptual horror of Junji Ito (whom it paid a couple homages to) and the arcane horror of the religious traditions, most notably Christianity (which is *terrifying*, as those deeply familiar with the Bible and the orthodox European penance traditions know for a fact). There are no jump scares or any other cheap shots. In fact, the opposite is true: at one point one of the main characters is explicitly shown by an omniscient devil how and at whose hands they will die. This anticipation and the inevitability are dreadful all on their own. Even if you come into Chainsaw Man after Fire Punch (or Game of Thrones, or any other such work), knowing that no-one—not even the main characters—have any plot armor to keep them safe from dying, every time you come across a piece of potential foreshadowing you just can't help chanting "oh no, no, please don't" in your mind. Amazing. I honestly cannot tell if it's more painful than it is satisfying to read, but if anything it's incredibly gripping... and, despite everything, occasionally quite fun! While Chainsaw Man's subject matter is hardly comedic by itself, the brief moments of levity feel genuine and deserved. The characters, no matter who they are or how questionable their morals, are charismatic and soulful. The main trio—Denji, Aki, and Power—are always a joy to behold; their onscreen chemistry is palpable and the scenes of bonding are so sweet you'll start searching the web for fanfics where nothing bad happens to them for once.

What never fails to surprise me, though, is how Chainsaw Man managed to get published in Shonen Jump—a magazine aimed chiefly at teenage boys. By all means, this is not a shonen work at all. Admittedly, the main character, Denji, is 16, but he doesn't get any slack for technically (and legally) being a minor. All the other human characters are adults; they lead an adult life and have adult worries. Almost all of the comedy comes from Denji and the devilmen being quirky and/or clueless when interacting with each other or humans, while human characters rarely crack jokes and treat the devilmen as useful idiots most of the time. When shown off-duty, characters mainly do household chores, socialize with their colleagues, or drink/smoke away their painful thoughts in solitude. Indeed, many characters drink and smoke—not because it's a part of their cool image but to cope with the stress, which they are often very explicit about. There is a lot of tasteful but still very sensual nudity and elements of sexual foreplay. The art style, albeit sketchy, is not devoid of detail and also tends towards a realistic portrayal of human anatomy and facial features, which has a direct and positive impact on the characters' body language and enables portraying even subtle emotional changes without spelling them out. The tone and narrative style are typically quite mature and fully befit of the seinen demographic. This is considering that seinen manga has already been plagued with much more juvenile edge-fests like the recent Gleipnir, Dead Tube, and Fake Rebellion whose only claim to a higher-age demographic is their cynicism and explicit imagery. It's really surprising because Shueisha still has a whole line of magazines aimed at young adults, such as Young Jump where the likes of Gantz, Tokyo Ghoul, and Elfen Lied were published. So what gives? I doubt anyone but the editors responsible for this decision could give a convincing answer, but I like to think that it was a way to give Fujimoto the broad exposure he deserves—and, judging by the sales, it seems to have worked.

And this is where I must warn you again: the first 1–3 chapters aren't fully representative of what's to come. Denji is a relatively weak character by himself, the way he is introduced borders on self-parody, and it can be easily misconstrued as an exercise in misery porn trying to capitalize on shock value. I admit, this threw me off as well at first, and I only decided to keep reading because Fire Punch taught me to expect better. And indeed, the more characters were introduced, the better they bounced off of Denji and each other. In the first character popularity poll, Denji only took 5th place with barely half the votes put in for the 1st, which speaks to the enormous popularity and value of the side cast. It has a much stronger camaraderie and family vibes than Fire Punch, and this really hits home shortly after the encounter in Hell that I wrote about earlier. Overall, the manga has consistently kept becoming better over the course of its run—and this is something I deeply appreciate since many Jump serializations peaked in their early arcs and never recovered.

Finally, I wanted to point you again at the Aesop fable paraphrased in the first paragraph of this review. It is a recurring theme in Chainsaw Man, alluded to and even quoted directly on multiple occasions; as such, it permeates the entire narrative and provides a framework to gauge the characters' decisions. Would you count your blessings or go for broke? Would you remain in blissful ignorance, or would you learn something that might ruin your entire world? Would you stay behind with your family or follow your deep desires even if the pay-off might not be worth it?.. The characters make decisions and bear the consequences. Where most shonen manga naturally tend towards following a story of wild and often unreasonable success, Chainsaw Man ruthlessly and meticulously documents the costs and the failures: ruined dreams, dashed hopes, one-sided romances, fruitless revenge, disastrous gambits. It very clearly demonstrates that the risks faced by the proverbial city mouse are real and that not every adventure is worth going for.

So again, with all this in mind, which mouse are you?


(Review updated on 2020/06/20, valid as of chapter 73.)

Chainsaw Chainsaw Chainsaw.........

-good and ongoing (thank God)
-good, unique, characters.
-a lack of common tropes
-no highschool harem story (for now)
-no short black hair character wearing a white shirt and black pants, and with as much personality as the Skyrim protagonist
-original
-great selection of waifus (if you are into that)
-good vilain
-a few blanks waiting to be filled before and after plot twists
-good built up
-original and relatable main character
-great humor ( no shit like (while blushing) "ahhh you touched my ass on purpose, you perv" )
-sexually interested main character that is not a straight out pervert (don't you love it when a guy swims in a sea of pussy while being like "Where is One Piece" ( I like One Piece a lot, but just saying) or when they grope every girl they see with no ultimate repercussions.
-wholsome af
-more spoilery stuff

Now there are flaws to Chainsaw Man but I don't really care about them. Flawless for me.

Literally so enjoyable and unique compared to other shonen titles. Hell, this doesn't even seem like a shonen. I love all the characters and how they interact with each other, especially power and denji. Their dynamic is so funny and good.

The manga always gives shocking twists every chapter that you wouldn't expect. It made me always want to crave more with every cliffhanger.

Fujimoto's artstyle is extremely unique and its rough aesthetic contributes very well to the whole story's atmosphere. The way he portraits his fight scenes and action sequences is so smooth. His artwork might seem simple but it adds to the uniqueness of the story overall.

well its got blood, gore and more blood and my own thoughts on it very quickly was that it was very much like sand just dry and bland

a positive i can give is that the fights are pretty ok and some of the few characters are pretty neat

more positive is that its pretty easy to read in a few hours or a day so that you dont have to think about it when you finish it

also the art is somewhat good at times and then it looks kinda like dirt on the ground with gum on the side

so basically 2 out of 1