Warning: spoilers ahead for Chainsaw Man chapter 98!
The long-awaited return of Chainsaw Man may include the copious amounts of gore that fans have been pining for since the first part of the incredibly dark manga ended in December 2020, but it doesn’t display the same level of profound insight as earlier chapters or the one-shots mangaka Tatsuki Fujimoto penned over the last year and a half, such as Just Listen to the Song.
When Fujimoto announced his hiatus from Chainsaw Man in December 2020, he immediately began writing a slew of one-shots that still subjected his characters to hardships, but that ventured beyond the violence that so often befalls Chainsaw Man‘s protagonist Denji. So, when Chainsaw Man returned in July 2022, his readers were ready for not only bloodshed but a rollercoaster of emotions.
Chapter 98 of Chainsaw Man only really delivers on the former, but no-one could argue it skimps on the bloodshed. A new character named Asa Mitaka is betrayed and almost murdered by her supposed friend, exacting brutal revenge thanks to a contract with the War Devil, and yet for those looking for substance, Fujimoto’s one-shots have more to offer. Interestingly, the story is something of a one-shot adventure on its own, centering on new characters as it does. This is not even mentioning the fact that it marks the long-awaited return of a beloved manga and is more than twice as long as the normal 19-or-so pages. This new chapter should rightfully have contained all of the emotional upheavals that Fujimoto explored in his one-shots to garner the same effect for Chainsaw Man, and yet the same insight just isn’t there.
However, despite the gore and darkness in the story, it lacks the insightful cruelty that makes the series great. From Mitaka killing a predatory teacher to the class voting not to kill off its Chicken Devil mascot, this chapter gestures at trangressive ideas without truly employing them, leading to a conclusion where the bad suffer and the bullied hero is actually a monster at heart. It’s a fun issue, but one unlikely to really stick with readers like some of the series’ greatest moment – something many were expecting after a notable hiatus.
Interestingly, fans had predicted the recent Just Listen to the Song was intended as a reflection on readers’ tendency to ask a little too much of Chainsaw Man in terms of deep meaning – a prediction which has come true at least in spirit with the latest chapter. However, Chainsaw Man‘s past insight is at least to some degree inarguable, and fan expectations were high due to prior quality, not simply what they imagined the series could become on its return.
Regardless of its relatively low-impact return, even the most critical fans are undoubtedly elated that Chainsaw Man is back and should keep in mind that it is a weekly serialization with many more chapters and chances to stun in the future – hopefully, future issues will show the same insightful genius as Tatsuki Fujimoto one-shot projects.
Chainsaw Man chapter 98 is available now from Viz Media.