Chainsaw Man – Super Intense Anime

Japanese manga creator Tatsuki Fujimoto created the Chainsaw Man series. From December 2018 to December 2020, Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump serialized its first arc; in July 2022, Shueisha’s Shōnen Jump+ online magazine began serializing its second arc. As of January 2023, its chapters have been compiled into 13 tankōbon volumes.

The plot of Chainsaw Man centers on Denji, a poor young man who enters into a deal to have his body fused with that of a canine devil named Pochita, giving him the power to turn specific body parts into chainsaws. After some time, Denji joins the Public Safety Devil Hunters, a government organization tasked with battling demons whenever they pose a threat to Japan.

Asa Mitaka, a high school student who signs a deal with Yoru the War Devil, is the subject of the second narrative arc. Yoru commands Asa to find Chainsaw Man and retrieve the devils he stole from her.

The manga is published by Shueisha on the Manga Plus website as well as being licensed by Viz Media for print and digital distribution in North America. A MAPPA-produced anime television series adaptation aired from October to December 2022.

One of the best-selling manga series, as of January 2023, it had over 23 million copies in print. It won the 66th Shogakukan Manga Award in the shōnen category in 2021, and in 2021 and 2022, it took home the Harvey Award for Best Manga.

Critics have generally praised Chainsaw Man’s writing, characters, and dark humor. They have also called attention to its violent moments within the context of the larger narrative.

Setting Chainsaw Man.

The setting of the story is a place where people’s worries give birth to devils. However, people who hunt and hire them are known as “Devil Hunters.” The action takes place in 1997 in a parallel universe in which the Soviet Union still exists and numerous historical occurrences, including the Holocaust, AIDS, and the use of nuclear weapons, have been wiped out by the Chainsaw Devil’s devouring of their respective Devils. By offering a sacrifice, humans can enter into agreements with devils to use their power. Devils can transform into Fiends by taking control of a deceased person.

Spoiler Alert!!!

Part 1 – Public Safety Arc.

Denji, a young guy trapped in poverty, is helping Chainsaw Devil and Pochita, his dog, pay off his late father’s debt to the yakuza by working as a Devil Hunter. Denji is killed by the yakuza when they betray him in exchange for a deal with the Zombie Devil. Pochita makes a deal with Denji, combining with him to form a human-demon hybrid in exchange for Denji achieving his goals.

Then Denji transforms into Chainsaw Man and slaughters the yakuza. After that, he joins the Public Safety Division, a group of government Devil Hunters, where he is given the task of killing the Gun Devil by Makima. Denji trains alongside Power the Blood Fiend under the seasoned Devil Hunter Kishibe while battling numerous foes that want Chainsaw Man’s power.

Makima eventually turns out to be the Chainsaw Devil, who has the ability to destroy wicked thoughts by consuming their Devils, who orchestrated circumstances to demolish Denji’s dreams in order to free him from his bond with Pochita. Defeating the Gun Devil is Makima. She then kills and resurrects Aki Hayakawa, Denji’s second companion, as the Gun Fiend, compelling Denji to take his life in self-defense. Denji becomes catatonic as a result of her killing Power in front of him later, and she gives Pochita control of his corpse.

Kishibe plans a raid to free Denji, and with his assistance, a terrified former comrade named Kobeni Higashiyama, a drop of Power’s blood, and their assistance, Denji kills Makima. Later, Kishibe unveils a reincarnated Control Devil, this time as a young child named Nayuta. In Denji’s nightmares, Pochita offers to help with his request that Denji takes care of the woman. Denji starts going to high school and acting as a vigilante against Devils.

Part 2 – School Arc.

After her mother was killed by Typhoon Devil, Asa Mitaka, a shy high school student at Fourth East High School, struggles to fit in. After mistakenly killing the class’s beloved Chicken Devil Bucky one day, the class president, who has made a deal with the Justice Devil, confronts her.

She tries to kill Asa, but Yoru, the War Devil, shows up in the shape of a bird and makes a deal with Asa, turning her into a live Fiend host in exchange for killing Chainsaw Man. Asa searches for Chainsaw Man after taking swift revenge, but she and Yoru have different objectives: Asa wants Yoru to leave her body, while Yoru wants to get back the Nuclear Weapons Devil that Pochita ate.

They become members of the school’s Devil Hunter Club and are paired with Yoshida, who it is later learned attends Fourth East, and Yuko, an outgoing girl who befriends her.

While leveraging his newfound superhero renown to draw in female attention, Denji has adjusted to his new life as a regular high school student who attends Fourth East. Yoshida monitors him as part of an unidentified task. Yoshida brings Denji to Asa knowing that Denji is still looking for a girlfriend and makes an unsuccessful attempt to tell Asa that he is Chainsaw Man.

After seeing Yuko, Asa learns that she has a deal with the Justice Devil who wants to exact revenge on everyone who has bullied Asa. Asa confronts Yuko while using Yoru’s devilish powers; however, he accidentally kills her.

Suddenly, a stranger approaches her and revives Yuko in the name of “her little sister,” transforming her into a huge devil who rampages across the school. Yuko is attacked by Denji but manages to flee. The deformed Yuko bids Asa goodnight and flees for assistance, but a mystery impostor pretending to be Chainsaw Man kills her.

After the event, Haruka Iseumi, the president of the Devil Hunter’s Club and the Student Council, runs into Asa and Yoru and shows interest in both of them. Haruka reveals to Asa and Yoru that he is Chainsaw Man, presenting them with evidence of the dangling chain fastened to his chest. Yoru commands Asa to go locate someone she can kill and use as a weapon if she decides to believe him.

She then goes on a date with Denji in order to kill him and transform him into a weapon after deciding that he would make the ideal target. The Hunger/Famine Devil, or “Fami,” appears behind her unexpectedly during the date while she is alone and reveals herself to be the stranger. She isolates her, leads Yoru and herself outside, and appears to help her in her attempt to use Denji as a weapon as the two are being held captive by the returning Eternity Devil.