Chainsaw Man Manga Full Recap: Reliving the Epic Anime’s Unforgettable Arcs

Chainsaw Man blew up the internet with its release. Fans loved the unique story the anime was based on, and it quickly became the top anime of 2022.

So, if you are a CSM fan and have been reading the manga since it was released, you might have forgotten some of the plot points.

This recap will take you through the anime manga up until now. Brace yourselves for a rollercoaster of emotions as we revisit the significant arcs and pivotal moments that made Chainsaw Man a fan favorite.

1. Intro arc

This arc comprises manga chapters 1-4 and the anime’s first two episodes.

We all know the basics: Denji, the protagonist, lives as a devil hunter for the Yakuza to pay off his father’s immense debt. One day, he meets the chainsaw devil, Pochita, and they become friends.

To save Denji, Pochita becomes his heart, and Denji turns into Chainsaw-man. Makima from the Public Safety Devil Hunters takes him into her squad. Denji is put to work with Aki Hayakawa. Later, a fiend named Power is introduced, and the trio is quickly set to work as a team.

2. Bat Devil Arc

This arc consists of chapters 5-13 of the manga and 2-5 anime episodes.

Denji and Power are teamed up to patrol the city. Power explains how Makima recruited her before she could rescue her cat, which a devil kidnaped.

Denji makes a deal with Power: he’ll save her cat in exchange for permission to touch her boobs. Power leads Denji to the Devil, who takes her cat and uses Denji as bait to rescue her.

The Bat Devil consumes Power and the cat, and to rescue both of them, Denji transforms into the Chainsaw Man and manages to defeat the Bat Devil after an intense fight.

He then faces the Leech Devil, struggling due to blood loss. Aki intervenes with his Fox Devil to save Denji.

After the incident, Makima arranges for Power to live with Denji and Aki. Eventually, Power fulfills her promise to Denji for rescuing her cat and lets Denji squeeze her boobs.

Makima requests Denji to kill the Gun Devil in exchange for a wish. She educates him about the Gun Devil’s atrocities and devises a plan to track him down.

3. Eternity Devil Arc

This arc consists of chapters 14-22 of the manga and episodes 5-7 of the anime.

 Public Safety received a request for devil extermination for an unknown devil at Morin Hotel, and Makima’s squad was dispatched for the task.

Arriving at the Morin Hotel, Himeno announces she will reward the one who kills the Devil with a tongue kiss, motivating Denji. As the group inspected the hotel, they noticed that no matter how many floors they climbed or went down, they were always on the 8th floor.

After some time, they realized that The Devil they murdered has grown and continues to grow. Then the Eternity Devil spoke, promising to let them leave the hotel provided they gave him Denji to eat.

Arai and Kobeni attacked Denji, but Aki protected him with his body, and Kobeni stabbed him instead. Himeno was terrified that she might lose another partner after witnessing Aki’s bleeding.

Angry with everyone, Denji leaped over to face the Devil. After being devoured by the Eternity demon, Denji rose again as Chainsaw Man and engaged in combat with the Devil.

Denji fights the Eternity Devil three days later while the group feels exhausted. The Eternity Devil then revealed his core and wanted it all to end.

As the group finally left the hotel, they went drinking with all the members of the 4th division. There, Himeno reminded Denji that she would give him her kiss later that night. I don’t need to remind you what happened after this point.

Denji passed out and was carried by Himeno to her home. As Denji woke up and wanted water, she gave him water with a kiss. Then she offered him to have sex with her.

As he agreed and Himeno started taking his clothes off, she found a lollipop that Makima gave him, which reminded Denji of her, and he decided not to sleep with Himeno.

On the way to Kyoto, on the train, Makima was attacked and shot in the head by Gun Devil’s henchmen.

4.Katana Man Arc

While on various missions, all of the Special Division members got attacked by Gun Devil’s henchmen using guns, killing almost all of them.

At the same time, Denji, Power, Himeno & Aki Hayakawa are in a restaurant eating, where the Katana Man explains his connection to Denji before shooting him in the head and then proceeding to shoot at others.

Aki then engages him, stabbing him enough times to activate his Curse Devil, supposedly killing the Katana Man. Still, a woman named Sawatari brings Katana Man back to his feet, who then cuts down Aki.

As they fight, more henchmen appear, shooting at Denji. He then decides to use one as a shield, but Katana Man, not caring for him, cuts Denji and the henchman in half, ending the fight.

In the meantime, Makima stood up and killed all the henchmen who had previously shot her. She requested that 30 convicts with life sentences be brought to her on the nearby highest altitude shrine.

Using the convicts’ life and ability, she crushes the Gun Devil’s henchmen individually and then leaves for Tokyo.

Sawatari and Katana Man tried to take Denji’s upper half, but then Kobeni showed up, questioning them if they were responsible for the shootings. Kobeni manages to cut the Katana Man’s arm and take his gun, then shoot him in the back. Sawatari took Katana Man and escaped with a van.

After the incident, Makima took Denji and Power to Kishibe, a Devil Hunter from Special Division 1, who agreed to accept and train them.

When Aki recovered, Kurose and Tendo brought up Aki to where the Public Safety keeps the captured Devils. There, Aki met the Future Devil, and upon seeing Aki’s future, the Future Devil decided to form a contract with him.

Later, Kishibe speaks with Makima, saying he cannot train them anymore, and knowing what Makima is, as long as she is on humanity’s side, he will overlook what she does.

The Katana Man and Sawatari were preparing their defenses against the upcoming new Special Division 4 attack, keeping many zombies on the lower floor of their building.

As the New 4th Division attacks, the Zombies are quickly dispatched by a group of Devils.

Aki enters the building and confronts Sawatari, who summons the Ghost Devil to attack him. Aided by the memory of Himeno, Aki faces the Devil without fear, meaning it cannot sense his presence.

With the advantage, he decapitates it before Kobeni puts a knife to a distracted Sawatari’s throat.

5. Bomb Girl Arc

The upcoming film Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc will feature an animated adaptation of this arc, which spans chapters 40–52 in the manga.

The plot centers on Denji and Reze, his new romantic interest, who reveals herself as the Bomb Devil Hybrid.

Throughout the arc, she pursues Denji for his Pochita-powered heart despite Division 4 members’ efforts to prevent her from obtaining it. Aki, Angel, Beam, Galgali, and Denji battle the Bomb Devil, but they cannot contain her strength.

But Denji makes it through the assault and even manages to win Reze by asking her to flee with him.

However, she gets ambushed by Makima and Angel and meets her demise at their hands, with Denji never finding out if she reciprocated his feelings.

6. International Assassins Arc

In the manga, the International Assassins Arc spans chapters 53 to 70. In this storyline, strong assassins from all over the world travel to Japan and pursue Denji to get his Chainsaw Man heart.

Characters like Quanxi, a crossbow-demon hybrid, and Santa Claus, a former devil hunter, are introduced in this arc. Santa Claus is a global hive mind of flawless doll assassins commanded by one person with the aid of the Doll Devil. The Darkness Devil, another character introduced in this arc, personifies our innate fear of darkness.

7. Gun Devil Arc

In the manga, the Gun Devil Arc spans chapters 71 to 79.

Makima discloses the startling information that the Gun Devil has already been defeated, with portions of his body belonging to various nations and devils in this arc.

We see the Gun Devil fighting against Makima, who uses the contracts of Aki Hayakawa, Tendo, Yutaro Kurose, Akane Sawatari, and the abilities of Spider Devil and Angel Devil to fight the powerful Devil.

Nevertheless, the Gun Devil escapes and becomes the Gun Fiend by taking possession of Aki Hayakawa’s corpse.

8. Control Devil Arc

In the manga, the Control Devil Arc spans chapters 80 to 97.

The real reasons for Makima’s acts and her fascination with Denji are revealed in this storyline. To ruin Denji’s happiness and the normalcy of having a family, Makima murders Power. She also discloses that Denji killed his father.

The small child lost all ability to cope with this and became unresponsive, breaking his agreement with Pochita to live an everyday and happy life. Thanks to this, Makima calls forth the Chainsaw Devil in his former form.

The two engage in combat, during which Makima is murdered, and Pochita consumes her. The Control Devil reincarnates as a little girl named Nayuta following her death.

9. Academy Arc

In the manga, the Justice Devil Arc spans chapters 98 to 151. In this storyline, Asa Mitaka, a high school student, is forced to exact revenge on Chainsaw Man by War Devil Yoru, who makes her his host.

Throughout the storyline, Asa fights with Yuko and her class president, both of whom have contracts with the Justice Devil. When a Chainsaw Man imposter kills Yuto later in the story cycle, Asa becomes even more enraged with the Devil.

Asa Mikata attempts, at Yoru’s request, to transform Denji into a human weapon. In chapter 119, Yoru assumes control of Asa’s body and lashes out at Denji, but just as they are about to get intimate, Nayuta arrives home with her dogs and refers to Asa as a “thief.”

10. About Chainsaw Man

Chainsaw Man is a manga series by Tatsuki Fujimoto that was serialized from December 2018-2020 and returned in July 2022 with a second part. The series also received an anime series by MAPPA.

The manga’s plot revolves around Denji, an orphaned boy who has to work as a devil hunter to make a living and pay off his father’s debt.

However, his pet devil, Pochita is killed on a mission. Denji wakes up to realize he and Pochita have become a single being, Chainsaw Man. If he does not want to get killed, he has to join the government and continue hunting demons.