In the story of Chainsaw Man, bloody action and bold genre deconstruction is the norm, but even in a savage shonen anime series like this, there is still time for more personal, intimate stories as well. Protagonist Denji may be the brutal Chainsaw Man, but he’s not a monster. He is a teenage boy who just wants to live a comfortable, happy life, and he wants someone to share that life with.
As many shonen fans can relate to, Denji is eager to get his first-ever girlfriend, and he hopes that a partner will make him feel more fulfilled and less lonely. He may be a crude and obnoxious fellow at times, but given the chance, Denji would freshen up, be on his best behavior and try out some potential dates from all over the world of anime. Plenty of girls are his type.
10/10 Mina Ashido Is A Lively Genki Girl Hero (My Hero Academia)
Denji would like a girlfriend who shares his easygoing personality and his carefree lifestyle, meaning he and Momo Yaoyorozu would not really get along. But among the girls of class 1-A, Denji would have much better luck with the cheerful genki girl Mina Ashido, the “Pinky” trainee hero.
If Denji behaves himself, he could impress Mina with his unique chainsaw “Quirk” and make a good impression with simple but effective romantic gestures such as a low-cost bouquet of flowers. Or he could simply invite Mina to a burger joint and happily chat the afternoon away with her as fellow heroes.
9/10 Cana Alberona Likes To Have Fun (Fairy Tail)
The Fairy Tail guild is a massive found family, and each guild member would gladly risk their lives for the rest, seeing them as brothers and sisters in arms. Cana Alberona is like that too, and in between drinking sessions, she is a reliable and powerful ally as a wielder of magical cards.
Meanwhile, Denji has at least some appreciation for the power of found families and friendships since he was pretty lonely before meeting Power, Makima, and Aki. He can put up with them, but he’d much rather hang out with a cool girl like Cana and fight by her side if devils appear. Their personalities would mesh so well.
8/10 Nobara Kugisaki Is Tough & Cool (Jujutsu Kaisen)
In many ways, the hammer-wielding Nobara Kugisaki is like a tamer verison of Power, with both of them being hard-hitting shonen heroines who don’t tolerate any nonsense from friend or foe alike. Unlike the fiend Power, though, Nobara has better life skills and won’t betray an ally for any reason.
Nobara is more ladylike than the crude Power, and she also knows how to balance her beauty with her raw power as a sorcerer, which is a winning combination. Denji would love that in any potential date, and he wouldn’t miss a chance to explore Tokyo’s many attractions with her on a casual date.
7/10 Kohaku Fights For Her Friends (Dr. Stone)
If the petrification wave swept through the world of Chainsaw Man and Denji awoke in a new Stone Age, he would need some reliable allies ASAP. For the sake of food and shelter, Denji would join Senku Ishigami’s Kingdom of Science as a bodyguard, but he’d rather hang out with Kohaku in his daily life.
Denji can respect anyone who knows how to defend themselves, and Kohaku doesn’t even need a devil contract to fight with such ferocity. She and Denji would soon get together as down-to-earth, practical people who know what they like. Denji had better impress Kohaku’s father first, though.
6/10 Katarina Claes Is No Ordinary Princess (My Next Life As A Villainess)
Denji’s first impression of Katarina Claes would be that she’s some snooty, elitist princess, but he would be wonderfully wrong. Katrina may be the daughter of a powerful noble family in the otome game world of Fortune Lover, but she is actually much more like Denji than anyone would expect.
Fancy ball gowns aside, Katarina shares Denji’s love of food, friendship, and fun, the humble basics of any happy life. She is all about the joys of everyday life, not the pretentious trappings of high society, and she has such warm charisma despite her denseness. She’d make a great date for Denji to any ball.
5/10 Chika Fujiwara Knows How To Party (Kaguya-Sama: Love Is War)
The aloof Kaguya Shinomiya and the uptight Miko Iino wouldn’t tolerate even five minutes of Denji’s company even if Denji’s on his best behavior, but the pink-haired Chika Fujiwara is a different story. Like Katarina, Chika comes from high society, but she hardly ever acts like it.
Instead, Chika is all about fun, games, and gossip, and she can turn anything into a wacky adventure. She and Denji both like to make up their lives as they go and enjoy the comforts of the immediate world around them, so they’d get along great on an adventurous first date. Anything could happen.
4/10 Shikimori Would Give Denji A Chance (Shikimori’s Not Just A Cutie)
Shikimori is a tough, smart, beautiful, and kind high school girl who generously gives anyone a chance if she sees some good in them. Denji might come off a little too strongly at first, but he really isn’t a bad person, just a lost boy who needs some stability in his life. Shikimori can work with that.
In return for Shikimori’s generosity, Denji would be on his very best behavior and keep his wild side in check. Shikimori is all about warm, stable relationships, and Denji craves that more than anything. He could put his best foot forward and ask Shikimori out on their first date, and it should go fairly well.
3/10 Sera Just Wants Real Friends (Black Summoner)
Like most isekai anime series, Black Summoner had a demon king character, but he is already dead. Instead, protagonist Kelvin spent more time with the king’s sole daughter, the princess Sera, who is a wild but kind girl who eagerly embraced the power of friendship.
Sera and Denji would understand each other if they met. They have sinister powers that most people aren’t meant to see, and they were both terribly lonely until someone gave them a chance. Their similar backgrounds and roughly similar personalities could lead to a solid friendship, and perhaps a wholesome romance, too.
2/10 Yumeko Jabami Is Wild & Free, Just Like Denji (Kakegurui)
On one hand, Denji would be terrible at high-stakes gambling, and Yumeko Jabami has no supernatural powers. Then again, these two shonen heroes have similar personalities, both being reckless risk-takers who wish to live life to its fullest no matter what anyone thinks.
It also helps that outside of those games, Yumeko is an easygoing, friendly, and open-minded person who takes life as it comes, and she would find Denji so funny. If Denji could work up the courage, he’d ask Yumeko out, and she would definitely give him a shot. Love is a gamble, after all.
1/10 Raphtalia & Denji Have Some Common Ground (The Rising Of The Shield Hero)
The demon princess Sera isn’t the only one who can identify with Denji’s rough lifestyle. Raphtalia lost her family and friends when slavers raided her hometown, and she ended up in captivity until the gritty isekai hero Naofumi recruited her as a party member. Now Raphtalia views Naofumi as her foster father, as does Filo.
Raphtalia is close to Naofumi, but she would also give Denji a shot if he got isekai’d here, too. He also had very little growing up, and he just needs someone who will accept him for who he is. Raphtalia would sympathize, and perhaps they could grow much closer soon after that.