Review of Chainsaw Man

A refreshingly bloody spin on the shonen genre that will leave us doing gleeful autopsies for years to come, Chainsaw Man is everything you think it will be, and maybe just a bit more. I was big fan of the manga when it came out, so when the anime was announced and the trailers started pouring in, I was super hyped, and it looks like the rest of the internet was as well. While some adaptations like Dorohedoro seemed to have an awkward transition to the small screen, Chainsaw Man revels in its stunning visuals the way OnePunch Man does, taking every opportunity to show thatthis adaptation is the definitive version. Of course the manga is amazing as well, but this anime is looking so far to be a perfect rendering in anime form.

Aside from the visuals, the opening song, score, and endings, with each episode having its own unique ending song and animation, are also top notch. The voice acting was cast very well, although I can't speak to the english dub since I've exclusively watched the sub so far.

The only drawback that didn't give this a 10/10, was that some scenes do tend to drag, and switching perspectives to replay a seemingly pointless and mundane scene slows down the pacing at times.

Chainsaw Man could easily be argued as a seinen, and it definitely doesn't shy away from brutally killing off established characters. Without spoiling anything, Chainsaw Man is not One Piece, and the manga being less than 100 chapters and finished, we can expect a brutally hellish roller coaster ride of blood, laughs, and tears from beginning to end. These first 12 episodes have set the stage, now we can sit back and enjoy the show.