DESCRIPTION

CAST

CHAPTERS

ANIME ActionChainsaw Man
NOVEL ActionChainsaw Man: Buddy Stories
MOVIE ActionChainsaw Man: Reze-hen

REVIEWS

• 

  BungeeGumDimitri

  98/100
  This is some crazy shit, but it's a fun (and depressing) ride!

  Amendment 1: This review has been updated as of (part 1's) final chapter. I'll keep most of the original content, with a few additions.

  Amendment 2: This review only covers the Public Safety (Chapters 1 - 97) part of the Manga.

  Get ready for some insanity, then depression!

  Chainsaw Man is a...unique experience to say the least. I haven't read or watched anything that could easily be compared to this crazy ass series. I've heard of the author's previous work, Fire Punch, which people generally say is similar to Chainsaw Man in that it's crazy and that no characters are safe. I just know that I was not prepared for the shitshow/masterpiece that is Chainsaw Man.

  Story - 9

  Just to summarize, the main character become a devil-man (human with devil powers), and ends up being contracted to hunt down other devils. It starts off pretty meh, main character has an overly dark and depressing backstory that feels shoehorned in just to set up the plot, but it could have used more of the humor seen throughout the series.

  The series aims for a Ryu Ga Gotoku kind of tone in the story. There's some ridiculous humor at times, intermixed with some depressing and gut-wrenching drama.

  Once you slog through the first couple chapters, the story really picks up and becomes interesting.

  Edit as of Chapter 97: Wow, this ended up being way better then I expected in the antagonist department. For those that haven't read Chainsawman, let's just say the reveal of the main antagonist is fucking awesome.

  It's both surprising and not surprising that Makima is the big bad. She's always been a creeper, but for her to be both the villain and a giant simp for the Chainsawman is hilariously amazing. Makima is easily one of the best villains in a manga I've read. The way her story has been resolved is weird, but poetic. She was content to be eaten by Chainsawman, but Denji turned that against her, eating her (as Denji) instead. Also, her dream to have a family or to be an equal is truly tragic, and shows that even the most complex of villains can have a simple, yet satisfying goal.

  I will say, the final arc's pacing felt really odd, but nothing terrible. If anything, it's better than the end of Tokyo Ghoul:re and Beastars, so it has that going for it.

  Aside from that, this really is a series that seems like it has a lack of focus, but everything connects by the final arc flawlessly. One of the first scenes directly connects with the ending, and it actually felt planned, not just thrown in. I don't think I've read a series that has set up and followed through as well as Chainsawman has. If something seems irrelevant, it's probably not, even extremely minor moments early on.

  Visuals - 8.5

  

  The Good: The author clearly has skill with art, especially when it comes to drawing monsters and non-humans. Any fight scene that involve Denji tends to look amazing. Whenever he's in his chainsaw form, he looks fantastic. Even the minor characters that aren't human look fantastic. However...

  

  The Bad: Most Some of the human characters look pretty crap at times. Not to say that they never look good, but I feel like if this wasn't a weekly manga, the non-Denji-Chainsaw Man art would be much better. Earlier on, Denji in his human form or my boy Aki, as shown above, look like they've taken a few hits of acid sometimes.

  The art definitely improves over the course of the manga, and the "bad" art almost lends itself to the series in a way that's hard to explain. Makima especially is drawn in a way where she looks unnerving most of the time despite generally having a basic design (eyes aside).

  It's clear Fujimoto's extremely skilled, but he doesn't seem to have the time to make every panel look as good as Denji looks in Chainsaw form.

  It ain't Berserk, but the art is really good now. Some characters can still have derpy faces, but it's overall better.

  Characters - 10

  This is where the series really shines, and in some pretty unexpected ways.

  Lets start with the main character, Denji. He has an ultra dark backstory that leads to him becoming the Chainsaw Man. Despite his woes, he only has one goal: he wants to grab himself some titties. I've never followed a serious series where the main character's ultimate goal is so simple, it's kind of amazing. He's not some idealistic, good person, he's kind of an ass and selfish. That's what makes him so fun to follow though, he just gives zero fucks, unless boobs are involved, then he's game.

  Fujimoto the crazy bastard, he made a simple and good character like Denji amazing. Damn Denji has become one of my favorite protagonists in a manga. His development from uncaring to caring was masterfully executed. Also, his resolution with Makima, Nayuta and Pochita show how far he's come as a character. Truly amazing.

  As for the side characters, some are compelling, such as Aki and Himeno, and others are incredibly interesting, like Makima. Not able to say much more on them without dipping into spoilers. I do like how most of the characters are not good people, they're all generally asshats in some way, with very few exceptions. Then again, morally good characters probably wouldn't be suited to this series and devil hunting, so it makes sense.

  People love series like Attack on Titan or The Walking Dead because they say that no one is safe in those series, anyone can die at any time. Chainsaw Man clearly ploughs these series in this aspect. This series is ruthless, many characters that are developed and (seem) important are killed off without hesitation. With so few chapters, I still got attached to these characters and they left an impact when they were killed off. Very few series do this, and even fewer pull this off well- Chainsaw Man succeeds at this ruthlessness.

  Adding to this, they fucking kill two of the three main characters, both within a chapter of each other. RIP Aki and Power, you two were the real MVPs. At least Power might be able to come back in Part 2

  Enjoyment - 10

  This series is amazing. Something that starts out as a seemingly raunchy dark comedy slowly progresses into one of the best dramas I've read in a while. It's got likeable characters and some great humor.

  I'd love to see this animated, I think it would work even better as an anime. Cmon MAPPA, you doin us proud with Jujutsu Kaisen, keep it up and make the Chainsawman anime glorious!

  Originally in my review, I thought the author was stumbling and having issues. As it progressed though, I realized he knew what he was doing the entire time (or it sure seemed like it). The author found his groove and I feel like an ass for doubting him. The madlad has done things I could never dream of, and this series has become an instant classic for me. I personally give it a 100, but for objectivity, I'll knock off a few points for the final arc's pacing and some of the art being meh.

  I highly recommend this series for people who like wacky, but deep and depressing stories.~~

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• 

  saulgoodman

  80/100
  gore, tits and Power

  "The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”
  — H. P. Lovecraft

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  Still thirsting for some dark comedy and unnecessarily bloody gore after rereading Dorohedoro and The Voynich Hotel? (SPOILERS AHEAD!)

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  Story

  Denji, an impoverished, orphaned 16 year-old with only a strange dog-like pet named Pochita to his name, kills monsters called Devils to pay off his late father's debts. Suddenly faced by hordes of zombies controlled by a Devil, a near-dying Denji fuses with Pochita to become ... dun dun ... a Chainsaw Man! Having massacred everyone, Denji is then found by Makima, a Devil Hunter. Offered a new life in exchange for becoming a Devil Hunter, Denji agrees to dip his toes in this absolute bloodbath of a profession, unaware of the painful and extreme consequences that await him.

  • CSM started off as mostly a simple, honest-to-god gore fest. Denji and the gang were killing off Devils in glorious fashion. I didn't expect much of a deep, intricate story but nonetheless massively enjoyed the bloodiness and stupidity of it all. However, the story slowly weaved in seeds of mystery and complexity, sharply pivoting away from my initial expectations for a turn-off-your-brain, action story.

  • I think Fujimoto revealed CSM's true colors during the Katana Man arc. Here, we begin to see the plot's complexity building up. For one, regarding Makima. How did Makima survive the train assassination? Just what are her powers? Did she know about the annihilation of her squad beforehand? Just who is Makima? Character depth also picked up from this arc. The utter massacre of the Special Division gave us a peek at the cold reality of CSM. Aki mourns for Himeno, who sacrificed herself for him. Himeno herself was scarred by the deaths of her many past work partners and wished to retreat to civilian lines with Aki. Kobeni had a mental breakdown after Hirokazu also sacrifices himself for her. The Katana Man wanted revenge against Denji for murdering his grandfather. CSM light-heartedly handles death with indifference and immaturity, with its over-the-top, cartoonishly bloody scenes. Denji would snuff out the baddies totally badass-edly and come out dandy! No real harsh consequences, right? But here, something very obvious is laid out to us:

  

  People in CSM aren't immortal and death is a powerful motive for some of them. Nonetheless, Fujimoto continues to write with indifference and rare sentimentality towards death with his constant massive massacres. Important characters are ruthlessly killed off, swarms of people are often killed in less than a page and Denji and Power generally never elicited a strong response towards it (more on that later). Is this a contradiction? I don't think so. I think the absurd deaths set in stone the cruel world of CSM. The constant threat of death, ridiculous ways to die, people dying left and right like GTA NPCs. THIS is the world that Denji and Co. are forced to live in. Being constantly surrounded by Death. And we see how they all react and cope differently in face of it. How they react and cope with this stupidly inhumane amount of death and gore.

  While many, myself included, will laugh at and deem the gore unnecessarily extreme, it most certainly is not unnecessary. The flippant portrayal of death, in all its gorey glory, reveals depth in many of CSM's characters, in their thinking, motives and actions.

  I probably painted CSM as a melodramatic, intense character study too hard. But it's abundant in its fun, dumb comedy. You got eating a drunk lady's barf, a kick-a-guy's-nuts contest, running over a guy in someone else's car, and Power being Power. What else could you want for comedy? CSM certainly gets a 10/10 in this department.

  While I wouldn't call CSM the deepest character study or some groundbreaking genre deconstruction, I also believe it shouldn't be waved off entirely as a meaningless bloodbath action series. It has enjoyable childishly dark humor, a rich mystery chalk-full of "...wait, WHAT?!" moments, wonderful gore and somber sentimentality.

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  Characters

  The highlight of CSM. The not-as-transparent characterization came as a pleasant surprise. The comedic and extreme nature of this series may lead to you think the characters are just the same, but it's far from it. Fujimoto may not throw out characterization and character depth so out in the open, but it's certainly there.

  Let's use Denji. The most noticeable, and perhaps seemingly only, thing about him is his thoughtlessness. He doesn't put much thought into most things, including fights. He comes up arbitrary, bizarre answers in times of crisis. Most famously, for example, his life's goal of touching boobs. Contrary to other mainstream shounen protagonists, who often have life-long, close-to-impossible, grandoise dreams, Denji came up with this dream spur of the moment yet 100% serious.

  

  He gives his absolute all for this laughably stupid dream, ripping apart numerous Devils at the constant risk of his life. Denji's life and beliefs are encapsulated by his straightforward, thoughtless personality. Everything about Denji may come off as childish, but that's because he IS childish. Denji lived impoverished, malnourished, overworked and friendless for most of his life. Denji simply wants to savor the things he's never tasted, he wants to know what breasts feel like, he wants to eat good food, he wants to sleep in an actual bed, etc. Denji is certainly not a complex saint, he's undeniably a goofy, simple dumbass. But does that deny him good characterization? Absolutely not.

  80 chapters in and Denji has undoubtedly received some development. Especially obvious after his relationship with Reze and him killing the brainwashed Aki, sentimentality ingrained itself into Denji. While Denji had socialized with many characters, he's never shown an ounce of sadness or mourning towards them after they were killed. It's as if they were wiped from his memory. This much is expected, though, as Denji's only human interaction were with the yakuza debt collectors. Having only Pochita as his friend, it comes as no surprise that Denji felt nothing. However, Denji has slowly built bonds with those who weren't met with quick deaths. Denji has shown sentiment that slowly grows stronger, whether it be attraction, grief, despair, etc. Initially just the "Chainsaw" of his moniker, Denji has developed to gain the "Man".

  Apart from Denji, the other main characters shine, as well, in different ways. Power is the penultimate comedic relief, often proving to be even simpler than Denji. Aki's tragic character is a somber sight to behold. And then there's Makima. Oh boy.

  Shrouded in a thick mist of mystery, Makima is one of the most interesting villains I've seen. If I may dare, I'd chalk her right up there with Johan Liebert from Monster. Only seen with her trademark, eerie smile and her hypnotizing eyes, Makima is impossible to decipher. Only through the plot can we find very slowly analyze just who she is. Fujimoto has excellently built up Makima's role. Even when she isn't present, her presence still lingers and makes us question if what something had happened was because of her. Even without her horrific powers, Makima is absolutely terrifying (and hot). To summarize Makima, and perhaps the entire series, let me requote this fitting line:

  “The oldest and strongest emotion of mankind is fear, and the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown.”
  — H. P. Lovecraft

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  Art

  I love the art. I've seen quite a few people slander the artstyle as undetailed and messy, and I won't argue, but I strangely find these "cons" attractive and perfectly complements CSM's story and characters. For instance, I find that the facial expressions are often ... blank, is as best as I can describe it. This is certainly not due to poor art skills. CSM is almost cinematic, it cherishes showing characters in action. Whether it be thinking, drinking, eating, smoking, Fujimoto will show the mundane in its entire sequence. Thus, we often see the "in-between" in the form of facial expressions and I absolutely love it. These blank expressions strangely opens up the characters, we can infer tension, hesitation, confusion, etc. The lack of dialogue and a clear emotional facial expression makes us rely on what we know of the character and the scene in regards to their reaction. Whether it's a pro or con, I leave it up to you.

  CSM shines in its detailed, absurd gore. The guts, the blood, the horrified and pained expressions warms my cold, dead soul. Outside of the gore, however, the art is rather simple and dull. I certainly don't blame those who say the series has less-than-desirable art. But the rough style has grown on me.

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  Enjoyment

  Easily my favorite on-going SJ manga and one of my favorite overall on-going manga. I have a massive soft spot for mindless gore and dark comedy so perhaps I'm a bit biased in praising this series so much. But, hey, why else would I write this review at 3am on a weekday?

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  Final Words

  CSM is a fun, amusing action-packed story full of nonstop brutal death. It may seem surface-level upon first glance, but it has an enthralling mystery aspect that'll leave you admitted to an asylum for eager anticipation and addiction. The characters are nothing to scoff at, either. Simply stopping to ponder and reflect, you can peer into the depths of their actions, motives and beliefs. Fujimoto has certainly not intended CSM to just be a mind-numbing bloodbath. CSM offers more than just its magnificent gorefest and I look forward to more!

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• 

  Magicfist

  100/100
  The Most Unique Series Shonen Jump Has To Offer

  Oh boy, where do I begin. Let's start off by saying that Chainsaw Man is by far, my favorite Shonen Jump manga of all time, and a contender for my personal favorite manga of all time. It hits all the spots when it comes to an interesting concept, fun characters, exciting plot, great pacing, gruesome art, you name it. Now, let's stop fanboying and let me explain in more detail.

  -- MINOR SPOILERS INCLUDED --
  Chainsaw Man sets place in a world inhabited by devils that come from and are empowered by people that fear their concept. Our young main character, Denji, along with his partner in crime Pochita who is the Chainsaw Devil, are tasked with hunting devils in order to clear his late father's large debt. After a series of unfortunate events, Pochita fuses with Denji in order to become the half-devil half-human, Chainsaw Man, and is hired by the mysterious Makima in order to hunt devils in exchange for the opportunity to live a decent life in the Devil Hunter association.

  PLOT
  Chainsaw Man is unique in the sense that it's a more character-driven story rather than a grand main goal that our main character announces and sets off to accomplish. However, there are continuous plot points set up in every arc, and the recurring plot theme can be considered as Denji having to fight enemies who are out to steal his Chainsaw heart. One of the most famous critiques of Chainsaw Man is that the story can be seen as too complex or nonsense, but I believe that's not really the case. The way I see it, the author distracts the audience's attention with bizarre and nonsensical comedy that comes of as hilarious but can also leave the audience confused at the strange humor, because the gags can often times happen during serious scenarios where the humor is unexpected. Now add that to the fact that most chapters are topped off with lots of mind-bending plot revelations and twists, people will likely get confused because they're trying to predict too far ahead instead of giving the author the benefit of the doubt. You can't have all the answers instantly in your grasp, just digest what has happened in the story so far, and keep the questions you have in the back of your head, they'll most likely be answered in the near future. My advice if you're confused by the story is to focus on what's happening visually as well, this manga is the definition of "Show, Don't Tell". All in all, the initial premise of Chainsaw Man sparks lots of interest, and the mysterious underlying plot with it's fantastic pacing and execution makes it an enjoyable experience to immerse yourself in the story.

  CHARACTERS
  The cast of Chainsaw Man is incredibly fun to watch, the trio main characters have a great dynamic together, whilst still being strong characters individually. In the span of 86 chapters, this manga is able to develop quite a handful of characters, even fodder ones. It's difficult to explain without spoiling, but Denji and Aki have some of the greatest character growth I've seen in any manga. Minor character are also given strong personalities that shine even when they'll never show up again, due to how they're usually accompanied with dialogue that's able to make them very likable.

  ART (I'll try my best to not spoil too much with the screenshots)
  Tatsuki Fujimoto is a great artist, some may say that the art in Chainsaw Man is lacking compared to other Jump titles, and I don't disagree, but the panel composition enhances the storytelling to such a masterful degree. It's also accompanied by intense double-page spreads that are filled with momentum and always packs a punch. The artwork also encompasses the manga in such a gloomy post-apocalyptic-like atmosphere, which is a perfect tone for the manga. The linework and shading may not be as clean, but the factors mentioned prior more than makes up for it.
  

  Chainsaw Man is also brilliant at outlining character emotions and facial expression.
  

  Along with barely having to read any text, the manga uses the advantage of it's visuals to the fullest, it's not afraid to use multiple pages of just silence to establish a mood for the readers. The panels and structure of the manga feels similar to storyboards, this could be what Fujimoto intended because he himself is a huge fan of films.
  
  

  ADDRESSING COMMON CRITIQUES
  Denji is a bad main character
  Denji is sometimes regarded as a dumb horny teen with no goals, which makes him a bad main character. While there's truth to that statement, it's highly oversimplified. Denji is stupid because he actually has a reason to be, unlike a lot of MCs that are stupid as a trope, Denji is stupid because he genuinely did not have an educational background. He was in deep poverty and so out of touch with the world, that what he sees as his "Best Life", is having a hot meal and sleeping on a nice bed. His brain is so stunted that not only can't he make smart decisions, but he can't even dream big. His horniness was also more of a phase, he quickly learnt that there was no meaning in sexual activity without genuine connection to the other person first.

  Characters are killed off too quickly/with no reason
  It's important to understand that being a Devil Hunter is the MOST DANGEROUS JOB IN THE WORLD, and our main characters are not immune to that danger. Killing off characters gives a more realistic approach to the story, and it's not also just for shock value. You see, even after death, some characters are still used in the story (well, atleast their corpses are), these characters still play a role in the narrative. Some character deaths also directly cause character development for the rest of the cast. Also, is it really "shock value", or surprising when characters that were predestined to die in the story and the fact that we were even warned about their death several chapters ago actually die?

  Plot is too confusing or nonsensical
  Fortunately, I've already addressed this "issue" underneath the Plot category of this review.

  TL;DR - Read Chainsaw Man

  NOTE: As of the making of this review, 86 chapters of Chainsaw Man has been released.

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