Chainsaw Man – A Pre-Airing Primer

We are mere weeks away from the airing of Chainsaw Man and I thought I would take this time aside to have a little chat. I solemnly swear this post will have no spoilers and is just a means of helping newcomers get why this show is a big deal, what you could expect and how you shouldn’t walk into this expecting it to blow you away. I mean the series already has haters which even the most beloved of series have but I do understand how this series may not be for everyone and if you read the season preview you can likely tell who I have had fairly heated arguments with about it. So I have tried looking at opinions from those who were not quite as keen on the series to perhaps put forward reasons as to why this may not click with you. I have structured this post in a way where I will detail one positive and then one negative and by the end you can make your own judgments.

So this is the brainchild of Tatsuki Fujimoto, most of you know him for this, others know him for his recent prolific oneshots Look Back and Goodbye Eri, and veterans such as myself know him for Fire Punch and earlier one shots like Yogen no Nayuta. I even wrote a post on Fire Punch calling it a glorious trainwreck and yes, even with my love for his other works I still stand by that. His recent works have shot him into a degree of public limelight which I suspect will continue with Chainsaw Man’s anime. If you want an idea of the kind of stories this man writes I would recommend this video as it acts as a good introduction though its run-through of his early oneshots. If you want the cliff notes on that video the general gist is that his works often have gory or dark subject matter to contrast the big emotional moments between characters which seems to be the main focus. Looking at the trailers for Chainsaw Man you may be thinking it’s strange as there it clearly looks like an action packed gore fest about wolverine with chainsaws. This is likely the biggest misconception people would have walking in as when people hype this up it’s not really the action people love the series for. Have no doubt that the action is good but it’s the sprinkles on the series, good to have but far from the main attraction.  Instead it’s the characters that people come back for and that’s what makes people truly love the series. The people of the world are far from perfect beings and many have massive flaws that make them relatable or fascinating. As an idea as well as a great pitch to get people interested, the author has confirmed that one of the main female characters of the series has a personality that was based on Eric Cartman from South Park. That’s surely a sentence to raise an eyebrow but that’s confirmation that we ain’t getting our usual anime trope characters for this series. Indeed I would say the writing of this series is more like western movies and tv shows which the author is a big fan of.

Which brings me to what might be the first point of contention for the series, the protagonist. I suspect that Denji will be a heavily misunderstood character for a great many people and frankly even people that like the series seem to judge him on a surface level. He is also going to be the main target for those who dislike the series as the dismiss him as a horny stupid dumbass. Indeed a lot of comedy has to do with him being abrasive and crass, along with his motivation throughout the series being mainly his libido. But there’s more to it than that but these aspects can be enough to get people to truly not like him. I have seen comments of people write off the series entirely over the protagonist and indeed if you don’t care nor relate with him then quite a bit of the story will become hollow. I liken it to Subaru from Re:Zero where a good part of the story is essentially on his development but there are people who find him too annoying to enjoy that aspect of the story.

On the positive side, I have watched a lot of anime and a lot of media in general and through such consumption I have come to be able to get a general feeling of how a story will develop. I don’t dare say that I can predict a story from start to finish but whenever a reveal happens my feelings are less surprised and more a muted thought of “figured it was something like that”. With Chainsaw Man I could never even hazard a guess as to what could happen, any rules are thrown out the window and it’s exciting. I don’t mean this series subverts expectations for the sake of it but rather subverts cliche for something far more interesting. When this series is going in a direction you think it’s going it does a sharp turn and goes somewhere else entirely. There is no plot armor and with the concept of devils quite literally anything can happen. Even if the story does something you expect, chances are it will be in a way you didn’t quite picture. It’s fun not quite knowing just what you could get and only be certain that whatever it is, it’s going to be a lot of fun.

Which brings me another contention as when people hype Chainsaw Man they are mainly talking about big moments in the second half of Part 1(Chapters 1-97). This is not to say that the first half of this series is bad, instead it’s that the second half contains the biggest moments which set the internet on fire. But the anime won’t reach those moments. Instead it will stop right short as it looks to end at chapter 38 for its first cour. A common trend I see with videos on reviewing the series is that people are unimpressed with Volume 1 and don’t see why they are so hyped. This is generally followed up with a second video titled I was wrong and a glowing review of the series. This is because when people finish Volume 2 they generally binge read to the end of Part one. Anime viewers don’t have the option to do that as they will be getting the series in two pieces thus they may walk away wondering what the fuss was about. I have also seen people who only truly get into it around Volume 3 which for anime watchers could be well over half the first cour. In this regard Chainsaw Man may be better experienced as a binge watch as that’s generally how people approach the manga. The pacing of this series is non-stop fast to the finish but as a result of being adapted, that pacing is going to be slowed down. So the big, big moments that many of us readers are looking forward to seeing the anime community just explode over ain’t going to happen here so Mappa may need to carry the first cour with some pretty standout action sequences.

The world of Chainsaw Man is a fascinating thing as with a concept as absurd as its premise and its rather easygoing tone it’s surprising just how sadistic its world actually is. People die to devils every day and humanity is practically caught in a never ending battle with no compromise. The very nature of devils being the consequence of public fear makes them interesting creatures whose designs are masterful. Devils are created from humanities fears and while you do have devils made from things like snakes or spiders, they can also embody concepts from cosmic to abstract. How people live in a world where a monster can tear through your home and kill your family at a moment’s notice is a part of this story. And for how dark it can get I would say there’s hope in it that drives you to see it to the end to pray for a happy conclusion or see just how bad things can get.

Chainsaw Man has a lot of humor and absurdity despite how grim its world may be. It also happens to be the kind of humor that hits my funny bone directly that I even laugh out loud while reading it which is a rare occurrence indeed. Though said humor is a subjective matter and for some it may be too juvenile or ridiculous which takes away from the more serious moments. This may seem too random to the point where it loses people as I had a similar experience watching Dorohedoro where it just felt like randomness for randomness sake. With Chainsaw Man I feel that while it may appear random, each arc has a purpose and while not openly apparent, things happen for a reason. Sure there are jokes for levity or even a full chapter dedicated to a skit but there is generally a purpose for it plotwise or a degree of reasoning. But if you get left behind by these developments instead of rolling with them then this story is not going to slow down its pacing for you to catch up.

So that’s my three positives and negatives about this story and my main reason for making this post is that the internet is currently in two extreme positions about this. Either it’s the greatest thing coming to blow everyone’s minds or a huge overhyped disappointment to be. Now I adore this series and I have no doubt that it’s going to be a big deal, a massive deal even, but that doesn’t mean you will think the same. No matter how good a show is I don’t think it’s a good idea to walk into it expecting a life changing experience. Because even if a show is good it will not meet the expectations of your imagination. It’s always an annoying statement but opinions are subjective and this may not be for you. My advice is this: watch the first three episodes. If they tickle your fancy then continue, I would say episode six or seven will cement whether you will love this and if you do then it only gets better from there. When you do check out the first episode then take what it gives and not what you anticipate it to give. Then let’s just sit back and enjoy this ride.