One of the most prominent complaints leveled at Chainsaw Man by fans and haters alike is that the pacing of Chainsaw Man Part 2 is too slow. Whether these are genuine complaints or just the weekly release devil at work, we’ll discuss both sides and analyze how Chainsaw Man Part 2 measures up to the first half of the story.
We won’t keep you waiting and doubt anyone would be surprised by this…but *drum roll* yes Chainsaw Man Part 2 is without a doubt slower than the first one. However, without jumping to conclusions, this is not as bad as it sounds and is no cause for alarm. In fact, Chainsaw Man Part 2 can be slow, but we can also be spoiled simultaneously. Those fans who got on the hype train after Chainsaw Man’s critical success have definitely been spoiled.
I for one, read the entire first part of Chainsaw Man within a single day and since then have been living with the weekly/biweekly release schedule and slow pacing of Chainsaw Man Part 2. Is it a bummer? Yeah. However, it’s also great to see the story being continued in the best possible way with an entirely different lens and focus on Denji as a character.
It almost seems we have a Breaking Bad vs Better Call Saul type of situation going on here with the first part giving you a very compelling and thrilling plot and the second part being a slower-paced but more in-depth and well-written character-based story.
What made Part 1 so compelling and interesting was the breakneck pace of the story that would give you whiplash, with each new arc escalating the stakes before you got to process the first one. Furthermore, the core crew of Aki, Power, Makima, and the others made for a very compelling set of characters you grew attached to before Fujimoto ripped them away from you. Speaking of Makima, we always had her ominous presence and the Gun Devil as the big bad to give us direction as to where the story was headed.
However, Chainsaw Man Part 2 doesn’t bother with a neatly laid-out narrative like that: the characters and we as the readers are also left confused about what’s going on. Nobody seems to know the whole truth and it’s a big guessing game that nobody except Fujimoto can tell you the purpose of. Tons of plot threads are introduced and unanswered. There’s a completely new MC with her own dedicated screen time which probably annoys Denji fans and Asa haters. The only real returning character from the previous part is Yoshida, and his role isn’t exactly likable here. So getting to know a new cast can feel slow and tedious.
Part 2 is taking a lot more care with characters like Denji and Asa, and it’s not afraid to spend entire chapters just focusing on their everyday activities and interactions. Chainsaw Man Part 2 takes a slow and methodical approach toward building up the layers for these characters and it’s giving Denji his much-deserved character growth arc. Besides, Chainsaw Man Part 2 isn’t slow with its action, as we’ve had several of Fujimoto’s classic ridiculous fight scenes when the gears kick in.
The threat of devils and the amount of human death this time around is on a much larger scale with the whole world afraid and paranoid. However, unlike the bombastic first half, part 2 takes a slower more dreadful, and methodical approach to portray this. The world is falling apart and Denji is caught between several different plans as he tries to retain his normal life with school and have his own little family with mini-Makima, Nayuta, and pets. So far, part 2 has done an excellent job of humanizing all its characters, even the devils.
What doesn’t help Part 2’s case is that sometimes the release schedule for Chainsaw Man Part 2 can be fairly wonky. Sometimes we get several chapters on a weekly basis, and other times we get hit with the biweekly devil several weeks in a row. Waiting 2 weeks for a 15-page chapter that plays out like a movie storyboard and ends in 20 seconds without much happening can really leave you wanting more. Fujimoto sensei’s love for cliffhangers also compounds these issues for frustrated fans who can’t wait to read more of this story they’re invested in.
However, in the words of many fans and believers alike, “Let Fujimoto Cook”. Chainsaw Man Part 2 currently seems to be building up to a massive climax and we expect all of these unresolved threads to be neatly tied up in a bow. Or maybe not? Fujimoto is a pretty eccentric mangaka who is hard to predict, and leaving some points unresolved wouldn’t be out of the question for him. However, you can trust him to get the main point of the story and its emotional impact across.
So yes, while Chainsaw Man Part 2 is and does feel slower than Part 1 due to its scope and Fujimoto’s chosen style. This is not a bad thing as it’s building up to be a unique new story that fleshes out its characters before raising the stakes. If Part 1 was a series of progressively bigger explosions, Part 2 is slowly arranging explosives in intricate patterns before lighting the fuse for a massive light show.
