As we mentioned many times before, the shonen anime industry, after some years of producing many titles that just seemed to copy “One Piece”, “Bleach” and “Naruto”, moved towards other directions in order to reinvigorate the category. These elements ranged from parody of the cliches of the genre, to sociopolitical comments and many more, that actually allowed the titles of the category to be enjoyable by a more mature audience. The creators of “Chainsaw Man” took another direction by presenting a title that is definitely not for children due to intensely gory violence, sexual connotations, and rather intricate case and characterization, not to mention a main character who is unlike anything we have seen in the past.
The story is set in a world where Devils are born from human fears. Devils are usually dangerous and malevolent, their power proportional to the fear they incite. However, humans can form contracts with them to use their power, and there are individuals specializing in hunting and employing them, called Devil Hunters. It is in this setting that we are introduced to Denji, a 16-year-old young man trapped in poverty, working off his deceased father's debt to the yakuza by working as a Devil Hunter, aided by Pochita, his canine companion and Chainsaw Devil. Denji is betrayed by the yakuza, who kill him for a contract with the Zombie Devil. Pochita makes a contract with Denji, merging with him as a human-devil Hybrid, under the condition that Denji live out his dreams. Denji then becomes Chainsaw Man and massacres the yakuza. In the aftermath, he is approached by a team of governmental Devil Hunters, the Public Safety Division, led by Makima, who charms him into joining their ranks. Denji joins Public Safety and is partnered with Power, the Blood Fiend, and Aki Hayakawa, a self-destructive Devil Hunter. Makima promises Denji any favor, provided he kills the Gun Devil, perpetrator of the greatest massacre in human history.
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Apart from the fact that the protagonist's super power is transforming into a human-chainsaw, the story is not exactly unusual, at least initially, with both the overall setting and the underdog character being almost cliche. The appearance of Makina, however, changes things, as she is a woman who is willing to use her sex appeal to make Denji her “dog”, and is not even reluctant to openly state the fact to him. That he actually goes with it, in a charmed-teenager fashion, essentially making his dream all about increasingly more intimate moments (from groping to eventually sex) and the way the women around him, eventually including Power exploit the fact, is one of the most intriguing elements of the narrative here. At the same time, the fact that both of them actually keep their promises, is a unique aspect for shonen titles, who usually do not go that far. Even more so, when Himeno, Aki's mentor of sorts, also gets in the “game”, which in her case, includes drunken advances towards men much younger than her, adds even more non-political correctness, in a rather entertaining fashion. Lastly, a mystery regarding the reality of these advances of all the female characters, which are not exactly clear if they are sincere or just aiming at something, with Makina being the main source of this aspect, conclude this rather distinctive approach towards the erotic.
Talking about mystery, apart from Makina's abilities and the reasons she is head of the Section, there is also one surrounding the organizations as a whole, since she also has to give reports to her higher ups, while the whole concept of the Gun Devil, who is only known through the consequences of his actions cements this aspect of the narrative, keeping the audience wondering and thus raising engagement for the story. Furthermore, and despite the fact that the story eventually becomes one where the protagonists have to face stronger and stronger opponents, episode number 8 changes everything, with an intensely dramatic aspect becoming a crucial part of the story, as much as an element of horror, which this time, moves beyond the bloody violence. In another trait of the direction, the various brief back and forths in timeline, which occasionally happen even between two episodes, add even more to an overall intriguing atmosphere.
Bloody violence, however, is where the title truly thrives on, with the abilities of the Chainsaw Man inevitably resulting in a plethora of blood baths, and the rest of the characters coming close by. Particularly the battle with the huge monsters, which end up with their entrails all over the place are a wonder to look at, highlighting the job done by the people in MAPPA in the backgrounds. Even more so, since the detail here is of the utmost level, while a number of times the setting is just beautiful, making the blood spattered on it eventually even more impactful. The animation is exceptional throughout, with the movement of the characters being quite realistic during the calm scenes, and fittingly extravagant during the action ones, with the speed of the battles being another great trait of the title.
The character design, by Kazutaka Sugiyama who did the people, and Kiyotaka Oshiyama, who did the devils is also on a rather high level. Starting with the Chainsaw Man himself, who looks even cooler in his white shirt and tie, and continuing with a fitting opponent that eventually appears and the stoic coolness of Aki and Kishibe, the design here is definitely one of the best aspects. As is usually the case in shonen, most of the women all look sexy, with Power, Makima and Himeno highlighting the fact quite eloquently, in a sensualism though, that is grounded in reality, and is free of the occasionally excessive fan service. The fact that the silly faces never appear in the series is definitely another plus here. The monster's are of the same quality, looking as if they jumped out of the pages of Shintato Kago and Junji Ito, with their butchering usually being the most impressive aspect of any battle.
Not much more to say, “Chainsaw Man” is a truly great title, one of the best we have seen during the last few years, and another testament to the extremely entertaining apogees Japanese imagination can reach.
