We only have ourselves to blame for this one! Despite seeing a plethora of character fanart over the last few years, Chainsaw Man was lost in our manga backlog (and then lost in the void of reprinting troubles).
By the time we finally picked up Volume 1, the anime had already been announced—but thankfully, despite the fandom’s love for their characters, they’ve done an amazing job at keeping a tight lid on potential spoilers. It’s pretty rare to go unspoiled about a manga’s plot for so many years, and Chainsaw Man really benefits from going in blind.
If you’ve missed the hype for Chainsaw Man, it takes a bleak world crippled by devil attacks, and throws our main character—a downtrodden teenager now fused with a chainsaw-wielding dog devil—headfirst into the gory mix. This series is ruthlessly bloody, and definitely not for the faint of heart—it’s around Tokyo Ghoul levels of gore, but with (ironically) less body horror.
What really caught our attention with Chainsaw Man is the mangaka’s willingness to flip the script on its head. Characters die, and stay dead, almost without warning. The main character truly acts like a normal teenage boy—which is to say, he’s horny and doesn’t think before he jumps, but has good intentions. The comedy is on-point, breaking up the tragic violence before throwing the reader right back into the fray. Discordant pieces come together to work in harmony and create an enthralling read.
We recommend using the time before the anime’s debut (likely in 2023) to read through the first eleven volumes of Chainsaw Man. The second part of the series has just begun publication in Japan with translated chapters available via Manga Plus (Shonen Jump App)!
