Chainsaw Man is one of the biggest manga to come out of Shonen Jump in recent years, and as such, there was a lot of fanfare when it was announced to be receiving an anime adaptation. The manga’s unique style of both action and writing made it unlike any other manga that was running at the time, and fans were sure the anime would definitively push it into the mainstream.

For the most part, Chainsaw Man’s anime was as big as people expected it to be, but critical and fan reception was decidedly mixed. While the anime was largely liked worldwide, due to the specific way the anime adapted the manga, Chainsaw Man’s anime was quick to become divisive to the point that many people have written it off as an outright bad adaptation. While there’s some truth to the criticisms, much of it is exaggerated or entirely in bad faith, so it would be premature for anyone to immediately write it off as a bad adaptation.

Why Chainsaw Man’s Anime Adaptation Is So Divisive

The Chainsaw Man Anime's Controversy Explained

While Chainsaw Man is known for its dynamic and fast-paced action and plotting, the anime notably made things far slower and more methodical to tie into the Western film influence on the writing. To many people, however, that style just made things feel needlessly slow, thus inviting the opinion that Chainsaw Man’s adaptation missed one of the biggest reasons people loved the manga, in the first place, and with a few moments of notably lackluster animation and how it ended right before the manga truly began to pick up, there were plenty of detractors by the time it ended.

Everything that followed Chainsaw Man’s ending also led to a lot of derision from fans. Chainsaw Man’s Blu-ray and DVD sales, for example, were infamously lackluster, especially compared to Bocchi the Rock!, another major anime from the same season, and there’s still no word on a second season or even a release date for the theatrical adaptation of the Reze arc. The lack of attention Chainsaw Man has received after it ended compared to other anime has, to many, only justified its criticisms, and the previous points and others continue to be major sticking points for fans and detractors alike.

Chainsaw Man’s Anime Is Far Better Than People Give It Credit For

Chainsaw Man’s anime is far from perfect, but that doesn’t mean there’s nothing good about it. Not only is the writing as chaotic and heartfelt as it was in the manga, but as unconventional as the direction was, the unique direction of Chainsaw Man’s anime did wonders to give every episode a cinematic feeling, whether it was with its action or just from the quiet moments with the cast. That style did much to emphasize the strengths of the writing as well, and overall, the positives of Chainsaw Man’s animation and its overall adaptation more than outweigh its negatives.

Even if someone isn’t fully convinced of Chainsaw Man’s quality, there’s an easy enough way to change that. The Chainsaw Man movie is still in development, and with how much the action and emotional writing begin to take root in that arc in the manga, ’s Reze arc film will be what finally shows anime fans what’s so great about Chainsaw Man. Ideally, that will happen sooner, rather than later, and while it won’t erase all the controversial elements of Chainsaw Man’s adaptation, it will go a long way toward giving it the recognition it deserves.