Chainsaw Man teaser from MAPPA
Anime studio MAPPA recently celebrated its 10th anniversary with a 5-hour-long livestream. The staff announced various updates for titles such as Attack on Titan and Jujutsu Kaisen. But while these shows generated considerable buzz, the show that stole the spotlight was one of MAPPA’s upcoming anime adaptations – Chainsaw Man.
Teaser for MAPPA’s anime adaptation of Chainsaw Man
During MAPPA’s 10th anniversary livestream on 27th June 2021, the anime studio unveiled the teaser for Chainsaw Man.
Video credit: MAPPA CHANNEL
Image adapted from: MAPPA CHANNEL
The 70-second preview starts off eerily with depictions of a blood-soaked alley and a graveyard, setting the tone for the grim tale to come.
Image adapted from: MAPPA CHANNEL
It then transitions to an action-packed sequence as various characters make their appearance, obliterating gruesome-looking creatures in adrenaline-pumping combat scenes.
Image adapted from: MAPPA CHANNEL
During the final seconds of the preview, we get a glimpse of our protagonist, Chainsaw Man, who looks exactly as his name suggests – his head and arms are literal chainsaws.
The plot of Chainsaw Man
Image adapted from: VIZ
Chainsaw Man is the brainchild of mangaka Fujimoto Tatsuki. Part 1 of the manga, consisting 97 chapters, was serialised in Weekly Shonen Jump from December 2018 to December 2020. The magazine has since confirmed that Part 2 is in the works.
Image adapted from: VIZ
Chainsaw Man is set in a world where ugly-looking monsters, called “devils”, roam. It follows a boy named Denji, who finds himself stuck with his late father’s debt.
One day, Denji finds an injured devil dog, Pochita, and offers his blood to the devil so that it could be healed. In exchange, he asks the devil to lend him its powers in order to run devil-hunting errands for money.
Image adapted from: VIZ
However, death finds him one day as the poor boy gets betrayed by the organisation that he works for. As Denji’s body gets torn into pieces, Pochita decides to save him by fusing itself with his body, granting him the ability to use devil powers. More specifically, our protagonist can now turn into a menacing “Chainsaw Man”, with his head and arms transforming into the said tool.
Image adapted from: VIZ
Later on, an organisation called “Public Safety Devil Hunters” finds Denji. Smitten by one of the Devil Hunters, Makima, Denji joins the team and begins his new journey as a Devil Hunter, putting his new-found powers to use.
Fans hyped about the release of the Chainsaw Man anime
The hype is real – within 15 hours of its release, the Chainsaw Man teaser on YouTube garnered over 2,450,045 views. The tweet linking to the teaser boasts 228,800 retweets and 405,800 likes.
Image adapted from: YouTube
Overall, fans of the original manga are pumped for this new MAPPA anime adaptation. As YouTuber user G Auze aptly summarised, “This trailer perfectly encapsulates the chaotic, depressing, and gruesome nature of CSM. Basically, this is pure hype”.
Image adapted from: YouTube
Another fan, Ox Belmont, commented, “This is some of the best animation quality I’ve ever seen. I love Chainsaw Man so much, and I’m proud of how far it’s come in such a short amount of time. I really hope it blows up, it’s definitely in the top 5 of modern shonen in my opinion.”
Image adapted from: YouTube
However, people who’ve read the manga ominously warned of a heart-wrenching plot to come. “Manga readers: Hello darkness my old friend,” user Rex Samuel Mateo comically wrote.
Image adapted from: YouTube
Amidst growing awareness of the overwork culture in animation studios, fans also took the time to leave supportive comments for the MAPPA staff and animators.
User Charly Soltero wrote, “Thanks to all the super hard workers at Mappa, we are undeserving!!”
Another user, LeeLovesForever, commented, “Thank you so much MAPPA! Please make sure to get good [sic] rest while working hard on this project.”
MAPPA drops Chainsaw Man teaser
MAPPA has yet to announce the release date of Chainsaw Man. We share the sentiments of the fans and hope that the animation studio staff can pace themselves and take care of their health while preparing for this project .
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Cover image adapted from: MAPPA CHANNEL