Chainsaw Man

Denji is robbed of a normal teenage life, left with nothing but his deadbeat father's overwhelming debt. His only companion is his pet, the chainsaw devil Pochita, with whom he slays devils for money that inevitably ends up in the yakuza's pockets. All Denji can do is dream of a good, simple life: one with delicious food and a beautiful girlfriend by his side. But an act of greedy betrayal by the yakuza leads to Denji's brutal, untimely death, crushing all hope of him ever achieving happiness.

Remarkably, an old contract allows Pochita to merge with the deceased Denji and bestow devil powers on him, changing him into a hybrid able to transform his body parts into chainsaws. Because Denji's new abilities pose a significant risk to society, the Public Safety Bureau's elite devil hunter Makima takes him in, letting him live as long as he obeys her command. Guided by the promise of a content life alongside an attractive woman, Denji devotes everything and fights with all his might to make his naive dreams a reality.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Power Main

Fairouz Ai Japanese

Denji Main

Toya, Kikunosuke Japanese

Makima Main

Kusunoki, Tomori Japanese

Hayakawa, Aki Main

Sakata, Shougo Japanese

Reze Supporting

Ueda, Reina Japanese

Higashiyama, Kobeni Supporting

Takahashi, Karin Japanese

Pochita Supporting

Izawa, Shiori Japanese

Himeno Supporting

Ise, Mariya Japanese

Angel Devil Supporting

Uchida, Maaya Japanese

Kishibe Supporting

Tsuda, Kenjirou Japanese

Seshimo, Keisuke Producer

Kimura, Makoto Producer

Nakai, Yuusuke Assistant Producer

Takaishi, Ayumi Assistant Producer, Production Manager

Reviews

May 11, 2026

LevinH_

Recommended

Chainsaw Man is a chaotic, violent, and emotionally raw action horror anime that blends demon hunting, absurd dark comedy, and deeply human vulnerability into a uniquely unpredictable experience.

What makes the series stand out immediately is its tone. It exists in a world where Devils are born from human fears, and Public Safety Devil Hunters are tasked with exterminating them. But instead of a heroic or polished system, everything feels messy, brutal, and emotionally damaged.

Denji, the protagonist, is the emotional core of the story. At the beginning, he is extremely simple in motivation—he just wants a normal life, food, and basic comfort after growing up in ... extreme poverty. His desires are painfully human and grounded, which contrasts sharply with the supernatural chaos around him.

After merging with Pochita, Denji becomes Chainsaw Man, gaining the ability to transform parts of his body into chainsaws. However, even with immense power, he remains emotionally inexperienced and socially naive, which makes his journey as much about emotional growth as physical survival.

One of the strongest aspects of the series is its cast of Devil Hunters. Characters like Power and Aki bring different emotional dynamics—Power with her chaotic, self-centered personality that slowly develops into something more complex, and Aki with his disciplined, revenge-driven mindset that gradually becomes more tragic.

Makima is one of the most compelling and unsettling figures in the series. Her calm demeanor, emotional manipulation, and mysterious motivations create a constant sense of psychological tension. She represents control in a world defined by chaos.

The action is extremely dynamic and brutal. Fights are fast-paced, bloody, and often unpredictable, with Devil abilities ranging from grotesque transformations to reality-warping powers based on fear.

One of the key themes of the series is desire versus control. Many characters are driven by personal longing—whether for revenge, affection, freedom, or survival—but are constantly manipulated by larger forces.

Another major theme is emotional emptiness in a violent world. Despite constant action and danger, much of the story focuses on loneliness, trauma, and the difficulty of forming genuine human connections.

The tone frequently shifts between extreme violence, absurd humor, and quiet emotional moments, creating a sense of instability that mirrors Denji’s own mental state.

Visually, the anime is sharp and cinematic, with strong direction during fight scenes and expressive character animation that emphasizes emotion and impact.

The soundtrack is intense and atmospheric, blending rock, industrial tones, and emotional scoring to match the series’ chaotic identity.

Of course, the series is intentionally chaotic, and its narrative structure can feel unpredictable or fragmented, especially with sudden tonal shifts.

However, this unpredictability is part of its identity, reinforcing the unstable world and emotionally volatile characters.

Overall, I gave Chainsaw Man an 8/10 because it is a brutal, emotionally complex, and stylistically bold anime that combines extreme action, psychological manipulation, and deeply human desires in a chaotic but compelling narrative world.

Reviewer’s Rating: 8

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Jan 12, 2026

Gandalf1098

Mixed Feelings

"...that is it?"

Those three words really summarize my feelings towards Chainsaw Man Season 1. After a recent rewatch, I finally felt inspired to write my first review here on MAL and explain why I felt this show so far has been rather disappointing.

One can only get disappointed by going in with expectations, and oh boy did the online anime community hype up this show. Basically, to me it looked like CSM was destined to be the successor of Attack on Titan as the next big subversive or surprising gory Shounen, with its own "Basement moment", an interesting plot and great animation.

The latter, to start ... with something positive, really did come true in my opinion. Yes, there is CGI, but it never looked jarring to me. If anything, some of the characters and their animations were even a bit too detailed for my taste. Sometimes it felt like the picture was "wobbling" and wavering as too many small pieces and lines were moving at once. It's the Mappa style, I think, but really you can't complain about that. It's fairly cinematic. Animation: 8/10

Now, on to the characters. At first glance, our protagonist Denji is a fresh and new spin on the shounen protagonist. Surely has the typical tragic backstory and even the very common orphan trope. However, unlike most other shounen protags, he has no higher ulterior motive. His goal is purely to be well-fed and get some booba (yes I physically shivered writing that). He's driven by the most primitive, basic instincts a neglected, starved and endlessly horny teenage boy could have. He is also rather simple-minded and stupid. In a way, that is incredibly innocent and almost wholesome. Unfortunately, it doesn't make for a good main character. He doesn't care for others except hot girls, and even then only on a superficial sexual level. He has no morals, no interesting motives, no noticeable character development. And the anime spends, or dare I say wastes, a lot of time on showing Denji lusting after almost every girl he comes across. Most of his interactions with the women are of sexual nature, just verbally or physically. His very primitive nature is also sexualized by introducing the whole dog-owner dynamic with him and Makima. I don't know if this will lead anywhere down the line, but currently it's just played for the kink and to simp for Makima as the dominant woman/mommy.

Every other character is either super bland, one-note or doesn't stick around long enough for any interesting development or for forming any emotional connection to them. Makima is the mysterious super powerful boss and waifu, Power is the loud, egoistic and equally stupid waifu #2, Aki is stoic, overly serious and rule-abiding, with a tragic backstory and a modicum of character dynamic with Makima and Himeno. But mostly, he is rather bland and emotionally not very accessible. And Himeno, well she is, taking the role of the more "sinful, mature woman" who smokes, drinks and has sex. Really, any other character is not worth mentioning cause they don't get enough screen time or focus to earn their own description, and most are very one-note anyway. Characters: 3/10

And finally, the plot. Well, we do have a clearly defined end goal alright. At least for now: collect all the pieces of the gun devil to hunt him down. It's a simple mission. A lot happens over the course of 12 episodes, and yet the main plot moves along erratically at best. We get the introduction to Denji and his background (with the aforementioned issues), a monster of the week format mixed with very sudden and drastic events, then a mini training arc and a rather low note conclusion to the season. As a viewer, we don't really get a grip on the world this takes place in, only a vague idea. Much time is spent on gore and hacking devils to pieces. What little characterization for out protagonists we get during those interactions with the devils is overshadowed by Denji and Power acting stupid, Denji having a horny boy moment or the villains saying their boring irrelevant part. Overall, it felt like the story never really got going and emotional moments or character development didn't have enough room to breathe. Plot/Worldbuilding: 4

So, what else to say? Well, I really like the opening and the endings! They are very unique, and getting 12 different endings is truly a treat! The show is definitely bloody and you will 100% be surprised by at least a few scenes. Whether those moments really have any lasting effect on you or have much impact to begin with is a different story though.

To summarize: Chainsaw man is a rather typical shounen just with the gore dialed up to 11 and mostly bland or unlikable characters. It never gets good momentum and at the end of the season there's not really much anticipation or tension how it's gonna continue. It most certainly will, but so far I don't see anything promising waiting at the horizon. This show is, in my opinion, mostly carried by the great production level. It still can be brainless entertainment if you're into gore and don't mind the horny part that is really prominent and overused.

Final Score: 5 (which might almost look generous after my review, but it was after all still mildly entertaining to watch ^^)

Reviewer’s Rating: 5

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Apr 3, 2026

Olorin666

Not Recommended

Naruto wanted to become a Hokage, Luffy wanted to become a pirate king. And the motivation of the main character of this anime is to touch a woman's breast. I'm sorry, but this is degradation. More and more modern anime are similar to each other like a drop of water. Only the setting and their names change. Everything is the same as a carbon copy. The main character of Demon Slayer is human, but also half demon and he hunts demons. The protagonist of Jujutsu Kaisen is human, but he ate a demon's finger and so he is now a demon. You won't believe it! ... The main character of this anime was human, but he became a demon and now he hunts them too. Devilman was released in 1972, and even there the author revealed the tragedy of the main character, who is torn between good and evil, in a deep and self-sufficient way. More than 50 years have passed, and the protagonist of this anime is still just a pervert? Although the Big Three of anime, One Piece, Naruto, and Bleach, were the most prominent representatives of the shonen genre and shared the same motives, techniques, and motivation, they were still very different. I'm just tired of watching the same stories about demon-hunting organizations. God forbid, My Hero Academy looks better against them. The characters in it are developing, they change and grow up, oscillate between good and evil.
Now the second big problem. There was enough fan service and sexualization in the Academy, but it was in the background. It wasn't thrown right in your face. And here they show one character throwing up in another's mouth? It's just disgusting.
Yes, the graphics are of high quality, the staging of battles and action is bright and exciting, the design of monsters and characters is original. The music is on top. The anime is not afraid to be brutal and cruel. But this is where its advantages end.

Reviewer’s Rating: 6

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