The Chainsaw Man adaptation is one of the most anticipated anime of 2022, from MAPPA, the studio behind Jujutsu Kaisen and Attack on Titan's final season. But is the hype over such a beloved manga's animated debut overshadowing the potential warning signs of disappointment?
Chainsaw Man is a manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto about a man named Denji doing dirty demon-killing work for the yakuza until he gets whacked and becomes a devil himself. The award-winning manga is seen as a comic of considerable prestige and a must-read that every anime fan's manga peddling friend has told them to read countless times. Studio MAPPA exploded in popularity during 2020, propelled by hype and fanfare that soon clashed with waves of concern and skepticism. The important discussion of overwork in anime aside, the amount of work MAPPA was taking on was beginning to look troublesome.
The Early Warning Signs
Attack on Titan switching studio from WIT to MAPPA couldn't have been an easy sell, but fans of the latter studio were quick to point out the great work MAPPA had done up to then. When the first trailer was released, it was hard not to get excited for such a bold continuation after a time jump in the story. The artwork managed to look like Studio WIT's style yet slightly more faithful to the manga.
But upon the TV release, viewers quickly noticed how different the show was from the trailer. The promotional PV was, in fact, a pre-animated trailer, with key animation and art produced specifically for the PV, rather than pulled from in-progress work on the series. Some felt like it was false advertising.
A Point Of Order
Pointing all this out might imply - to those not in the know - that Attack on Titan: The Final Season was a disappointment. On the contrary, it was wildly successful and critically acclaimed, but the prevalence of CGI and the wildly different direction lead some to call the new Titan inferior.
The aim of this cautionary tale isn't to warn that Chainsaw Man's anime might be bad, but that the hype going into it may invite disappointment. While unconfirmed, there is speculation that the trailer for Chainsaw Man was also pre-animated. It can't be denied that it looks good, but could it look too good?
A Counter-Point
On the flipside, observe MAPPA's second-hugest series next to Attack on Titan, Jujutsu Kaisen. This series didn't have Titan's brand recognition, yet propelled itself to great success as a new top shonen series and even got a major film released just a year later.
Not to mention, Jujutsu Kaisen didn't come under even half the level of scrutiny Attack on Titan did in terms of animation quality and consistency. Any number of factors are responsible for this. Perhaps a more generous schedule or a larger budget, but it certainly helped to have a director like Sunghoo Park at the helm.
So what does this mean when considering Chainsaw Man? It means that MAPPA's two most high-profile projects were wildly different in terms of production and promotion. One of them was received well but met with scrutiny for the quality of the animation. The other suffered none of those problems and became the next big thing in shonen anime.
With how popular the Chainsaw Man manga is, a lacking adaptation would be a big blow, and the first sign of production trouble could be disastrous. Managing expectation is key and with speculation persisting that the viral PV was pre-animated, a chance persists that the show's style is still up in the air.
MAPPA's Track Record
Viewed under this lens, Chainsaw Man would either be an Attack on Titan: Final Season or a Jujutsu Kaisen. A reductive mindset for sure, but an easy shorthand for what otherwise constitutes this studio's track record.
MAPPA's problem never seems to be a delineation of what shows they "care about" and which ones "they don't." It's more accurate to say that MAPPA produces high-concept works and gets the most they can out of their often highly talented animation staff at the cost of other projects.
It would seem highly strange if Attack on Titan got the short end of the stick because it was a lack of care. Far more likely, the limits of that show were a result of the allocation of resources to an absurd amount of different anime projects. And to be clear, this is an issue emblematic of the industry, not just MAPPA.
Who Is Actually Making Chainsaw Man?
At the end of the day, the show's staff is more important than a studio name, so who is actually behind this upcoming show? MyAnimeList has two directors listed: Tatsuya Yoshihara as "Action Director" and Ryuu Nakayama as just "Director."
The former, Yoshihara, directed a lot of Black Clover and is an overall experienced key animator on anime such as Jujutsu Kaisen and One Punch Man. The latter, Nakayama, has similar experience, but notably has directed for EVE's music video "Raison d'être" and an episode of Fate/Grand Order: Absolute Demonic Front - Babylonia.
Should Fans Be Worried?
With only one trailer and a dubious one at that, Chainsaw Man is something of a Schrodinger's Cat situation. The directors and the staff have been chosen with the prioritization of those who can deliver the animation that fans expect. Judging by the staff's past work, it's unlikely the show will surprise fans with CGI animation, even if the show looks different from the trailer.
Will MAPPA put everything into making sure this adaptation doesn't disappoint and lives up to the hype, or will it fall victim to a lack of resources due to a separate MAPPA production? Furthermore, if Chainsaw Man meets the hype and delivers on the hype, will it come at the cost of another production? Attack on Titan's Final Season has already been elongated to a third part to be released in 2023.
With everything taken into consideration, the chances of this anime being a disaster honestly seem slim. It's more about the danger of this show being overhyped and what that could mean for the discourse surrounding it. Unhealthy expectations could just bring about toxic dissent when the anime comes out.
There's hype for a reason, even among people who have never read the manga. Chainsaw Man looks awesome and if you've never read it, the imagery upon a Google search speaks for itself. Even if this adaptation ends up not being what fans expect, it would behoove the community to manage expectations properly.
Chainsaw Man is coming to Crunchyroll in 2022.
Source: MyAnimeList