Chainsaw Man Pushes Denji Across the Line in Darkest Moment Yet

‘Chainsaw Man’ Broke a Major Shonen Rule Even ‘Jujutsu Kaisen’ Didn’t Escape

A narrative or a story isn’t that difficult to write. There are countless stories in this world, but very few are impactful. This is because some elements are hard to execute well. The protagonist, for instance, sticking to the common tropes, will give you an all-too predictable main character. The same is the case in anime; most main characters in the Shonen genre have the same outfit, burdened with trauma, never losing, and constantly getting …

Chainsaw Man Pushes Denji Across the Line in Darkest Moment Yet

Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man has earned a unique reputation within the shonen genre for its distinctly dark tone. While this darkness has always loomed over the narrative, it wasn’t until the end of Part 1 that the story took a truly grim turn. The protagonist, Denji, becomes a focal point for this descent, as his traumatic childhood establishes early on that he is unlikely to ever find inner (or outer) peace. Makima is the first to push Denj…