I decided to go to the book store on a whim while out and I picked up the first volume. I'm about halfway through it now and I can't understand why people love it so much. This manga is shit. Most of the criticism I see leveled against it involve Denji's motivation, but I think his motivation being hollow stuff like food and sex is perfect for his character, it's stuff he's missed out on living a destitute life of poverty. I think exploring that concept is really ripe for good storytelling. However, everything about this book seems so shallow. There's no intrigue, the devils just seem to exist and are dispatched as quickly as they're introduced. You can really see the inspiration behind them, the Apostles from Berserk, but the Apostles had lots of build up and existed as an explicit threat to the characters involved with them. The devils in Chainsaw Man, even when there seems to be some semblance of narrative involved, like the one with the little girl in chapter 2 (I think), it doesn't go anywhere. The character interactions are also completely devoid of any compelling dynamics. Makima and Denji's relationship initially seemed interesting, but it was only explored for one, maybe two scenes after her introduction. Hayakawa is incredibly bland as well. I just got to the part where Power is introduced, but I don't even feel interested in her because I just know she'll end up being one note as well. It doesn't help that the scenes in this manga feel like they're written by a Tiktok addict. There is no choreography, no interesting conversations, and scenes don't give any kind of breathing room or elaborate character or expositional moments. There are no liberties taken using the manga's status as a visual medium. The narrative simply feels like a series of footnoted details which the reader is expected to log into their brain so they can know what's going on, and nothing else. Just one plotpoint after another. Am I missing something?
Its just brown garbage, I'm not reading all that.
>>285121608>Just one plotpoint after another.Just one shock value after another* That's why is famous.
you've only read half of a single volume and have come to all those conclusions? how the fuck
>>285122028I've read the entirety of the first part and he's not wrong.
>>285122028I've read the first chapter and he's not wrong
>>285121608Just read Dorohedoro, since that was the main inspiration for it
>>285122028I've only read part 2 and he's not wrong.
>>285121608Most of it is due to the WHACKY HORNY TEENAGER FUMBLES GIRLS in between GORY AURA FARMING CRAZY FIGHTS
>>285121608>There are no liberties taken using the manga's status as a visual mediumYou didn't even bother reading the Katanaman Aki fight.
>>285122058>>285122105dude's rambling about the apostles though which are only a looming threat until the 12th v olume, guts initially goes through a horde of forgettable devils and apostles that have no great significance to the story at all.seems like a pretty big double standard to judge a manga based on the first half of a single volume while praising berserk which was raw and amateurish as hell early on.
>>285121608You might be taking csm and yourself too seriously
>>285122028When you have experience with manga and media in general, you don't need to read much of a story to know if it's good or not. An author's capability as a writer is put on display immediately.
>>285122190go ahead and review the entirety of berserk then based on the first half of its first volume
>>285121608It's a battle shonen manga that relies heavily on shock value and plot twists with little depth. However, the first part (up to chapter 98) is quite good: the twists are well-used and the characters are well-written enough to grow fond of. Reze's arc is quite good, even if it's predictable and simplistic. The problem is that it lacks development of everything it introduces. This is a common problem in manga that base their narrative on shock value and twists, as we saw with shingeki. Part 2 is a disaster, and I recommend you stop reading now. The manga keeps trying to deliver twists and shocks, but it feels very forced, there's no direction at all. The ending will be pure fanservice with Power and Reze returning, so even though it's bad, people will swallow it.
>>285122190Ashita no Joe is shit by your half a volume standard.
>>285121608>Am I missing something?The payoff. A lot of the early chapters seem like complete nonsense driven by absurdity and crass humor, but a lot of those key plot points like Denji's pursuit for romance with a girl, Aki's seeming rivalry and animosity with Denji, actually pay off as the series goes along. It's one of those rare times where character dynamics/moments that could have easily been brushed aside or forgotten in any other manga are actually rounded out in later chapters. There's a reason why Part 1 is treated pretty positively as a complete story, because it actually manages to wrap up a lot its story beats in a way that bookends those early starting parts.
>>285121608It's just a mashup of Devilman and Tokyo Ghoul. Like if the world of Devilman had a Tokyo Ghoul style government bureau in it.It's not terrible, it just doesn't deserve to be praised as a unique work of genius
>>285121608Fujimoto is just the Junji Ito of shonen. a bunch of cool concepts and stories that never go anywhere.The main appeal is the aesthetics and vibes
>>285122179kek
>>285121608>I'm about halfway through it now and I can't understand why people love it so muchYou answered it yourself:>It doesn't help that the scenes in this manga feel like they're written by a Tiktok addict. This is the world we live in unc. Compressed content quickly goes in and then goes out even quicker.
>>285122028>>285122190It’s said that Shakespeare could tell if a work was shit from the first word alone.
