Annika Bjork
Airing every Tuesday on Crunchyroll, Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man is a near-perfect anime adaptation of the original manga. The opening sequence references hit movies that inspired Fujimoto’s work, like Fight Club, The Big Lebowski, Thor: Love and Thunder, Pulp Fiction, Jacob’s Ladder, and, of course, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre. Uncommon in anime, the ending credits feature a new song every episode. Chainsaw Man is set in a world where devils plague humankind and devil hunters must exterminate them to keep citizens safe. The story follows self-confident teen Denji and his pet devil, a chainsaw-dog hybrid named Pochita, as they hunt other devils to pay off Denji’s dead father’s debt to the mafia. After a sudden betrayal, unforeseen circumstances cause Denji to fuse with Pochita, obtaining the ability to turn into Chainsaw Man – a being who is part devil and part man. He is then recruited by the government to be a devil hunter, meeting many eccentric characters on the job. The devil hunters gain their power by making contracts with devils. While this system is not conceptually revolutionary, the visual representation of these contracts is what makes Chainsaw Man feel fresh, innovative, and fun. The show is characterized by its beautiful animation, captivating action sequences, mind-blowing plot twists, and a lovable cast of characters. The cherry on top? If you fall in love with the show, you can continue following Denji’s journey in Fujimoto’s two-part manga: the original, which is completed, and the sequel, which releases weekly and follows a tangential plotline.
Annika Bjork is a sophomore in the SFS and thinks the Angel Devil has the coolest ability in Chainsaw Man.
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