Review of Chainsaw Man

WORTH THE HYPE I’ve been a fan of the chainsaw man manga forever. It’s always had an extremely unique feel, with a unique sense of humour and a fast paced plot that’s consistently entertaining. Because of this, when I saw the previews for the anime, I thought it wouldn’t live up to the manga. Yes the animation looked good, but I couldn’t see how anything could top the unique feel the manga captures. However, I was proven wrong. The chainsaw man anime takes every good and shocking moment from the manga and amplifies it by 10. The voice acting is phenomenal and adds an entire level ofpersonality to the characters, and the animation is something else entirely. It’s not just good in the sense that the movements and action are all really smooth, chainsaw man’s animation does a incredible job at making every scene in the manga live up to its feel. For example, in the manga there were many panels that I would flip to and just stare at for 30 seconds. The art, framing, and composition of fujimotos art is insanely good and he knows how to shock the audience with intentionally disturbing imagery. (One example of this would be the panel with the astronauts, but I won’t go into that to avoid spoilers). Every panel like this from the manga was executed amazingly in the anime. The sound effects and animation were so tightly crafted, so many scenes made had me sitting on the edge of my seat with my heart pounding out of my chest. For this to happen even though I’ve already read the manga multiple times and know the plot of this manga like the back of my hand is absolutely genius.

Another thing I love about the anime is the extra level of atmosphere and cinematics that it adds. I’ve always loved the manga and thought it was perfect for the manga medium. This was one of the reasons I thought the anime wouldn’t live up to the mangas quality. The anime’s way of coping with this is giving the story of chainsaw man an atmosphere similar to something like a Tarantino movie. The backgrounds are always dull and gritty, a lot of scenes don’t have background music, allowing the viewer to hear what the world around the characters sounds like, and the pacing is slow and atmospheric, except for when it’s not, and you’re watching a guy with chainsaws coming out of his face murder the most disgusting creatures you’ve ever seen. This really adds a layer of atmosphere that was not found in the manga at all, and really gives the anime a unique feel that you truly cannot find anywhere else.

This is what makes chainsaw man a 10/10 for me. As a fan of the manga, this is a truly flawless adaptation. The directors did an amazing job at executing the mangas emotional and captivating scenes, and there truly could not have been a better adaptation.