The Japanese sensation “Chainsaw Man,” written and illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto, hardly needs an introduction. Since its anime adaptation premiered in the Fall 2022 season, it has taken social media by storm, amassing a monumental following. Currently ranked as the 73rd most popular series on MyAnimeList, its impact is undeniable.
The series “Chainsaw Man” is a rather gruesome shonen series, filled with tropes that many self-proclaimed “fans” of Japanese media eagerly embrace. It revolves around Denji, an adolescent boy ravaged by poverty and burdened with a monumental debt to the yakuza.
To make ends meet, he works as a devil hunter, slaying devils with the help of his pet devil, Pochita. Denji’s life is a constant struggle for survival, often resorting to selling his own organs.
One day, Denji is betrayed and killed by the yakuza, who have made a pact with the Zombie Devil. In a desperate act to save Denji, Pochita sacrifices itself and merges with him, reviving Denji as the “Chainsaw Man,” a human-devil hybrid with chainsaws sprouting from his body.
Denji’s abilites captures the interest of Makima, a high-ranking officer in the Public Safety Devil Hunters. She essentially forces Denji to join her, promising him a better life as her “dog.”
The series itself can be summarized as a teenager being groomed by a woman and is subsequently treated like a pet, from there onwards hijinks ensue revolving around devil slaying, gore, blood and the constant sexual humiliation of Denji in particular.
Though of course, its large audience of puritans seem to overlook the constant sexual abuse its protagonist suffers on a regular basis, though I suppose that only adds to its charm. it’s still worthy of a watch if you surprisingly already haven’t, though it’s nothing particularly special.
The shounen series “Chainsaw Man” is filled with violence and gore, alongside instances of femdom and nudity, making it socially acceptable to consume without being labeled inappropriate. However, the latest chapter has caused a significant stir among its fans by daring to finally satisfy its protagonist with a simple heterosexual scene.
In Chapter 167, the story takes a turn with Denji and Asa in an alley. Asa had previously proclaimed that she was willing to help Denji with his sexual urges by cutting his penis off.
Instead of following through with her threat, Asa willingly puts her hand into Denji’s pants, forces him into a kiss. This leads to a 16-page explicit sequence, ending with Asa’s hand covered in sperm, pretty much insinuating that she had jerked him off.
Despite the absence of actual nudity throughout the ordeal, fans were livid. It seemed their outrage stemmed not from the fact that the main character, Denji, was sexually assaulted once again, but rather that his sexual urges were finally satisfied by a member of the opposite sex.
Supposed “fans” of Chainsaw Man took to Twitter, bemoaning the chapter specifically. Some even went as far as to threaten the life of the series’ mangaka.
However, an equally large number of fans of this franchise defended the scene and even celebrated it. They argued that after enduring numerous canonical events, the protagonist deserved something “good” to happen to him.
Additionally, the scene seemed to have triggered thousands of puritans who were more than happy to demand that problematic material be censored or banned.
Mind you, these people aren’t actually fans; they’re western tourists who’ve only discovered anime because western animation has become inoffensive and sanitized, focusing on indoctrinating children with specific themes and values.
They’ve taken an interest in Japanese franchises simply because it’s the popular thing to do. These individuals dislike fanservice and berate content with extreme sexual themes catering to heterosexual audiences.
They almost always gravitate towards shounen, a genre targeting teenage boys that typically features action sequences, perseverance, and long arc episodic adventures though this isn’t always the case. The accurate term to describe shows they flock to, such as “Chainsaw Man,” “My Hero Academia,” “One Piece,” and the like, would be “battle shounen.”
“Chainsaw Man” has always involved the sexual torment of Denji, but now it’s considered controversial because his desires were fulfilled, albeit in a non-consensual manner. However, these are merely drawings on paper, they don’t actually exist. Despite this, a significant portion of the audience can’t help but treat fictional characters as if they were real people.
The whole situation feels surreal because this isn’t the first time supposed “fans” of a series, who largely don’t actually financially contribute to the success of the product they claim to like, have caused controversy.
Tokyo Ghoul’s 125th chapter sparked similar debate for featuring a passionate HETEROSEXUAL sex scene between Ken Kaneki and Touka Kirishima, the series protagonist and a main character.
The passionate lovemaking scene sparked monumental outrage from supposed western “fans” upon its release.
Many of these fans, particularly from the “fujoshi” crowd or those who identified as homosexual, were upset because the chapter outright demolished their delusional head canons that the main character of Tokyo Ghoul was gay.
Some of these individuals even resorted to threatening the creator, Sui Ishida. Similarly, thousands of individuals on Twitter seem repulsed by a mere handjob in Chainsaw Man void of any actual nudity.
These individuals aren’t fans; they deserve ridicule and mockery for being overly sensitive. Every single one of these people complaining about Chainsaw Man’s latest chapter fits the usual activist type who often buy bot likes on Twitter to boost their progressive tweets.
These are the very same “fans” who went on a tangent about an unofficial erotic figurine of “Power,” created by Dodomo Studio. Power is one of the most iconic characters in the franchise and one of the series’ most popular female characters.
More than likely this chapter will go down in history for the Chainsaw Man franchise for all the wrong reasons, further highlighting the importance of gatekeeping and excluding such cancerous individuals from our hobbies and interests.
