Denji’s a poor young man who’ll do anything for money, even hunting down Devils with his pet devil-dog Pochita. But his life gets turned upside down when he’s betrayed by someone he trusts. Now with the power of a Devil inside him, Denji’s become a whole new man—Chainsaw Man!
In order to achieve the greatest goal in human history—to touch a boob—Denji will risk everything in a fight against the dangerous Bat Devil. But will getting what he wants actually make him happy…?
There are aspects of this book I like, but the creator will just not give up on the boob obsession. I thought there was going to be some development in chainsaw-wielding Denji's maturity at first based on his reaction to a dream come true, but the author quickly backtracked and doubled down, having two more female characters manipulating Denji's actions with promises of sexual favors.
I was ready to give up on the series midway through the book, but the final chapters had an escape room scenario with an intriguing cliffhanger, so I'm going to continue on for at least one more volume.
So this volume felt messier and like a gore-for-the-sake-of-gore type manga. I really enjoyed Denji's backstory in the first volume, but now he's overshadowed by a myriad of new characters.
Character introduction
Like Bleach, it can be tough to keep up with the characters in the beginning - but the stark difference here is that Chainsaw Man decided to blast about five characters' backstories with a blunderbuss at the reader at the same time.
Even though I enjoy the new motley bunch, I'm really not that emotionally invested in them versus the kids from Promised Neverland, where I wanted to keep the main cast safe as a Mamma Bear from the beginning.
Style, Contrast and Individuality
The art style is acceptable and clean, but lacks anything that stands out as memorable. I feel as if the mangaka was going for a Soul Eater-type style, but the emotions plastered on their faces are lacklustre. Here's a shot from the manga versus a shot from Bleach:
So make up your own minds on stylisation there.
The story and plot
These are...okay, The plot is still only a foundation with no structure, but the story has progressed. Denji now works with other agents in killing demons, and the action is fun to scroll through. The character development complements the story arc. As usual fan service always grates at my eyes. I want stories, not boobs.
An okay read - it was perfect for me since I was emotionally and physically exhausted and didn't have to do much thinking.
P.S. One scary fact is this manga went all Corona virus on our asses
I’m soooo glad I picked up volume 2! I know opinions are divided on this series but I think it’s great! :)
This volume opens with a showdown between Denji (as Chainsaw Man) and the Bat devil who is pretty monstrous! And Denji prevails…because he is desperate to touch Power’s boobs! Yes, that is the real reason behind his victory!! I know this is incredibly puerile but this is Denji we’re talking about here, a teenage boy with raging hormones and lots of urges so I can forgive the author for pursuing this route.
I also think this is what makes it so comedic - that Denji will willingly risk his life just to touch breasts! And what’s even more funny is that the female characters know this and therefore “exploit” his weakness by promising everything (Makima).
Elsewhere, we learn more of Aki’s backstory which is pretty devastating (I do have a special thing for him) as well as his relationship with another devil hunter, Himeno, and why he became a hunter in the first place - to kill the Gun Devil (a task that Denji has been given by Makima) in exchange for s e ….
I will say the dialogue at times can be pretty clunky but I’m having too much fun with this series so far to really let it affect me. Plus the ending compels me to pick up volume 3 ASAP!! *laughs manically*
3 stars 。・:*˚:✧。 Not much really happened in this vol just Denki being his horny old self. I’m excited to see where this series goes and I really like the new characters that have been introduced.
TW// animal death, mentions of murder, mentions of gun violence
This was a fun volume. I really like how Meowy gives Power a sense of humanity and compassion that she otherwise lacks in this series. Kobeni was also introduced in this volume and she’s one of my favorites.
This one was quite good! We meet Power another one of the devil hunters and well the tension between her and Denji is high and to grant his requests she wants him to find her cat and they do, the battle is interesting and then the stuff with Makima happens. Yeah some scenes are R rated for a shonen manga and then more revelations are to be had which is cool and their next mission is in some hotel but they are trapped and the devil here is unique.
Good volume and serves to expand on the characters and the adult themes in the book and it holds nothing back and shows different threats and what can lead people to madness when confined in this world? Also interesting backstory for Aki and Himeno. The art is still good!
There was a loooooot of different character backstory being piled on at once in this volume, making things kind of hard to get into. The plot is getting a little more interesting, though I still feel like something is missing from getting me hooked to this story. The end cliffhanger was easily the best part (I'm intrigued!)
...I also think Aki is on his way to becoming my fav.
June 29th 2021: Second Time I did a re-read for both 1st and 2nd volume to get back to the context of the story, I wanted to wait to get my hands on the physical copies of this manga, but since is always out-of-stock, I'm going to continue the story on digital.
By far, I love Denji so much, he's really like a foolish kid that doesn't know how to behave, I can't wait to see his character development!!
May 16th 2021: First Time So. This volume was good, I'm indeed so surprised by this story. Is so chaotic but so deep and the same time.
Aki is my favorite already. The dynamics between the rest of the squad is pretty entertaining to read.
When Aki first showed his power through the contract he made with the devil, I literally swooned 👀💖 HE'S HOT and his backstory of him losing his family and when he first met Himeno made me want to care more about him. I like that he's (forced to be) living with Denji and Power now but the way he's controlling them is just too funny. It's definitely chaotic
I love Himeno too, and I really love the dynamic between her and Aki. Would love to see more actions from these two ✨
This starts off with a bang as Chainsaw man goes head to head with the big bad from last volume. Gory would be the word but holy shit is it brutal fight. Then we get some amazing funny moments as we lead onto the next story act. When our main hero finally gets to touch some boobs he feels empty. his dreams weren't what he wanted. BUT when he touched the boobs of the woman he liked, everything changed. Now he must defeat the "Gun Devil" the one who caused so much chaos and destruction in the past.
This volume is simply a blast. We get some great character development moments for plenty of the characters, crazy fights, interesting designs, and a brutal ending to a lot of the demons here. Fujimoto is on a roll with this one and I can see this becoming a smash hit in the end.
While the first volume was fully engaging and had an interesting direction, this second volume was all over the place. It first brings to a conclusion the battle with the bat creature but then it enters a whole new chapter of character introduction, amplifies the sexual innuendos, and loses you in a whole new narrative that expands on the world-building. I can't tell if it'll get better going forward but if things don't realign themselves cohesively, I'll have to drop this series going forward.
This was so good! Definitely picked up pace than the first volume. This manga series is right up my alley with gore, chaotic characters, devils and an organization to kill said devils, I mean c'mon the concept alone sounds so good. Nothing much really happened in this volume just Denji being his horny self we did learn about Aki's backstory which made me like him. I loved the new characters introduced. Overall a solid volume looking forward to the rest of the story.
I felt that nothing much really happened and Denji kept being the horny 16-year old boy that we met in the first volume. I am still waiting for something more than a bunch of random characters popping out.
After learning the motivations behind Power's sudden betrayal during their hunt for the Bat Devil, Denji has to decide between forgiving her or bringing her to justice. After completing his previous devil hunting missions and ranking up in his business, Denji receives the reward he's been working for and allies himself with new bizarre companions. When his reward doesn't live up to his expectations, he struggles to find a new motivation to keep fighting.
Volume 2 of Chainsaw Man maintains the consistently ridiculous and whacky tone of the first volume, but adds a surprising amount of depth to the character interactions, the complexity behind their seemingly simplistic motivations and some interesting details about the current state of the world. I love the disturbingly chaotic friendship between Denji and Power. They're a couple of dangerously adorable goofballs when they're together. I love how they bond over their mutual affection for their animal companions that gave meaning to their solemn lives. Denji would do anything for his dog and Power would do anything for her cat.
The action scenes and monster designs continue to be great. I really like the aesthetic of people hunting disgusting monstrosities in fancy business suits. Everyone looks so smooth and stylish. I'm also surprised how many people seem to misinterpret Denji's motivations. I don't think they're meant to be taken at face value. He's clearly a traumatized child being emotionally manipulated by adults that should know better. I think it's a bit unfair to write him off as just a dumb horny teenager with stupid motivations.
Denji gets to feel boobs and wants to kiss a girl now. This is hopelessly juvenile.
The action sequences are disorienting at times.
The characters don’t pop at all. They are all dry archetypes. The best part of this book was the goddamned chainsaw dog, and he’s now integrated with our protagonist.
The initial concept was great and the aesthetic drew me in. Now I just don’t care.