Well, I finally finished the most hyped anime of 2022 - so, is Chainsaw Man as good as they say? Is it a masterpiece that will define the future of the medium as we know it? Is it the perfect adaptation which all other productions should strive to reach the standard of? Or is it overrated, overhyped Shonen garbage, perfect for MAPPA bootlickers?
Well, it's neither - not yet, anyway.
But it is pretty damn good.
Chainsaw Man follows Denji, a stupid lil dude who gets the kickass power of having a chainsaw face, chainsaw hands and eventually chainsaw feet after he becomes one with his adorable little chainsaw-dog, as he takes down supernatural monsters known as devils all for one grand, epic goal: Getting laid.
With that kind of batshit insane premise, a lesser writer than Tatsuki Fujimoto - the wonderfully weird author behind the series - would most likely fail to write an actually compelling or poignant work of art amidst the chaos, and I would forgive them for that; to be perfectly honest, Chainsaw Man would still be fairly enjoyable if it was just an awesomely violent rollercoaster as the pitch suggests.
However, it is much more, which makes it fascinating to talk about.
You see, for every horny joke and every delightfully gorey kill you watch happen in Chainsaw Man, you will also find a little something more; whether it be commentary on the nature of power dynamics, on the way which humans form relationships, on the way we handle grief or on the complex intricacies of human connection. And then, you'll be hit with a scene of two teenagers kicking the shit out of a man made of katanas' balls.
This, however, does not make Chainsaw Man interesting because of how funny the contrast is or anything similar - it makes Chainsaw Man interesting because of how well integrated these two aspects of it are. So well integrated, in fact, that I don't think they could exist without one another; for instance, take the way the show handles that aforementioned scene of Denji and Aki, his co-worker in the Public Safety Department, kicking a man in the balls:
At this point in the story, Aki and Denji have both come to a standstill in their relationship: Aki has a grudging respect for Denji, who he has come to see as an ally due to their shared goal of hunting down the Gun Devil, the apparent main antagonist of the series; Denji, on the other hand, sees Aki as an annoying but tolerable roommate who he has to work with to achieve his goals. The two have also suffered a loss within Special Divison 4 of the Public Safety Department - that of Himeno, Aki's partner and Denji's first friend, who was killed at the hands of Katana Man (who does have an official name, but Katana Man sounds way better) earlier in the season. Now, they stand in front of their defeated and captured foe. As Aki requests backup from their allies, Denji proposes a challenge to his co-worker: They will take turns kicking the man in the balls and the winner will be whoever makes him scream the loudest before reinforcement arrives. At first, Aki is reluctant - torturing the man, he reminds Denji, is not their job; all they have to do is wait patiently. He then pulls out his only remaining connection to Himeno from his pocket - the first cigarette she ever offered him, the first and last thing that would bind them to one another. On it are written two, simple words: "Easy Revenge!". Aki considers this; considers the message his partner left behind for him, written on the link connecting them to one another even from beyond the grave. The first and last cigarette she would ever offer him now comes with another offer, another way of life she wanted him to partake in alongside smoking, which she got him addicted to - not to give up on his ambitions or sell out and join a private company, like she aimed to get him to do in life, but to take things easy. To appreciate the smaller things in life.
By taking part in "Easy Revenge", for instance.
Not because he should, but because he can. Because it would be fun.
And so, Aki stands up, and together him and Denji kick the shit out of Katana Man's balls.
And so, they finally become friends.
This is one of many such examples from the 12 episodes Chainsaw Man where a silly joke and an emotionally powerful moment are delivered together - and more are to come, as manga readers or people who have been subject to manga readers in online spaces such as myself are intimately aware. The series is wild, yes, but there is a method to that madness which is a joy to witness. What I experienced while watching this show did not make me feel like I was watching an absolute masterpiece - what it did make me feel, however, was anticipation, because every frame of it screamed at me that this series would be special, even more special than it already is. With every mysterious character it introduced and every new plot beat it teased, it promised me something marvellous was on it's way - and to be perfectly honest, I fully believe it.
Overall, Chainsaw Man has proved itself to me as a stunningly produced, beautifully drawn, expertly scored and brilliantly voice acted work of art that oozes love for the source material and love for the viewer - and, as you watch it's delightful delirium unfold, it promises you that this is only just the beginning.