Nathaniel Clark – A&E Editor

nuc5002@psu.edu

(SPOILER ALERT FOR EPISODES 1-3) 

On October 12, the highly-anticipated anime series “Chainsaw Man” started airing on Crunchyroll. Upon being announced in late 2020, fans have been waiting to see this acclaimed manga series be animated. This is the first instance of manga artist Tatsuki Fujimoto’s work being adapted into a series, giving his work the largest exposure it has ever seen. 

When it comes to the series production, “Chainsaw Man” is being handled by MAPPA studios. While relatively young in the scheme of animation, MAPPA has quickly moved to the forefront of the anime industry, being the studio behind “Jujutsu Kaisen” and its heavily successful prequel film “0.” 

MAPPA is also responsible for animating the final season of “Attack on Titan,” where they were heavily praised for their overall fight choreography. In essence, “Chainsaw Man,” for all its massive battles and larger-than-life characters, was put in the right hands. While nothing is concrete right now, there are also rumors that MAPPA is interested in adapting Fujimoto’s other manga series “Fire Punch” in the future.    

At the time of writing this article, three episodes of “Chainsaw Man”’s 13-episode season have been released. Thus far, the anime has been an accurate retelling of the source material. The series follows Denji and its chainsaw dog Pochita. Dealing with paying off the debt left by his dead father, Denji has resorted to working for the mob as a devil hunter. After getting to know these characters, the audience soon witnesses the horror of them being killed and dismembered by the Zombie Devil. As their body parts sit in a garbage can, Denji has a vision of Pochita offering the teenager his heart so he can eventually live out his dreams. Denji and Pochita then become one; a human-devil hybrid capable of growing chainsaws from its head and arms: the titular “Chainsaw Man.” He soon jumps back into action, killing the Zombie Devil.

The next morning, Denji is discovered by the Public Safety Devil Hunters. Their leader Makima steps up and confronts the chainsaw-clad figure and reciprocates after Denji asks the woman to hug him. Denji is then given two options: either to be killed as a devil or work for Public Safety. Upon learning that he will be properly fed and taken care of, Denji decides to come with the Makima. 

From there, the show has also introduced Aki and Power, who, including Denji, make up the main trio of “Chainsaw Man.” Aki is the leader of the specialized division to which Denji was assigned. While he desired to work with Makima, Denji is instead working with Power, a hunter who is similar in human-devil status. 

Comparing the anime to its source material, the show has covered only 8 chapters in its first 3 episodes  With the manga series being 97 chapters in length, the question is how MAPPA plans to pace the story. Are they planning on cutting characters and plot lines? Is this going to be a multiple-season story? A majority of these questions are all plausible, but the best thing an audience member can do is sit down and continue watching. Based on the studio, “Chainsaw Man” is likely in the best possible hands. 

“Chainsaw Man” releases on Tuesdays until December 27.