Chainsaw Man‘s animated adaptation finally hit streaming platforms in October. As the anime wraps up its first season with a bang, criticism started looming among fans who are beyond disappointed with MAPPA’s shot at the beloved manga series by Tatsuki Fujimoto.
The dissatisfaction is taking the form of an online petition that aims to remake the anime, ideally with an entirely different director. According to the petition started by a fan of the manga series, the writer criticizes the anime’s polarization due to its cinematographical directing. Per the criticism made online, the anime undermines the manga’s intensity and comedic timing, as well as the director’s “misunderstanding of the themes and foreshadowing in the original work.”
The petition also cites a few of the instances where creative freedom is evident in the anime, including the removal of some of Denji’s lines from the first episode, and claims that there were critical changes made to Kobeni’s battle scene in the ninth episode. The petition writer also expands on some of the other moments that were not appreciated in the creation of the anime. Some of these are comprised of the time spent on each arc, and even the actor’s delivery of the lines and characters, especially Kikunosuke Toya’s portrayal of Denji, whom the writer claimed to be “too gloomy and doesn’t convey how unhinged Denji is.”
While the petition may be Japan-centered, it is unlikely that MAPPA will actually take the fan criticism into action. Although the petition may not be taken seriously, it was still made after the unfortunate news that the anime slightly underperformed in ratings in sales. Regardless, the anime was still voted the third best ongoing anime on the popular website myanimelist, only overcome by the return of Bleach, and the slice-of-life anime Bocchi the Rock – albeit with just a 0.01 percent difference.
Although Chainsaw Man has been thoroughly praised for its highly realistic animation with incredible attention to detail, many fans signing the petition are still criticizing MAPPA’s animation for its reliance on realism and excessive drawing strokes, which they claim to be at the source of the lack of essence from the manga in battle scenes and gags.
In spite of the ever-growing critics among Japanese avid fans, netizens on social media are still highly praising the anime, claiming it to be the best-animated series of 2022. The petition will very likely prove to be fruitless, with some fans’ efforts going to waste. Regardless, it is believed that MAPPA will be keeping a keen eye on all negative feedback, hoping to bring an even greater second season to appease all the manga fans and outdo their previous work.
Chainsaw Man is available to stream on Crunchyroll.
