Close Menu
  • Login
  • Support Us
  • Newsletter
  • News
  • Features
  • Interviews
  • Reviews
    • Video Games
      • Previews
      • PC
      • PS5
      • Xbox Series X/S
      • Nintendo Switch
      • Xbox One
      • PS4
      • Tabletop
    • Film
    • TV
    • Anime
    • Comics
      • BOOM! Studios
      • Dark Horse Comics
      • DC Comics
      • IDW Publishing
      • Image Comics
      • Indie Comics
      • Marvel Comics
      • Oni-Lion Forge
      • Valiant Comics
      • Vault Comics
  • Podcast
  • More
    • Event Coverage
    • BWT Recommends
    • RSS Feeds
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram
Support Us
But Why Tho?
RSS Facebook X (Twitter) YouTube
Trending:
  • Features
    EA Sports Madden NFL 26 Head Coach But Why Tho 5

    Dear EA Sports, Why Can’t I Make A Hot Coach?

    08/14/2025
    Blade in Marvel Rivals Season 3.5

    Blade Can Shut Down The Other Team In Marvel Rivals Season 3.5 If You Know How

    08/08/2025
    John Cena and Cody Rhodes during Summerslam 2025

    The SummerSlam 2025 Main Event Was A Fever Dream We All Needed

    08/08/2025
    Street Fighter 6 Sagat

    Sagat Brings Depth And Approachability To ‘Street Fighter 6’

    08/07/2025
    Battlefield 6 Classes - Support trailer image

    Battlefield 6 Really Wants You To Play Support (But Knows You Won’t)

    07/31/2025
  • Indie Games
  • K-Dramas
  • Netflix
  • Apple TV+
But Why Tho?
Home » Interviews » CRUNCHYROLL EXPO 2022: MAPPA’s Manabu Otsuka and Makoto Kimura on ‘Chainsaw Man’

CRUNCHYROLL EXPO 2022: MAPPA’s Manabu Otsuka and Makoto Kimura on ‘Chainsaw Man’

Kate SánchezBy Kate Sánchez08/09/20225 Mins ReadUpdated:08/09/2022
Chainsaw Man
Share
Facebook Twitter Pinterest Reddit WhatsApp Email

Chainsaw Man Anime

Chainsaw Man has been a smash hit on the manga scene. It’s bloody, it’s emotional, and with Part 2 of the manga just starting, fans are clamoring for the anime adaptation of Fujimoto’s work from the iconic studio MAPPA. At Crunchyroll Expo 2022, MAAPA CEO Manabu Otsuka and Executive Director & Rights Management Director on Chainsaw Man, Makoto Kimura sat down with us to talk about the upcoming series.

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here

With over 15 million volumes sold, to say that Chainsaw Man is a beloved shonen series is, well an understatement. Before our interview at the Chainsaw Man Panel on the Crunchyroll main stage, Otsuka and Kimura explained their personal love of the series, with Otsuka explicitly saying that when he read the series, he knew he wanted MAPPA to adapt it.

In our conversation, Otsuka opened up about the responsibility of getting Chainsaw Man right. Otsuka said, “At events online, both domestically and abroad we really feel the enthusiasm and the passion from the fans. We’re really putting all of our effort so that our fans can enjoy the production that’s coming up.”

Kimura added, “We definitely feel pressure because of the excitement around it, to bring something that people around the world will appreciate. That being said we’re working really hard and we are trusting in our employees who are putting all of themselves into it. We believe int their abilities and we’re really confident that we’ll be able to bring a great product to the world.”

crunchyroll expo 2022 5
©Tatsuki Fujimoto/SHUEISHA, MAPPA

With series like Jujutsu Kaisen and Attack on Titan The FINAL Season, MAPPA is known its animators’ ability to craft jawdropping action sequences. On brining those action sequences to life, Otsuka explained, “Sometimes it depends on the project but generally speaking we look at a scene that fans love and we want our fans to be able to feel that we really care about the scene. So we put a lot of effort into bringing them into life. And to that end, we make sure that we select an action animator who we can entrust with that.”

And that eye for developing movement, beauty, and action is followed by the way that MAPPA has captured the organic illustrative style of the manga in the animation we’ve seen so far. Otsuka explained, “Whether it’s the action scenes or interactions with the characters, the goal is to make you believe that these characters can actually exist in real life.”

By pushing for the ambitious task of realism, certain fantastical elements of the series may be hard to adapt, but MAPPA is up to the task. On animating characters Otsuka explained the challenge that these beloved and unique characters present, and how MAPPA is tackling it head-on. “Denji is an atypical here. We’re bringing to life a character to life in animation that nobody has really seen before in manga and is a very unique character. So how do you bring something like that to the screen? Our staff struggled a lit bit in that area.” Otsuka said. On Makima, Otsuka added, “Makima is obviously a really important character, and drawing her beautifully is something we need to make sure we do that well.”

As for the most fun character to animate, Otsuka added, “And Power obviously has so many varied expressions, especially facial expressions, so she’s a character that the staff seems to really enjoy animating.”

Chainsaw Man
©Tatsuki Fujimoto/SHUEISHA, MAPPA

For MAPPA, faithfulness is the name of the game. Chainsaw Man, based on the source material, stands to be one of the most bloody projects that studio MAPPA has produced, and they’re not shying away from it. Kimura explained, “We want to stay true to the original product. Our focus is, as best as we can, really to meet the expectations of the fans of the original work. As you saw before in the panel discussion, Fujimoto said it was great to see all the blood and he loved it. So in the process, we’re working and changing things as we go along but really we want to bring something true to the original.”

To close out our interview, we asked what the two were most excited for the fans of Chainsaw Man to see when the series airs on Crunchyroll in October. For Otsuka, the answer was, well, all of it.

“It’s impossible to decide on just one thing. From the art to the action to the music to the voice actors, on all fronts we just really hope that [fans] can really focus in and enjoy all different,” Otsuka said. Kimura added, ” “We put together a staff of top creators and producers and for that reason also, we’re hoping people are excited when it comes on air, and looking forward to it as we are as well.”

Between the excitement from this interview and the Chainsaw Man panel, October can’t come soon enough. Though the next round of updates will come at the world premiere of the series held in Japan at an event this September. While international fans may miss the world premiere of the series itself, with some elements streamed virtually on MAPPA’s YouTube channel. While the world premiere hasn’t been entirely outlined as of yet, Otsuka and Kimura shared that the September 19th event will feature both the opening and closing themes for the series.

Chainsaw Man airs on Crunchyroll this October.

This interview was conducted via translator and edited for clarity. 

Chainsaw Man | OFFICIAL TEASER

Watch Chainsaw Man on Crunchyroll! https://got.cr/cc-csmpv Crunchyroll Collection brings you the latest clips, openings, full episodes, and more from your favorite anime! FREE 14-DAY CRUNCHYROLL TRIAL 🌟 https://got.cr/cc-14dayspv #ChainsawMan #Anime #Crunchyroll

Share. Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn WhatsApp Reddit Email
Previous ArticlePokémon Joins PAX West Exhibitors, Xbox’s Matt Booty to Give Keynote
Next Article CRUNCHYROLL EXPO: King Vader Talks ‘Hood Jujutsu Kaisen’
Kate Sánchez
  • Website
  • X (Twitter)
  • Instagram

Kate Sánchez is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of But Why Tho? A Geek Community. There, she coordinates film, television, anime, and manga coverage. Kate is also a freelance journalist writing features on video games, anime, and film. Her focus as a critic is championing animation and international films and television series for inclusion in awards cycles. Find her on Bluesky @ohmymithrandir.bsky.social

Related Posts

Sword of the Sea promotional key art from giant Squid

Giant Squid’s Creative Director Talks Leaving The World A Little Better With ‘Sword Of The Sea’

08/18/2025
Nuestra Magia Secret Lair Art

EXCLUSIVE: How The ‘Nuestra Magia’ Secret Lair Found Its Identity And Raised Over $1M

08/15/2025
Dungeon Crawler Carl interview with Matt Dinniman and Jeff Hays

Building The ‘Dungeon Crawler Carl’ Universe With Matt Dinniman And Jeff Hays

08/06/2025
Key art featuring The Fantastic Four in Marvel Contest of Champions

INTERVIEW: ‘Marvel Contest of Champions’ Is Geared For Fans New and Old

08/06/2025
Invincible VS key art for our interview with RObert Kirkman

Robert Kirkman On ‘Invincible VS’ And The Future of Fighting Games

08/05/2025
Danny Koo talks Marvel Rivals at SDCC

Marvel Rivals Executive Producer Talks Season 3’s Meta Shift And More

08/04/2025

Get BWT in your inbox!

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter and get the latest and greated in entertainment coverage.
Click Here
TRENDING POSTS
Still from Shin Godzilla
8.5
Film

REVIEW: ‘Shin Godzilla’ Is More Relevant Than Ever

By Sarah Musnicky08/16/2025Updated:08/17/2025

It is understandable how Shin Godzilla succeeded at the box office nearly a decade ago. The strength of its story still stands today.

Botanical Bliss Update Palia But Why Tho 5 News

Palia’s New Botanical Bliss Update Brings New Flora, Decorations, And Quest Mechanic

By Matt Donahue08/18/2025Updated:08/18/2025

The Botanical Bliss update adds new event, more plushes, and a host of quality-of-life improvements and more to celebrate 2 years of Palia.

BOOTS Netflix First Look promotional images News

First Look at Coming-of-Age Story BOOTS, Coming to Netflix This October

By But Why Tho?08/17/2025

Netflix is reporting for duty this fall with the new eight-episode series BOOTS, a comedic drama starring Miles Heizer and Vera Farmiga

Nuestra Magia Secret Lair Art Interviews

EXCLUSIVE: How The ‘Nuestra Magia’ Secret Lair Found Its Identity And Raised Over $1M

By Kate Sánchez08/15/2025Updated:08/15/2025

We spoke with Ovidio Cartagena about Magic: The Gathering’s Nuestra Magia Secret Lair drop, its impact, and the real treasure within.

But Why Tho?
Facebook X (Twitter) Instagram Pinterest RSS YouTube Twitch
  • CONTACT US
  • ABOUT US
  • PRIVACY POLICY
  • SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER
  • Review Score Guide
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small contribution.
Written Content is Copyright © 2025 But Why Tho? A Geek Community

Type above and press Enter to search. Press Esc to cancel.

But Why Tho Logo

Support Us!

We're able to keep making content thanks to readers like YOU!
Support independent media today with
Click Here