Half demon, half man, all chainsaw. This one sentence sums up Shonen Jump’s smash hit series Chainsaw man which is based on a Japanese comic book (manga) that was released weekly in Shonen Jump magazine from Dec. 3, 2018, to Dec. 14, 2020. At the end of its run, it was revealed that the series was picked up for an anime adaptation by studio Mappa, who are currently best known for adapting Jujutsu kaizen as well as Attack on Titan: the final season.

   In addition to getting an adaptation, the story itself will continue in Jump+ and as of the time of reporting, there has been no release date. However, on June 27 a trailer will premiere giving us a taste of its fully-fledged animated adaptation. So what is it about this series that has people waiting in anticipation? 

   The story itself follows a 16-year-old boy named Denji who is racked with debt from his father, and in order to pay it off, he makes a contract with a devil named Pochita to help exterminate devils in exchange for money. Denji is a lonely and incredibly poor boy who doesn’t even attend school and all he wishes for is normal, as well as delicious food and a girl. Following this Denji is betrayed by the yakuza he (and his father,) were in debt to and is on the verge of death, thanks to a contract he made with Pochita; he is revived into action as the chainsaw devil Chainsaw man. He is then recruited for a special demon hunting team to eradicate devils far and wide across Japan and is promised the bare minimum he so desired, but is it really enough?
  Fans of the series praise Chainsaw man for its mature themes and content- the most notable one being sex and romance, which is largely left out of most stories to come out from Shonen Jump and is usually regulated to the side as an afterthought. But in this series Denji is motivated by it which makes him stick out from the rest, this leads to him ultimately questioning where true happiness comes from which is the underlying message in the series. The story is complemented nicely with gory and violent fight scenes that are highlighted by author Tatsuki Fujimoto, who wrote and illustrated the series. Demons get massacred in half, limbs are sawed off, and blood spills everywhere and it’s what heals Chainsawman himself.
  The threat of demons themselves is another well-done thing in Chainsaw man as they spawn from fear. This allows for a near endless amount of creativity and enemies for Denji to hack and slash through, and the illustrations aid in that by showing demons with inanimate objects for heads and numerous limbs, and even a giant bat which goes to show how creatively well thought out Chainsaw man is and the side characters hit just right. I could go on more but I highly encourage you to seek out this series to read or even wait for the trailer if you’re still on the fence about it. It’s understandable Chainsaw man may not be your cup of tea, but for those who are willing to check it out or even step into anime/manga, Chainsaw man is the way to go. The story is available to read on the Shonen Jump app where if you subscribe for one dollar a month you get full access to other stories in Jump’s library and you can also read weekly published manga issues for free. Overall Chainsaw man is an endearing series painted in gore by its rough action and Denji’s story along with captivating side characters. The series is due to explode once it gets adapted.