Before reading this review, ask yourself, out of all the anime you have seen, why go back and rewatch Chainsaw Man?

2022 was a year for anime where most of the highly acclaimed, fan-loved shows went fairly under the radar until they began airing. Bocchi the rock, Lycoris Recoil, Summertime Rendering, Cyberpunk: Edgerunners, Ya Boy Kongming... I could go on and on about shows that blew up post-release (and for good reason, all of these shows are great).

Chainsaw Man, on the opposite spectrum, was massively hyped up pre-release, starting more than a year before its first episode even aired. Unlike the list of anime given previously, this show simply did not deliver on its hype. There are a number of reasons Chainsaw Man's anime was a let down. While the easiest topic to bring up is its wildly inconsistent animation, its aesthetics sorta make up for it... and the animation being bad has more to do with poor handling by MAPPA studios (as this isnt the first anime they have had poor animation quality with).

Instead, lets just focus on the main problem with Chainsaw Man that points to why it simply didnt work out.

When I look back at Chainsaw Man, I think to myself, __" _Why would I ever go back and rewatch this show___". Most anime, whether they are a masterpiece or generic trash, tend to have at least one or two selling points that make you want to watch it. For example, Ghost Stories may have almost nothing going for it, but its dub has such great comedic relief that it is worth it to go back and watch through the predictable episodic episodes to get a good laugh. For Chainsaw Man, its really hard to convince myself that there is anything in the show that makes it worth watching again.
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Excitement - I mean cmon, this show is boring as hell most of the time. The directors decision to make Chainsaw Man into a more dramatic, cinematic experience gave the show more artistic style to it... it also turned the show into quite the bore-fest a lot of the times when nothing is going on. Due to the animation inconsistencies and the over-done humans vs demons plot, the fights feel quite lackluster. I cant imagine anyone would ever go to CSM if they were looking for epic or intense fights.

Emotion - Shonen dont tend to have a whole lot of emotionally drawing stories to them, so this isnt really a fault with Chainsaw Man. Its just important to also point out you wouldnt ever pick to watch this show if you were looking for an emotional connection to a story or its characters.

At the end of the day,,, in the year 2022 alone, there were at least a dozen other anime released that simply captivate the viewer better than Chainsaw Man. Whether for its action, animation, emotion, story, characters, etc... others shows simply do these aspects in a better way. At a time where the production of anime has never been at a higher quality, Chainsaw Man will simply not last long term with its half-assed anime adaptation. The lack of support in Japan, and the poor DVD sales prove that the show has already fallen out of favor, and I cant imagine thinks will get better for the anime without drastic changes.