A man with chainsaws coming out of his arms and coming out of his face sounds like something exceptionally horrific, like some sort of failed ’80s horror movie with really memorable VHS cover art. However, in the realm of anime, it works perfectly. On October 11 at 9 AM PT on Crunchyroll, the first episode of Chainsaw Man arrives, and it’s the perfect way to kick off the Halloween season.
The first episode of Chainsaw Man, which GameSpot was provided for review, adapts Chapter 1 of Volume 1 of the manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto. The story follows the adventures of Denji, a young man who is trying to pay off his father’s debt, sometimes having to sell off body parts to make ends meet. He befriends a little devil and becomes a devil hunter. From there, well, it’s an anime. You know where it’s headed: he’s going to fight some monstrous creatures.
Denji is that lovable loser trope you’ve seen time and time again, except he’s a victim of his environment, not just someone born a hapless dope, who trips over his own feet for a laugh. This is more of a serious character. He’s trying to do what he can to unbury himself from his father’s mistakes, and at times, it seems there’s something sinister hiding underneath the surface–later on, there totally is, and it’s awesome.