MANGA REVIEW | "Chainsaw Man" - Volume Fifteen
Sometimes I wonder just what is going on in Tatsuki Fujimoto’s mind. Is he really a brilliant manga creator, or is he a madman with a pen and plenty of ink? Yes, he puts a lot of deep stuff in his works, but that deepness is hidden within a plethora of pages featuring hardcore violence and the occasional nudity. I find myself wondering about Fujimoto’s mentality a lot more after reading Chainsaw Man’s fifteenth volume, which some may argue features some of the series’s most bonkers moments.
Before the volume begins, a simple sentence appears in Fujimoto’s bio: "I love The Menu." The Ralph Fiennes-starring dark comedy is prime for usage in the art of inspiration, as evident by the new devil that appears. But despite her wearing a chef’s hat and using cooking as a part of her motif, her name isn’t anything remotely culinary-based: Falling Devil. If a person has trauma, her power will force them upwards into the sky, with death meeting the victims in outer space.
Asa is filled with a plethora of trauma, especially from her childhood. A flashback showcases a moment that fills her heart with dread, resulting in her going upwards. However, Falling Devil doesn’t want her going up; she wants to send her straight to Hell! Yoru attempts to snap her out of it, but the more War Devil tries, the deeper the mental anguish goes. All seems lost, until Chainsaw Man finally appears.
In its own weird way, this volume of Chainsaw Man tries to shoehorn in the message of always looking at the positives. As Fallen Devil attempts to gather ingredients for her next “meal”, our hero attempts to take her down while trying to rescue Asa. The gore is as delicious as it usually is, but the means of Denji trying to show Asa the good things in life is as hilariously bad as it can get. After all, how can we trust in a hero when the prime good things to him are cats, ice cream, and sex?! (Okay, they’re all good, but they’re not the only things in life that matter!)
After a little turmoil, a new twist enters the realm: there’s a second Chainsaw Man. Who he is and where he came from is still unknown. However, Asa means to be rid of War Devil might’ve just become more convenient, especially after Denji has saved her countless times. It all leads towards internal and external struggles revolving around what’s best for humanity.
Which leads us to another question about Chainsaw Man: can you achieve two goals if one causes pain and the other a one-way ticket to loneliness? Denji certainly wants to both protect Nayuta and the dogs, but to do that, he’ll have to leave his Chainsaw Man persona behind. But if Denji’s not Chainsaw Man, how will he be popular with the ladies?! Then again, if what Asa says is true about what women don’t want from a man, then his popularity goal may be moot!
Chaos is on the menu in this volume of Chainsaw Man. Sometimes its quality is that of a five-star meal; other times, it’s a carnival corn dog. But chaos has been the mindset of this manga since its beginning, with Fujimoto constantly causing it in the world he’s created. Who knows if the creator’s got a full-blown plan and reason behind the madness, but at this point, we should maybe not be thinking too hard about whether he’s a mad genius or simply just mad. In the end, it’s pure entertainment, right?
FINAL GRADE:
Promotional consideration provided by Chantelle Sturt of VIZ Media.
