CHAINSAW MAN: BUDDY STORIES

DESCRIPTION

CAST

CHAPTERS

MANGA ActionChainsaw Man

REVIEWS

• 

  NyoDesu

  90/100
  Chainsaw Man's Light Novel Spin-Off is pretty peak!

  [Hi there! This is my first review on AniList and I'm just going to clarify that the way these reviews are all formatted will all pretty much be the same way. I usually write my reviews on MyAnimeList so I'm just putting my reviews on here as well. Still hope everyone is able to enjoy them.]

  [DISCLAIMER: GONNA BE TALKING ABOUT SPOILERS FOR THE MANGA IN THIS REVIEW. This Light Novel is definitely made to be read after reading the manga...at least Part One (Volumes 1-11) so I'm just gonna make this on the review that you've read the manga and are just wondering if you should read this as well or not.]

  Well, well...it's been a bit again since I've done a review for something. I've been going through some stuff as of writing this that's happened very recently that's gonna be affecting my living situation so I'm gonna have to put this stuff on hold probably post Ergo Proxy since I have one episode of that series left. Anyways, onto the review, I'll discuss more than that later:

  The Narrative:

  Overall, the stories (cause yes, this is a collection of multiple stories featuring multiple characters) are all very well-written and have their own variety and charms. A detective parody adventure with Denji and Power on a mission with just the two of them, a younger Kishibe and Quanxi do a job together with a Devil Hunter Trainee that changes them both, Aki and Himeno get some time together doing one of their first jobs together, and Denji, Power, Aki, and Makima go on vacation to Enoshima and hijinx ensues. All of which are of decent quality to the point where I don't have any favorite of the bunch. I think that as a companion piece to the manga, it adds more character and depth to things that either weren't really touched upon in the manga or only got a small amount of time. Overall, the stories are all well-written, they all get the right amount of time and all of them are really great to read. Overall, A+ stuff.

  The Characters:

  Well, overall there's not that much to say regarding the characters since in my opinion, they're all characters from the manga for the most part minus two original characters who aren't mentioned ever again outside of this Light Novel for all I know. Everyone definitely acts how you'd expect them to if you've read the manga (and you're a fan of pretty much every character like I am) and the two original characters are good enough in their own rights to justify their existence. That's...pretty much it, honestly. A-grade stuff.

  The Visuals:

  This section is also gonna be really brief but I'd like to bring this up cause they're a thing in this Light Novel. Overall, with more peak art from Fujimoto-san, it's really great stuff and it's ALLL original to this Novel. Gives the novel a little more character and helps us visualize some of the stuff that's being described. We don't get to see Enzo (who's the original character in the first chapter with Denji and Power) but we do at least get to see Minami (the trainee I mentioned during Kishibe and Quanxi's chapter), so it's nice to at least get a visualization of her. But yeah, every chapter gets its own piece of art and it's all really nice A++ stuff as always.

  The Conclusion:

  Well, like I said before. This should definitely be read AFTER finishing the Public Safety Arc (Part 1 which compromises of Volumes 1-11), but it's a real treat if you're willing to read it and it's just more Chainsaw Man action...can you really complain about that? It's well-written, has the same energy as the manga but in novel form and it's a nice companion piece to the manga itself. I'd say if you're a big enough fan of the manga, it's DEFINITELY worth a read. I certainly enjoyed it and had no complaints about it.

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• 

  AdrianS1510

  94/100
  A great compilation of side stories for CSM fans

  #Chainsaw Man: Buddy Stories Review
  __This book is supposed to be read after the Part 1 of the manga which covers the first 11 volumes, this means that this review will have spoilers not only for the LN but for the Manga too (I'll point out the exact chapter the story takes place / can be read). At the end it'll be a little conclusion spoiler-free__
  
  This is a review about the Light Novel that covers some stories that were implied in the manga as well as a new original story about a mission of Power as a Detective.
  
  This is my fist LN so that might affect the score. I also am a big fan of the manga so I may be biased towards the characters.
  ___
  
  #__First Chapter: The Great Detective Power and the Assistant Denji__
  
  __Chapters to read: Any__
  
  <img width='220' src='https://i.ibb.co/zn3NhHL/download.jpg'>
  
  I love how the personalities of everyone remain intact, seeing Power back with the stupid stuff like the earlier chapters makes me shed a tear. She is my favorite character after all. Also, the new character was fun, It's the typical human character, he's exactly how I'd react in that situation.
  
  The humor is very similar to the original manga with the same kind of jokes, though the "Power's a liar" can get pretty repetitive after some reading.
  
  The story is very simple yet enjoyable, I was able to see the plot twist very early but still, it was satisfying how they (Kenzo) figured it out. And the conclusion was pretty good imo.
  
  Overall, a 9/10
  ___
  
  #__Second Chapter: Nine Years Savior__
  
  __Chapters to read: 61__
  
  <img width='220' src='https://i.ibb.co/TDyT1fh/download-2.jpg'>
  
  This is my fav, basically the story is that Quanxi is training a new member of Public Safety but Kishibe is noticing that she is treating the new trainee in a different way than the former students. The Story is around 4 weeks before the extra panel in volume 8 explaining more in detail the relationship between the Mad Dog and Quanxi.
  
  The characters are as good as the manga, being Kishibe my favorite in the story, how they still manage to work together despite the love/hate relationship it's pretty fun. And Minami to complete the love triangle (no... a perfect failure to communicate) was pretty entertaining.
  
  Still the only problem I got it's the same as the last story, the jokes about Kishibe hitting Quanxi get boring after some pages in, but it wasn't that big of a deal as the first story.
  
  Overall, a 9.5/10
  
  ___
  #__Third Chapter: The Day They Became Buddies__
  
  __Chapters to read: 72__
  
  <img width='220' src='https://i.ibb.co/fpcgZ9V/download-1.jpg'>
  
  This was a very good chapter. I've always wanted to see more of the backstory of Aki and how did she manage to befriend Himeno and this story delivered. 
  
  <span class='markdown_spoiler'><span>The battle with the Lonely devil was predictable (the mystery not the nature of the devil himself) but I still liked how the personalities clashed.</span></span>
  
  I don't personally have a strong opinion about Himeno in the manga but in this story, she was pretty likeable. As for Aki, is still welcome to see more of him. In conclusion this is a perfect story for those people who wanted to see more of this duo before the events of the manga.
  
  Overall, a 9/10 
  ____
  
  #__Final Chapter: Enoshima: Island of Dreams__
  
  __Chapters to read: 93__
  
  <img width='220' src='https://i.ibb.co/jGx6pG4/R.png'>
  
  This one was the one i was hyped the most, because it's about the trip that we never got to see in the main series, and the LN created a pretty good story where you see how everything feels like a dream, yet it's still fishy somehow.
  
  <span class='markdown_spoiler'><span>My favorite part was the events of the beach when you see Power acting like herself while still making kinda clear that she fears Makima. Then you can see that all of that was a dream as Denji wakes up in the events of volume 11</span></span>
  You can see the differences between the characters interaction between the first and third chapter and this one, because of the development of the main story and how Denji sees them now that he knows the truth.
  
  Overall a 9.5/10
  ___
  #__Conclusion__
  
  The stories presented in this book are quite enjoyable if you are a Chainsaw Man fan, the characters feel like the same in the manga and the anime, the interactions are enjoyable and for most of them expand the universe and made the lector realize something they might missed on the original manga. Some little problems can be found in all the stories, but they are so minor that you can just ignore them.
  
  A must-read for any CSM fan.

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