Wow, this was amazing!

I had very low expectations for this. I heard about this for awhile, but I’m not the biggest fan of gore, so I wasn’t sure I would enjoy it, but the minute I started reading I was absolutely hooked.

It’s one of those mangas that shows that it is gory, and while it is full of gore, it’s also incredibly funny at times. It knows how to balance the tone out, so while it can be bloody and horrific, it never feels depressing. I actually really enjoyed the humorous and wholesome moments, because they fleshed out the characters with it. I don’t think it would’ve been easy to read if it was bleak and depressing all the time, and I think it’s a testament to the authors skill that they were able to balance out such contrasting tones without causing whiplash. I also appreciate how most of the character motivations were very wholesome, either desiring a normal life or try into to save their pets. I relate so much to this.

The introduction of Power was insane. She’s blood hungry and hates humans and I didn’t know what to make of her, but the minute she mentioned how her sole motivation was to save her cat I was like “I completely understand you.” All the characters are fascinating and interesting, and I can’t wait to see how their stories progress.

I’m really eager to read the next volume, because the cliff hanger has me wanting more.

Okay so hands down the reason I wanted to read this was 'chainsaw dog demon', who wouldn't want to see that? The first volume incorporates chapters 1 to 7 and it is a wild ride from start to finish. 

First up, you will feel sorry for Denji, the main character, pretty much the entire way through so be prepared for that. He has so many debts due to his late father that he struggles to even be able to afford a slice of bread each day. I don't know how many times I said 'aww' in total but it was over 5 for definite. His devil-dog Pochita is seriously adorable too, just a round little devil dog with a chainsaw through it's body. 

Pochita is basically the only real friend Denji has ever had, and this shows greatly through his inability to socialise. The very first chapter ends up with him being brutally attacked (in case you weren't aware, this series is super gory) to the extent he's hacked up but Pochita uses his devil powers to basically give him heart in exchange for the promise that he lives out his dreams.

But, dreams-wise he isn't after much. All he wants is a safe place to stay where he'll be fed and can relax and he gets that pretty much straight away but with a catch - he has to work as a devil hunter for the government. Not a bad trade off for a former devil hunter really! 

He ends up with powers thanks to his chainsaw-devil-dog too - when fighting he can turn parts of himself into chainsaws and attack with them. It's very cool but it leads to him kind of being held captive by the organisation because of the weird situation of him being part devil.

What I really enjoyed about the first volume though was the fact it made me go through a few emotions in what's really a short amount of time. I was scared for Denji, I felt sorry for him, and he also made me laugh on a few occasions with how ridiculous he can be (I can't spoilt his biggest dream but I can assure you, it'll have you chuckling when you read it).

In terms of other characters the only one who really stood out was Power, a devil (known as a fiend after they took the body of a human) who's female but pretty cunning. She tricks Denji into doing things and lies but I'm hoping in future volumes she might have some kind of redemption arc where she ends up being a good devil.

Overall, it's a solid first volume and it definitely made me want to read more! 

Will update this with a link as soon as it's live on my site - going up on November 1st!

Overall, I think it was a decent intro to this manga series, although I am not as hooked as some other people right now. I find the concept really interesting and the art style is also quite good but there were just not as many exciting events in this first volume as I hoped. Especially the backstory of the protagonist was a bit rushed in my opinion, although I found him a likable character in general and I think that he has a lot of potential. There are also some interesting side-characters introduced which made me a bit curious for a the next volume. I was not necessarily blown away by this manga but I will definitely continue with the series to see how it will develop. 3.5 of 5 stars overall.

Such an entertaining beginning to the series! Can not wait for more in this series and if you're in to action manga (or horror though it really leans more to the other) then you're going to love this.

As edgy as the cover may look, there is a refreshing level of humility in this shounen. Denji is a unique shounen protagonist; seeking out not to be the best, and instead live out his best - a simple modest life where even toasted bread with jam is a little slice of heaven. This is a promise to his dog, Pochita, after giving Denji a second chance in life to become the "Chainsaw Man." Blood and gore are certainly a part of the morbid charm, yet this title provides a substantial emotional ground for our main character. For a title that appealed to my edginess, I am glad to have a good foundation of the world, characters/cast, and themes. While the work still has much more to flesh out - this volume is a great read nonetheless.

This is one of the coolest manga I've had the pleasure of reading.
Chainsaw Man by Tatsuki Fujimoto has everything someone might be asking for. Demons, chainsaws, endearing characters, and a whole lotta blood! Denji is a broke devil hunter down on his luck, and when he makes a deal with his pet demon he becomes Chainsaw Man! To avoid spoiling I won't go much further than that, but it is such a fun ride! If you like a cool action comedy story, as well as incredible art and perfectly composed action scenes, Chainsaw Man is something you MUST check out!
Now, as a big localization geek, let's get into those details! Chainsaw Man is translated by Amanda Haley, lettered by Sabrina Heep, and edited by Alexis Kirsch. Haley's translation and dialogue are absolutely superb! The smart humour and snappy dialogue comes across perfectly, and I was able to immediately get a good feel for all the characters' personalities. Just fantastic! And Sabrina Heep's lettering is quite possibly some of the best I've ever seen. Her lettering for the English sound effects perfectly capture the look of the Japanese, to the point that it does not look like an imitation, but like they were always meant to be there. Really, words cannot express enough how stellar the lettering is! Another grand localization effort from Viz Media, and Haley and Heep!
I'll definitely be picking this up as soon as I can, and I suggest others do too. Even if you've already read these chapters via Shonen Jump, seeing them in volume format with all the sound effects redone is just spectacular, pure bliss!

October is spooky month, a time for devils and zombies and body horror galore. VIZ Media is jumping into the thick of it with their Shonen Jump title Chainsaw Man Volume 1 from mangaka Tatsuki Fujimoto. 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. The English translation for this title is by Amanda Haley and features touch-up art and lettering by Sabrina Heep.

What makes Chainsaw Man Volume 1 interesting is that it immediately complicates its protagonist’s life by tying this make-shift devil hunter to a devil, his dog. Pochita is adorable and deadly, with a chainsaw coming out of his head. It’s that chainsaw that lets Denji take on all types of nasty devils but their bond isn’t just made up of slashing through bad guys. Instead, it’s a caring relationship, and it’s clear that Pochita is the only thing Denji has in the world and the only thing that cares about him.

Overall, Denji is a simple man with simple dreams, and despite their seemingly mundane status, they can’t be achieved because he is drowning under a mountain of debt. In the first chapter it’s clear that Denji is just trying to survive and while it isn’t easy, Pochita helps him keep living and moving forward. But his already sad life gets sadder when its turned upside down. Betrayed by someone he trusted, Denji becomes imbued with the power of a devil and when he unleashes it, he becomes Chainsaw Man. Part human, part devil, Denji is taken in by a task force and told to work with them or be killed like the devil he has become.

Chainsaw Man Volume 1 is filled with action, body horror, and surprisingly, a lot of emotion. As a more graphic title under the Shonen Jump banner, it would have been easy for Fujimoto to rely on his top tier creature designs and violent panels. Instead, we get a story that is balanced with humor and heart. While the gore has its place, it’s used more to highlight the atmosphere of the story. That said, the action sequences in this volume are not only graphically violent but imaginative as well. The ability to create devils based on particular traits is a skill that Fujimoto flexes with unique character and creature designs.

Additionally, the humor that accompanies the horror in the story is both illustrated and written. It’s heavy-handed in places in the way that only shonen can be – Denji just really likes boobs – but it also doesn’t come close to landing fully on the fanservice side of things. While Denji is a young man looking for a girl to hug, he is also processing his own problems and trauma. Over the course of this debut volume, Fujimoto does an excellent job of showcasing Denji’s age and the priorities that stem from it while also highlighting the more adult and intense issues he is dealing with as well. This helps make Denji relatable, someone to root for, and a humourous shonen protagonist at the same time.

All in all, Chainsaw Man Volume 1 sets a wonderful foundation in just seven chapters. Fujimoto is able to drop readers into a new world, establish how it works, and knock an emotional moment out of the park. With 86 chapters currently available on VIZ Media’s Shonen Jump app, you’re going not going to be able to stop yourself from diving directly into the next chapters of Denji’s story.

Chainsaw Man Volume One tells the story of a young man and how he becomes the character in the title of the series.

Chainsaw Man Volume One
Written by: Tatsuki Fujimoto
Publisher: Shueisha, Inc.
English Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: October 6, 2020

The main character is a young man named Denji, who works as a small-time Devil Hunter for the yakuza in order to try to pay off the debt of his late father. Even though he kills devils that are worth a lot on the black market, by the time payments for his father’s debts and other expenses are taken out, he hardly has anything left. Denji’s companion and partner is Pochita, a demon dog with a chainsaw. Denji dreams of being able to eat more than just a slice of bread for a meal and having a relationship with a girl.

Denji’s life changes when the yakuza turns on him and feed him to the zombie devil and his minions. Pochita decides to save Denji by taking over his body and residing inside his heart. Not only does this bring Denji back to life, but Denji now also can use chainsaws from his body… hence the title, Chainsaw Man. After coming back to life, Denji takes on the zombie devil and his minions again and defeats them with his new chainsaw power.

This takedown grabs the attention of Makima, a woman who is with the Public Safety Devil Hunters. When she meets Denji, she treats him nicely at first, but he finds she’s actually not as nice as she seems. She sees him as her “lapdog,” and orders him around. She gets him into the Public Safety Devil Hunters, and his squad leader Aki Hayakawa doesn’t seem to like him too much.

Near the end of the volume, he is paired up with another Public Safety Devil Hunter, a female Blood Fiend named Power. She tells him a story about wanting to rescue her cat that was stolen from her by a Devil. But it turns out she has ulterior motives for involving him with trying to get her cat back.

By the time I finished this volume, I noticed a theme going on: being used. Denji is used by the yakuza, then by Makima, and then by Power. But this makes a lot of sense, since we see in a flashback that Denji was still a child when his father hung himself and was forced by the yakuza to become a Devil Hunter in order to pay off his father’s debts. He doesn’t really know any other way to live, I think.

Denji is also quite the simpleton, which also makes sense when you consider his background and upbringing. At one point in the volume, Denji tells Aki that he never went to school, for example. Also, Denji has simple dreams and desires, which he allows to cloud his judgment when he makes decisions in this volume.

The art in this first volume really grabbed me, especially the scenes when Denji is fighting with demons. You can tell that Fujimoto has taken a lot of care to make these particular panels look impressive and grab the reader’s eye.

Chainsaw Man Volume One sets a strong foundation for the series. Denj’s character is very well established by the end of it, the main character relationships seem to be in place, and the story and action are compelling enough to make the reader want to continue the volume. The way Volume One ends makes the reader want to read the next volume in order to find out what happens to Denji.

I would highly recommend Chainsaw Man to readers who enjoy shonen manga series like One-Punch Man.

4/5 stars

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for providing this e-arc.

Loved it, well...except for the perverted jokes but everything else was great. Especially the idea of a cute innocent chainsaw devil dog

I had a hard time getting into this story. I didn't find any of the characters likable enough to be truly invested in the plot. The chainsaw devil transformation was great, but not enough to get me excited for the next volume.

This was a surprisingly heartbreaking title. There were so many emotions running wild through me that I didn't at all expect when I picked up the book. This heartbreaking story about a sad man did a great job of blending action-packed devil fighting with a more emotional story. I felt that we got a pretty decent introduction to the world in this volume as well as with some of our characters. I'm a bit suspicious about some but am extremely excited about others. Its definitely a bit graphic and for an older crowd but, I like that kind of manga.

Manga Monday – “Chainsaw Man” – The simplest of dreams are enough to fuel life (Opinions Portion of Article)

Western readers may be familiar with Fujimoto and his first series “Fire Punch”. There are interesting parallels between Denji and Agni from “Fire Punch” as both men come from impoverished backgrounds and supernatural powers resurrected them. However compared to Agni’s dark revenge, Denji has a bit of comfort thanks to his new employers. “Chainsaw Man” itself has a lighter atmosphere with several funny moments and Denji’s optimistic mind. It somewhat balances the many gorey action and bleak situations he constantly encounters. The manga has the rating of Teen Plus due to illustrations of bloody violence, tobacco use and some sexual content. Definitely not for those faint of heart but highly recommend to fans who love hard hits in their horror.

Ah yes, the classic story of boy meets dog, boy and dog become inseparable. Literally.

This book is just as weird as it sounds. There's some ridiculous action as the main character literally becomes a creature with chainsaws for arms to fight demons. There's a sort of weird master servant dynamic going on between the main character and his new patron and the dog does die (sort of), but it's worth it if you're looking for some pure wtf-ery. If you're looking for something deeper, maybe try Junji Ito.

A promising start to a new manga series
Chainsaw Man is an up and coming Shonen Jump manga comic, filled with both brutal action and tear jerking moments. I am a huge fan of Manga especially Shonen Jump, so naturally I had been hearing a lot about Chainsaw Man from the community and I knew I had to try it out.
Chainsaw man takes place in a devil infested world where no one is safe, throughout the first volume we follow young Denji through struggle and triumph. His struggle is immense and I found myself very connected to most of the characters despite my short time with them. This shows that Fujimoto can introduce characters very quickly and make them feel more real to the reader, which is a very difficult thing to do. I was so immersed I couldn't help punching the air in happiness occasionally.
Moreover Chainsaw man boasts an emotional roller coaster as the reader goes through the first half of the book, I believe the sadder, more somber moments of this brutal manga are portrayed beautifully, and excellently contrast the brutal action. Fujimoto Does this by altering his art style to fit the current vibe, with the vicious devil killing action drawn with thick black lines and shaded faces whereas the more tragic scenes having a lighter outline and more minimalist look, this really portrays emotion and makes the reader feel more absorbed in the book. Like most things, this manga doesn't come without flaws and although I'm sure they will all be fixed later down the line, as this is only the first volume, I have to address them in my review. So if you look forward to reading the second, third or fourth volume, take this section with a grain of salt. During the last few chapters of the book, it appeared to me that Fujimoto created a bit of a fodder content to give him time to think through and get ready for the next big story arc. It feels like this because there are a few characters introduced very quickly. Although, this is understandable, all Mangaka do it, even the most successful ones. However, having it right at the end of the first volume takes away the satisfying feeling when you put the book down after the first read through, a feeling that I thoroughly enjoy. However this is still the first volume and I shouldn't really expect an incredible ending after reading through the amazing opening arc. In conclusion of this review of Chainsaw Man 1 by Tatsuki Fujimoto - I will say that the author has created a brilliant and compelling piece of storytelling, complete with characters that feel tangible and panels of incredibly detailed art that portray the vibe of the scene. This manga has both savage battle and heartbreaking moments that contrast seamlessly and make the reader more invested in the story. Nonetheless like everything in the world there are a few more or less minor shortcomings such as towards the end of the book a lack of a goal and the fodder content towards the ending. After reading through the first volume, I think this book is more suitable for readers of age 13 to 16. On that note, I give my rating of 3.75/5.
Review by Kabir Mishra, a keen Manga enthusiast, intern and blogger at Browzly.

I really really enjoyed this. There were times were it was a little weird, but overall I loved it! The gore and the characters are amazing! I can't wait to see where the next volume goes.

I kinda liked the downtrodden kid but this one becomes too... calculated, too quickly. Like, suddenly this kid is introduced to a new cast and it's immediately like any number of mangas aiming for an anime. The worldly partner who doesn't get along with the dorky lead, the love interest, even the demon-hunting felt like an afterthought, just another thing that happens in mangas. I feel like the whole Chainsaw-transformation thing wasn't explained well, a lot of the story was rushed, and it gets too caught up in introducing characters rather than telling an interesting story - the cliffhanger didn't entice me at all. Another also-ran manga, unfortunately.

Denji was a small-time devil hunter just trying to survive in a harsh world. After being killed on a job, Denji is revived by his pet devil-dog Pochita and becomes something new and dangerous—Chainsaw Man!

Denji’s a poor young man who’ll do anything for money, even hunting down devils with his pet devil-dog Pochita. He’s a simple man with simple dreams, drowning under a mountain of debt. But his sad life gets turned upside down one day when he’s betrayed by someone he trusts. Now with the power of a devil inside him, Denji’s become a whole new man—Chainsaw Man!- Goodreads

I picked up this manga for two reasons. 1: It is being hyped as the next big thing 2: the cover looks fantastic 

I am glad I picked this up because it is a good start to the series. Normally, I will read a few volumes before writing a review but I was gifted this copy from Viz Media via Netgalley. So my review is based off this first volume. 

I find the right word to describe this but it was sad-ish. Denji has it bad right now, so I felt for him was empathy. He didn't deserve the life he was living nor did he deserve what happened to him. However, just as fast as you feel this sadness for him, you feel something else as his life shifts. 

The pace of the novel is like a roller coaster but a very good one. You hit highs in the plots and then lows to prep you for another high. I really enjoyed reading this. 

But the breakout star was the art work. If you don't like gore, do not read this but you get a lot of it. Also the monsters are pretty grotesque.  I like horror in my manga so the details of each monster worked out well for me. The art work moves seamlessly with the words of the book, so when one part ends another begins. Its like a roller coaster. 

Overall, volume one made me want to read the next volumes. 

3.5 Pickles

My initial thoughts on Chainsaw Man were that it was unlike any other manga I'd read. It is definitely unique, but after thinking about it a little bit more, Chainsaw man is actually a pretty standard shonen manga. You have your down-on-his-luck male protagonist, who is quickly thrown under the bus by someone he thought he could trust and is then saved by a mentor figure who gives him a new lease on life. It is incredibly violent (I mean...chainsaws.), but still enjoyable. I don't know that I suggest this for all libraries, but those with larger collection will find it to be a good addition.