If you want something that's genuinely unique, not a rip-off of other stories, then you can't go wrong with Chainsaw Man. How to put it? It's one hell of a chaotic and confusing experience. It will have you second-guessing right to the end. It uses the concept of "Show rather than tell" rigorously, so you have to pay attention to the art to make some sense of this mess. I am not lying. At first glance, it's like I am reading something but nothing, but it is something. Tatsuki Fujimoto has bizarre ways to write his story that eventually comes full-circle. It just takes a lot of time and built-up before we get there. Unless you realize "patience is a virtue," then this story might not be for you. For a while, it will feel like so many damn things are happening without any inexplicable reason. You will feel so lost and ask yourself this over and over—what the hell am I reading? I'll be honest. Before this review, I already shared a crack one just for the heck of it, and no surprise, it was negative. I predicted those would be my true feelings. Just for fun, I wrote it intentionally in a way that it feels like an angry kid wrote it. But I learned the harsh truth that sometimes you cannot judge a story before it's part or arc is finished because as soon as those last final few chapters came around. Things I taught was lost in the abyss, one being my brain, fired up and made some form of a sense of the chaotic mess I got myself in.

No, I don't understand Chainsaw Man top-to-bottom, but I can grasp Denji slightly better now. In fact, enough to know he is a good protagonist, albeit a very cringe and random one. He is not my favorite character or anything, but I can appreciate his qualities and how his mind works. Denji has no education or real-life experience in multiple fields, including socializing and what's right or wrong. Hence, he acts so damn childish and is not afraid to make a total fool of himself since he has no idea what dignity or pride happens to be. This is his story of finding his one true path and of maturing beyond his previous self. It's worth noting that Chainsaw Man is brutal and vicious, filled with detailed and grotesque gore that might turn off people unless you don't mind. This is not a manga for the faint of heart or one that wants to keep his hands on all of his brain-cells because this story will fry them as you try to make sense of what the hell you just read. To cut a long story short, it seems like Chainsaw Man's first part was used to give Denji a purpose and develop him from his naive and brash self.

At first, I could not appreciate the art-style, but the deeper I went into the story, the more I liked it. Fujimoto can draw some really bizarre and fascinating shit, but sometimes it can also be meh and derpy as all hell. He can actually draw really well with a crystal clear depiction of details. Knowing full well this is a gorey ride, you can expect to see intestines in full display, limbs being chopped off, blood, and all kinds of other violence. Honestly, it's a shocker this was approved by "Weekly Shounen Jump" for serialization. Still, I applaud them for having such guts. Even though the sequel will be serialized in Jump+, which does make sense as Chainsaw Man is definitely meant for a mature audience. There are so many WTF moments in this manga that makes astounds you to no end. I have been confused countless times and found myself pausing for a bit to breathe and digest what I just saw. If I had to nitpick on something, I had to say the comedy was not my cup of tea. I felt it was a bit forceful and didn't flow as naturally. Sometimes it also ruined some of the emotional moments for me. It's not really a good idea to have a tragic moment, then suddenly move on to comedy as that would ruin the emotions. But Chainsaw Man has made me laugh quite a bit, so it's not all that bad.

There are all kinds of characters in Chainsaw Man, but I don't really like the execution of many of them. Since it feels unnaturally fast at fleshing them out, not giving us a proper moment to get a right feel from them. Not to mention, most characters are killed off so easily and a bit cheap to add some shock factor and to get us emotional. Sadly, I had trouble feeling much, let alone cry for the killed off characters. We don't get enough time with them to grow a strong bond. What we get is a stick that is already half-way broken, and if you give it a light tap, it collapses almost instantly. Don't get me wrong, I did feel sad, but my face was unchanged as I was flipping through the chapters. Don't get me even started on all those hot and crazy female characters that came at lightning speed and were gone just as quickly. I have my issues with Chainsaw Man, as you can see, but it was a good read. I can tell I might enjoy it even more on a reread. It's definitely the kind of story you can get more value and reward reading it again, but that became apparent to me quite late in the story.

I wanna mention that the final arc was a bit too rushed for my taste, and I wish it was a bit more slowly. This is obviously based on preference, as some prefer a fast-paced story while others are more tasteful and meticulous. There were times when it felt like I was skipping a few pages or even chapters while flipping through the manga. From what I can see, the pacing was the biggest problem, and some of the execution could be done more fluently. I had fun all said and done, even if I felt reading it was a bit slog at the start. I felt like the investment I put into it was more or less worth the time. Not like I wasted any time since it's a pretty damn quick read with only 97 chapters. I am pumped for the anime that is coming out at the hands of Studio Mappa. I hope they keep it as uncensored as possible. The way the story concluded also makes me fired up to see how the sequel plays out. Some might even say that will be the main part as this felt more like a prologue to me. If you've not read Chainsaw Man already, I can safely recommend it and approve that the words of praise are quite genuine. It's not perfect and, in my opinion, not a masterpiece, but it got a tinge of those qualities. I will give it that much. Truth be told, I am glad I wrote this article. It helped me appreciate Chainsaw Man a lot more.