Watching Chainsaw Man feels like engaging with the work of some pervy, twisted genius who spends all his downtime trolling in the dark depth of the sweaty armpits of online forums like 4chan.

Set in a world inhabited by devils which appear to be the manifestation of people's fear of things that includes everything from everyday objects like guns and katanas to supernatural beings such as ghosts and fox spirits, the main character Denji is a 16 year old downtrodden bum whose life gets turned around after he befriends and fuses with a chainsaw devil, allowing him to transform into a devil himself with the head of a chainsaw (not to mention chainsaws coming out of his arms too).

The premise is either bizarre, brilliant or stupid depending on your point of view. Maybe a good dose of each. There's a certain barrier to entry with this anime: Chainsaw Man isn't just unabashedly shounen with all its questionable shounen logic, it also at times resembles the wish fulfilment wet dream of someone who fits the profile of the protagonist. The lewd humour is excessive when it misses the mark, and stuff like Denji becoming Makima's dog just feels like it's taken straight out of someone's twisted fantasy. On top of that, the horror and action elements in the early episodes comes across as toothless. There is little tension to the horror, just iffy CG animation and extravagant amounts of blood and gore. Meanwhile, the most interesting thing about the unimaginative action sequences is the stupidity of Denji repeatedly punching devils despite having chainsaws for arms. Overall, it's as though the staff went all out crafting the incredibly stylish opening and per-episode endings and didn't leave enough in the tank for the show itself.

But somewhere along the series I suddenly realised that I was having a pretty good time watching it. While not all the jokes worked, but many of them are outrageously funny. But it's the particular brand of humour that makes the show stand out - the entertainment value you get bears a similarity to that of watching a high calibre troll in action (as long as it's not you being trolled). The epic shithousery, the willingness to completely trash a serious build up and the constant, easy banter between the characters all contribute to a fun romp of a show.

Speaking of the characters, they beat at the very heart of the Chainsaw Man. The series is filled with characters with personalities: Denji and Power as a couple of idiotic two-bit punks, Mikima with her cold blooded manipulativeness, Aki's earnestness, and Himeno with all her messy psychological baggage. The interactions between these characters is effortlessly delightful and the chemistry between them natural. Despite the series general sense of irreverence, these characters sneakily attaches themselves to your heart, and then ... BAM! Shit hits the fan with the force of a bullet train.

But just as Chainsaw Man succeeds in drawing me in, it finishes on a whimper rather than a wham. When it comes to shounen, I think everyone's familiar with the trope of long running shounens flowing with all the urgency of a viscous turd. However I'm beginning to think that single-cour seasonal adaptations aren't the answer either. The pacing feels completely unbalanced by what I suspect is the restrictions of the low episode count. Even during its finer moments, I sometimes have the sense that the show is moving too fast, for example the disconcerting way the devil powers in the show jumps from what feels like 10 to 100. And following the explosive climactic highs in the second half, Chainsaw Man wraps up too quickly and too neatly. The payload feels hollow after what came before, and I'm left with a strong sense of "is that it?" at the end.

Despite the weak ending, I'm definitely up for watching more of Chainsaw Man. In addition to exceptional character writing, it has this irresistible, lovable rogue kind of charm as well as an awesome sense of style (did I mention those openings and endings kick so much ass?) ... I just hope the next time out we get a two-cour season.