Why Fans Are Already Worried About Chainsaw Man's Trajectory
Adult-oriented anime has long provided mature audiences with provocative storytelling alongside violent visuals that result from fierce battles. The most disturbing anime manages to blend these traits inside of compelling narratives in the horror and fantasy genres. Such is the case with many mangas as well, which is where numerous Japanese animation endeavors find their initial inspiration. Now that we finally know when "Chainsaw Man" will make its debut just in time for Halloween 2022, anticipation is at a fever pitch with fans hoping the series will maintain accuracy with its popular source material.
"Chainsaw Man" will follow the journey of Denji and his sidekick Pochita, with Ryū Nakayama directing and "Attack on Titan" writer Hiroshi Seko penning the scripts (via Anime News Network). With 11 manga volumes and a 12th also released in October 2022, the series will have plenty of time to flesh out the storylines, but some fans are already worried about what trajectory the showrunners will take with the show.
Some fans worry that the best of the manga may not be adapted
The following contains spoilers for the "Chainsaw Man" manga series.
On the Twitter account @CHAINSAWMAN_PR, the official profile for the "Chainsaw Man" anime, it was revealed that the series will contain 12 episodes. It is unknown if the show will be a one-off series or is open to continuing. Redditor u/Steven4869 commented, "Looks like they are gonna adapt until [CSM manga spoilers] Katana Man arc with around 3-4 chapters per episode. This means [CSM] No Reze." Reze is a popular devil bomb character first introduced in the fifth volume of the manga. This is a worry for fans of the later volumes in case the anime is not continued past the first season. Redditor u/xahhfink6 highlighted this concern by stating, "But like ... There's zero chance of finishing the manga in 12 more episodes with this pacing. Are they planning to do 3 seasons to cover all of part 1?"
Without the certainty of knowing what volumes will be adapted into these 12 episodes, the worry from fans of the manga is only natural. According to Anime News Network, the newest members of the cast include Shiori Izawa as Pochita, Mariya Ise as Himeno, Karin Takahashi as Kobeni Higashiyama, Taku Yashiro as Hirokazu Arai, and Kenjiro Tsuda as Kishibe. These are characters present in the early part of the manga, which would be the natural starting point for an anime adaptation.