Chainsaw Man has been a unique shonen entry in the long-running publication, Weekly Shonen Jump, and that’s not just thanks to its bloody battles and controversial subject matter. Creator Tatsuki Fujimoto has been bringing Denji and his fellow devil hunters to life for years, but the story of the Chainsaw Devil is one that hasn’t hit the same heights as the likes of One Piece and Dragon Ball. Sales for the series, and reception to the anime adaptation, hasn’t been the strongest in past years, though the arrival of Chainsaw Man The Movie: The Reze Arc has fans feeling better about Denji’s popularity.
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Anime fans in North America will have to wait for Chainsaw Man The Movie to hit the silver screen on October 24th next month, but Japan has already released the feature-length film in its theaters. For its opening day, Denji’s first move has sold over 270,000 tickets, pulling in around $2.8 million USD in Japan. While this is a far cry from the initial opening of Demon Slayer: Infinity Castle, this makes for a respectable opening day for the movie. Readership numbers relating to the manga and viewer numbers relating to the anime have trailed behind several other major shonen series, leaving many to wonder if the MAPPA production would continue past the movie.
While we don’t imagine that there’s any way Chainsaw Man will overtake Demon Slayer’s latest cinematic adventure in North America, it will be interesting to see if Denji does better or worse in the West. In terms of overall manga sales, Denji’s tale has seen more success in the United States than Japan, pulling in big numbers. Now, as for whether this means that we can expect Chainsaw Man season two is another matter entirely.
Speaking of Chainsaw Man Season 2
Earlier this year, we here at ComicBook.com had the chance to speak with MAPPA President Manabu Otsuka regarding the future of Chainsaw Man. At present, the head of the anime studio has yet to decide whether the series will continue as feature-length films or if we can expect a second season of the television series to arrive down the line, “We don’t know if this is going to be the trend moving forward, that we don’t know. I think what we are going to do, like with did with Reze, is look at the next story and decide from there. If the next arc works better as a film or if it works better as a television season, we’ll decide on that but we haven’t reached that decision as of yet.”
If MAPPA does continue to bring all of Denji’s adventures to the screen, the anime studio will have years of material to work with. Tatsuki Fujimoto has been spending quite some time with the Chainsaw Devil, even introducing Asa Mikata to share starring duties with the protagonist. With Chainsaw Man wading into controversial territory, it will be interesting to see what the future holds for the bloody shonen series.
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