Chainsaw Man's Denji is one of the most beloved modern shonen protagonists, despite having a personality that isn't necessarily the most admirable. Unlike other shonen heroes, Denji isn't a gung-ho teenager with dreams of becoming an overpowered leader to usher in a peaceful future and fight evil.
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Instead, Denji is an average teenager who grew up impoverished and worked for the yakuza to pay off his father's debts. Denji doesn't want to save others, he wants to make ends meet and, perhaps, score with a girl. He's the deconstruction of every expectation for shonen leads in the best way possible.
10 Denji Doesn't Need The Power Of Friendship To Save The Day
Other shonen leads like Fairy Tail's Natsu or Naruto Uzumaki tend to rely on the power of friendship. Naruto uses it to talk his enemies down and create peace, while Natsu's friends always pull through at the last minute to ensure victory when they should have lost.
Denji, on the other hand, doesn't care about the power of friendship, much less rely on it. Aki and Power are cool allies, but they aren't sidekicks in any sense of the word. Denji doesn't need back up because his Chainsaw Man form essentially makes him an undefeatable tank.
9 Denji Is More Like A Seinen Antihero
Viewers looking for a clean-cut protagonist like My Hero Academia's Izuku Midoriya may be surprised when they see Denji for the first time. He may follow a shonen mold similar to Bleach's Ichigo or Yu Yu Hakusho's Yusuke, but he's not the average teenage underdog. He's more of a sleazebag than a hero. Fans love him because he doesn't try to hide it.
In many ways, Denji is more comparable to a gritty seinen antihero like Berserk's Guts or even Tokyo Ghoul's Ken Kaneki. Denji doesn't care about saving others or doing the right thing to save the world. Denji isn't even interested in saving the world. A protagonist like Denji who wants the bare minimum is refreshing in a demographic of passionate heroes who want to save the world and become the very best.
8 Denji Is Just More Relatable Than Other Shonen Leads
Many shonen leads have underdog stories that the viewers can sympathize with and even relate to. In My Hero Academia, Izuku was a bullied kid who just wanted to become a hero despite the societal odds stacked against him. Despite being an overpowered superhero, Saitama is generally disinterested and bored with the world around him.
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However, at the end of the day, these heroes' adventures and character arcs are just too far detached from reality for most viewers to relate. Relating to a character is different from admiring them. Denji, on the other hand, is relatable since he wants to make ends meet with a job that has reasonable benefits – and, of course, score with a girl.
7 Denji Doesn't Monologue Like Other Shonen Leads
One of the most annoying tropes in shonen anime is when the heroes pause mid-fight and start monologuing about all the events that led them to the current moment. Without the flashback and dramatic monologue, it's impossible for the heroes to power up and deal the finishing blow to their enemy.
Though these can be inspiring, they get old very fast. Viewers don't need a recap of the hero's life story during every major battle. Denji, luckily, never monologues because he lives in the present. He doesn't mope around over the past or quiver in fear over the future.
6 Denji Isn't The Typical Loud & Dumb Shonen Lead
Goku, Luffy, and Naruto are the kings of being dumb and loud shonen leads. Many of their contemporaries followed the archetype. Though they're entertaining, the constant himbo behavior gets old after a while and fans want something else. Denji may be obnoxious, crude, and impulsive, but he's not the typical loud and dumb shonen protagonist.
Denji is rude because of how he was raised. He had no formal education and had to fight devils for the yakuza from a young age, so it just makes sense that he's rough around the edges. However, the difference between Denji and other shonen leads is that his personality isn't a contrived attempt at comedy.
5 Denji's Motivation Is Unique
Luffy wants to become the pirate king. Ichigo wants to protect his friends. Izuku wants to become the best pro-hero. Naruto wants to become Hokage. Denji, on the other hand, just wants to get intimate with a girl. He doesn't try to sugarcoat it, either.
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Often making inappropriate comments throughout the show, Denji doesn't keep his deviant desires a secret from anybody. He's loud and proud about wanting to score with a girl. On top of that, his motivation comes with several layers. Denji grew up alone and barely understands human connection, so it makes sense that he'd conflate scoring with a girl as the peak of emotional intimacy with another person.
4 Denji Fights To Make Ends Meet, Not To Win Friends & Influence People
Unlike protagonists Iruma, Naruto, or Tanjiro, Denji isn't necessarily a friendly guy. He's not uncaring, nor does he push others away. He doesn't care about winning friends and influencing people. He's not fighting to make others believe he's a good person or to write his name in history books as a hero.
Denji literally just wants to make ends meet. He often talks about the bare minimum, like having jam on his bread, a comfortable mattress, and a roof over his head. Companionship is a nice addition, but that's not why Denji fights devils.
3 Denji Didn't Have Any Formal Education For Most Of The Series
Most shonen series take place in high school or some educational facility. Izuku attends U.A. High, Iruma attends Babylus, and Naruto graduated from the Ninja Academy. Denji, however, didn't attend school until the manga's most recent chapters.
This may not seem like a big deal. However, it's a huge stray from the norm in a demographic where most of the characters' key experiences occur in school or with classmates. Denji's essentially been in the workforce for his entire life, whether for public safety or underground with the yakuza.
2 Denji Doesn't Really Have Any Mentors
Kishibe, Himeno, or even Aki could have become mentor figures for Denji. However, Denji's lack of a solid mentor figure is another massive stray from shonen norms since most of the demographic's heroes have at least one mentor who greatly impacted their journey. Izuku has All Might, Tanjiro has Urokodaki, and Naruto had Kakashi.
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Kishibe did help train Power and Denji for a short period of time, but he wasn't really a consistent mentor. He still looks out for them, but not in the same way as other shonen mentor figures do. It's also worth mentioning that Denji never underwent any tournament arc. It's a refreshing change of pace since shonen anime tends to be defined by its training and tournament arcs.
1 Denji Gives Into Devil-Like Sadism When He Turns Into Chainsaw Man
Most shonen heroes hate relying on violence, and many even struggle with killing their foes. Yuji first had to recognize Mahito's cruelty towards Junpei to understand that there was no hope for humanizing cursed spirits. Tanjiro apologizes before killing demons. Naruto always tried empathizing and talking his enemies down before engaging in a fight.
Denji, on the other hand, embraces the devil-like sadism that comes with transforming into Chainsaw Man. He takes joy in tearing his enemies to shreds with his three chainsaw blades. The sound of his foes' flesh on his blades is like music to his ears. It's a terrifyingly invigorating thing to watch.
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