> Recommendation : :white_check_mark:

I get the impression that there's a real witch-hunt against CGI among animation fans. It's a bit of a boogeyman for them. But personally, I don't care. When I read a book, only the text counts. A manga, text + drawings. In a comic, you add color. An anime, it's a lot more: you've got the story, the drawings, the animations, the colors, the music, the voices. I can't just take into account the animation. Just look at the number of triple-A video games that are beautiful but crap.

There's another point that's more stranger than that: The hero literally loses a hundred liters of blood when he fights. This is a detail that seems strange to me in an anime.

On the other hand, I really liked the atmosphere. The drawing, the animation, the colors, the music. Despite the fact that there was a slight "downgrade" between the first episode and the other episodes. Especially in the background details/colors.

I thought the anime was not bad at all. The mysterious side of certain plots. Nakima's character (By the way, I watched the anime in French, I don't know if it's the same for the Jap version. I only watched one episode in Jap and I liked the VF voice of Denji/Makima/Power much better. His voice fits the character really well. It offers something unique that you don't find in the manga, a very calm, very soft voice coupled with [spoiler]his personality/view of things/manipulation[/spoiler]) and the [spoiler]Denji/Power[/spoiler] duo and their evolution is cool and well put together. Not many characters are developed, but I think it's just the right amount. More would be a waste of time.

A big plus for the ending, which changes with each episode, including the music.

I read through CSM earlier this year, and I have to say, I'm really impressed with this adaptation. You can tell that the MAPPA team really cares about the source material, so much so that the small expansions that they do have here and their with their own flair fit the characters and the world at large beautifully. This is the bar that I wish all manga adaptations could hit.

That being said, I don't think it's perfect, MAPPA's continued use of CGI is frankly just as gross as CGI from anime 10+ years ago when I first saw that technique. It's not used much but it does take me right out of the show. I think the other drawback comes from the limitation of the length of the season. While a truly impressive adaptation, it really is a double edged sword in that we don't get to see a lot of character or even plot progression. Maybe it feels different if you're just coming into it with no knowledge of the manga, but as someone who KNOWS where the series is going and how we're going to hit some important character moments in future seasons... it's hard to enjoy some of this earlier stuff that just serves to introduce the audience to everything.

Those thoughts aside, overall Chainsaw Man is a greatly unique premise with a lot of passion, violence, and intrigue that I think would make many Shonen fans happy, especially with how it turns many of those common tropes on their head and uses the subversion of expectations for some fun payoffs and light humor. The characters are likable (in their own unique ways), and MAPPA does an excellent job adapting from the source material. The soundtrack is also filled with bangers. If you've read the Manga it's an easy recommend, and if you're new to the series, try the first few episodes and maybe go in with tempered expectations.

Beatifuly animated, great action, unique an memorable cast of characters. I like the sound design and OST a lot as well, it seems like an overall very high value production. The tone jumps effortlessly from tragic to funny and back without loysing impact in either departement. The characters are intriguing and finding out more about them alone kept me watching. The story is full of unexpected moments and keeps you on your toes, though it doesn't seem like it really got started yet.