It’s hard to believe that it has been two years since I reviewed the first volume of Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man. And today I’m going to review the second volume!
In the last volume, Denji was recruited for a white-collared job. Surprisingly, Makima recruited him to become a Public Devil-Hunter in her organization, Division 4. Denji was then partnered with other members of her organization, but he was focused on achieving the greatest goal in human history, getting to touch a boob! (Well, to Denji, it’s his greatest goal) but he will be giving it his all against the Bat-Devil! But would this make Denji happy?
The feeling of despair at the beginning of the story has disappeared. Now, we’re starting to see the story thrive and pick up steam, and being introduced to one of the main villains in the story, the Gun-Devil. But this also helps Denji learn what he truly needs to strive for, even if he fully doesn’t realize it. This also served a greater purpose for the ongoing story. For example, it introduced not only a major threat but also provided an opportunity for personal character development.
I’ll be honest, this was one of the most well-written manga titles I have read so far. The story’s pace was balanced perfectly with action that included fast encounters, and intense situations. It also includes intimate moments between the cast that felt natural. In the entire volume, there wasn’t a single moment that wasn’t dragged on or sped up, it was perfect.
As the story progresses, we witness Denji finally get his wish of touching breasts, and it was nothing. He thought it would change his life for the better but without an intimate connection with a partner, it meant nothing. To be honest, this was an old trope that was explored in different forms of media but it was refreshing to see this action have meaning. He now realized this when he had a brief form of intimacy with Mamika, Denji’s character can finally grow and his journey can begin. Speaking of Mamika, while she wasn’t prominent as she was in the previous volume, her attitude and words to Denji are helpful and strangely close. Whenever she is close to him, or others, there is some kind of eerie aura that surrounds her and how much she can play with someone to get what she wants (whatever it may be).
While we move on with the rest of the review, there were plenty of characters that stood out, which included Aki and his mentor, Himeno. Himeno comes across as Jovial and playful who liked to tease Denji and the others. But she wouldn’t have been like that if not for Aki. She was incredibly gloomy and barely cared about anyone, after burying another friend she cared about when she first met Aki. While that side is still present inside her, it is still covered under her bright personality.
The next thing I would like to discuss is the design of the Devils, in this volume we witnessed the Leech-Devil and the Bat-Devil. The Leech-Devil who was an embodiment of the fear of leeches only had a minor role to play in the story. The Leech Devil looked like a woman who had a large winkled body with four legs and tentacle arms. And the Bat-Devil who was an embodiment of the fear of Bats that was a humanoid bat creature. These creatures are downright creepy, designed out of one’s nightmares and it works well for the type of story that Fujimoto is trying to tell.
Finally, since we have discussed the writing and script improvement, let’s discuss the artwork. It was drawn beautifully, each panel was filled to the brim with action and great detail, it’s hard to explain but it felt more dynamic. Fujimoto pushed it even further, a great eye to detail and more expressive with each panel.
Even though I have caught up on this title, I absolutely loved this arc. Volume Two is available at your local book store and online. The Second Part of Chainsaw Man is also available on Viz Media‘s Shonen Jump App and Shueisha’s Manga Plus app (and it is part of the ‘First Read Free’ Campaign!)
Final Grade:
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