Chainsaw Man: The Stage Play Nails Its IRL Fights

Chainsaw Man's live-action adaptation lives up to its source material.

By Evan Valentine

Chainsaw Man's anime remains in a state of limbo, with Studio MAPPA having yet to reveal when, or if, we can expect Denji and his fellow devil hunters to return for a second season. Luckily, the bloody anime franchise created by Tatsuki Fujimoto has continued releasing new manga chapters to tide fans over, and the series has explored new ways to adapt Denji's story. Chainsaw Man The Stage Play performed in Japan this fall and while the performances might have ended, anime fans are taking the opportunity to see how the live-action adaptation lives up to its source material.

It should come as no surprise that an anime titled "Chainsaw Man" revels in its bloody battles. Thanks to the anime world being filled with devils, main character Denji has plenty of opportunity to sharpen his chainsaw blades on countless demonic entities that have been beguiling humanity. For the first season of the anime adaptation, MAPPA was able to take the biggest battles from the manga's earliest fights and translate them to the small screen. Thanks to MAPPA's staggering animation, the stage play had quite the legacy to live up to.

Chainsaw Man Hits The Stage

A side-by-side video highlights footage from both Chainsaw Man's stage play and the anime adaptation, showing how the former was able to capitalize on choreography to bring Denji to the "real world". At present, the bloody anime franchise has yet to confirm that the series will release a live-action television series and/or movie. Live-action adaptations have been a hot ticket item in recent years with the likes of Netflix's One Piece being a prime example. 

Earlier this year, the director and script writer for Denji and company's arrival on the stage, Fumiya Matsuzaki, talked about what the performance was attempting by covering the bloody anime franchise, "I think this is a work that will signal the start of moving 2.5D to the next phase.I think this is true not only in terms of ambition but in terms of actual technology. More than anything, I want to prove that. That's what makes the actual performance so interesting. I hope everyone will see this interesting play."

Do you want to see the Chainsaw Man stage play make its way to North America? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Denji. 

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