Chainsaw Man, created by Tatsuki Fujimoto, the mangaka (writer and artist) behind Fire Punch, follows Denji who, in layman’s terms, is an incel protagonist living in poverty, who survives by taking odd jobs from the local yakuza to kill devils alongside his cute dog-like companion, Pochita. After a near-death incident, Denji finds himself with the power to turn into a chainsaw devil, and takes on killing other devils under the employ of the enigmatic and entrancing Makima. While he initially just wants to touch a boob, his aspirations gradually develop as he navigates life with his newfound powers and finds his place in the supernatural world of Chainsaw Man.

Advertisement

Chainsaw Man is a pulp fiction-esque, ultraviolent fantasy manga that balances its gory, high-octane imagery with a profoundly introspective coming-of-age-story. There’s plenty of reason to be optimistic that all the manga’s crackling energy will make a successful transition to the screen, considering that Mappa has been hitting it out of the park with its anime adaptations, which have put it on the map as one of the best animation production studios of all time.

And in the manga it’s based on, Chainsaw Man has some critically acclaimed source material to draw from. Since debuting in December of 2018, CSM has won Best Manga award at The Harvey Awards in October, Best Shōnen Manga at the 66th Shogakukan Manga Awards in January, and was nominated for the 13th Manga Taisho awards in 2019, and ranked fourth at the Kono Manga ga Sugoi! in 2020, according to the Anime News Network.

Advertisement
Advertisement


Anime fans won’t be the only ones eating good with Mappa’s CSM adaptation. Manga readers will also be partaking in more of the high-octane ultraviolence and introspective character studies that the series is known for with the second arc of the manga, School Arc, when it’s serialized in Shonen Jump+ in Summer 2022.