Denji has a problem. He's a sixteen year old who hasn't gone to school, is dirt poor and living off whatever a couple yen can buy him, and kills minor devils for the yakuza. Life sucks, but at least he has his trusty chainsaw-nosed dog Pochita.
But this is a story, and a story needs a catalyst. So the yakuza kill Denji and his dog, drop them in a dumpster and leave it at that. Denji, cradling his beloved friend, gets one last chance at life when Pochita combines with him, becoming one with his heart and giving him the power of the Chainsaw Devil. Now, as Chainsaw Man, Denji will exact revenge, get wrapped up with a public safety department that battles devils, and ultimately become part of a conspiracy regarding that organization and the role of supernatural creatures within our world.
The simple beginning betrays a fast-moving, emotionally charged series of events through the 11 volumes of the first arc. Denji, lacking much knowledge of the world and having the emotional IQ of a child, is constantly being manipulated and used to the ends of heroes and villains alike. He is especially motivated by childish romantic liaisons with women, which leads to an especially fantastic arc concerning a girl named Reze, a devil herself, with the ability to blow her body parts up and regenerate.
If that sounds intriguing and ridiculous, it is. The Chainsaw Man can manifest chainsaws through his limbs and out of his face in a rather grisly way. There's a guy who can become a walking shark. There a guy who can push katanas through his body. It's a wild, wacky, wholly manga ride but with a big leg up on the competition: it has amazing characters and a strong story.
Despite how silly the characters can be you start to get emotionally invested in even the weirdest of them. Power, a demon girl who uses blood to create weapons, is a chronic liar and abrasive younger sister type to Denji. But despite her penchant to loudly fib about everything and barf at the barest hint of a vegetable in her mouth, her connection to her kitty Meowy and her dependence on Denji to ground her in reality makes this otherwise ridiculous character lovable and easy to invest in.
And being able to make characters who are so outlandish that relatable is a testament to author and artist Tatsuki Fujimoto's talent as a mangaka. The 28-year-old cinephile uses his love for film, especially horror, to help inform his situations and characters in ingenious ways. One of the best parts of the whole series is when Denji goes on a date with his boss, Makima, to a number of movies across the span of a day. She says something to the effect that nine out of every ten movies is not worth your time but there is that one that will change your life and make you feel something. It's a poignant moment both as a way of showcasing the author's philosophy through his characters, while also giving humanity in a story about a guy with chainsaw's coming out of him killing other monsters with similar deformities.
Those character moments come between unending moments of inventive, original action and tension. Just when you think you have some idea of where the story is going, it teleports to somewhere totally off the map.
'Chainsaw Man' has very sharp, rough art for the action and characters that fits the gritty, dark tone of the series. While that may not provide consistently beautiful pages and panels, some of the splash pages are unforgettable, the kind of thing I'd put up on a wall. A lot of this comes in the later portions of the first arc, when we get a glimpse into 'Chainsaw Man's version of Hell. The gory originality and obvious time and effort put into these pages and panels are above-and-beyond; easily mistaken for Junji Ito's work at first glance.
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I am trying my best to avoid getting too detailed as part of the draw of 'Chainsaw Man' is that it never lets up and constantly surprises the reader. If you don't like one volume or setpiece, you can be assured it will quickly move to the next and offer something new. Rarely does binge-reading a manga sound good to me, I need constant breaks because I have the attention span of a squirrel on adderral. But I sat and read all of 'Chainsaw Man's' current 11 volume run in a day. The first volume was rough but once it got its footing, this was a manga that had its hooks in me and wouldn't let me go. Because it is so consistently refreshing and never lingers too long on one character or story (which can be a detriment, some emotional moments do fall a tad flat), you will never be bored and you will want to see where Denji and his friends go, even if that final destination is a miserable one.
'Chainsaw Man' is as manga as manga can get and revels in its dark, weird world to create one of the most unique adventures I have read in a long time. With an anime on the way, and the fandom growing daily, now is as good a time as any to jump on the bandwagon and fall in love with this modern classic.
'Chainsaw Man' manga is available through VIZ
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Sean Newgent has been with KGUN9 since January of 2020 and is Good Morning Tucson's executive producer. He graduated from Illinois State University with a degree in broadcast journalism. He is a critic and cultural commentator. Share your story ideas and important issues with Sean by emailing sean.newgent@kgun9.com.
