1/9/24 UPDATE: It’s been long enough into Part 2 that I really feel like this review could use an update as I feel like it’s recontextualized a lot of Part 1 for me and almost all of my thoughts feel outdated now. I vastly prefer Pt 2 to Pt 1 and it’s fixed a lot of the reservations I have about the manga. I’ll come back to this and add some more info later and maybe rewrite the whole thing when I feel like it, so if you're going to read this, please note that I think this review is outdated since I wrote it when we only had Part 1 to go off of! I don't like deleting my reviews as I think they're a fun time capsule to look back on and see what I thought about a show/movie/manga/etc. at the time of writing it, but I don't really stand by the review anymore as accurate to my opinion on CSM. :]
Against my better judgment, I want to talk about Chainsaw Man.
Let me just put my stance on Chainsaw Man upfront: I like a lot of the more graphic elements of Chainsaw Man and think they are some really great examples of how the medium can be utilized (the character design, the character direction, the use of the surreal, the symbolism, etc.). I think Chainsaw Man falls flat as a 'story with a narrative.'
Before you jump into hate-read mode, bear in mind I'm also planning to watch Chainsaw Man's anime adaptation (MAPPA hallowed be thy name) when it comes out, and I'm planning on following part 2 of the story when it comes out.
Chainsaw Man is a 'shounen' that really stretches the boundaries about what is and isn't allowed in aforementioned shounens. I really wouldn't recommend this manga to kids because of a lot of the content (namely the blood and gore but then again I watched Higurashi for the first time when I was like 11 so live your best life). I really enjoy the tone of CSM--by all accounts it follows a typical 'shounen' storyline but there's an element to CSM that makes it feel more heavy. Where a lot of other shounen feel 'fantastical' in nature, CSM hones in on what I can best describe as a 'grimy' feeling to its plot. Denji is at the whims of the people and the environment around him, and said people and environment treat him callously--they're all very clear that he only has use to them as Chainsaw Man, and even then, should Chainsaw Man go berserk, they'll still put him out of commission.
And of course, Denji is just a kid. I think he starts out kind of annoying, to be frank, but his personality really makes sense when you think about it more critically. He's just an under-socialized kid trying to make it in a world that doesn't care about him. One of my favorite parts of CSM is the dynamic between him, Power, and Aki, and the slice of life sections towards the middle-end of the series are really good. However, I also think that outside of these three characters, I couldn't find myself caring much about the cast. I found Makima interesting, but wasn't really "drawn" to her in an emotional level--which is where I think CSM struggles. But that's okay, and not every story has to be a character-driven narrative to have its form of merit.
So onto where I think CSM does excel: its stylization. I already talked about the tone. But CSM's character design is a true testament to the power of simplicity in art. Just look at Makima.
She's a woman with pinkish-brown hair in a braided ponytail and her outfit is a white business shirt, black pants, a black belt, and black shoes with an occasional overcoat. And yet she stands out for ONE reason only: her eyes. Fanart of Makima is so easily recognizable as her because of her eyes and her eyes alone. And each character in CSM is like that. Power is probably the most "striking" character in my opinion, but I think Makima is a testament to how you don't need a bunch of tiny details and the silliest outfits to make your character look memorable. The concept of a "Chainsaw Man" is silly, but when you see the design for the first time, it just works.
The stylization of CSM just gets better and better throughout the series as it begins to make its mark as a more 'surreal' manga. I'll have to save the nitty gritty details of praise for the "spoiler" section of this review, but if you like things that are Kafka, Junji Ito (Uzumaki, Gyo, Tomie), Satoshi Kon (Perfect Blue, Paranoia Agent) etc. in flavor, this should appeal directly to that sense.
Now for my spoiler-free criticisms. As mentioned, I don't think CSM has a lot of weight as a narrative tale. That is, as a plot and character-fueled story. The way the story engages with Denji makes me uncomfortable at times (namely at the hands of Himeno), and while I acknowledge that this is intentional, it still strikes a cord with me that I can't fully put away for the sake of saying "oh it's just the tone of the story."
It's also hard to allow myself to get attached to any of the characters when they all start off so unlikable and therefore I struggle with rooting for any of them or taking pleasure in parts of their early character development; yeah, Denji's an under-socialized kid thrust into a big city and so I can't really BLAME him for just wanting to touch some boobs, but also I'm kind of tired of hearing about it--and it kind of bothers me when the adult women in the series also latch onto that fact. Again, I know this 'grimyness' and everyone using Denji is a part of CSM's tone, but it's not hard to see why it bothers me. And because of this struggle to root for anyone, the latter parts of the story didn't elicit much of an emotional response from me beyond "oh shit!" (ch 81 anyone?). The humor was often too crude for me to find much to laugh at, even when comparing it to CSM's sort of 'sister' manga, Dorohedoro. The plot itself feels very rushed and predictable, and I often found myself bemoaning the characters for not figuring something out earlier. Again, hard to get into without spoilers, so with that said...
# SPOILER SECTION! These are little blurbs of what I think were weak / what I think was strong.
Spoiler, click to view- Makima being the primary antagonist is so incredibly obvious. I don't think this fact was ever intended to be a "major" plot twist, but fans acting like this came out of left field is sort of laughable to me.
- The portrayal of Aki's death with the snowball fight is SO good. I wasn't really emotionally impacted by it, but the use of story within story is really well-done.
- Power's sacrifice and asking Denji to come find her with that visual callback to Pochita's sacrifice? I'm a sucker for foils and callbacks in media, what can I say?
- The door scene with Denji and the reveal of his father's true nature does such a good job at exposing just how much of a kid Denji is--up until that point it's easy to just write him off as a horny teen, but this was a very masterful way at reframing Denji into a kid just desperate to make connections the only way he knows how and especially in a world where everyone uses him for one reason or another.
- The scene that introduces the Darkness Devil. Jesus. The line-up of those astronauts is absolutely horrifying. The incarnation of the fear of something so primal. This introduction is jaw-droppingly well-done, and the strongest "surreal" moment in the story for me.
- Said it once but I'll say it again: Himeno's treatment of Denji is creepy and I don't like it. Intentional, sure, but still. I wish people would treat this more critically (and especially how literally everyone is okay with it in the story, including people like Aki? I know he didn't really like Denji at the time, but still.) It's more forgivable with Makima since she's the antagonist and her manipulation of Denji is obviously frowned upon by the time her character "concludes" (lol), but Himeno is still seen as a sympathetic character by a large chunk of the cast.
- The slice-of-life parts with Power, Aki, and Denji was nice and I wish CSM had some more of that tenderness throughout the story. Killing off Aki and Power right at the peak of that development feels a bit like a gut-punch to the narrative (and one of the reasons why I think CSM struggles here). I hope that Nayuta and PT2 with Denji serving as a sort of older-brother figure to her leans more into this.
- Reze arc was pretty boring for me; I think because at this point I wasn't really rooting for Denji and figured Reze wasn't exactly an angel either. To be honest, a lot of the middle part of the story was sort of forgettable for me aside from those surreal moments. Straight-up action just isn't for me (exception being Rock Lee vs Gaara. The true GOAT)
All in all, Chainsaw Man is worth checking out if you're interested in explorations of the surreal and if you can stomach gore. I can't say you'll want to root for the characters right off the bat. I can't say the plot was particularly intriguing for me. In my reading experience, Chainsaw Man has just as many cons as it does pros. It just comes down to what you're looking for in a story--and in my experience, I don't tend to like raunchy comedy and simple action manga, so of course it's those parts of CSM that I don't like--but I do love me some creepy visuals and when an author utilizes an unconventional and surreal method to reveal plot points. I also know my opinion of CSM is certainly not in the majority, and that's okay--but regardless I wanted to share my thoughts since there's plenty of reviews out there heralding CSM for being the best of its kind. So here I am to spice it up a little bit.
