Chainsaw Man

Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto.

Chainsaw Man follows the story of Denji, an impoverished young man who after making a contract with a dog-like devil named Pochita, he fuses with Denji, granting him the ability to transform parts of his body into chainsaws. Denji eventually joins the Public Safety Devil Hunters, a government agency focused on fighting against devils whenever they become a threat to the world.

Overview

Part 1: Public Safety Arc	Serialised weekly from Weekly Shonen Jump Vol. 1, 2019 (3 December 2018) to Vol. 2, 2021 (14 December 2020).
Part 2: School Arc	Serialisation begins on 13 July 2022 on Shonen Jump+.
Novel "Buddy Stories"	Novelised by Sakaku Hishikawa.
Comics	12 volumes already published (Volumes 1-11 are Part 1, Volume 12 to Part 2).

Chainsaw Man (チェンソーマン, Chensō Man) is a manga series by Tatsuki Fujimoto serialised in Weekly Shonen Jump. It is a horror action work depicting the epic battles of devil hunters who hunt devils. The work has a unique world setting that combines Tatsuki Fujimoto's distinctive sense of design, cynical humour, depictions of a society in a state of despair and stagnation, and the contrasting lively characterisation.

The style of the stories reflects the author's taste for films, and there is a chaotic atmosphere that can be seen in B-horror and Z-movies.

According to an illustration contributed by the author to commemorate the three millionth copy of the series, the work is drawn with the aim of creating an "wicked FLCL" and a "'pop' Abara".

As of October 2022, the total number of copies in circulation was 18 million.

Part 1 of the story revolves around Denji, the Chainsaw Man, and depicts how he overcomes hardships and tribulations to become established as a human being.

From the part 2, Asa Mitaka newly appears as another protagonist, and the style of the story shifts to a more horror-oriented one. While the first part emphasises the depiction of lively "dynamics", the second part is characterised by its depiction of "stillness", which is concerned with the emotional portrayal of the characters.

Plot

In a fictional present-day society under threat from devils.

Denji, a young boy living in poverty due to a large debt left behind by his father, somehow manages to survive by working as a devil hunter with Pochita, a chainsaw devil.

One day, Denji is targeted by a cruel devil who has made a deal with the debt collecting yakuza, and his very life is about to be ended. At that moment, Pochita entrusts Denji with his own life and tells him to show me Denji's dream in his place. Denji rises again as a Chainsaw Man and defeats the devil.

Later, Makima, the Public Safety Devil Hunter, appears at the scene. Denji follows her and becomes a Public Safety Devil Hunter.

Characters

Public Safety Devil Hunters

Denji

Pochita

Makima

Aki Hayakawa

Power

Himeno

Kobeni Higashiyama

Kishibe

Beam

Galgali

Angel

Princi

Those who seek the heart of Denji/Chainsaw

Other Characters

Characters appearing from Part 2

Mitaka Asa

Yuko

Terms

Devil(s)

Devils are monsters that are created when people become afraid of certain objects or concepts. Although they share the same name, they are very different from the religious concept of devils.

Devil Hunter(s)

Devil hunters are people whose profession is to defeat the devils mentioned above. In order to fight devils, in addition to being armed with firearms, swords and other common weapons, they are allowed by law to make contracts with devils. Most devil hunters have a contract with a devil of some kind.

There are two types of devil hunters: private sector and Public Safety, and devils that cannot be defeated by the private sector are passed on to Public Safety.

It is a violation of the rules for the public security to defeat a devil that the private sector has made a deal with.

Public Safety Special Division 4

The department to which Denji, Aki, Power and others belong. It is a special department within Public Safety, and is an experimental unit that incorporates devils and Fiend that would normally be exterminated as its members.

Hell

Unlike Hell in the religious sense, where people with sins fall after death, in the world of the Chainsaw Man, it refers to the world where devils are born and live.

TV Anime

A TV anime series started airing on 11 October 2022. It is broadcast every Tuesday at midnight on the TV Tokyo network. Animation production is by MAPPA.

Stuff

Original story by	Tatsuki Fujimoto
Director	Ryū Nakayama
Series composition, script by	Hiroshi Seko
Character Design	Kazutaka Sugiyama
Action director	Tatsuya Yoshihara
Chief Direction	Masato Nakazono
Devil designs	Kiyotaka Oshiyama
Art director	Yusuke Takeda
Color Designer	Naomi Nakano
Photography supervisor	Yohei Miyahara
Music	Kensuke Ushio
Production	MAPPA