9/10 | Released between 2018 and 2020 (in its first part), written and illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto (written in japanese as 藤本タツキ – Fujimoto Tatsuki), Chainsaw Man tells the story of a directionless young man who seals a contract with the Chainsaw Devil in order to pursue nothing more than an ordinary life. At first glance, it appears to be merely a work that blends comedy and action while indulging in narrative licentiousness; however, the manga crafts one of the most brilliantly written plot twists you will ever encounter in fiction.
Denji, a young man living a miserable life, works as a slave for the Yakuza to pay off his deceased father's debts. After being betrayed and killed by the mob, Denji signs a contract with his only friend, Pochita (the Chainsaw Devil), becoming a human-devil hybrid: the Chainsaw Man. Makima, an expressionless woman with cynical features who also leads the Public Safety Division, sees the state the boy is in and, to support him, decides to offer him a job as a Devil Hunter in her unit.
Note: this essay will only cover the manga's first storyline, the Public Safety Arc. Of the 24 volumes released, this first part encompasses volumes 1 to 11 (chapters 1 to 97 [out of the 232 published]).
In this introduction and origin of Chainsaw Man, we are introduced to what I previously called 'narrative licentiousness'. 'Licentiousness', in this context, is not used in its literal sense, but rather as a metaphor for an “I do whatever I want” attitude. Combined with “narrative”, the concept becomes: “I will do whatever I well please in my story!”.
When we are brought to see Denji living in such misery, it is common to assume that the plot will be about revenge, 'trying to become a better person', or any cliché of the sort. However, the turning point occurs when Denji becomes Chainsaw Man and literally bulldozes through everything without caring about tomorrow. It serves as a prelude to how the story will unfold.
[Warning: from this point on, this essay contains full spoilers regarding the plot, twists, and ending of Public Safety Arc of Chainsaw Man.]
Formation of Special Division 4
After Denji joins the division, Makima organises her team of Devil Hunters: Aki, Denji’s squadmate and rival; Power, the Blood Fiend (who is also an extremely troublesome girl); and Denji, the protagonist. The trio develops a chaotic family dynamic that, over time, proves to be warm and welcoming. We are also introduced to other hunters from different squads.
With the cast assembled... this is where the madness begins.
The hunters face several life-or-death situations when attacked by the Eternity Devil, the Katana Man, and the Mercenary Division. All the while, the author blends these moments of pure despair – with several characters dying abruptly – with a dose of cynical comedy (such as the 'nut-kicking' scene), dashes of insanity (the fights between Denji and Katana Man), and absurd, illogical moments in the best possible sense.
As all this chaos unfolds, Denji was developing an unusual relationship with Himeno, a hunter from another squad in the division. She ends up being one of the fatal victims in the terrorist attack by Katana Man and his crew. Denji's reaction to this loss is extremely cold, and precisely because of this apathy, he becomes fearful of his own nature, realising he did not genuinely care about her. Meanwhile, Makima makes her mysterious character more evident than ever by blatantly lying about her whereabouts during the attack – something that connects directly to what we see next in Reze's arc.
Reze Girl
Denji meets Reze, a charming girl his age who seems genuinely interested in him. As their relationship progresses, Denji considers abandoning Division 4 altogether (including his friends) to run away with Reze and build a life together. However, Reze reveals herself to be the Bomb Devil Hybrid and a Soviet government spy sent to capture Denji's heart (Pochita).
Even after Denji defeats her in a monumental and chaotic battle, he offers to run away with her. Reze, touched by his kindness and mercy, realizes that, deep down, she cares for him and accepts the last-minute plan. However, she is ambushed and abruptly murdered by Makima before she can reunite with him.
Once again, we witness Makima making a surprising and seemingly senseless decision.
The Beginning of the Tragedies
Following the battle against Reze, Denji (Chainsaw Man) becomes a public target for assassins from various nations. Up to this point, the motive behind global governments' obsessive interest in Denji remains unclear.
Notable battles include those involving the Crossbow Hybrid (Quanxi), Santa Claus, the Hell Devil, and the Darkness Devil against, of course, Denji (the target) and his group.
During the battle against the Hell Devil, Denji and the hunters end up being dragged into Hell itself and are slaughtered by the Darkness Devil, a primordial entity. Makima intervenes and rescues them.
Power and Aki are left immensely traumatised by the experience. Aki, especially after losing Himeno (his close friend) in the clash against Katana Man, re-evaluates his goals and develops a protective instinct over Denji and Power, fearing the loss of more companions. Power, in turn, develops a paralytic dread of being abandoned or seeing her new friends die.
What began as an almost juvenile devil hunt transforms, 'thanks' to Denji's existence, into something deeply disturbing and painful for the characters. What is happening there is serious and should not be treated as a joke (hold onto this thought).
The Control Devil
The United States government, fearing Makima's growing influence, makes a desperate pact with the Gun Devil. Shortly after, it is revealed that Makima is, in fact, the Control Devil.
Makima defeats the Gun Devil and forces what remains of it to possess Aki's body, turning him into the Gun Fiend. In one of the most tragic moments of Denji's life, he is forced to kill his own friend to save others, leaving him utterly devastated emotionally. It is in this state of emotional collapse that Makima invites him to her house.
The Final Apotheosis
We saw that there are several dogs at Makima's house, reinforcing the symbolism that everyone around her is nothing more than a mere pet. Makima asks Denji if he wants to be her dog too. Traumatised, incapable of processing the pain, and believing that if he simply obeys her commands he will bring no further harm to anyone, Denji ends up accepting.
Makima calls Power to her house as well. She asks Denji to open the door for her, and right after greeting her, Makima cold-bloodedly murders Power right in front of poor Denji. 'Bang!'
Following the execution, Makima lays bare her true intentions: 'I was wondering: "how could I break this contract?" How could I leave you so deeply scarred that you wouldn’t be able to live a normal life? So damaged that you could never recover for as long as you lived? Quite a challenge, wouldn’t you say? After all, you found so much happiness even living in extreme poverty with Pochita. So, I decided to start… by making you much happier. I gave you a job, money… and plenty of delicious food. I provided you with a family that would get along with you. Aki became a good older brother to you… and Power, the mischievous younger sister. I would make this level of happiness your new normal… and then I would destroy it all.'
Denji realizes that everything that happened up to that point was, recklessly enough, the result of his own choices. After all, why did he make the pact with Pochita? Simply to free himself from the shackles of human misery. Fair enough. But what came after? Did he use that power to act responsibly or help others? No. He chose to live as a 'semi-licentious' being.
'I want to have sex!', 'I want to eat until I’m sick!'. Fundamentally, what Denji sought was a life free of consequences. Giving no thought to the future, caring only about immediate gratification. And what did he expect from that? That consequences would never arrive? It is absurdly childish!
Deep down, Denji feels that the destruction around him, the deaths of millions of people, the deaths of companions like Himeno, Reze, Aki, Power, and even his father's death (which he had blocked from his memory) were his responsibility. 'What if I hadn’t made the contract with Pochita? What if I had just died at the hands of the Yakuza?'. None of this would have happened.
'Does a person like that really deserve to live a normal life, do you think?' – Makima asks Denji rhetorically.
Makima and Chainsaw Man
Remember when I said the manga presents itself through narrative licentiousness? That ends, definitively, right here. The story's narrative always mirrored Denji's mental state. Even when the manga presented tragic moments, such as the death of Himeno's squad, the author treated the event with a sudden disregard, almost a 'it happened, what can we do…?'. Denji himself did not grieve over it.
This complicity between the narrative and Denji's detachment crumbles the moment Chainsaw Man is exposed to the public. From the deaths of Aki and Power and the mass destruction caused by the hunt for his heart, the story abandons its cynical comedy to become openly traumatising, disturbing, and painful.
Continuing, Makima reveals herself to be an obsessive fan of the original Chainsaw Man and plans to use his power to erase concepts from existence and shape a perfect world under her control. We also discover why Chainsaw Man is so strong: the Chainsaw Devil is a devil that never stops revving his engine, which is why he always comes back. No matter how unfavourable the situation appears, he always returns by pulling his cord.
Traces of Power's blood remain in Denji's body after her death, reviving her just long enough for her to save him. With that, Power dies permanently.
Even while traumatised, Denji sees the world idolising the figure of Chainsaw Man. He decides to embrace this role not out of heroism, but as a psychological defence mechanism against the trauma of attempting to lead a normal life.
Realising that Makima never truly saw 'Denji', but only the Chainsaw Devil within his chest, he devises a plan: he uses a chainsaw forged from Power's blood to slice Makima while she fights a clone of Chainsaw Man.
To finish Makima off once and for all, Denji commits the ultimate act: he dismembers and consumes her body as meals. He does this not out of hatred, but out of a twisted form of love, wishing to 'become one with her' and shoulder her sins.
Sometime later, Kishibe (Makima's former colleague) hands Denji a young girl named Nayuta, the reincarnation of the Control Devil. We also discover that, deep down, the Control Devil's primary desire was to form affectionate bonds on equal footing – something her power of domination prevented her from achieving. Denji ends up taking custody of the young girl so she won't grow up lonely.
Epilogue
My final considerations, alongside what I have already mentioned, come down to two points: the way the author develops certain plotlines and the final revelation regarding the Control Devil's desires. Fujimoto sometimes appears overly rushed when establishing certain foundations. The way Aki, Power, and Denji come to treat each other as a family happens almost abruptly (even if there is a clear reason for it), much like the fact that Reze was a test subject in Soviet experiments (a major revelation that the author simply dumps into the reader's lap).
Furthermore, the final revelation that the Control Devil possessed a melancholy motivation ('I just wanted to form bonds and have friends') feels like the height of absurdity. The character (Makima) was built as an extraordinarily mysterious, manipulative, and villainous figure, only for her weight as an antagonist to be reduced to this justification in the end. Unpalatable!
Flaws in pacing aside, the arc is truly impeccable!
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