Chainsaw Man Explained: Why It’s one of the Most Unique Shonen Manga Today
Read Time:6 Minute, 56 Second
Article Summary
- Discover why Chainsaw Man stands out as one of the most unique Shonen-horror manga in recent years.
- Highlights include its grim atmosphere, ever-evolving world of devils, and Tatsuki Fujimoto’s brutally honest writing style.
- Follow Denji’s raw, imperfect journey as he battles devils, struggles with naïve desires, and grows into one of manga’s most complex protagonists.
As a writer and storyteller, whenever creative burnout gets to me, re-experiencing stories near and dear is usually the best solution. Lately, I have read Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Shonen-horror manga Chainsaw Man. This series is unlike any other shonen story I have ever read. It has been going strong since late 2018, and in the almost seven years of its publication, Fujimoto has proven to the manga community why he is a comic auteur. The challenging part of this series is that there is nothing quite like it, but for my money, there are three aspects of this series that make it pure manga genius. Chainsaw Man has an atmosphere unlike any other, an ever-changing world, and most importantly, a mature and honest writing style.
This comic has a very dark tone to it. One of the most important aspects of any story, regardless of medium, has got to be the intro. What is the first thing the audience sees from your story? In this case, Denji, our main character, is introduced to the audience, talking to his pet demon, about his crippling debt. He is millions of dollars in debt, and mentions the prices of various organs he’s sold off for money, such as his testicle, and even his right eye. What does he then do? He proceeds to kill a devil immediately. To save someone? For justice? No, of course not, he just needs the money from the bounty.
This grim situation Denji finds himself in really informs the audience about him as a character. He lives in a rundown shack and doesn’t even get to eat full meals. Most people dream about being rich or being successful, but Denji dreams about talking to girls and getting to eat toast with jam on it. He can’t, though, because he owes millions to the local yakuza, and they won’t let him dream. They decide to kill him, even after he’s done so much for them. And in return, Denji, with the help of his demonic pet, turns into “Chainsaw Man” and finally gets some freedom. In just the start of this series, we see how brutal this devil-infested world is, and that is just the start.
The world and lore of Chainsaw Man are incredibly unique and ever-changing. It takes place in a contemporary 1990s or so time that isn’t too far off from our world. It seems like a normal enough Shonen setting, but that’s until the lore around devils is divulged. At the time of writing, the series only has a bit under 200 chapters. Fujimoto will no doubt reveal more about the world as the series goes, and he already has. The devils who are incredibly powerful in this world are built up to be almost deities. A very recent bit of information dropped was the fact that there are four horsemen of the apocalypse that are currently on Earth, disguised as humans. Some of these characters have been hinted at and even fought by some of the main characters.
The evolution of the plot is more of a slow burn as of late in the manga, but it’s worth it. What is even more worth it? The honest, almost too mature for a Shonen manga writing style. The perfect encapsulation of this aspect is again the main character, Denji. In this case, his motivation. In a Shonen manga, a character’s motivation is always the most important point of characterization. Goku wants to get stronger, Naruto wants to become Hokage, Luffy wants to become the Pirate King, and so on. What does Denji want? Anything heroic or righteous? What do you think?
Denji’s main motivation is “to touch boobs”. And his motivations evolve to become purely sexual. This is ridiculous, but it reminds us of the fact that Denji is a sixteen-year-old, immature kid. Of course, he would be thinking with his hormones. Characters in the story even make fun of and critique him for this. Aki is a character who starts as an antagonist to Denji. He hates him for his childish goals, but eventually grows to be a mentor and friend due to all their shared close calls in devil hunting. Denji and Aki work together as public devil hunters. Aki has seen tons of his loved ones die to devils, a prime motivator for why he hunts them. In comparison to Denji, his motivation is much more gritty and dark, and Aki works hard to please his higher-ups so they give him more devil-hunting jobs.
Aki sees that Denji has a crush on one of their higher-ups, the elusive Makima, and on their first day together, Aki beats Denji to a pulp. Aki tells him he should quit, since he’s in this field for the wrong reasons, being Denji wants Makima’s approval to hook up with her. In another series with the usual writing, this would be a wake-up call to Denji. He would realize how childish his goal is, and change it to, say, saving people. What does Denji do? He gets up, kicks Aki in the nuts over and over again, and says he doesn’t care. Denji argues that it isn’t anyone’s right to determine who has the more “righteous” goal. If it means a lot to him, that’s all that matters, no matter how childish or crude.
As the series goes on, Denji learns that yes, lust should not be his main motivator. He gets manipulated and treated horrifically by a ton of people because they take advantage of how naive and simple-minded he is. So he learns that, hey, maybe he should want to know someone and trust them before wanting to do anything like that with them. But, again, Denji sometimes forgets that lesson when a cute girl acts all lovey-dovey with him. Fujimoto is a master at writing a believable character in Denji, because yes, he learns lessons, but just like in real life, it’s not perfect.
Denji doesn’t make the same mistakes over and over again. He has made a ton of growth in the years since the first volume of the Chainsaw Man manga was published. He has truly gone through so much loss, and seeing how his character tries to keep up with that and change is wonderful. It’s wonderful because that’s what real life is all about. So many times, in other manga, characters act and talk a certain way that is just so damn cheesy and hard to believe, I feel like I’m reading a manga about tropes. The genius of Chainsaw Man, at its heart, is the mature and honest nature of the series.
Even if you’ve watched the incredibly well-animated anime, read the manga. There’s a Chainsaw Man box set that goes on sale quite often that encompasses the first “part” of the series. The original vision for this series is the manga, and you can feel Fujimoto’s love for the medium and characters in it. The paneling, the art, and the humor of this series were captured well in the anime, but the original work is just irreplaceable; it has such a gritty yet darkly comedic feel to it that I’ve never seen replicated in any other manga. Again, it goes to show that in a comic full of devils and monsters, the humanity and honesty of it all shine through.
To stay up-to-date on the latest news in anime, gaming, and comic book TV and movie adaptations, sign up for our free weekly newsletter PopPulse Digest here.
This article contains links to external sellers and affiliate marketing. As Amazon associates and participants of other affiliate programs, we earn from qualifying sales.
Nicolas Scagnelli
I'm a passionate writer who runs five blogs covering everything from pop culture to lifestyle. When I'm not working, I love spending my free time writing, reading comics, playing games, and working out. Some of my favorite series are Devil May Cry, Kingdom Hearts, Chainsaw Man, and Spider-Man. I'm always excited to dive into geek culture and share my thoughts with fellow fans!
