The Unrivaled Art in Chainsaw Man

Chainsaw Man? How good can anything with that name be? That sounds stupid. And yeah, it is.

But it’s also a masterpiece, and an absolute master class in absurdist fiction.

Let’s delve into it.

At the start of Chainsaw Man, we’re introduced to the story of a teenage boy named Denji. Denji lives paycheck to paycheck with his cute little pet dog Pochita as a Devil hunter. Devils are various monster-like creatures in the Chainsaw Man universe inspired by fear; the bigger the fear of the idea, the more menacing the Devil will be. For example, a Tomato Devil would be pretty weak and easy to kill, while a Death Devil would be powerful and damn near impossible to take out.

Abandoned by his deceased, crappy dad and burdened with all of his debt, Denji is forced to put himself through these dangerous jobs just to survive. He even goes so far as selling his organs and one of his eyes just to stay alive. Lonely and hungry with only Pochita as his companion, Denji reflects on the comfort of one day having the simple things: eating bread with jam, playing video games, making out with a pretty girl. His dream, of sorts, is that he wants to live a normal life—for now.

The manga really kicks off when one of these Devil hunting jobs ends up nearly killing him, but his pet Pochita—who is actually (shocker) not an ordinary pet, but a Devil himself—saves Denji’s life by entering his body and becoming his heart, making Denji both human and Chainsaw Devil—or, if you will, a chainsaw man.

Denji is then found and brought under the care of a beautiful woman named Makima, the leader of the Public Safety Devil Hunter association, to work for her. She wants to utilize his unique power with the Chainsaw Devil inside him to fight and defeat Devils, as well as eventually take down the Gun Devil, which poses a powerful threat to Japan. She promises Denji food, water, and a place to stay as well as pay, and her promises and charm convince Denji to go with her.

Outwardly, it’s a pretty typical shonen manga. But I cannot express how much the vibe and the fun absurdity of the moments, and the connection between all the characters, are what build and truly make this story.

Speaking of connections between the characters, let’s dive into my next point:

Chainsaw Man is known, and kind of teased, for being a “horny” kind of anime. In my humble opinion, and in the opinion of many others, this is not in a mindless anime way; this is purposeful. The sexuality in this manga drives forward the story at almost every point.

This is, in large part, because the protagonist Denji is fairly hypersexual—which is played up for laughs sometimes, of course, such as when he declares his next big goal in life, since he’s achieved the whole food and shelter thing, is to get to touch a boob. And weirdly enough, it’s not in that sort of typical sort of anime protagonist way where it feels weird or gratuitous. Instead, it’s in a way where on a deeper level, he is just desperate for love and affection, desperate to experience the world around him now that he has the opportunity to—desperate to feel the touch of another human being who might just care for him.

Not like it should be said to be applauded, but sadly this is an anime, where this problem will very often arise—but never once does Denji ever cross a line or a boundary with another character where consent is concerned. Actually, this 16-year-old boy who lived on the street for most of his life is extremely respectful and realizes the weight of consent better than most adults.

Power, the feisty, hilariously evil Blood Fiend (a Devil who takes over a human corpse), is trouble and then some for Denji, who off the bat finds her both very pretty and extremely annoying. Though the story first paints Power as a potential “conquest” for Denji to finally get to touch his first boob—and he does get to, after he saves Power’s cat from a Devil and gets on her good side, and it’s actually (trust me, guys) a really great moment—she becomes his platonic best friend instead, which I thought was a great twist. Denji, who seems so starved for female attention and affection, is able to maintain a platonic connection with Power because, even after trying, he doesn’t feel that kind of spark with her.

Aki, who becomes a big brother type figure in Denji’s life, is a serious and solemn Devil hunter whose sole purpose is to kill the Gun Devil, who killed his entire family. He is eternally self-sacrificial in wanting to do so, and just in general too. But living with Denji and Power, as Makima has them do, softens him and makes him realize there’s other things to live for. Protecting what is in front of him, instead of what’s behind him, becomes a possibility to a person who otherwise never would have thought of it twice.

Makima is also a fantastic character who drives forward the plot at all times. The sense of mystery and intrigue surrounding her is almost indescribable. From the start, you know she’s up to something—and characters from the start even accuse her of that—but you don’t know quite what. The twist concerning Makima, which we all know is coming but not at all in the way that it does, is one of the best I’ve ever read not just in manga, but in fiction in general. The execution of her character is near perfection.

There is very much a stigma that anime and manga—especially shonen anime and manga—are immature, silly, baseless, and there’s definitely some merit to that. But in Chainsaw Man, the human experience is depicted so masterfully not just on top of those crazy, epic battles or the silly, stupid moments, but within them as well.

Chainsaw Man is a story of pain, of loss, of friendship, of heartbreak. It’s a story of gaining and losing it all and where we go from there. Chainsaw Man is humanity experiencing itself. It draws the necessary parallels to the absurdist realities we ourselves face every day. It is a story about finding your heart, discovering love, experiencing loss, and doing it all over again, because that’s what it means to be alive. Chainsaw Man is absolutely beautiful.

The art within this manga is especially unique and interesting, because unlike several of his contemporaries, the mangaka Fujimoto is actually not a trained artist; he’s self taught. So he’s very hard on himself about the quality of his drawing, as are other artists. But to me, who knows pretty much nothing about art except how to admire it, it’s amazing.

As always, I’m so honored to share these gorgeous drawings from art I love with all of you. Really take in the detail, the power, the humor, and the feeling of some of these panels.

And read Chainsaw Man, for Christ’s sake! You won’t regret it.

Thanks so much for reading! 🧡

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