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Japanese shonen manga and Western (not cowboys) superhero comic books share a lot in common with their storytelling, yet the cultural divide between their fans has always been present. This divide is shrinking as anime continues to rise in popularity, but the barrier to entry is the difficult part in attracting new fans more accustomed to superhero stories.

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Despite this, mangaka (manga artist) Tatsuki Fujimoto has always been influenced by Western pop culture and art, and nowhere is this more evident than in his Shonen manga masterpiece, “Chainsaw Man.”

The Manga

In “Chainsaw Man,” Fujimoto created a world not dissimilar to most manga. Magical realism is certainly a component in many of these stories, and is very much present in “Chainsaw Man.” The world is essentially the same as ours, only monsters called “devils” exist that manifest out of humanity’s fear for whatever concept they represent.

The story begins after Denji, our eponymous hero, has just become an orphan and inherited his father’s debt to the Yakuza. As luck would have it, Denji meets Pochita, an adorable but wounded doglike devil with a chainsaw on its head. The two form a contract, where Denji would allow Pochita to drink his blood to heal, and in exchange, help him hunt devils for the Yakuza to pay off his debt. These contracts are binding for both parties, and they have to honor their side of the agreement or face dire consequences.

After a tragic incident leaves the pair on death’s door, Pochita makes another contract with Denji to save his life as long as he promises to show Pochita a life that they could never achieve while working for the Yakuza. Denji absorbs Pochita and with him, the powers of the Chainsaw Devil.

This is pretty standard fare for a lot of manga. “Attack on Titan,” “Jujutsu Kaisen,” and “Demon Slayer” all play with the idea of a character obtaining abilities normally exclusive to their enemy while still retaining their humanity. Where “Chainsaw Man” differs from those titles is in its subversive nature.

“Chainsaw Man” doesn’t abandon tropes or cliches altogether, but plays with audiences’ expectations when starting a story like this. The story sets up a big bad very early on, but where most manga would build their entire stories to eventually culminate in a big battle between the heroes and villain, “Chainsaw Man” is more interested in exploring how the characters feel about these types of conflicts.

That’s not to say there isn’t plenty of chainsaw action with Denji slicing up devils, but the real magic comes down to how well-realized the characters are. Because this is a fast-paced manga, and the story really doesn’t let up at all throughout it, much of the character development actually happens through action. Characters are thrown into so many horrific and intense situations that affect them profoundly as the series progresses.

While “Chainsaw Man” is clearly influenced by plenty of other manga and anime, Fujimoto wears his Western influences on his sleeve. Sometimes the characters feel ripped out of a Tarantino movie, and the chainsaw element was directly inspired by “The Texas Chain Saw Massacre,” directed by Tobe Hooper.

Fujimoto has a clear love of film, and it really shows in his style, as he uses far less text and dialogue than most manga I’ve read. There’s a chapter in the manga that is completely wordless, and Fujimoto manages to fully communicate with visuals and transition from scene to scene incredibly smoothly. His art genuinely speaks for itself, and the panel layout is expertly done, creating a very easy and rewarding read.

The Anime

When the anime adaptation was announced, the hype was palpable. Studio Mappa was announced as the main animation studio in charge of the production, hot off their work on “Jujutsu Kaisen” and taking over the final season of “Attack on Titan.”

Mappa is infamous now for mistreating workers, providing terrible working conditions, and constantly crunching time, forcing animators to meet unrealistic deadlines. While much of their output does reflect high quality, especially in the animation, it feels necessary to point out that much of this is the result of mistreating the artists responsible for making it look so good.

That being said, the “Chainsaw Man” anime is very well made. The first season took a more cinematic approach to its overall presentation than the manga did. The response from fans was mostly positive, but many people felt this style was too drab for what they expected. While the anime is far from a perfect adaptation, it is still a very well-directed and animated season of television.

The MVP of this season, however, is not anyone responsible for the visuals, but the music. Composer Kensuke Ushio’s original score perfectly fits the tone and injects some shockingly gorgeous melancholy that this series excels in. While not his greatest work (that goes to “Ping Pong: the Animation”), the music in “Chainsaw Man” elevates nearly every scene it’s present in.

There hasn’t been any official announcement for a second season, but when it happens, fans of the anime who haven’t read the manga are in for a whole lot of pain. While season one was great overall, it covers the least exciting portion of the manga. It ends strongly, but is nothing compared to the explosive arc immediately following it.

The Movie

Anime movies are nothing new, but for the longest time, they would serve as non-canon stories that anyone could watch without worrying about missing important context. They also wouldn’t affect the main narrative and were largely inconsequential. After “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train” released in theaters and became the highest-grossing Japanese film of all time, anime studios realized this was a worthy venture. “Demon Slayer: Mugen Train” picks up directly following the events of the first season and still managed to clean up at the box office.

“Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc” is the follow-up to the first season of the anime. This time, directed by Tatsuya Yoshihara, taking over from season one director Ryu Nakayama, and featuring a noticeable change in the art style. The film doesn’t abandon the cinematic look of the first season, but chooses a maximalist approach to its presentation.

This movie is a pure feast for the senses. The animation is a dramatic step up from an already high-quality first season. Any use of CGI is implemented seamlessly, which can’t be said for the show. But aside from great animation, the art style is just so much more vibrant and colorful.

Kensuke Ushio is back doing the score, and this is truly some of his finest work. There are moments in this movie where the music, in tandem with the jaw-dropping visuals, creates some of the most striking and moving sequences in any film this year.

The movie had a lot of high expectations to meet, primarily from manga readers. Experiencing this story arc for the first time in the manga felt like a major turning point. The “Reze Arc” in the manga was when many fans, including myself, really fell in love with this series. It’s a pretty short arc, but it does so much for Denji as a character, while showcasing some of the most exciting action in the manga so far.

The movie somehow managed to exceed these expectations for me. Sure, maybe not every choice the movie makes is perfect, but it never feels like it chooses an easy way to adapt every scene. Simply put, this is exactly what an anime adaptation should look like when given the resources for a movie.

Whenever I read a manga or comic, there’s inevitably a point where I wonder what a film/TV adaptation of it would look like. While obviously, part of why the experience of reading a book is usually better than watching the adaptation is that whatever you picture in your head will never be truly met. “Chainsaw Man - The Movie: Reze Arc” gave me exactly what I imagined when reading the manga, and that is a magical feeling.

Conclusion

I’ve always been and still am a comic book fan. I simply haven’t read enough manga yet to say that I am as passionate about both, yet “Chainsaw Man” is easily one of my favorite comic book series. And if the movie is any indication, it might also end up as one of my favorite adaptations ever.