I had heard of Chainsaw Man for a while from following some folks on Twitter who are much more plugged into the manga scene than I am ^[1], and to say I was dubious would probably be an understatement.

If you, like me, hear the title "Chainsaw Man" and feel some sort of way about it, I can assure you that the show is not what you think it is. It's almost a bit of a shonen deconstruction in much the same way Ousama Ranking or Mob Psycho 100 feels like a twist on the genre, but this is... more so. The comparison I reach to, almost involuntarily, is something like 100 gecs — brash, overconfident, maximalist, fun. It's a very weird show with whiplash pace, gorgeous animation, and more pathos and humor than I expected of it or its genre.

I don't think there's a single season of anime that I am more excited for than the second season of Chainsaw Man. It's funny, beautiful, and interesting.

★★★★