Chainsaw Man Anime: Release Date, Trailer, Cast, Plot and More
Chainsaw Man is a manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto that was originally released between 2018 and 2020. It is set in a world where Devils are born from human fears and the stronger the fear, the more powerful the Devil is. On the other side are the so-called Devil hunters, humans specializing in hunting and employing Devils.
Although extremely gory and violent, Chainsaw Man was a shōnen hit and it is only natural that we now know that it is going to get an anime adaptation very soon. In this article, you’re going to find out everything you need to know about the Chainsaw Man anime.
Chainsaw Man is getting an anime adaptation produced by studio MAPPA. Hiroshi Seko will write the show, with Ryū Nakayama and Makoto Nakazomo directing. The music will be composed by Kensuke Ushio. As of September 2022, we know that the anime is officially premiering on October 12, 2022.
The rest of this article is going to bring you all the known and unknown information related to the first season of Chainsaw Man. You’re going to find out about its estimated release date, whether there is a trailer, what the story could be about, and much more about this great anime series.
Chainsaw Man Release Date
On December 14, 2020, it was announced that the manga would receive an anime television series adaptation produced by MAPPA. The series was unveiled at Jump Festa ’21 as part of the Jump Studio series of stage presentations, which took place online on December 19 and 20, 2020.
The first trailer for the anime series was shown at the MAPPA Stage 2021 – 10th Anniversary event on June 27, 2021. The anime is directed by Ryū Nakayama (director) and Makoto Nakazono (chief episode director), with scripts by Hiroshi Seko, character designs by Kazutaka Sugiyama, and devil designs by Kiyotaka Oshiyama.
Tatsuya Yoshihara serves as the action director, with Yūsuke Takeda directing the graphics. Naomi Nakano is the color key artist and Yohei Miyahara designs the screens. The music was composed by Kensuke Ushio.
This is the information we have about the first season of the anime. Now, a precise release date has not yet been given, despite a second trailer having been released in December 2021. Fans initially speculated that it might arrive during the Fall 2021 season, but that hasn’t happened so far so we had to wait for a release date and the second trailer (see below) revealed that the anime would, indeed, premiere in 2022, as we had initially expected. It was later confirmed that the series would premiere on October 12, 2022.
Chainsaw Man Trailer
Chainsaw Man, despite not having a precise release date, already has a trailer, that was released on June 27, 2021. You can check it out here:
As you can see, the trailer reveals the general tone of the show, some basic plot outlines, and some of the characters. As far as we can see from the trailer, the show is going to be a lot like the original manga, which should make fans more than happy.
A second teaser trailer was released in December 2021, revealing some manga scenes that we are probably going to see in the upcoming anime adaptation, as well as confirming a 2022 release date. You can check out the trailer for yourselves:
Chainsaw Man Cast
Although the anime has entered production and we already have a trailer, the cast of Chainsaw Man is not known, which is somewhat strange. We know some of the crew members, though, but the cast members are still a mystery, so we don’t know who is going to voice the characters in the anime.
As for the known crew members, they are:
- Ryū Nakayama as the director (Jujutsu Kaisen)
- Hiroshi Seko as the script director (Dorohedoro)
- Kazutaka Sugiyama as the character designer (Mushoku Tensei)
- Tatsuya Yoshihara as the action director (Black Clover)
- Makoto Nakazono as the chief director (SSSS.Gridman)
- Kiyotaka Oshiyama as the devil designer (Devilman: Crybaby)
- Yūsuke Takeda as the art director (Vinland Saga)
- Naomi Nakano as the colour designer (Sword Art Online: Alicization)
- Youhei Miyahara as the layout designer (Scrapped Princess)
- Kensuke Ushio is the composer (Devilman: Crybaby)
- Keisuke Seshita as the animation producer (Jujutsu Kaisen)
Chainsaw Man Plot
The first part of the manga was published between 2018 and 2020, with a second part having been announced. Now, we don’t know how much of the manga the first season of Chainsaw Man will adapt, but we’ll bring you an overview of the whole plot so you know what to expect on a general level. If you want a good comparison of what to expect, think Tokyo Ghoul, but gorier.
Denji is a young man trapped in poverty, who works to pay off his deceased father’s debt to the Yakuza by working as a demon hunter, with the help of Pochita, his canine companion, the Chainsaw Demon.
Denji is betrayed by the Yakuza, who kills him for a contract with the Zombie Demon. Pochita makes a contract with Denji, merging with him and reviving him as a human-demon hybrid, on the condition that Denji has a “normal life.”
Denji slaughters the Yakuza and is approached by a team of government demon hunters, the Public Security Division, led by Makima, who persuade him to join their ranks. Denji agrees and teams up with Power, the Blood Demon, and Aki Hayakawa, a self-destructive demon hunter. Makima promises Denji any favors, as long as he kills the Weapon Demon, the perpetrator of the greatest massacre in human history.
Denji’s group encounters another hybrid, the Katana Man, a vengeful yakuza seemingly allied with the Demon Weapon, who kills a large portion of the Division with the help of his handler, a former civilian demon hunter in contract with him.
Serpent demon, Akane Sawatari. Denji and Power are trained by Kishibe, a master demon hunter who distrusts Makima; Aki makes a deal with the Demon of the Future, who foresees a “horrible death” for him.
The Division launches a counterattack against Katana Man and Sawatari, eventually capturing them both. Sometime later, Denji begins an affair with a girl named Reze, who is actually Bomb Woman, a hybrid spy from the Soviet Union, sent to capture him. Although she returns her affection, she attacks the city, and the Division barely saves Denji.
After recovering, Denji fights with her and accepts a proposal to leave Japan together; Before they can reunite, Makima secretly captures her. Denji’s fight with Bomb Woman reveals his existence to the world. The Division learns that four groups of assassins are targeting Denji: the Chinese demon hunter Quanxi; a mysterious enemy of Makima named “Santa Claus”; three American brothers; and a Russian woman who teaches her student, Tolka.
Denji is equipped with a security detail. Although the brothers are repelled, and Quanxi initially stalls, Santa Claus uses his Demon Doll powers for a great horde attack. After a follow-up from Quanxi, Tolka’s teacher reveals herself to be the real “Santa Claus,” and transports all parties to Hell, where they are attacked by the Demon of Darkness.
Santa Claus makes a contract with the devil of darkness that empowers her. Makima retrieves the group from hell. Quanxi, revealed as a hybrid, helps Denji defeat Santa Claus. After Denji recovers, Makima reveals that the Weapon Demon is actually a geopolitical asset, with many factions controlling parts of it.
As Aki pleads with Makima for Denji’s safety, the President of the United States orders the Weapon Demon to attack Japan. Revealed as the Demon of Control, Makima faces off against the Weapon Demon and wins. Aki is killed in the attack, and the Weapon Demon takes over his body as a Demon.
Denji is attacked by Gun Fiend and, assisted by civilians, kills him and Aki’s death devastates him. While seemingly comforting him, Makima kills Power, revealing himself to be responsible for Denji’s losses, having planned to void his contract with Pochita by crushing his dreams of a normal life. Kishibe attacks her, supported by the demon from hell, and she calls on “Chainsaw Man” to save her.
Controlling Denji’s body, Pochita assumes his true form and attacks him. Makima explains his goals: to use Pochita’s power to eliminate concepts from reality by eating their respective demons to create a world without fear or suffering; to this end, her government granted her immortality. Fighting Chainsaw Man using the brainwashed hybrids, she wins, as Denji’s heroic deeds have weakened Pochita.
Power is reformed from a remnant of her blood that escapes her with the Chainsaw Man and, mortally wounded, restores Denji’s will to live, making him promise that he will find her when he is reborn in Hell. Encouraged by public support for him, Denji faces Makima and defeat.
To avoid her immortality, she eats her body. Kishibe later reveals that Makima was wiped out, but the controlling Demon resurfaced in the form of a girl, now named Nayuta. She asks Denji to take care of her, and Pochita reaffirms this mission in Denji’s dreams.
Part 1 ends with Denji now attending school.
Where Can You Watch Chainsaw Man?
Currently, you cannot watch Chainsaw Man anywhere, since the anime hasn’t come out yet and we don’t know the official release date for the series. Knowing how anime works, you’ll probably be able to stream and/or watch the show on Crunchyroll in the West (possibly even elsewhere, if one of the streaming platforms buys the show), and as for Japan, we have to wait and see which TV station will broadcast the show.