"Chainsaw Man Season 1" Binging has done Irreparable Damage to Media

 


    I'd like to preface this by saying Kobeni best girl, and not ever mentioning it ever again. Frankly, there's not much to say about Chainsaw Man, its a shonen that's fast, bloody and enjoyable. It's not Evangelion trying to pack in as much religious imagery as possible, nor is it an Attack on Titan attempting to make some allegory about war, but it is still damn good. I remember first hearing that it would be the next big anime, as I tend to watch all the popular shonens coming out, so I as diligent as ever, decided to read the manga so I would have been caught up by the time the series rolled around.

    And boy, was that certainly a mistake. Now, I'll admit, I'm a bit of an obsessive, and that means I like to hyperfocus on whatever I'm watching, which in turn means binging, but binging Chainsaw Man might have been a mistake. It's just that there's not much in-between the arcs of the manga, it's straight violence in and out, and so, without much to read, mostly just enjoy, I'll be the first to admit that I finished all 90 issues fairly quickly. I'll also admit that I can hardly remember what happens except for some random moments, and it is only with the release of the anime that my memories of what happened are slowly coming back to me.

    Though, to be frank, I sort of appreciate my memory failing me, because it's allowed me to enjoy this manga with fresh eyes. Like, I don't remember Kobeni being that consequential at all when I first read it, but now that I'm going through it again, I'm starting to appreciate her more and more for the comical best girl she is. Personally, I was never the biggest Denji or Power fan frankly, don't get me wrong, I think their abilities are cool, but as people their immaturity rubs me off the wrong way, and I didn't really get too much from them, compared to characters like Aki or Himeneo, who I felt had more depth.

    To me, the real question is how does MAPPA produce all of these animes? It feels like they've consumed every single big shonen thats coming out and really the only "flaw" that I've been able to notice is that they've cut down season in half, from the standard 24 episodes to 12. I think I would have preferred the old 24 episodes format, though not because I think it would have helped with Chainsaw Man's pacing or anything, but just because I wanted more content.

Final Score: 84/100

    I'm going to come right out and say I find it hard to rank Chainsaw Man higher than other pieces of media that I feel like are more substance than flashy fights, though I still think it's one of the best anime out there right now. There's just not that much to say really other than that if you enjoy shonens, you'll enjoy this series, and if you're looking for something to convert you, I doubt this series will make it all click in your head.

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