Title: Chainsaw Man Vol. 11
Author: Tatsuki Fujimoto
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 193
Genre: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Publication Date: June 7, 2022
The Story
We are at the final volume of Part I of Chainsaw Man! I have to say that this volume was a bit confusing as it did a bunch of jumping around but in any event…
Chainsaw Man is fighting Makima. During this encounter, he’s defeated but before he dies, the blood that Power gave him manifests inside of him as… well… Power. She tells him to find the Blood Devil and make a contract with him… that she can be revived! Without much of an explanation, Denji is now in a dumpster and he has reverted back to human form. Sitting next to the dumpster waiting for him is Kishibe. After confirming that he’s back as Denji, he takes him in along with Kobeni.
From here, Denji formulates a plan to kill Makima and it’s round two between them. Denji pulls out a trick and before we see the conclusion of the battle, Denji is suddenly back at Kishibe’s stating that he has a plan to kill Makima? Yeah, this is where it gets confusing but soon, it does unravel a bit. It causes you to use a bit of thinking to piece together what happened but it pulls together and makes sense.
After this, we head into the ending where we are introduced to a new character along with the “End of Part I” text.
Characters
Normally, I just do “Final Thoughts” on the last volume of a series but it’s clear as day that Chainsaw Man is far from over. I have no idea when we will see Part II but it’s definitely coming and because as such, we have some character development to talk about and how that will lead us into the second part of the story.
All of it boils down to Denji. As aforementioned, the pacing in this volume is weird and it causes you to piece things together for yourself but it’s pretty obvious that Denji was revived by Power’s blood. How he made it to the dumpster, I’ll never know but it’s after that where he has an epiphany of sorts after he sees people around the world worshipping him as a hero. His reasonings are shallow and very Denji-like but he has a change of heart about what he wants to live for.
His plan to kill Makima is also a bit unconventional and is something the old Denji wouldn’t have thought of. I’m surprised he came up with a plan but even he acknowledged that it was quite a gamble. The shift in change of his character is very minor but It’s enough to have a profound effect going forward. I’m picturing Denji transforming into a lewd superhero… retaining all of his perverted thoughts and attitude but enjoying life a bit more freely. We’ll see if that happens.
Final Thoughts
This was quite the wild ride. Some parts didn’t make sense but the fights throughout the series were way over the top and entertaining. Denji is just a great character because he is such a loathsome human being but you also care about him, you feel sorry for him, but it’s great to have a laugh at his expense every now and then, too.
I’m glad that there was a seed planted for Power to get revived. It was really heartwarming when she called him the first friend she ever had. These two HAVE to hook up in the future. It would be incredibly painful to friendzone these two forever! I’m also glad Power’s death isn’t going to be permanent because she was my favorite character in the series so far!
Overall, I didn’t know what to expect when this was recommended to me as part of VIZ’s Halloween spotlight but I ended up enjoying the series immensely! Soon after the time of this writing, a television anime adaptation will be airing so I will get to relive it all in glorious motion, blood, gore, and perfectly placed beams of light or shading until the Blu-ray release comes out! They say that anime is just a giant ad for the source material and I hope that ends up that way for this manga. It’s a hell of a read and more people need to check this one out!
Until we meet again in Part II…
Overall Score: 4/5
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This item was provided for review by VIZ Media
