Forum - View topicThe ANN Aftershow - The Chainsaw Man Anime is Finally Here!
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vashfanatic
 Posts: 3495 Location: Back stateside |
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So I read the first volume of Chainsaw Man after all the hype and it was...just a generic shounen series? Your basic "outcast boy gains power from dangerous source and joins organization to fight evil versions of his power source" story that's been told a hundred times before? And the main lead was defined almost completely by his horniness and the whole thing was very off-putting?
I guess what I'm asking is, what am I missing? And does it go somewhere more interesting? |
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Gem-Bug
 Posts: 1330 |
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You're missing the 11 other volumes, yeah. |
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vashfanatic
Posts: 3495 Location: Back stateside |
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...right, but why should bother continuing to read when the first one was so meh? I am giving you all total permission to stick your pitch under spoilers, I don't care. |
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v1cious
 Posts: 6235 Location: Houston, TX |
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At the risk of sounding generic, there's some interesting plot twists and it doesn't go the direction you expect from a Jump manga. |
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ronri
 Posts: 86 |
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Everything you described isn't wrong but it also neglects what made the manga so appealing to many people. The series definitely starts out fairly basic and shounen-y but it very quickly shifts gears as it progresses further, to the point that it starts veering off such shounen trappings. Even Denji's "horniness" plays a huge part in the development of his interpersonal relationship with the rest of the cast and how his perspective shifts in subtle ways. So to dismiss it on that basis is a bit misguided when there's a very clear direction in how the story deals with it with a clear character arc in mind. If you're already set in your ways about the manga that's fair enough, but since you're asking: yes you're missing quite a lot in why people love it, and yes it does go in very interesting directions all the way through to the end. |
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enurtsol
 Posts: 14893 |
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E.g. you're in the first couple episodes of Madoka Magica |
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vashfanatic
Posts: 3495 Location: Back stateside |
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I found the first episodes of Madoka Magica far more intriguing than the first volume of the manga. Sure, the twists got darker as it went along Since y'all don't seem to want to give me any information other than "commit to reading a dozen volumes and then come back to us" I guess I'll just read episode recaps and see. I truly do not care about spoilers; if something is good enough, I've found that spoilers don't ruin it. |
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Gem-Bug
Posts: 1330 |
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I don't think any of us here who hold the series in high regard really want to fill this thread with spoilers(even tagged as such) that someone who wants to enjoy the anime-only might stumble into by accident. Abridged synopsis is on wikipedia. |
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jdnation
Posts: 2127 |
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You don't have to do anything. You can check out the anime yourself if you don't feel like reading it. Your criticism of Book 1 can pretty much be applied to everything - "feels like I've read this set-up before somewhere else." "Every super-hero has the same type of origin story done before. Therefore Goku and Superman are exactly the same kind of guy." "All magical girls do the same thing, do a little dance, transform, have some cute animal sidekick, does it go anywhere interesting?" Etc. Well, Chainsaw-Man takes a typical shonen genre and tropes and turns things on its head. Also it builds an intriguing background lore. And at the end of the day, it's fun as F all the way through its horrorific story, violent badassery and commentary on the human condition, the thibgs we fear, plus a neat dose of dark comedy. The characters may or not may be for you as they are all older and screwed up in some way and have fairly bleak perspectives compared to the young optimism of Madoka Magica's girls and themes of wishes and friendship that are... typically generic things, but it boils down to what you do with them. But well, hey, maybe some things might just not be for you... The main story is largely involved with Denji acclimitizing to this world and relationships with others. Also devil-killing and that the demon world has its own political intrigues and power struggles and desires and negotiations too. And every decision comes at a cost. Often, great ones. |
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a_Bear_in_Bearcave
Posts: 551 Location: Poland |
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It's less spoilers and more that it's hard to explain what makes it so popular, just like it would be hard to explain what makes Madoka so popular for someone new to the series. "Oh, so the twist it that it's actually yet another edgy magical girl series? I've seen five shows like that already". Ronri already tried to explain: "The series definitely starts out fairly basic and shounen-y but it very quickly shifts gears as it progresses further, to the point that it starts veering off such shounen trappings. Even Denji's "horniness" plays a huge part in the development of his interpersonal relationship with the rest of the cast and how his perspective shifts in subtle ways." It's really the whole mood and storytelling and character interactions and relations the series grow into over time, it's not some Shyamalan twist we could spoil you with. That is, there are plenty of twists, but it's not twists alone that makes it good, but the way they fit into story and change our perspective on characters. |
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Vanadise
 Posts: 534 |
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And for that matter, merely reading chapter summaries or intentionally looking up spoilers will not tell you why people love Chainsaw Man. It's good because of the great writing, the way it plays with the boundaries of the manga format, and the way it carefully sets the reader's expectations and then subverts them.
If you read the first volume and your opinion of it is basically, "This is fine, but I don't see why people love it so much," give it one or two more volumes for it to really start picking up steam. |
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Rogue 155
Posts: 8 |
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tintor2
 Posts: 2168 |
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To be honest Jujutsu Kaisen, Demon Slayer and the latest Bleach are ridiculously generic at first yet the only thing backing them up are the visuals from the studios. I would the say the psychological content from Jujutsu Kaisen was already used by Noragami but more in a comical fashion. I'd say give it time.
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rubelahame
Posts: 7 |
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And for that matter, merely reading chapter summaries or intentionally looking up spoilers will not tell you why people love Chainsaw Man. It's good because of the great writing, the way it plays with the boundaries of the manga format, and the way it carefully sets the reader's expectations and then subverts them.
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Minos_Kurumada
Posts: 1192 |
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Well, as somebody who doesn't think the series is that good but like to analyze popular stuff, I can give a number of bullet points of why people like it: 1- It has a lot of Gore for a shounen. 2- Denji is your stereotypical shounen hero who wants to become something, but, instead of wanting to be Pirate-Hero-Ninja President he wants to become a normal person, go to school, get a girlfriend, etc. Because for him who has nothing having the basic is a lot, this is way too relatable for a lot of people. 3- Characters don't give a damn about each other, this is kinda refreshing since this is a genera that is all about friendship. 4- The art style is quite unsetting and unique with a lot of visual metaphors and allegories. 5- Its short so you can actually read it in a day. 6- It subverts a lot of expectations of how a plot like this tent follow. 7- The whole concept of a man made of chainsaws its way too stupid to not to love it. 8- It has the greatest character ever in the history of forever: Kobeni's car. That's mostly it, the series is actually no that original, the mangaka himself admitted its a Dorohedoro copy. |
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