Animated by MAPPA Studios, Chainsaw Man Season 1 set the trend for modern-day anime with its stylized frames, lighting effects, and wise use of CGI. Viewers obtained a cinematic experience during fight scenes. However, the overloading of effects didn’t generate a positive response from a certain section of fans, who have voiced their opinion on social media.
The first season of Chainsaw Man was aired from October 12 to December 28, 2022, on Tokyo TV. Crunchyroll released the English dub on October 25 of the same year. MAPPA confirmed that the anime was a complete success, affirming that fans believe CSM has set the benchmark for cinematic animation style with its detailing and portrayal of movements.
Not every fan has the same taste in anime. Chainsaw Man has been criticized for being overly cinematic in its approach.
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Chainsaw Man Called Out For Being An ‘Oscar Bait Film’ & Overly Cinematic
X user @dianerider.bsky.social commented on a post to show her support for the notion that MAPPA has been overly utilizing special effects, vignettes, and bloom. They believed that it affected the quality of the animation output, giving the example of Chainsaw Man. Check out the tweet below:
I felt this when watching csm. The anime is too cinematic, everything in there looked like it was stolen from a Oscar bait film.
Chainsaw man is dirty, sketchy, messy and you can see that in the mangá artstyle, but noooooo the anime just had to use filters, and layers and bloom
— @dianerider.bsky.social (@DianeInsetinha) November 28, 2023
The X user argued that Chainsaw Man anime failed to portray the feelings that were generated by the black-and-white pages of the manga. Polished art style naturally made Denji’s grim world seem a lot less bleak, essentially problematic because CSM prides itself on the depiction of a dystopian world filled with Devils and Devil Hunters.
A few fans supported the fact that the anime was ruined because of being overly cinematic. One user claimed that MAPPA should’ve been inspired by fan animations.
I still think that Chainsaw Man could have looked better it went more for a ''Scott Pilgrim vibe'', u know with more colors and rough looks, just like some fan animations https://t.co/yWqgvjsfD5
— Theshiro123🇦🇷 (@Theshiro123) November 28, 2023
You're right and everyone who says otherwise is the exact kind of stimuli obssessed people who made the industry this way
— RippleLover (@ripple_lover_gt) November 29, 2023
the animation is good but they are trying too hard to make every movement look cinematic or something with detailed and accurate body anatomies i just dont think the art style fits chainsaw man lol
— Bocchi Stan Account #BOCCHISWEEP (@badboykevin420) November 2, 2022
the anime tries too hard to be a live-action-ish cinematic experience while taking away the things that make chainsawman what it is. its TOO rigid of a production that i personally cant find it satisfying to watch.
— Marie 🌟 (@amongusyaoi) December 28, 2022
Something's off about the Chainsaw Man anime. It looks too clean and cinematic to adapt a work that's all about the messiness of its presentation. Everything to love about the storytelling is still there, but I think they tried to give this more "prestige" than it ought to have.
— Aquagaze (@Aquagaze) October 11, 2022
Season 1 adapted the first 38 chapters of the manga. The fighting scenes and animation styles are expected to become a lot more refined in the second season. Not only will Denji be in the pursuit of the Gun Devil, battling various foes, but also have a spectacular battle with the Bomb Devil.
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Why Tatsuki Fujimoto Wanted A Cinematic Approach To Chainsaw Man Animation?
Tatsuki Fujimoto was heavily inspired by movies for his manga panels. Moreover, the mangaka wanted to “see a completely new direction for the anime” rather than being focused on the manga according to an interview. This is the reason why MAPPA got the green light to produce CSM as a cinema.
Notably, Fujimoto’s main character of Denji was inspired by Leatherface from the Texas Chainsaw Massacre movie. The writer even paid homage to the hit slasher/horror films in one of its panels. Other films that inspired the mangaka were Jin-Roh: The Wolf Brigade and Psycho Goreman.
Given that Fujimoto preferred a cinematic-style Chainsaw Man, MAPPA Studios did their best to impress the manga creator. They may have overdone certain aspects of the animation but it generally gained positive responses from fans worldwide.
Also Read: How Does Asa Redefine Denji’s Miserable Luck in Chainsaw Man?
