Chainsaw Man
2022
Original language: Japanese
- animation
- action & adventure
- sci-fi & fantasy
The story
Denji has a simple dream—to live a happy and peaceful life, spending time with a girl he likes. This is a far cry from reality, however, as Denji is forced by the yakuza into killing devils in order to pay off his crushing debts. Using his pet devil Pochita as a weapon, he is ready to do anything for a bit of cash.
What it’s like
Jagged, kinetic 2D animation with bold ink lines, saturated flat colour and sudden washes of red, the look of a sketchbook gone feral: scratchy hatching for grime and dread, then huge splashes of blood-bright colour in the fights. Night-time Tokyo-style backstreets glow in sodium orange and neon pink, and the frame often jolts between hand-drawn energy and stark stillness. Sound leans on loud, grinding guitar and distorted electronic beats during combat, dropping to hushed piano and long quiet pauses when the characters just talk over cheap food. Vibe: scruffy, sardonic melancholy with a current of cruelty running underneath. The pacing is brisk and episodic, with sudden lurches between goofy comedy and sudden horror. Intensity is high: frequent graphic gore, dismemberment and spurting blood, grim cruelty to children and animals, and sexual humour that can feel crude, so it lands hard rather than gently. Its emotional core is a lonely, underfed teenager slowly finding a few people worth caring about in a rotten world. It suits late-night binges for fans of stylish, messy anime who can handle brutality.
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