Thanks to the ongoing popularity of its anime adaptation,Chainsaw Manhas managed to secure its spot as the new golden child of the anime/manga community. While anime watchers enjoy the exploits of Denji andthe public safety devil huntersfor the first time, the manga is currently treading rarely touched narrative ground.
While most series take the traditional route of following a single protagonist through the entirety of their journey,Chainsaw Manis currently being led by a protagonist other than Denji. The specific way in which this is being presented bears similarities to the multiple protagonists ofJojo’s Bizarre Adventureand might hint at the future ofChainsaw Man.
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The ‘Part’ Structure
Jojois by far the most prolific series in anime that uses the structure of ‘parts’. There are many ways a story can be divided, with ‘acts’ being the most well known. Anime and manga, though, tend to prefer the use of ‘arcs’ and ‘seasons’. The former divides based on smaller plot-lines within a larger series, while the latter is mostly used to divide content into smaller, more digestible pieces (especially for the sake of anime production). WhileJojouses both arcs and seasons, the prevailing dividers in the series are the parts.
Each part ofJojoindicates the passing of the torch to a completely new main protagonist, antagonist and supporting cast. The parts themselves are also separated by varying time skips that significantly changethe status quo ofJojo’s world. For example, parts 1 and 2 are 50 years apart, while part 4 and 5 are only about 2 years apart.
This structure allows enough separation between the parts that each one can have a wildly different cast, setting and tone from the others, giving them all a stronger identity.Part 4:Diamond is Unbreakableis a more casual, slice of life affair for most of its run, whilepart 3:Stardust Crusadersis a non-stop, globe-trotting adventure, andpart 6:Stone Oceanis mostly a prison break attempt.
Chainsaw Man’s ‘Parts’
AsDenji’s arcin the manga seemed to be drawing to its close, series author Tatsuki Fujimoto revealed that what was ending was only ‘part 1’ ofChainsaw Man. Just as this implies, once Denji’s first arc was complete, the manga took a hiatus before returning withChainsaw Manpart 2, starringa completely different protagonist, Asa.
Asa differs from Denji about as much as 2Jojoprotagonists do. Whereas Denji was a downtrodden child who grew up in poverty and debt, Asa had a comparatively regular life, and despite being an orphan, got to attend high school like a normal child. Denji gained his devil abilities through apost-death contractwith his best friend Pochita(the Chainsaw Devil), while Asa’s were thrust unto her by the War Devil at the time of her death.
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This means that while Denji managed to stay in control of his body and his destiny, Asa is forced to share her body with the War Devil, who is able to speak to her directly unlike with Pochita and Denji. These differences mean that the two of them face completely different goals and challenges on their journeys. While Denji famously only cared about eating well andgetting a girlfriend, Asa is more concerned with making friends and keeping the War Devil at Bay.
The change of protagonists here has givenChainsaw Manan appreciated change of pace, and helped to keep the story interesting, just like it did for theJojoseries when Joseph took over the protagonist role from Jonathan.
What This Means For Chainsaw Man
Tatsuki Fujimoto has confirmed 3 parts forChainsaw Man[?] so far. If the third part continues the formula outlined so far, it will likely see Asa swapped out for another protagonist entirely, ending her time as series lead. It’s unknown what this third protagonist could be, but there is an interesting possibility.
Chainsaw Manhas 3 major non-human species established so far. Denji isa hybrid; a human who is able to transform into a half-devil form. Meanwhile, Asa is technically a fiend, a human corpse that has been possessed by a devil. The final of these 3 species are devils themselves. This means thatChainsaw Man’s third protagonist might actually be a full on devil. Devils have shown to be able to be good, as Bucky the Chicken Devil was able to befriend an entire high school class, and was shown to have better empathy than most humans. Pochita himself was also quite kind and empathetic towards Denji, despite being a very powerful devil. It would certainly be interesting to see a devil protagonist in a series all about killing devils.
Denji and Asa fans need not worry though. Previous protagonists often show up in laterJojoparts. Jotaro and Joseph especially, are physically present for several parts. Similarly, Denji has been present inChainsaw Manpart 2, although the story no longer treats him as the focus. It’s likely then that Asa will be present forChainsaw Manpart 3 even if she isn’t the main character anymore.
There is also the chance that Fujimoto intends to shift the focus back to Denji, or stay with Asa for the rest of the series. However, if he does commit to going theJojoroute, by the time it ends,Chainsaw Manwill be remembered as an even more unique series than it already is.
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