For the most part, I really enjoyed this manga. The beginning was a little confusing, and it took me a few chapters to figure out what was going on. Once I figured that out, I really liked it. I thought it was a unique take on Shonen manga. The story line was well written. It kept me interested throughout the book. I really loved the snarky fun sense of humor throughout the manga. I definitely plan on reading more volumes, and possibly checking out the anime as well.

3.5 stars

One of the best new manga series of the past few years. Scary, haunting, action packed and utterly emotional! Really, really great stuff and a good jumping on point for horror fans who love manga

This was bonkers but in a fantastic way. Denji is trying to pay off a lot of debts that he deceased dad left behind. So he starts killing demons with his trusty dog side kick Pochita. No spoilers here but you should definitely check this manga out!

ARC From Netgalley.
Ok, I found a new manga to stay current on. Going to try to catch up to it, since only a few Volumes have come out so far. But this is awesome... the perfect amount of gore, humor and craziness.
Highlights:
- Denji is a young man who has inherited his father's debts to the mob. To make money to pay them back, he has become a Devil Hunter (yes it is weird to just see crazy looking devils in many places, but that is part of the book's charm). On one mission, he comes across Pochita (destined to be a weird yet cuddly plushie) a tiny injured devil who appears as an adorable dog with a chainsaw coming out of his face. Denji offers Pochita his blood, making a pact, "you take care of me and I'll take care of you".
- On his next job, Denji dies fighting the Zombie Devil, but Pochita heals him and becomes Denji's heart. This allows him to transform (by pulling the ripcord sticking out of the center of his chest) into the Chainsaw Man. He kills everyone. (I can't wait to see this in anime!) A woman shows up named Makima, who offers two choices: she can kill him, or he can become her pet. Pet he is. LOL
- After eating, Denji fights the Muscle Devil, inhabiting a little girl in the woods. Makima and Denji flirt.
- Makima takes Denji to join an experiment squad of the Public Safety Devil Hunters. He does not get along with his new partner, Aki. Aki teaches him about Fiends, who are Demon's that have taken over a human corpse (yet somehow Denji is not one... I might need more explanation...)
- Denji decides that one of his major goals in life is to touch some boobs (I died laughing when this happened... they had to go this way for the humor and fan service FOR SURE)
- Makima pairs Denji up with Power, a Fiend, who has an amazing violent streak. Power only wants to get her cat, Meowy, back from a demon and makes a deal with Denji that he can grab her chest if he helps save her cat. (again LOL)
- Power takes Denji to the house where she says Meowy has been taken, but betrays Denji by knocking him out and giving him to the Bat Devil, who will trade Meowy for healing. The Bat betrays her too, by eating Meowy and Power, before flying off to the city to eat some kids. Denji clings to his leg and changes, using his chainsaws to cut the Bat.

Can't wait for Volume 2!
Strong recommend.

A monster hunting manga that goes beyond the typical with excellent storytelling and well-timed dark humor. Denji spends his days devil hunting with his pet dog, Pochita, who also happens to be a Chainsaw Devil. Forced to work for Yakuza to pay off family debt, he lives in poverty and dreams of a normal life with regular meals and friends. Life changes drastically when Denji is betrayed by his employer and left for dead. Pochita comes to his rescue, merging with him to save his life, upon the promise that Denji lives a "normal life." After destroying his betrayers, thanks to the power Pochita granted him, Denji is recruited to be a hunter for the Public Safety Division. Here he finds regular food, potential friends, and as normal a life as a half-human, half-devil can have. At a glance, this series seems like another shonen tale of monster hunters, but the art, story, and characters come together to create a rip-roaring reading experience.

Very fun book. The world of Chainsaw Man is very interesting, unique and well done. Denji is a fine main character but what really shines is the supporting cast. This is a good start to a good series that is already a massive hit with readers and has the highly anticipated anime coming out soon.

What a wild ride. Denji is a boy from the street who has had little love, affection, or even human contact. His father dies and leaves him with a 700,000 yen debt. The only way for him to survive is to pay off this debt and live on pieces of bread. In his world Devils exist. Most are deadly, but some are cute, including the “dog” he comes to love. This devil dog becomes his heart which allows Denji to transform into the ultimate killing machine Chainsaw man. This helps him pay off his debt and rise in society. This book is so freaking good! Towards the middle Denji becomes obsessed with boobs, but with his upbringing it is understandable. There is a full cast of characters, some you love like the Fiend, and some you hate like his “savior”. This was such a great read. Can not wait to pick up book 2

Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsawman is a deceptively clever book. The main character is such a hard luck character it’s hard not to cheer for him and feel for him. The art style is uncomplicated and incredibly rich in feeling snd detail. Its a book that’s an interesting blend of demon or devil hunting manga and sentai hero action and stand well along side of titles like Dorohedoro, Jijitsu Kaisen and Kimetsu No Yaiba. The series is also run it’s course at a slim 11 volumes.
The wife cast characters are a mix of hero archetypes that take unique and surprising shapes as the story progresses. If modern supernatural adventure laced with slasher horror violence snd some heartfelt honest characters are your thing this is sure a book to dip into. Oh and if Power’s dilemma at the end of volume one doesn’t touch your heart I suspect you might not even have a chainsaw for one.

I was interested in previewing this title to see if it would be appropriate for my library's YA collection. This volume is even if it has quite a bit of violence. The context of the story makes up for a lot of it. The main character inherited his family's debt and decided to become a demon slayer to earn money. He barely can live because of how much the debt is. He befriends a cute little chainsaw demon dog. An accident happens and he and the demon dog merge bodies and become chainsaw man. Then he starts working for an organization of demon slayers and is happy for the first time because he's able to get things he couldn't before. I'm interested to see where this story goes.

Thank you so much to Viz and NetGalley for the review copy!

I knew nothing about this going in, and it was interesting to say the least. I'm very curious on where it could go from here, and I think there's an anime as well that I plan to check out.
Pachito is so cute!!!

Denji's situation has an overall gloomy feeling to it as well, but I'm hoping he gets more hopeful over time! I also really enjoyed this art style as well. I'd recommend it if you like action packed, gory, and interesting manga!

Chainsaw man is about being in a world of devils and devil hunters, Denji is a poor young man who will do anything for money, including selling organs and taking on odd, dangerous jobs hunting down devils with his pet dog, Pochita.

This manga is interesting right off the back with its protagonist, he is struggling with the debt that was left behind by his father and is just trying to survive and while it isn't easy is is accompanied by is dog who just helps him move forward but things takes a turn for the worst when he is betrayed and gets the power of a devil and when he unleashes it he becomes chainsaw man.

This manga from the first volume is filled with a lot of gore but it does have its share of emotional panels and at times it is funny but gore is the highlight of this manga. So far I have enjoyed my reading of this mangs and can't wait to get my hands on the other copies.

Unfortunately I just wasn't a fan of this story. I found myself reading page and totally forgetting what I just flipped past. I'm not sure if I was just having a bad day or if it was just a bad genre for me. I tried reading it over the course of a few weeks and was just unable to muster up the motivation to finish.

Chainsaw man Vol. 1 packs a punch! Tatsuki Fujimoto's previous series left me with complex feelings (specifically on execution of certain sensitive topics), so I was interested to see his approach to similar themes (such as death, kinship, and trust) in this series. Fujimoto pacing is snappy, but never rushed. He reveals important plot points well, without an excessive use of written exposition, and this allows readers to come to their own conclusions in due time. This first volume introduces the main cast concisely but clearly, and it definitely feels like each of them has true weight and stakes in this world. Through lively linework and smart writing, Fujimoto leaves readers with questions about desire and desparation as well as a desire to read on.

After mostly reading books where the lead characters are paragons of virtue/heroism, it's nice to get into a title centered on an anti-hero. The premise of Chainsaw Man is simple and (so far) character-driven. Goal 1: Get out of debt. Goal 2: Have toast with jam for breakfast. Goal 3 is .... also simple and honestly not surprising for a character his age. As much as I enjoy the established titles that have detailed world-building involved, it's nice to start with something this new and refreshing. (I received a free ARC via Netgalley in exchange for my honest opinion.)

I never dreamed I would get so invested in this book. Engaging, Emotional, funny. All around very good.

This book was not what I expected and found it to be so much better. I loved getting to to see the character and was sad about how things were for his life but he kept going. He was reckless but didn't have much of a choice of how things were going for him. I'm just so excited about coming across this manga and can't wait to see what's in store for the next books because apparently theres a couple out there now so now that I've read this I need to see what happens next!

Okay, I really dug this one, it's got laughs, sad-ish moments, action, and a good story. Denji is stuck in the paying-off-parental-debt trope, working for the yakuza as a devil hunter along with his trusty devil-dog Pochita. He gets double-crossed on a job and killed by a devil, set to be turned into a zombie when his devil-dog saves, turning Denji into a human/demon hybrid. Now he's Chainsaw Man, working as an official government devil hunter, just happy to have a place to live and regular meals, dealing with teen boy stuff. Will he be able to get along with the other agents? Will he get ousted from the agency? More importantly, will he get to touch a girl's boobs?
The story is fun, Denji is a great character, and Power is intriguing, and the art is great. Looking forward to volume 2!

#ChainsawManVol1 #NetGalley

Everybody has their own stuff to inherit from their parents. It could be material hand me downs, priceless life lessons, tons of wealth, or humongous amount of debt. Unfortunately, not everybody is born sucking a silver spoon. Some were born sucking a rotting dog’s toenails. Add in the wicked imagination of a mangaka and an opportunity to make the saddest, darnest story, and here we are sitting for the next few hours digesting the first volume of Chainsaw Man.

There is a morbid joy that one gets reading this book. It's really dark. There is murder, gang violence, and demons all within the first few pages. The protagonist deals with extreme poverty and post-traumatic issues related to his poverty and his father's suicide. It is a lot to unpack in the first chapter.

The birth of the chainsaw man is interesting and surprisingly sweet. I'm not sure those feelings carry over to Denji's immaturity. He seems to be an adult with a deep, close relationship with his pet; but very few other redeeming qualities. His limited dreams and desires are the lens through which we understand the austerity of his circumstances.

The title has some sexualization, violence, and gore.

Chainsaw Man is an interesting manga, and certainly one of the most visually interesting mangas, as well mythologically engrossing, I’ve come across in awhile.

The story revolves around a young man, named Denji, trying to escape his father’s debt by hunting down demons with his pet demon dog, named Pochita, who has a chainsaw on his head. While this is a ridiculous image and concept, the first chapter goes out of its way to ground it with a very heartwarming relationship between the two characters to where I can’t help but keep reading. Unfortunately, as you can read from the descriptions, the two are killed by a demon and in a last ditch effort to keep Denji alive, Pochita sacrifices itself by fusing with Denji to bring them back so they can “live their dreams.”

Honestly, it kinda fucked me up with how much I came to care for these two in the span of just an issue.

Anyway, Denji slaughters the demon with his newfound chainsaw powers where he gets a chainsaw for a head and arms, before being recruited by a professional demon hunting corporation. And that’s the concept of this series.

While the start was incredibly strong and immediately resonated with me, the following chapters weren’t as emotionally engrossing but were certainly still entertaining and make it clear that Denji’s quest for happiness and to live a simple life of freedom is still out of reach. There’s a dark undercurrent to the story despite the silliness of the concept, but honestly, I feel the concept also works in helping provide some levity to how serious some of the matter can be in the subtext. It honestly reminded me a bit of Buffy the Vampire Slayer in how a silly concept with high stakes and proper wit, comedy and characterization can make for a good story.

I also found the main character of Denji to be rather realistic and easy to root for. While at the end of the day, he’s still a straight man, I can’t help but want to see this straight man achieve his dreams because of everything he’s endured and all the hard work he’s put in to get where he is.

If anything, I’d have to say that the characters I don’t like so far are the humans. They’re written well, or at least decent enough for the roles they provide in Denji’s life to the point that I actually want to see Denji take them out as the story goes on. I don’t trust Makima or Hayakawa, though I suspect that Hayakawa might actually be easier to turn to Denji’s side than Makima. Something about Makima gives me Big Bad vibes, or at least antagonistic vibes. I can’t see her becoming someone Denji can truly trust, and I hope as he develops, we get to see him outgrow his crush on her.

The art itself is visually appealing, though I’ll admit I noticed a distinct lack of backgrounds in a lot of the panels. There doesn’t need to be backgrounds in every panel, but it felt like at times there was just nothing behind characters. Considering the crunch time to put out these chapters, I can’t say I’m surprised, but I just feel that’s worth bringing up.

Overall, I would recommend this series for newbies to manga, as well as established manga readers, just because there is something fresh to it. While the concept is odd and the plot itself isn’t anything too enticing, the character work and art is the lifeblood of the series, and I look forward to reading more of it.