Title: Chainsaw Man Vol. 16
Author: Tatsuki Fujimoto
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 185
Genre: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Publication Date: September 3, 2024
The Story
Hey, Look! A church is corrupt!
One sentence sums up Volume 16 of Chainsaw Man. Here, Denji is trying to adjust to a normal life; however, both the Chainsaw Man Church and Public Safety are not letting that happen so easily. We are introduced to Fumiko Mifune who was charged with guarding Denji against people who know he’s Chainsaw Man and wish to attack him… which happens at a karaoke bar in hilarious fashion. After this, Fumiko sticks to him like glue which Denji doesn’t like until she admits that she admires him. Then, it’s suddenly not all that bad.
On the flipside, we meet Miri Sugo who says that if Denji is Chainsaw Man then he can be called Sword Man. He says that he was there the day that “Chainsaw Man” fought Makima. In short, he’s trying to recruit Denji into the Chainsaw Man Church by promising him that he can eat steak every day. Denji says he prefers Chinese food but changes his tune when Miri says that he can have sex with all the women he wants every day. Here is where we learn that the church is… get ready for this because it’s huge revelation… CORRUPTED!
Who would have thought that a church would be corrupted, huh?
Through all of this, we have Asa. She’s falling for Denji but he other half still wants to kill him. Famine Devil shows up and tells them that they can accomplish both because if they join the church and kill the devils themselves, then they will save Chainsaw Man and “kill” him at the same time by making his purpose in the world completely useless.
Characters
Starting off with Fumiko… yeah, like most Chainsaw Man characters, she as s screw or two loose. Being in public safety doesn’t help her image either given the oddballs we’ve seen already in this series. Be that as it may, there is a reason for her admiration. When Denji fought the Gun Devil, Fumiko’s house was destroyed and her parents were killed. She resented the fact that Chainsaw Man didn’t come to her rescue but after she witnessed Denji break down and cry after the battle, she realized he was just a kid and that’s when she fell in love with him. Now, she gets to guard him as a member of public safety… lucky her!
Next up is Miri. I can’t say much about him aside from the fact that he tries to recruit Denji to the church with promises of sex. You think he would be normal until he displays that he has given into the brainwashing by considering himself a walking weapon in the name of God and that his body is just a vessel to house such a weapon. You know, typical Kool-Aid stuff. I’ll need to see more of this character to see if he’s truly interesting because, so far, he’s rather bland.
Asa and the War Devil seemed to reach a compromise here when it comes to Denji but I’m not quite sure if I buy it completely. Famine Devil reminded us of the Red and Black Chainsaw Man and then proposed a way to both kill and save Chainsaw Man to satisfy both of their goals. The fact that they go along with it means that this is building up to something but with the church in front of us, this will be a slower background build… maybe.
Final Thoughts
A bit less random than last time; however, without spoiling too much, the church’s plans may be short-lived and that’s one of the things that’s been a constant in this series. All of the build-up typically comes to a screeching halt and resolutions are handed out rather swiftly. But those resolutions serve as misdirection for the greater overall story and I think the whole church thing was just that. In a way, I’m happy because if you’ve seen one corrupted church story, you’ve seen them all. It’s as if the eye roll I exhibited was met with a sigh of relief but we’re not out of the confession box just yet. There still some “stay a while and listen” to be had but things did get rather interesting in the closing pages of the volume.
With Denji trying to lead a normal life, you know that futility will win out in the end and he will transform into Chainsaw Man once again. It’s only inevitable and I can see this volume setting the foundation for that return. While it could go a number of ways, I think it’s going to happen sooner rather than later. It was even stated outright in this volume that Denji can try to live a quiet and peaceful life all that he wants but his heart isn’t going to allow him to do such a thing. Now, we wait for the heart to kick in and the ripcord to be pulled.
The new characters were fun, the mental struggles of Denji and Asa were also well-done, and it looks like we are starting off Vol. 17 with a bit of a battle on our hands! Should be fun!
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This item was provided for review by VIZ Media.
