[INCLUDES SPOILERS OF PART 2 AND JOJO PART 6]

If there was a manga tailor-made for every aspect of me, it would be part 1 of CSM. From start to end, it’s one of the most beautiful and chaotic rollercoaster of emotions I have experienced from a modern manga. Its stylized tarantino-esque violence and absurdist sense of humor hiding a painfully compelling tragedy and some of the most believable and human characters and relationships, all the while exploring the topic of individuality and dreaming for more vs satisfaction with what you have. Its incredible panelling showcasing a mastery of page composition and flow, in action and quiet moments, the likes of which I’ve only ever seen from Kishimoto drawing Naruto, yet nowhere near to the filmmaking techniques Fujimoto has adopted seamlessly into manga format. The way it bends the manga rulebook to showcase some of these devil powers is mind-boggling. Its artstyle depicting fast-paced high-scale battles with gorgeous spreads, background and foreground pieces, yet showcasing within it some of the most subtle expressive character facial and body acting from a manga. It’s happy, it’s wholesome, it’s exhilarating, it’s funny, it’s sad, it’s tragic, it’s realistic…it is human. Its emotional rollercoaster and masterful tonal juggling showcasing Fujimoto’s deep adoration for films and manga, just as equally as his love for life, with all its happiness and tragedy. This is life…this is Chainsaw Man.

FINAL RATING FOR PART 1: 100/100

That’s how I bookended my journey with Part 1 and on multiple re-reads I realized how deeply connected I felt towards it. Whether it be to the long struggle against life’s twisted obstacles, or the journey to figuring out what you even want and finding your own route rather than walk a preset one…there is so much subtlety, poignancy and relatability hidden behind its loud facade and by the end, I cherished the quiet human moments of tragedy or bittersweet realization more than the entertainingly bombastic action it constantly threw at you. So imagine my excitement when Part 2 not only doubled down on those explorations, but also reframed them through the meta-narrative lens of Chainsaw Man as an almost mythological-like protagonist by others, covering the insecure weakness of its human host.

What is Chainsaw Man? Is Denji anything without Chainsaw Man? Does he view Chainsaw Man as a separate entity or as the underlying facet of himself? Does embracing Chainsaw Man mean being rooted to the traumatic manipulative past or being able to forge a brand new future independently? Can he be appreciated for himself rather than the devil he harbors within? Can Denji and Pochita be appreciated as one whole, rather than the separate parts the entire narrative and conflict is built around? The in-universe franchising and superhero-fication of CSM and its overarching meta-narrative of the idea of fanbases is the ideal backdrop for Part 2 to explore these topics that the climax of Part 1 ends up thematically asking. So much of what it wants to accomplish and portray is ambitious and conceptual to such a degree, that it would make part 1 seem straightforward by comparison….and yet what started as me utterly adoring the first half turned into conflict to frustrating sourness…and finally, disappointing indifference to how bad it was in the end.

So many of my favourite chapters of the series are from part 2 (98, 102, 105, 108, 117, 119…actually the whole aquarium arc lol, 126, 130, 137, 140, 151, 155, 170, really any ch with comedic goldmine Katana Man or Barem, the dream chs of the final arc), as Fujimoto at his peak delivers symbolically-loaded chapters, deliberate callbacks that serve as meaningful narrative re-contextualization rather than just nostalgic glasses, and character interactions and buildup that thrive as the central crux of how the characters themselves are written, characterized and developed. I love how Denji is written here initially, I love Asa and Yoru, as well as their developing relationship and contrast to Denji and Pochita’s relationship. I love the whole sidecast of part 2 and I especially adore how cleverly it brings back side-characters from part 1 that felt underdeveloped, from the much more developed and thematically critical and layered Yoshida, to the fanbase and shonen jump villain satire Barem to the absolute comedic goldmine that is Katana Man. It isn’t comprised of good flawed people or bad flawed people…it’s just flawed people. They are selfish, they can be kind, they can be cruel, they can be scared, they can overthink everything or they can be sucked into a different philosophy or purpose. The black and white morally innocent lens that Denji wore for part 1, due to his overwhelmingly fucked up environment he grew up in, are gone here. He is used to normalcy, and with it, both him and the reader have gained morally grey lens in part 2: Nobody is idealistically good. Nobody is cruelly evil. Everyone is flawed, everyone is human, everyone is real. If you try roleplaying as a cruel shonen villain like Barem, or an idealistically “good guy” like Fakesaw Man (lol), Fujimoto punishes you as that is not how his world, how real life actually works. Hell, for as sexually outrageous as Denji’s proclamations and surface-level motivations are, he is also significantly more layered, more confused, more determined in seeking his place and purpose, and morally grey….he is at his most human here. Ironically, this very part sees Denji inadvertently find the answer to the question he asked in part 1: If he had lost his human heart? It is also a funny as fuck manga, like fujimoto’s experience really pays off in this part in how much he nails his surreal comedic timing amidst the chaos and bleakness that part 2 slowly coats itself with as it progresses. This is also the part where I think fujimoto’s visual storytelling language is at its most impactful…when everything around it is nailed properly.

The cracks slowly start to show. Around the time of the Aquarium arc, I now consider that chunk in particular to be some of my favourite chapter runs of CSM…however, I really felt off about it reading on a weekly basis. Reading it now without the weekly wait made me appreciate it so much more, however I also saw why I didn’t like it initially on weekly read: it felt…pointless. Rather meandering…rather thin in how each chapter felt like it was only depicting one scene and then it abruptly ends with a cliffhanger that becomes another fakeout by the next chapter. I see now that this arc’s strength was in its seemingly meandering nothingness: it’s a backdrop where its dialogue and character interactions develop and reveal more facets of the present characters and their relationship. It has my favourite Denji and Asa interactions and development and the arc ends on a well-timed punchline of such a comedic peak, I bursted laughing for 5 mins straight…cuz seriously that IS NOT HOW MUCH AN AQUARIUM COSTS TO BUY????!!! It’s the arc that showcases how well Fujimoto’s new approach could work…and how much it also can fail if not handled properly.

Enter Falling Devil and Chainsaw Man Church, where the story’s overwhelming ambition falls under the cracks that turn into structure-shattering earthquakes by the final two arcs. The way the former arc depicts the past chains of trauma as a self-destructing disaster and the latter arc meta-narratively uses the two sides of the Chainsaw Man fanbase as a method of deconstructing Denji and what his identity actually is should mean a formula for a homerun of a story…but unfortunately it comes off by the end as a Jenga tower one piece away from falling apart. I love Asa and Denji’s traumatic re-examinations during falling devil, I love Barem’s reintroduction in the church arc, I love his dynamic with Denji and how he mirrors the fanbase in how Chainsaw Man is perceived, I love how it culminates in the fantastic climax by Denji’s burning home, I love EVERY SINGLE FUCKING BIT where Katana Man appears cuz every scene with him makes me erupt in laughter. But for all the praise I give these arcs in fantastic characterization and thematic exploration, it is here where the terrible pacing, the worsening artwork and the sense of indifference in atmosphere towards the events going during the story become more and more noticeable and how heavily it reduces the impact of what the arcs are trying to say…worst of all, further cracks show itself here where part 2’s worst writing aspect present itself: dull repetition.

Enter Age Devil and War Devil arcs…where besides some very rare sparks of brilliance, I felt absolutely nothing. Legit…nothing. A void where there should be emotions or retrospective thinking on what the chs are leaving me to digest…nothing of that sort like the past arcs. I…don’t like these arcs. They are frustratingly bad. Potential and ambition and creativity buried under a Fujimoto that has clearly given up by this point and is running on fumes. There are a few moments of great characterization, payoff and even entertainment (the fami twist, the dream chs with Asa and Kid Denji, Denjiman tranformation and the outrageousness of Yoru turning countries into weapons)…but they are quickly overshadowed by how predictable and frustratingly regressive the whole thing is. We get it, Denji lets his sexual impulses talk for him, we get it he’ll revert back to that for like the 12th time and have no development, reach a couple of epiphanies and then repeat the regression cycle again STOP IT!!! The explosive bombastic hyperviolence Fujimoto loves so much is now downright incomprehensible and awfully drawn so you don’t look forward to them anymore. The aging devil and yoru fights are disappointingly predictable, lacking all the unpredictable cleverness of Denji’s tactics in part 1…and even the cleverly poetic conclusion that Makima’s fight had, which feels sorely missed in Yoru’s fight. Asa feels strangely relegated even with her appearances here, the final reveals feel very lame by the end…less of a “oh my god!” and more of a “about fucking time we learnt about them!”. The commentary on Chainsaw Man as perceived by the surrounding feels…lacking, either made up of a really good moment with the fire devil, or a lot of repeating the same points explored before in the church arc. A lot of empty air chs where the very few good moments are like fragments of an amnesiac trying to remember something, amidst the repetitive nothingness surrounding these arcs. And then there is the final chapter….yea.

I won’t lie, I think the final ch is okay. Largely to do with the fact that “obligatory happy shonen” ending felt right to my heart, cuz good god they needed this break. Yea the plot kinda shits itself in retrospect with this, yea the penultimate chapter is actually the worst chapter of the series, yea it utterly destroys its main thematic exploration by jarringly framing Denji and Pochita as two separate entities rather than one whole, with Denji’s final fate not being a direct or indirect result of his actions…hell, it even retcons the few permament consequences Denji has actually accomplished…cuz now he hasn’t freed Reze from being a soviet weapon, Aki is nonexistent, Nayuta is back but can be explained as remaining like that due to a lack of a chainsaw devil to go the makima route, he is right back to being a government dog, severely undermining part 1’s ending and Denji’s individuality. There is only a loose semblance of change in how Power interacts with him on “first meeting”, but besides that it really feels like the ending came of no direct consequence from the actions of Denji himself and not Chainsaw Man. It feels like reading Jojo Part 6’s ending, but Star Platinum randomly gains self-sentience of its own and beats Pucci in Made In Heaven. Yea okay it sucks on so many levels narratively and thematically, but it goes to show that I utterly loved this cast to the point that i’m willing to barely push all the major flaws to the side.

Unfortunately, the final chapter proves my final point on why I heavily dislike Part 2, in spite of the numerous strengths I listed before. The boldness, the risk, the excitement of subversion from Fujimoto during his prime in Part 2 is gone by the end, replaced by a tired weary mangaka, sterilizing his scope to a boring nothing of a slog that says nothing or is misguided in what it wants to even accomplish with its commentary.

What is Chainsaw Man? The answer to that question shifted somewhere along the line, but just like Fujimoto, I honestly forgot about it myself at this point. Really now, it has been replaced with another question, reflective of Fujimoto’s inner turmoil as he was barely hanging on to drawing this shit out:

What even was the point of this?

FINAL RATING FOR PART 2: 45/100

Unfortunately, I love this series regardless. Yes, it is largely because of part 1, but it also has had a deep personal impact on me as a whole, for better and for worse. I have friends that also have that one manga or piece of media that has had a large impact on them, whether on an emotional or eyeopening level, and to me CSM is one of those very few that attains that sort of mark on me. The way part 1 spoke its humanity and philosophy through the lens of loud noise and hyperactivity resonated deeply with me, large chunks of what it wanted to say reflecting my pre-existing personal turmoil and inner thoughts and serving as an eyeopener for them. I can speak a lot about it, but I don’t want to get even more personal than I already got…because it would open existing old wounds of deeply masked insecurity and lack of individuality that I connected a lot with Denji. I don’t even know if the way I reacted to the constant regression was a sign of improvement on my side (being tired of it) or a sign that it still remains a possibility within me. Whatever happens, i’m glad CSM was there to pat my shoulder and tell me to face my struggles head on…in its own weird fucked-up hyperviolent unpredictable way. But hey, that’s life as well. It can be weird, it can be fucked, wildly unpredictable and bittersweet…but you still keep going on. It’s up to me whether to dream about being better or be content with what I got.

Thank you Tatsuki Fujimoto.

Thank you Chainsaw Man.

✌️