Chainsaw Man is a brand-new shonen action anime series of the Fall 2022 anime season, inspired by author Tatsuki Fujimoto's ongoing manga series of the same name. This is the story of Denji, a teenage boy who soon became the titular hero, Chainsaw Man, a part-devil who can shred his foes with his three chainsaw blades.
RELATED: 10 Ways Chainsaw Man Embraces Shonen Cliches
Shonen fans who are expecting the next Izuku Midoriya or Yuji Itadori are in for a big surprise. Denji may be a shonen star, but he's nothing like most of his 21st-century peers, and so far, he is also rather mysterious. Anime-only fans have only just met Denji, but there are still some basic facts or traits about Denji that they should know as the Chainsaw Man anime continues. Denji isn't always what he seems to be.
Minor spoilers for the Chainsaw Man manga ahead.
10 Denji Is A Deconstruction Of Shonen
This is something Denji has in common with the Chainsaw Man series itself. Denji and his anime series are both a partial deconstruction of what makes shonen what it is. They only loosely adhere to broad shonen conventions while calling many other shonen tropes into question.
This often takes the form of Denji subverting, mocking, or ignoring many shonen concepts, such as the idealistic, inspiring youth, the power of friendship, and having lofty dreams of becoming someone truly great. Denji flipped through that shonen rulebook, then tore it in half.
9 Denji Has No Known Last Name
Right away, Chainsaw Man anime viewers and manga readers learned Denji's name, but then they wondered: Denji who? Most shonen heroes have memorable family names ranging from Uzumaki and Kurosaki to Joestar and Kamado, but Denji is not like that at all.
He is just Denji, nothing more or less than that, which makes him slightly mysterious while also suggesting that his family members, whoever they may be, are not important to the story. This puts Denji in the same category as characters such as Berserk's Guts.
8 Denji Lives In The Here And Now
In MBTI terms, Denji can be described as an ESTP, or the Entrepreneur, meaning he has many creative ideas and tends to work best with his own two hands. Unlike intuitive types like the INTJ Architect or ENFP Campaigner, Denji focuses on the present tangible world, not future possibilities.
RELATED: 10 Strongest Chainsaw Man Characters, Ranked
This may be one reason why Denji doesn't have any grand ambitions or plans, such as becoming Hokage or becoming a god like Kira. Instead, Denji is practical and good with his hands, making use of the resources around him to improvise solutions to problems.
7 Denji Doesn't Bother With Costumes Or Accessories
Shonen heroes aren't required to wear special costumes, but they usually do anyway, such as Naruto Uzumki's orange, black, and blue outfits, which really make him stand out. Another example is Izuku Midoriya's formal hero costume. Denji, however, has none of that.
Denji has no interest in superhero costumes, and he doesn't have the budget or tailoring skills necessary to make one, either. He just wears his own clothes or the uniform he will receive from his new employers, allowing his chainsaw head to be his visual cue instead.
6 Denji Is A Very Typical Teenage Boy
In good ways, awkward ways, and just plain relatable ways, Denji is very much a typical teenage boy. True, other shonen stars like Yuji Itadori, Izuku, and Natsu Dragneel are teenage boys too, but they have larger-than-life experiences, abilities, and ideas that no real adolescent could relate to.
RELATED: 10 Anime Characters Who Would Be a Perfect Match For Chainsaw Man's Denji
Then there's Denji, whose attitude, interests, and behavior make him a realistic teen. He feels lost, vaguely frustrated, and seeks meaning in his life. He idly daydreams about scoring a beautiful girlfriend he can spend a lazy evening with.
5 Denji Doesn't Linger In The Past
Some anime heroes still linger in the past, such as Ichigo Kurosaki, who was permanently changed after his mother's death. Other shonen and seinen heroes care nothing about the past, instead focusing on the present and perhaps the near future instead.
This is a trait that Denji shares with Berserk's Guts. Both of them keep themselves grounded in the present, and they don't spare any thought about where they came from or who their parents had once been. Chainsaw Man fans should expect very few flashbacks for Denji aside from the scene depicting his first meeting with Pochita.
4 Denji Has A High Tolerance For Pain
It's standard for shonen and seinen heroes to tough it out when they get hurt. It would be tiring if heroes curled up in a ball and cried every time they suffered a bruise or cut, after all. Even then, Denji is a pretty tough kid who barely flinches when he gets slashed wide open.
RELATED: 10 Manga to Read if You Like Chainsaw Man
Denji doesn't enjoy pain or suffering, but he can put up with it pretty well, as the anime's first episode showed. Even after getting run through with a sword, Denji ran from the zombie devil's minions and fought back. Later in the manga, Denji sets himself on fire to fight an enemy and barely complains about it.
3 Denji Dislikes Complicated Strategies & Mysteries
Shonen heroes like Izuku Midoriya and Jolyne Cujoh are pretty adept at formulating smart strategies to counter an enemy's technique or make plans to defeat a powerful foe, and they don't mind tackling a good old-fashioned mystery, either. Denji feels very differently.
Denji may be practical and resourceful, but his clever mind is poorly suited for more theoretical thinking. Anytime things will get complex or strange, Denji will insist that a smarter ally should come up with the plan and simply tell him what to do. He'd rather just nap through a strategy meeting.
2 Denji Is Not Idealistic Or Sentimental At All
Denji is not a completely cold and uncaring person, and he does have a very basic concept of right and wrong. Aside from that, though, Denji has no notable ideals, nor does he have much of a sentimental side. He rarely takes anyone or anything seriously except for his own humble desires.
Denji isn't aiming to save society, inspire people or make any particular statement. Izuku and Naruto would be disappointed if they learned that, but Denji would shrug and say, "Who needs ideals? I just need dinner and a bed." That's what he's all about.
1 Denji Is Self-Depreciating & Humble
Denji boasts about his combat power as Chainsaw Man and revels in his newfound strength, but otherwise, he is a very humble person with practically no pride at all. For Denji, his new powers are a tool of battle and little more, and not much else. He's still the same person as ever, and he knows it.
Denji knows that he has nothing to boast about and nothing to lose. This means he's willing to humiliate himself for the sake of others, such as volunteering to be Makima's "dog" or admitting that he's not that smart. In fact, Denji is seen being walked by Makima, complete with a dog collar and leash, in the Chainsaw Man anime's intro credits.
NEXT: 9 Most Exciting Things About the Chainsaw Man Anime Premiere
