| Creator | Fujimoto Tatsuki | Released | 2018- |
|---|---|---|---|
| Medium | Manga | Misc. | N/A |
via myanimelist:
Denji has a simple dream—to live a happy and peaceful life, spending time with a girl he likes. This is a far cry from reality, however, as Denji is forced by the yakuza into killing devils in order to pay off his crushing debts. Using his pet devil Pochita as a weapon, he is ready to do anything for a bit of cash.
Unfortunately, he has outlived his usefulness and is murdered by a devil in contract with the yakuza. However, in an unexpected turn of events, Pochita merges with Denji's dead body and grants him the powers of a chainsaw devil. Now able to transform parts of his body into chainsaws, a revived Denji uses his new abilities to quickly and brutally dispatch his enemies. Catching the eye of the official devil hunters who arrive at the scene, he is offered work at the Public Safety Bureau as one of them. Now with the means to face even the toughest of enemies, Denji will stop at nothing to achieve his simple teenage dreams.
[☆ Posted: Nov. 14, 2022.]
i barely know where to start with chainsaw man. in some ways, it rewired my brain. i was eleven pages into the first chapter when i preordered the denji nendoroid. chainsaw man immediately clicked for me, and in some ways, i feel like the ideal audience. i love pathetic boys, and i love when pathetic boys suffer physically and mentally! all of part 1 is me going insane over denji whump and fujimoto's incredibly creative paneling and composition. from a pure monkey brain level, chainsaw man succeeds in making me go feral.
it's also incredibly touching and dear to me. part 1 of chainsaw man is about cycles of abuse and empathy. i already loved chainsaw man dearly by the time i hit the gun devil arc (the composition of all the victims' names being listed is intense), but that final chapter cinched it for me as something that will stay with me for a very long time. chainsaw man doesn't just want to see a cycle of abuse broken; it very gently asks the reader to show love to others in breaking that cycle. makima did what she did in a very twisted pursuit of love and family and belonging because that is what she knew. denji was victim to it, someone tangential to makima's true goal that she never even truly saw, but he ate her--the control devil--not as an act of revenge or anger or fear. denji ate makima as an act of love because even if he couldn't forgive her, he wanted to understand her. makima isn't an empty villain that came up from nothing. she was shaped by her circumstances as much as anyone--and that doesn't need to be iterated upon. denji breaks the cycle soundly in fulfilling pochita's request to "give [the control devil] lots of hugs."
i was fully satisfied with part 1 as a standalone and not as impatient as some fans for part 2 to begin. part 1 is only 97 chapters and moves at a brisk pace. some might find it too fast, but it was focused and tight enough to work perfectly for me. part 2 is shaping up to also be excellent. chainsaw man is darkly funny and inventive and heartbreaking. i love it dearly and desperately.
Although [Seshimo is] undoubtedly MAPPA's best producer, his statements in publications like the guidebook run counter to what CSM should be in any form. He outright stated that he's around to stop the show from becoming too extreme and peculiar, because while creators have been exposed to so much art that nothing will be so radical as to scare them away, your average joe might only want to look at beautiful, polished drawings.
Do I like it? i deeply and truly love chainsaw man with all my heart.
Do I rec it? it won't hit for everyone like it does for me, but part 1 is conclusive feeling and only 97 chapters, so if it sounds appealing to you, give it a shot.