Chainsaw Man (2022)

Denji works as a devil hunter to pay off his father’s debts. His only friend is the devil dog Pochita, who has merged with his body. He is then killed through betrayal, and merges with Pochita to be reborn as the Chainsaw Devil. Chainsaw Man, MAPPA’s anime adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga of the same name, began airing in October 2022 under director Ryu Nakayama.

What it’s about — Denji joins the Devil Extermination Division

After Denji (Kikunosuke Toya) survives, the full story begins when he joins the Public Safety Bureau’s Devil Extermination Division. Ahead of him are the enigmatic Makima (Tomori Kusunoki), cold senior partner Aki Hayakawa (Shogo Sakata), and the spirited Blood Devil Power (Fairouz Ai). The drama depicts Denji fighting various devils in the name of public safety while moving toward the modest dream of being with a woman and eating good food. Blood-soaked battles and absurd comedy alternate — a work that ignores the boundaries of genre.

Direction — The ambition of a different ending every episode

MAPPA made the radical choice to produce separate ending credit sequences for each episode — all twelve episodes have different directors, different music, and different styles of ending sequence. This decision alone communicates that the production team is treating this series as an artistic challenge rather than simply a commercial venture. The battle scenes are fierce and blood-soaked, but the camerawork and editing are precise and the violence is never wasted. The cinematic color palette and framing are impressive.

Performance & characters — Simple Denji, unfathomable Makima

Kikunosuke Toya’s Denji brings to life a strangely bright, honest character in the midst of a dark world. His dreams are modest and his motivations simple, and that simplicity creates a distinctive charm contrasted with the complex characters around him. Tomori Kusunoki’s Makima is the most debated character in the drama — a surface softness paired with an unfathomable interior keeps audiences perpetually on their guard around her. Fairouz Ai’s Power is the series’ finest comic relief and, remarkably, the character who generates the most emotional identification.

What the work says — Modest desire and a grand conspiracy

Chainsaw Man looks at first like a violent action anime, but underneath it there is a story about poverty, exploitation, and the truth of desire. What Denji wants is simple: eat good things, be with people he likes. When that simple desire collides with a grand conspiracy, the work asks what we are fighting for and what the price is. The premise that devils emerge from human fears also directly points to the darker side of human psychology.

Ratings & reception

IMDb score is 8.3, and it was cited as one of the best anime of the Fall 2022 season. The production style, the unique ending credit series, and the fidelity to the source material were particularly praised. It received nominations in multiple categories at Japanese animation awards. Each of the twelve endings functioned as an independent short film, drawing attention separate from the main series.

What doesn’t work

The twelve episodes conclude at the School Festival arc of the source, and the Makima-related development that is the source’s climax has yet to be animated. Watching Season 1 alone leaves a sense of incompleteness. Additionally, the high level of blood and violence makes it difficult to recommend to viewers sensitive to brutal scenes.

Verdict

Chainsaw Man is a work that demonstrates how artistically ambitious a shonen manga adaptation can be. The result combines a dark world, three-dimensional characters, and MAPPA’s outstanding direction. It preserves the raw energy of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s source material in animation — a point that fans of the original have largely expressed high satisfaction with. Whether you know the source or not, if you want to see the frontier of modern dark fantasy anime, this is the choice to make. Rating: ★4.0.

Recommended for

• Those who want dark, brutal anime that still has emotional life
• Those interested in MAPPA’s animation quality and directing style
• Those looking for the next dark hero anime after Attack on Titan and Jujutsu Kaisen