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A review by ajtye
Chainsaw Man, Vol. 2 by Tatsuki Fujimoto
The continuing tales of Horny Scott Pilgrim™ and his band of nutters is turning out...to be a very good time? There's some growing pains still - Denji's constant boob dialogue gets a little one-note during the opening chapters, and as much as I respect the shit out of Fujimoto's decision to in about 10 pages (take note, every other Shonen Manga), there's a definite sense of anticlimax to the fight.
So why oh why does this rough-around-the-edges manga have me so intrigued to keep going? We're getting to the heart of some very typical Shonen elements now by introducing the guild of devil hunters, and yet very little here feels rote. Denji's existential despair at discovering that touching boobs makes for an unfulfilling primary motivation is a nice self-aware progression of his character. It lessens the stupidity of his aggressive horniness by suggesting that maybe, just maybe, Fujimoto knows what he's doing. But right now, it's the other characters that are really bringing Chainsaw Man to life. Power is a terrific spin on the Asuka-esque rebellious archetype, Makima continues to be ethereal and domineering in a way that makes her a very eerie threat (to the reader, at least), and the rest of the gang - nuts though they may be - crackle with energy. I don't know if I can say for definite that Volume 2 makes enormous strides over the first Volume in terms of raw quality, but I left it more excited than ever about the future of this series. That has to speak for something.
Spoiler
kill BatSo why oh why does this rough-around-the-edges manga have me so intrigued to keep going? We're getting to the heart of some very typical Shonen elements now by introducing the guild of devil hunters, and yet very little here feels rote. Denji's existential despair at discovering that touching boobs makes for an unfulfilling primary motivation is a nice self-aware progression of his character. It lessens the stupidity of his aggressive horniness by suggesting that maybe, just maybe, Fujimoto knows what he's doing. But right now, it's the other characters that are really bringing Chainsaw Man to life. Power is a terrific spin on the Asuka-esque rebellious archetype, Makima continues to be ethereal and domineering in a way that makes her a very eerie threat (to the reader, at least), and the rest of the gang - nuts though they may be - crackle with energy. I don't know if I can say for definite that Volume 2 makes enormous strides over the first Volume in terms of raw quality, but I left it more excited than ever about the future of this series. That has to speak for something.