REVIEW: ‘Chainsaw Man,’ Volume 7

With a new anime series set to debut next year, Chainsaw Man Volume 7 continues revving up the series as it looks to really hit the mainstream very soon. Until then, the wonderful manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto is still the only way to experience the incredibly creative and exciting story of Denji and pals.

Chainsaw Man Volume 7 is created, written, and illustrated by mangaka Tatsuki Fujimoto and localized in English by VIZ Media’s Shonen Jump imprint. The localization team includes translation by Amanda Haley, touch-up art and lettering by James Gaubatz, design by Julian (JR) Robinson, and editing by Alexis Kirsch. Chainsaw Man Volume 7 picks up at chapter 53 after the insane events of Chainsaw Man Volume 6.

The first thing that stuck out to me with this volume was how much slower the pacing seemed. While I loved the high intensity of the story up until this point, it was nice to have a chance to catch my breath while more characters were added into the story to help move things in a new direction. Denji and company are planning a trip to Enoshima when it is discovered that the news managed to secure a video of Denji as Chainsaw Man. The unwanted publicity leads to a whole new set of problems for the gang and paints a larger target on Denji’s back.

The majority of the early chapters in Chainsaw Man Volume 7 introduce audiences to new sets of villains. Instead of facing off against other devils, Denji is now facing assassins from countries all over the world. The first and most intriguing group we meet are the immortal brothers, a set of three brothers who all consider themselves immortal (you’ll have to read the volume to see if that’s true). We also meet Tolka, Quanxi (in a very, uh, steamy introduction page), and even Santa Claus. Yes, Santa Claus. As a German assassin with extremely questionable morals. Have I mentioned before how amazing Chainsaw Man is?

Each of these assassins are considered highly skilled and have a lot at stake here, and the danger Denji is in feels quite palpable. Denji himself doesn’t seem to understand the danger he is in, but he is given a large group of guards to help keep him safe. Denji and his friends and guards are put in countless dangerous situations, which thankfully leads to some excellent action moments from some lesser characters. I do love seeing Denji kick-ass as the Chainsaw Devil, but it’s nice to see some more old-fashioned violence from time to time. The assassins all have really interesting powers as well, even if they aren’t quite as insane as some we’ve seen from some of the devils in the series.

Overall, Chainsaw Man Volume 7 is a refreshing change of pace that takes readers off the beaten path a little bit for some good ol’ assassin action. It can be really risky to veer from the main story, but Chainsaw Man Volume 7 does so perfectly and again helps cement why the series is so beloved by fans worldwide.

Chainsaw Man Volume 7 is available now wherever books are sold.