Chainsaw Man anime is the second most popular anime this fall after Bleach: Thousand-Year Blood War. Fans of the anime are excited to watch the series as they claim to relate with the protagonist of the series, Denji, to a great extent. That is also the best part of this anime series, Denji's character is what makes Chainsaw Man anime a special one in the shonen genre.
Chainsaw Man is a shonen anime based on the manga series of the same name authored by Tatsuki Fujimoto with twelve volumes as of now. The anime series based on Fujimoto's manga was announced back in December 2020 and was declared to be produced by the MAPPA studio. The first trailer for the anime was dropped at the "MAPPA Stage 2021 – 10th Anniversary" event last year.
Denji, the Unconventional Protagonist
Chainsaw Man is not the average shonen anime and its main character Denji is undoubtedly not the conventional shonen anime protagonist that the audience is used to. There are a certain set of traits that a shonen anime main character or protagonist possesses and Denji seems to have hardly any of them. Shonen anime protagonists are usually righteous, compassionate, and humane. Denji breaks the pigeonhole of the typical shonen protagonist and brings something new to the table.
Fans got to see different layers of his character over the last four episodes of Chainsaw Man. Denji's bond with his pet devil Pochita and him saving Power alongside her pet Meowy shows that he is kind. But the very reason why he agreed to help out Power in the first place is what sets him apart from the rest of the shonen anime protagonists. His fusion with Pochita has resulted in Denji having devil-like behavior when he is in a fight. He does not show mercy like most anime protagonists would.
He does not want to become a hero or anything like that, he just wants to lead a life with a decent quality of lifestyle. After being mocked by a supporting character for lack of serious goals and ambitions, a typical shonen protagonist would set goals like saving people, achieving something big in life, etc. But after being mocked by his senior, Aki, Denji decides that his goal is breasts, fondling them and scoring a beautiful girl like Makima. He even agrees to help out Power in rescuing Meowy on the condition that she would let him fondle her breasts as shown in the third episode. It is the vulnerability and relatable characteristics that make Denji an exceptional and amusing main character. These are also the reasons why viewers of the Chainsaw Man anime and readers of the manga are thoroughly impressed by his character and love him.
As soon as the second episode of the anime series was released, fans started sharing their thoughts and memes with Denji's templates starting the "He is just like me fr" meme trend on Twitter and Instagram. People are sharing strips from the manga or screenshots from the anime with Denji's lines along with the caption "He is just like me fr".
The Devil Powers
Fujimoto focused on creating a protagonist with distinct powers, powers that are unique, perilous, and fatal. A devil's name reflects its powers and since Pochita was a chainsaw devil, Denji is now a chainsaw devil too. A good protagonist is quite powerful but not overly powered (except for characters like Saitama and Mob which are exceptions), and is not invincible. Fujimoto crafted Denji to be a powerful and deadly character but at the same time gave him weakness which richen his character and the storyline of the manga (and anime).
Denji's devil power to turn himself literally into a Chainsaw Man is fascinating, it is something new and original for the anime audience. Tatsuki Fujimoto even revealed in an interview during a MAPPA 10th anniversary event that it was the 70s American horror movie The Texas Chain Saw Massacre that inspired him to create the Chainsaw Man manga. He also revealed that he took inspiration from a cult-classic anime called Furi Kuri or FLCL for Chainsaw Man.
The Dream
The actual story of Chainsaw Man starts when Pochita sacrifices himself to revive Denji and in return asks Denji to show Pochita his dreams. Denji's dream is a simple one that most people have in real life. He wants to lead a good life, have decent meals, and have a romantic partner.
It is the dream of almost every common person to live a decent life with a loved one. Fujimoto put just the right amount of relatability and insanity in Denji's character making him a relatable and badass protagonist simultaneously. However, no matter how miserable Denji's past life was his present life compensates well for it, and hence, he receives more than just pity from the audience.
With Denji's character along with pretty good supporting characters and a spectacular storyline Chainsaw Man becomes a promising shonen anime. The real question that fans of the manga are asking is how MAPPA studio, director Ryū Nakayama and chief episode director Hironori Tanaka plan to present the story forward in the form of anime.
Nonetheless, Chainsaw Man seems like going to be more and more chaotic for the good as the story unfolds with future episodes. Fans can only speculate about the sheer madness that Chainsaw Man anime has in store for them.