One of the best new manga series of the past few years. Scary, haunting, action packed and utterly emotional! Really, really great stuff and a good jumping on point for horror fans who love manga

This was bonkers but in a fantastic way. Denji is trying to pay off a lot of debts that he deceased dad left behind. So he starts killing demons with his trusty dog side kick Pochita. No spoilers here but you should definitely check this manga out!

ARC From Netgalley.
Ok, I found a new manga to stay current on. Going to try to catch up to it, since only a few Volumes have come out so far. But this is awesome... the perfect amount of gore, humor and craziness.
Highlights:
- Denji is a young man who has inherited his father's debts to the mob. To make money to pay them back, he has become a Devil Hunter (yes it is weird to just see crazy looking devils in many places, but that is part of the book's charm). On one mission, he comes across Pochita (destined to be a weird yet cuddly plushie) a tiny injured devil who appears as an adorable dog with a chainsaw coming out of his face. Denji offers Pochita his blood, making a pact, "you take care of me and I'll take care of you".
- On his next job, Denji dies fighting the Zombie Devil, but Pochita heals him and becomes Denji's heart. This allows him to transform (by pulling the ripcord sticking out of the center of his chest) into the Chainsaw Man. He kills everyone. (I can't wait to see this in anime!) A woman shows up named Makima, who offers two choices: she can kill him, or he can become her pet. Pet he is. LOL
- After eating, Denji fights the Muscle Devil, inhabiting a little girl in the woods. Makima and Denji flirt.
- Makima takes Denji to join an experiment squad of the Public Safety Devil Hunters. He does not get along with his new partner, Aki. Aki teaches him about Fiends, who are Demon's that have taken over a human corpse (yet somehow Denji is not one... I might need more explanation...)
- Denji decides that one of his major goals in life is to touch some boobs (I died laughing when this happened... they had to go this way for the humor and fan service FOR SURE)
- Makima pairs Denji up with Power, a Fiend, who has an amazing violent streak. Power only wants to get her cat, Meowy, back from a demon and makes a deal with Denji that he can grab her chest if he helps save her cat. (again LOL)
- Power takes Denji to the house where she says Meowy has been taken, but betrays Denji by knocking him out and giving him to the Bat Devil, who will trade Meowy for healing. The Bat betrays her too, by eating Meowy and Power, before flying off to the city to eat some kids. Denji clings to his leg and changes, using his chainsaws to cut the Bat.

Can't wait for Volume 2!
Strong recommend.

A monster hunting manga that goes beyond the typical with excellent storytelling and well-timed dark humor. Denji spends his days devil hunting with his pet dog, Pochita, who also happens to be a Chainsaw Devil. Forced to work for Yakuza to pay off family debt, he lives in poverty and dreams of a normal life with regular meals and friends. Life changes drastically when Denji is betrayed by his employer and left for dead. Pochita comes to his rescue, merging with him to save his life, upon the promise that Denji lives a "normal life." After destroying his betrayers, thanks to the power Pochita granted him, Denji is recruited to be a hunter for the Public Safety Division. Here he finds regular food, potential friends, and as normal a life as a half-human, half-devil can have. At a glance, this series seems like another shonen tale of monster hunters, but the art, story, and characters come together to create a rip-roaring reading experience.

Very fun book. The world of Chainsaw Man is very interesting, unique and well done. Denji is a fine main character but what really shines is the supporting cast. This is a good start to a good series that is already a massive hit with readers and has the highly anticipated anime coming out soon.

What a wild ride. Denji is a boy from the street who has had little love, affection, or even human contact. His father dies and leaves him with a 700,000 yen debt. The only way for him to survive is to pay off this debt and live on pieces of bread. In his world Devils exist. Most are deadly, but some are cute, including the “dog” he comes to love. This devil dog becomes his heart which allows Denji to transform into the ultimate killing machine Chainsaw man. This helps him pay off his debt and rise in society. This book is so freaking good! Towards the middle Denji becomes obsessed with boobs, but with his upbringing it is understandable. There is a full cast of characters, some you love like the Fiend, and some you hate like his “savior”. This was such a great read. Can not wait to pick up book 2

Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsawman is a deceptively clever book. The main character is such a hard luck character it’s hard not to cheer for him and feel for him. The art style is uncomplicated and incredibly rich in feeling snd detail. Its a book that’s an interesting blend of demon or devil hunting manga and sentai hero action and stand well along side of titles like Dorohedoro, Jijitsu Kaisen and Kimetsu No Yaiba. The series is also run it’s course at a slim 11 volumes.
The wife cast characters are a mix of hero archetypes that take unique and surprising shapes as the story progresses. If modern supernatural adventure laced with slasher horror violence snd some heartfelt honest characters are your thing this is sure a book to dip into. Oh and if Power’s dilemma at the end of volume one doesn’t touch your heart I suspect you might not even have a chainsaw for one.

This story starts with an orphaned boy and his dog. A tried and tested formula. But what if the dog was a chainsaw, and the boy hunts devils for the Yakusa. Things start to get interesting in the most absurd way, and it only gets weirder. But is Chainsaw Man worth reading?

Chainsaw Man is the violent story of Denji, a sixteen-year-old boy and his chainsaw dog in a world plagued by Devils. With new chapters published weekly in the west via Viz Media’s Shonen Jump.

Some might recognise the author and artist Tatsuki Fujimoto as the mangaka of Fire Punch; with its final volume releasing in October 2019. Initially, a sleeper hit, Fire Punch has gained more popularity over the last eight months. This momentum seems to have jumped over to Chainsaw Man, after hearing it come up on podcasts and seeing it pop up on my twitter feed, I had to take a look.

Denji, the Chainsaw Man
The series follows Denji, an orphaned boy who’s in the employ of the Yakuza after his father committed suicide. Leaving Denji indebted to the gangsters for a large sum of money, the young boy has to come up with some creative ways to make money.

His main revenue stream is hunting down Devils for the Yakuza with the aid of his best friend, loyal Chainsaw Devil Pochita. But after leaving the Yakuza and gaining the ability to turn into a Chainsaw Man for ‘reasons’, Denji’s small world is opened up.

With Denji’s potential spotted by agent Mikima and being a sixteen-year-old with no prospects, he joins her Public Safety Devil Hunter team. Specifically, experimental Division Four, where all the oddballs are. Chainsaw Man is a Shōnen after all.

But why would Denji subject himself to a life of danger and extreme violence? He is a sixteen-year-old boy, girls! Or to be more exact, Mikima although this seems like a lazy and obvious reason. The way Denji acts is pretty much like any boy of his age. Well, with a little added Shōnen-ness mixed in with a healthy amount of The Inbetweeners (a UK comedy series about teen boys everyone should watch).

What the hell are devils though?
Devils are demons which generally cause havoc and destruction. However, some devils allow humans to form contracts with them, allowing for mutually beneficial arrangements. A Devil’s form is based on a thing, with the strength of the Devil determined by how scary that thing is. For example, a Ghost is more feared than a Tomato. Thus a Ghost Devil would be stronger than a Tomato Devil.

Home Manga Comedy
Chainsaw Man Volume 1 Cover
STORY & ART
Tatsuki Fujimoto
PUBLISHER
Viz Media
LETTERER
Sabrina Heep
TRANSLATOR
Amanda Haley
Amazon
This story starts with an orphaned boy and his dog. A tried and tested formula. But what if the dog was a chainsaw, and the boy hunts devils for the Yakusa. Things start to get interesting in the most absurd way, and it only gets weirder. But is Chainsaw Man worth reading?

Chainsaw Man is the violent story of Denji, a sixteen-year-old boy and his chainsaw dog in a world plagued by Devils. With new chapters published weekly in the west via Viz Media’s Shonen Jump. There are currently four volumes out physically in Japan. Unfortunately, no plans on the horizon for an English physical release (as of posting)

covers - Is Chainsaw Man worth reading?


Some might recognise the author and artist Tatsuki Fujimoto as the mangaka of Fire Punch; with its final volume releasing in October 2019. Initially, a sleeper hit, Fire Punch has gained more popularity over the last eight months. This momentum seems to have jumped over to Chainsaw Man, after hearing it come up on podcasts and seeing it pop up on my twitter feed, I had to take a look.

Denji, the Chainsaw Man
The series follows Denji, an orphaned boy who’s in the employ of the Yakuza after his father committed suicide. Leaving Denji indebted to the gangsters for a large sum of money, the young boy has to come up with some creative ways to make money.

Sell a nut
His main revenue stream is hunting down Devils for the Yakuza with the aid of his best friend, loyal Chainsaw Devil Pochita. But after leaving the Yakuza and gaining the ability to turn into a Chainsaw Man for ‘reasons’, Denji’s small world is opened up.

With Denji’s potential spotted by agent Mikima and being a sixteen-year-old with no prospects, he joins her Public Safety Devil Hunter team. Specifically, experimental Division Four, where all the oddballs are. Chainsaw Man is a Shōnen after all.

It’s like the extremely violent American Pie we never knew we needed.

Pochita - Is Chainsaw Man worth reading?
But why would Denji subject himself to a life of danger and extreme violence? He is a sixteen-year-old boy, girls! Or to be more exact, Mikima although this seems like a lazy and obvious reason. The way Denji acts is pretty much like any boy of his age. Well, with a little added Shōnen-ness mixed in with a healthy amount of The Inbetweeners (a UK comedy series about teen boys everyone should watch).



What the hell are devils though?
Devils are demons which generally cause havoc and destruction. However, some devils allow humans to form contracts with them, allowing for mutually beneficial arrangements. A Devil’s form is based on a thing, with the strength of the Devil determined by how scary that thing is. For example, a Ghost is more feared than a Tomato. Thus a Ghost Devil would be stronger than a Tomato Devil.

Strengths
Personally, Chainsaw Man wins my (non-devil) heart on three fronts.

Firstly the completely over the top action is very well done. Readers may remember that I mentioned my love of 2000AD in this blogs first post. Well, Chainsaw Man nails the more absurd elements of 2000AD. If you want to see a showdown where one fighter has chainsaws sprouting from his arms and face, and his opponent has katana arms and face. Well, this is the manga for you!

Secondly, the series is hilarious. Yes, the humour is quite crude in places (but may not be to everyone’s taste). In a medium where translations are so crucial for comedic effect, having the jokes almost served up on a plate is quite nice. A particular ‘romantic‘ scene caused a slightly embarrassing moment where I let slip quite a loud, spontaneous laugh on a public bus. It’s like the extremely violent American Pie we never knew we needed.

Thirdly the characters. It feels like every enemy is a concept taken to it’s most ridiculous extreme. The Division 4 team members, once introduced, become quite lovable idiots who you end up caring for quite quickly. The powers of certain devils are very creative; the Fox Devil is particularly brilliant in its concept and visual implementation.

Combining this all together makes Chainsaw Man so easy to read. It’s the first manga I’ve managed to binge forty-odd chapters in a workweek in quite some time. Chapters ending in fights make you want to see what happens next, finishing an arc makes you want to see what stupid antics Denji will get up to in the next one.

Weaknesses
The humour might not be to everyone’s taste. Yes, it a little crude early on (in my eyes it gets less so as the story and characters mature) and that will put some people off. Also, characters motivations at first are a little too Shōnen in places, but I can excuse it on its other strengths. This might not be the case for everyone, but I’d say read on a little more if you are feeling put off as things do improve.

The art of Chainsaw Man

Chainsaw Man’s world is such a grim place. The characters are always in back alleys, basements and other dark and dirty locales. The art nails this sense of place. Even with the humour lightening the mode, you can always see that Denji’s existence is horrible per reasonable standards of living. Although this lovable idiot seems to be happy enough.

The action flows nicely, and the panelling gives perfect comic timing. Even in the deadliest of fights, there is a touch of comedy. With such a focus on violence, the combat is frenetic, choppy (pun) and gruesome without being completely disgusting.

Devils stand out from the cast by being heavily shaded, almost scribbled in places. They pop right out of the page at you. Their designs range from comedic dog chainsaws, disgusting zombies, and then to weird abstract forms. Each one is unique, and every time a new devil is mentioned, I can’t wait to see its design.

One final cool touch is the inclusion of scanlines. It gives the art a unique grindhouse vibe which I’ve not seen into many other series. I think it could become overused, but luckily Fujimoto has kept it an occasional feature and not overplayed it.

Is Chainsaw Man worth reading?
Hell yes! Be prepared to sign that Devil’s contract, as you’ll suddenly lose several days to the Chainsaw Man binge that will follow. The series is pure adrenaline-soaked fun with plenty of comedy to lighten the mood. You’ll breeze through the chapters without realising what’s going on in the world outside and once catching up, be left waiting for your weekly fix.

I’ve enjoyed Chainsaw Man so much that I aim to rectify missing out on Fire Punch. Being so close to Christmas, this has gone straight onto my Amazon gift list. Let’s hope I’ll be a lucky boy on December 25th. Well if not, it’s not too long until my birthday.

Chainsaw Man was selected in our Manga Worth 2019 list. Why not see what else was?

I was interested in previewing this title to see if it would be appropriate for my library's YA collection. This volume is even if it has quite a bit of violence. The context of the story makes up for a lot of it. The main character inherited his family's debt and decided to become a demon slayer to earn money. He barely can live because of how much the debt is. He befriends a cute little chainsaw demon dog. An accident happens and he and the demon dog merge bodies and become chainsaw man. Then he starts working for an organization of demon slayers and is happy for the first time because he's able to get things he couldn't before. I'm interested to see where this story goes.

Thank you so much to Viz and NetGalley for the review copy!

I knew nothing about this going in, and it was interesting to say the least. I'm very curious on where it could go from here, and I think there's an anime as well that I plan to check out.
Pachito is so cute!!!

Denji's situation has an overall gloomy feeling to it as well, but I'm hoping he gets more hopeful over time! I also really enjoyed this art style as well. I'd recommend it if you like action packed, gory, and interesting manga!

Chainsaw man is about being in a world of devils and devil hunters, Denji is a poor young man who will do anything for money, including selling organs and taking on odd, dangerous jobs hunting down devils with his pet dog, Pochita.

This manga is interesting right off the back with its protagonist, he is struggling with the debt that was left behind by his father and is just trying to survive and while it isn't easy is is accompanied by is dog who just helps him move forward but things takes a turn for the worst when he is betrayed and gets the power of a devil and when he unleashes it he becomes chainsaw man.

This manga from the first volume is filled with a lot of gore but it does have its share of emotional panels and at times it is funny but gore is the highlight of this manga. So far I have enjoyed my reading of this mangs and can't wait to get my hands on the other copies.

Unfortunately I just wasn't a fan of this story. I found myself reading page and totally forgetting what I just flipped past. I'm not sure if I was just having a bad day or if it was just a bad genre for me. I tried reading it over the course of a few weeks and was just unable to muster up the motivation to finish.

Chainsaw man Vol. 1 packs a punch! Tatsuki Fujimoto's previous series left me with complex feelings (specifically on execution of certain sensitive topics), so I was interested to see his approach to similar themes (such as death, kinship, and trust) in this series. Fujimoto pacing is snappy, but never rushed. He reveals important plot points well, without an excessive use of written exposition, and this allows readers to come to their own conclusions in due time. This first volume introduces the main cast concisely but clearly, and it definitely feels like each of them has true weight and stakes in this world. Through lively linework and smart writing, Fujimoto leaves readers with questions about desire and desparation as well as a desire to read on.

After mostly reading books where the lead characters are paragons of virtue/heroism, it's nice to get into a title centered on an anti-hero. The premise of Chainsaw Man is simple and (so far) character-driven. Goal 1: Get out of debt. Goal 2: Have toast with jam for breakfast. Goal 3 is .... also simple and honestly not surprising for a character his age. As much as I enjoy the established titles that have detailed world-building involved, it's nice to start with something this new and refreshing. (I received a free ARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.)

I never dreamed I would get so invested in this book. Engaging, Emotional, funny. All around very good.

This book was not what I expected and found it to be so much better. I loved getting to to see the character and was sad about how things were for his life but he kept going. He was reckless but didn't have much of a choice of how things were going for him. I'm just so excited about coming across this manga and can't wait to see what's in store for the next books because apparently theres a couple out there now so now that I've read this I need to see what happens next!

Okay, I really dug this one, it's got laughs, sad-ish moments, action, and a good story. Denji is stuck in the paying-off-parental-debt trope, working for the yakuza as a devil hunter along with his trusty devil-dog Pochita. He gets double-crossed on a job and killed by a devil, set to be turned into a zombie when his devil-dog saves, turning Denji into a human/demon hybrid. Now he's Chainsaw Man, working as an official government devil hunter, just happy to have a place to live and regular meals, dealing with teen boy stuff. Will he be able to get along with the other agents? Will he get ousted from the agency? More importantly, will he get to touch a girl's boobs?
The story is fun, Denji is a great character, and Power is intriguing, and the art is great. Looking forward to volume 2!

#ChainsawManVol1 #NetGalley

Wow. This will be the shortest, harshest review I have ever written. It’s that bad.

Denji is a boy who inherited his father’s debt to the Yakuza when the latter killed himself. In order to pay off that debt, Denji sells his own body parts and hunts devils with his pet devil named Pochita, who is a cross between a dog and a chainsaw. When Denji is killed, he is given life anew by Pochita and becomes the eponymous Chainsaw Man.

Now, I’m down for ridiculous pitches like this, but the resulting story must be well-written. This manga reads like it was written by a 10-year-old. Instead of a series of intricately crafted cause-and-effect events, this one feels like a child telling a story: “This happened and then this happened and then this happened . . .” Between the random, jarring transitions and the absolutely terrible dialogue, this is one of the worst books I have ever read.

Since this book is getting a good number of decent reviews, obviously many won’t agree. If you are a manga fan looking for some crazy, mindless entertainment, you may enjoy this. I, however, won’t be reading any more from this series.

*Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for providing this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Everybody has their own stuff to inherit from their parents. It could be material hand me downs, priceless life lessons, tons of wealth, or humongous amount of debt. Unfortunately, not everybody is born sucking a silver spoon. Some were born sucking a rotting dog’s toenails. Add in the wicked imagination of a mangaka and an opportunity to make the saddest, darnest story, and here we are sitting for the next few hours digesting the first volume of Chainsaw Man.

There is a morbid joy that one gets reading this book. It's really dark. There is murder, gang violence, and demons all within the first few pages. The protagonist deals with extreme poverty and post-traumatic issues related to his poverty and his father's suicide. It is a lot to unpack in the first chapter.

The birth of the chainsaw man is interesting and surprisingly sweet. I'm not sure those feelings carry over to Denji's immaturity. He seems to be an adult with a deep, close relationship with his pet; but very few other redeeming qualities. His limited dreams and desires are the lens through which we understand the austerity of his circumstances.

The title has some sexualization, violence, and gore.