Chainsaw Man: A Bloody Good Show
Originally a Japanese manga, Chainsaw Man is full of both action and hilarity.
January 30, 2023
Chainsaw Man is a new anime that was released on October 12, 2022. The story arc follows a man named Denji. Denji killed his father when he was young and inherited his massive amount of debt along with a Chainsaw Devil named Ponchita who he takes care of like a pet dog. He works for a Yakuza to pay off his debt. Denji sells off one of his eyes, a kidney, and his testicles. Denji does anything he needs to in order to survive, but at night he talks to Ponchita about his dream of living a normal life. Unfortunately for Denji, the Yakuza betrays him and allies with the Zombie Devil to gain more power. Greed blinds the Yakuza and he gets absorbed by the Zombie Devil. Denji tries his best to fight back against the overwhelming force but ends up being killed. Ponchita makes the ultimate sacrifice for Denji, creating a pact and giving Denji his heart so Denji can realize his dream of living a normal life. Denji is hired by Public Safety to fight devils and eventually gets strong enough to fight the Gun Devil. Through Public Safety, he starts to live a normal life by gaining new friends, falling in love with his boss Makima, and being able to eat normal meals. Denji is able to realize his dream of living a mostly normal life. Even though he is able to realize his dream, his life still has plenty of dangers. The Gun Devil’s minions want his heart and threaten his life and the life of his friends.
Chainsaw Man succeeds in creating a likable character who does not have the typical “power of friendship” many other popular animes rely on, like Kuroko Basketball and Fairytale. Even though the premise of the show is fictional, Denji is relatable because he simply wants to get with his crush and eat tasty food. The action scenes are top-tier illustrations combined with very hilarious scenes. One of my favorite scenes at the end of the first season is when Denji and Aki see who can make the villain scream louder by kicking his balls as revenge for killing their friend! Overall, Chainsaw Man is a top-tier anime and I can’t wait for future seasons.