It’s amazing what a person will do to indulge in their morbid curiosity.
For a long time, I had given up on weekly manga, especially Shounen. I felt there were no more stories interesting enough to read, and everything that was out just wasn’t holding my interest. But all of that changed with Chainsaw Man. I resisted at first. I didn’t want to cave in and break my manga sobriety, but after multiple recommendations from friends I trust, I gave it a shot.
The post you’re currently reading is all of my meditations on Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man, and it’s titular character; Denji.
There was a time I believed Denji to be a cracked mirror version of Peter Parker.
In most iterations of the character, Peter Parker is a nerd loner who’s granted amazing gifts through a spider bite. He grows out of his wallflower shell and becomes a more personable character, one that the audience either relates to or wants to become. The progression from loser to likable takes time, (Many people believe Peter to be some mild mannered guy but he wasn’t like that until the Raimi films lol) but Peter eventually gets there and becomes a person the audience follows willingly.
Denji is nothing like that at all.
Loser by circumstance, Denji grew up without a support system, slumming it out as a devil hunter. In an effort to pay back a debt that wasn’t his, Denji lost much of himself not only physically but also emotionally. Much like Peter Parker though, Denji is granted amazing gifts through a contract with the chainsaw devil Pochita, and he becomes Chainsaw Man.
Now, the western sensibilities and influence are so very clear in Tatsuki Fujimoto’s work. From film references in his art, to his almost anti-shounen style of storytelling, Fujimoto has carved a path inspired by the west. Look no further than the name of the manga itself; Chainsaw Man. That in itself is a message to the audience, before you even turn a page you will have the expectation of some sort of super heroics based on the name alone. Think about stories like One Punch Man or even My Hero Academia who both have similar influences from the west, (the latter more so than the former) those stories set expectations in the nascent readers mind.
Even the protagonists of those series mirror Peter Parker’s early character progression, the trendline of “zero to hero” so to say.
Denji himself represents the subversive nature of Chainsaw Man as a story, following certain shounen beats but twisting them in a certain way to reflect Tatsuki Fujimoto’s own twisted but human storytelling style. You’d expect Denji to transform into a likable, inspirational protagonist like the genre is used to—but as of the current chapter he hasn’t. That’s not to say Denji hasn’t had life-altering experiences that have changed him, but it does speak towards Chainsaw Man’s more methodical nature and how it affects its characters. Denji has grown, but not in the way we would expect as readers.
“What does this have to do with your original point?” you may ask. Well, Denji is Peter Parker in a twisted way. He’s not the cracked mirror Peter Parker, he’s Peter Parker without an Uncle Ben moment.
Peter Parker was not always the heroic character, before losing his uncle in a tragic accident, he wanted to use his gifts for personal gain. Honestly, that’s not such a horrible thing. Peter grew up in a lower middle class family with two elderly caretakers, using your gifts to profit is the way to go in this situation. It’s no different from an athlete going pro.
But the story doesn’t follow that mindset. Peter is almost punished by a higher power for wanting to use his powers to make money. Not stopping the robber at the wrestling venue costs his Uncle Ben his life. Realizing that, Peter takes a vow to only use his powers for the benefit of others. (Also not a horrible thing.)
Denji doesn’t have this moral quandary.
In the world of Chainsaw Man, Devil Hunters are basically superheroes. They aren’t altruistic saints with hearts of gold, but they fill a need for the public’s safety. Almost every Devil Hunter has motivation, and more often than not it’s based around making ends meet. Being a Devil Hunter is lucrative, which is why Denji does it to pay his late father’s debts to the Yakuza.
Denji, as Chainsaw Man, sees himself as a superhero worthy of praise. Chainsaw Man is his ticket to fame, fortune and glory, something he isn’t afforded as just regular ol’ Denji. This is a complete contrast to most western superheroes, such as Spider-Man. Denji only cares about the benefits of being Chainsaw Man, and none of the moral bits.
In the second part of the Chainsaw Man manga, Denji has decided he wants to reveal his identity as Chainsaw Man to the world. The world knowing Denji is the super famous Chainsaw Man would change his world for the better (in Denji’s eyes). He’d get the money, power, and lots of attention from women. It’s something Denji has desired since we first meet him, and that desire has only grown over the subsequent chapters. His motive now is to enjoy the perks of being Chainsaw Man without having to keep it a secret.
The most interesting part of this is Chapter 102, in which Denji faces off with the Cockroach Devil.
Fujimoto introduces us to the age old Trolley Problem by having the Cockroach Devil take hostages and force Denji to choose. In contrast, you have Asa (the other main character of Chainsaw Man’s second arc and the focal point) who represents the selfless nature of a classic western superhero, putting others safety before her own.
Asa doesn't kill her friend Yuko and turn her into a weapon, instead choosing to rescue her just as she did the cat in the flashback.
Denji decides to choose his own victory. Instead of actually solving the trolley problem, Denji just saves a random cat and lets the hostages die a fiery death.
It's interesting, not just because it's shocking and unexpected—but because of what it says about Denji in this current moment.
Whether or not Fujimoto will continue to affirm Denji's actions and worldview has yet to be seen. But that's what makes the story so fun to read. Fujimoto could easily flip this all on its head and push back against Denji's current state of thinking.
Stories this interesting always make the readers ask questions; like is Fujimoto pushing against the idea that a hero has to be altruistic or is he setting Denji up for a world shattering moment that shifts his view on what it means to be a hero, or what it means to be Chainsaw Man?
All of these questions may not be answered, but it’s the curiosity and the strong writing that keeps readers hooked. And this is just one character in a myriad of other interesting characters. That’s the magic of Chainsaw Man. Layers being pulled back only reveal even more interesting ideas to be analyzed, like song lyrics with multiple meanings.