Review of Chainsaw Man

Chainsaw Man was with no doubt the most hyped up anime of this entire year, and I can see why. Not only is it a battle shonen, but it also features a very intriguing cast of characters, and one of the more unique protagonists out there. With its popularity, it’d be near impossible to meet the anime community’s expectations, and from what I’ve heard from people, some love it, and some are just okay with it. As for me, an anime-only for this show, it met my expectations for the most part, as a solid, entertaining show, with some good production and music to boot.STORY:

It’s quite difficult to explain what Chainsaw Man is, because it’s quite chaotic, but the synopsis does a good job of explaining the beginning. What I liked from the premise was how Denji started from rock bottom, but not in your typical shonen fashion where their family or loved ones die, and then a revenge story ensues. Denji’s dreams are simple, it’s not to defeat devils or anything, but just to get a girlfriend and cop a feel in process, probably relatable to some extent to some people out there.

The story isn’t really anything special, but it works better than your “demon of the week” type of story. While it does have that sort of feeling sometimes, you get a feel for some of the characters too, it’s not just fighting all the time. There’s some slice of life mixed in, as well as some… let’s say… intriguing comedy. Fujimoto always knows how to make an intriguing plot after all.

ART:

The animation is generally good, as the production was good throughout. I know some of you might have wanted two consecutive cours (24-26 episodes) for this show, but I guarantee you, it would have looked way worse if that was the case. MAPPA was still likely on an extremely tight schedule, and their employees must have gone through hell and back, but the product we got was still good for the most part. The background shots gave us more of a cinematic approach, which looks great, but doesn’t necessarily fit the grittiness of the manga. The action sequences looked good most of the time, with some janky CGI some of the time, which is to be expected given the production timeline.

MUSIC:

They went all out with the music, and Kensuke Ushio did a great job with the soundtrack, capturing the dark atmosphere well. The opening was good, but those endings were definitely the highlight of the entire show. As for my favourite endings, I’d say ED 5 (“In the Back Room” by Syudou), and ED 7 (“Chu, Tayosei” by Ano), were my favourites. Very different genres of music at play here, and I appreciated them a lot.

CHARACTERS:

The cast was quite unique to watch for sure, and that’s what makes this show stand out from other shonens. Denji is your relatable teenage guy, and makes quite the comedic moments, along with Power, a loud and extremely funny character. Denji and Power’s interactions were absolutely hilarious. Aki and Himeno were another good duo, and made for some of the more darker and emotional moments in the season. Kobeni was to some people, probably a little annoying, but for me, she’s a fine character, adorable too, and she acts just like if a random passersby were to be thrown in a situation like the devil hunters face every day. Makima is quite the mysterious character, and it seems like she’ll be developed further in the future.

ENJOYMENT:

I generally enjoyed most of the episodes, and had some laughs along the way, sometimes even got a little emotional too.

THEMATIC EXECUTION:

The themes were executed quite well, with Denji’s theme of just enjoying life being pretty relatable. The atmosphere was quite unique too, and the comedic and dark aspects were balanced well, with the tonal shifts not being much of an issue.

OVERALL:

I wouldn’t say this was the best anime this season, but it was definitely a very entertaining one. It felt quite unique for a shonen, and I enjoyed Chainsaw Man more than some other shonens for sure. The music stood out the most to me, especially the endings, which I still listen to a lot. Overall, a fun experience for sure, and one that most anime fans will enjoy to some extent.