Chainsaw Man Writer Shares Why Denji is Different From Other Shonen Protagonists

Chainsaw Man’s fans will soon end their wait when the series releases its anime. The team working on the anime at MAPPA Studio are working hard to make the show after all. Chainsaw Man is expected to be premiered this fall with Denji leading the show. And recently, fans got the chance to talk with the anime’s screenwriter about what makes the protagonist of the series a hero unlike any other.

Hiroshi Seko was interviewed by ComicBook.com about Chainsaw Man during his appearance at the recent Anime Expo. It was during the interview when Hiroshi Seko talked about the unique nature of Denji’s character arc and how it made him very different than the other shonen heroes.

"What attracted me was Denji's character and his personality or the reason why he is fighting is very different from your usual hero or protagonist you see in these titles," Hiroshi Seko said during the interview. "Usually these heroes are fighting for something that they want to protect or there's clearly a bad guy and they're fighting them. It's not anything where they are very true to their inner needs. Denji is fighting to make end's meet. He's fighting to eat food and meet women. That's like the driving force behind his character and you don't see that that often."

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If you have read the Chainsaw Man manga, you will know that Seko’s words are true. From the moment fans meet Denji, readers know that he has lived a very hard life. Denji grew up in a bleak world filled with tension. Born into poverty, Denji has no choice but to fight for his survival. When you have nothing, the only things you can imagine having are the necessities, and Seko identified the things Denji needs in his life the most. As readers of the manga know, his love of women takes him down a dark path when Makima is introduced in the story.

Fans will no longer have to wait for too long to get to see Denji come to life on screen, and Seko has a very clear idea of how to navigate the protagonist’s basic needs. The rest of the team developing the series at MAPPA has made it clear that they love Chainsaw Man as much as the fans, so there is pressure to perform well. If you haven’t read Gege Akutami’s series already, you will want to read the story before the anime gets released.