Chainsaw Man is a Japanese Manga written by Tatsuki Fujimoto and was released in 2018 with a total of 11 volumes. It is about Devils and Devil-hunters, where devils are born from human fears that they incite. However, humans are also able to make a pact with the devils to use their powers. There exist some humans who specialized in killing and hunting these devils called ‘Devil-hunters’.
The whole story is set in an alternate timeline where the Holocaust does not exist. There are several shows that have almost the same type of plot involving a non-human entity and a body that can kill or slay these entities. Below is a list of such types of Mangas if you are looking for something close to Chainsaw Man.
Jujutsu Kaisen
This plot of the manga is about a world where human beings emanate energy called ‘Cursed Energy’, these energies originated through negative emotions. Some humans can take hold of it, while others cannot. The ones who cannot control the flow of the energy give out curses to other people. These being become monster-like entities named ‘Curses’. Meanwhile, the ones who can control their energy flow are called ‘Jujutsu Sorcerers’, they can use the energy whenever they require it.
The story follows the main character ‘Yuji Itadori’, a Highschool student in an Occult Club. One day while trying to protect a girl named Megumi Fushiguro and her friends from the curses, Yuji swallows a finger Talisman. In the process, she accidentally becomes a host for a curse named ‘Ryomen Sukuna’. This leads to Yuji being sentenced to death as the powerful curse needs to be exorcised and finished off. And as a result, Yuji will also die. Yuji’s teacher Gojo, tries to save Yuji by requesting the superiors that, Yuji might be able to take control of the Talisman through his help. And with this, the whole story follows the fight and battle between Sorcerers and Curses.
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Bleach
The story follows the protagonist Ichigo Kurosaki who possesses the ability to see spirits. One day, a ‘Shinigami’ (death god) named ‘Rukia Kuchiki’ while searching for Hollows (Evil spirits) comes across Ichigo. From thereon they become acquaintances and start working together to fight Spirits. In one such battle, Rukia gets heavily injured, and to save her family, she is forced to transfer a part of her power as a Shinigami, to Ichigo. Ichigo accepts to take on the Shinigami powers.
Although the initial plan was to transfer some of the Shinigami power to Ichigo, for some reason, all of Rukia’s power is transferred to Ichigo. Then Ichigo, after absorbing all of the power, naturally becomes a Shinigami. And therefore he has to take on the role of a Shinigami and perform the duties of being Shinigami. Rukia, who lost all her Shinigami power is forced to remain in the world of the living. Until Rukia regains her power back, Ichigo battles the spirits and performs Shinigami’s duty of guiding souls to the other world.
Death Note
Death note as the title suggests is focused on a mysterious book of the same title. The protagonist named ‘Light Yagami’, who is bored by society and the crimes and corruption within it comes across a notebook, ‘Death Note’, engraved on the book is an instruction that goes, ‘Any human name written on the notebook was going to die.
Initially, Light is skeptical however trying it on two criminals, he believes in the authenticity. Later he finds out the book belonged to a Shinigami named ‘Ryuk’. Being the new owner of the notebook, with the power to determine a human’s death, Light starts to eradicate the society of criminals one by one and hopes to ultimately become a god.
Another
The story is a horror one filled with dark and gruesome twists and turns. In the year 1998, a guy named Koichi Sakakibara transfers from Tokyo to Yamiyama due to his father being away in India. Yamiyama happens to be his late mother’s town. There he enrolls in ‘Yamiyama High School’, where he is pulled into the mysterious story of a girl named Misaki, who used to study in the same class as Koichi in 1972, gradually, Koichi gets into the mystery of Misaki’s death and how she was in the graduation photo even though she was dead.
Demon Slayer
The story follows the protagonist, Tanjirō, son of a coal merchant, who after his father’s death, has to support his family and therefore takes on the job of the coal Merchant. One day while selling coals in the city, a rumor about a man-eating monster goes around. Due to this Tanjirō is forced to stay back in the city for the night. The next day when he arrives at home, he finds that one of the rumored-monster had attacked his family, and the only remaining member is his sister, who is no longer a human anymore.
During the attack, she has transformed into a Demon herself. Around that time, a demon slayer named ‘Giyū’ Tamioka arrives at his home to slay the demon (Tanjirō’s sister). However, after witnessing the bond and the love between the brother and sister, he spares the sister. After that Tanjiro decides to train and become a demon slayer himself and find a cure for his sister.
Blue Exorcist
The story is about a world where two dimensions exist, a parallel universe that works like each other’s mirrors. The dimension in which the humans live is named ‘Assiah’ and the other dimension where the demons live is called ‘Gehenna’. Contact between the two is impossible, however, some demons can cross between the two.
Satan, the god of the demons has two sons with a human, which was his plan to have a powerful vessel in the human world. And through one of his sons, he gains that power. His son Rin with Satan’s power in him is not allowed to return to the demon world. Instead, he is given the task of becoming the ‘Blue Exorcist’ that can defeat the demon god.
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Attack On Titan
The story revolves around a young man named Eren Jäger and his life inside the four walls, of the island. The world narrows down to the island where most of humanity has resorted to. The giant beings called Titans wreaked havoc in the world and now people must protect themselves and stay forever within the four walls.
Humanity was living on the island for 107 years and one day somehow the Titans can break one of the four walls pushing the people back further. Eren decides to get revenge on the titans that had killed his mother. And With that, the story explores Eren, his sister, and his best friend together fighting the giants and protecting their island.
Inuyasha
This manga is all about demons and sacred Jewels. The titular Protagonist Inuyasha is a young half-demon boy, and a fox demon. Due to his Half-demon form, he cannot let go of his human side very easily. And therefore Inuyasha constantly struggles between his two identities of a demon and a human. His journey is about finding a sacred Jewel and protecting it against criminals. Inuyasha draws his power through his demon side. However, later it is realized that Inuyasha’s human side is the strongest out of the two.
Deadman Wonderland
A mysterious and wonderful story about a young man named Ganta, he is a college student and is an earthquake survivor that occurred 10 years ago. In the present, we see, Ganta as a student in college and has forgotten much of the event by now. However, things take a turn in Ganta’s life when one day suddenly, while in class, he sees a man covered in blood floating past the windows. The next moment the whole class except for Ganta is massacred by the floating figure.
Moreover, the man inserts a red crystal shard into Ganta’s chest. A few days later, Ganta is convicted for the murder of his classmates. A trial takes place which is completed very fast and he finds himself sentenced to life. The main plot begins from thereon when Ganta is sent to a prison called ‘Deadman Wonderland’ (a prison lined with amusement parks).
Parasyte
A strange story about a strange occurrence on earth, Parasyte is about the sudden appearance of snake-like creatures that come out of small spheres and attack humans by entering through the nose and the ears to take over the brain. These creatures start to take over humans by entering and feeding on humans.
A young man named ‘Shinichi’, one day wakes up to find one of the creatures trying to enter through his nose, Shinichi immediately fights the creature, however, while struggling he injures his hand and there the creature gets attached. From thereon, Shinichi and the creature cohabitate. While other humans are killed by the same creature.
Claymore
Claymore is about a group of Half-demon and half-human beings. Claymores are powerful and can defeat demons who try to devour the village people. The village people call upon these Claymores who protect them from the demons. These ‘Claymore’ (Swords used by them) are witches that possess silver eyes. And hence they are also known as silver-eyed witches by the villagers.
The protagonist is a woman named ‘Claire’, who is also one of the Claymores. One day she is called upon to protect the villagers, and she kills a member of a family who had turned into a monster. And the last remaining member of that family, Raki, decides to join Claire on her adventure against the monsters. Gradually, Raki learns about the truth behind Claire and the Claymores in general.
Rurouni Kenshin
The story is about a former sword assassin named ‘Kenshin Himura’ or Battosai during the Tokugawa reign in Japan. After the end of that reign and the beginning of a new Meiji era, Kenshin goes around with a heavy assassin past. With the new era, Kenshin turns into a wanderer wandering around the country and promises himself to never use his sword again to kill anyone.
Akame Ga Kill!
Akame Ga Kill! Is a story about the rich and the poor and the divide between the two in society. The protagonist, Tatsumi is a poor village boy who ventures out to the city with his friend to help his family and village. However, after reaching the city, both of them are attacked by a group of people and robbed of their belongings. Unfortunately, Tatsumi’s friend is killed and Tatsumi is later taken in by an aristocratic family. However, the family is attacked and their home is raided by a group of ninja assassins called ‘Night Raid’.
Later it is revealed by one of the group members that the aristocratic family was weird and evil people who liked killing the poor of the society and they were the ones behind his friend’s death. With this information, Tatsumi is offered to be a part of the group. He reluctantly joins and shares their adventures to bring down the evil people.
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Devil May Cry
This is another battle between demon-hunters and demons story, and follows the protagonist named Dante, a demon-hunter who also works as a Private detective in his titular agency called ‘Devil May Cry’. The whole story is about Dante and his battles against demons and monsters. We also see Dante’s relationship with characters like Demon-hunter Lady and a demon woman named Trish. The whole story is about the ‘demonic’ adventures of Dante.
Elfen Lied
Elfen Lied is about mutant beings called ‘Diclonius’, they are human-like but with two horns on their forehead. They also possess invisible limbs, powerful ones called ‘Vectors’. However, the Diclonius beings are considered a danger to humans, therefore, most of them are captured or killed at birth. Some of them are subjected to torture in the lab facilities for experiment purposes. A Diclonius named Lucy manages to escape via the sea and later her body is found stranded on a beach.
Due to a head injury, she sustained due to a shot at her head, Lucy or Nyu gains double-personality, one time she is normal and calm but whenever she sustains an injury to her head, she becomes her former self again. She is constantly chased by the military, therefore Lucy needs to save herself from being captured while living with humans at the same time.
Hunter x Hunter
The story revolves around a little boy named Gon Freezes, who lives in a world where, there are a special group of elite people known as ‘Hunters’, these hunters possess a membership card with which they can do anything they like and obtain any object they desire free of charge. They can are entitled to exercise and trade available in the world.
And can be in any profession they prefer, an archaeologist, a vigilante, a doctor, etc anything they like. Gon’s father whom he does not know closely is considered the greatest Hunter of all time. And another reason for Gon wanting to be a Hunter is to get to his father. Overall, the story explores the twelve-year-old Gon’s journey to becoming a hunter.
Tokyo Ghoul
The story is about a half-ghoul named, Ken Kaneki. He is initially a normal human being until he falls in love with a woman named Roze, who later reveals that she is a Ghoul and tries to eat Kaneki. However luckily for Kaneki, some poles fall over Roze and in the process, she gets killed while Kaneki is heavily injured.
Kaneki is then rushed to the hospital. The doctors transplant Roze’s organ into Kaneki to save him. Naturally, when he wakes up he finds out the truth when he sees his one eye turned into the color red. That way, Kaneki turns into a half-ghoul.
Blood+/Blood-C
This story involves Vampires and the battle against vampires. The plot revolves around a girl named Saya who is an orphan and is adopted by a family in Okinawa. She does not know anything about her past. In the world that she lives in, big organizations like the US army plans to use Vampires for their purpose.
Saya who was living an ordinary life suddenly finds herself face to face with a vampire. And since that meeting, a body called ‘The Red Shield’ follows and appears in Saya’s life. It turns out that Saya’s blood is lethal for the vampires. And the ‘Red Shield’ wants Saya to help them fight the blood-sucking vampires which they also call the bats. Throughout the story, Saya’s life as a bat-killer is explored.
Darker Than Black
The story of Darker Than Black is about superhumans called ‘Pactisants’. The world is altered when a mysterious gate called ‘Hell’s Gate’ appears in Tokyo from nowhere. The real stars are replaced by false stars. And each false star corresponds to a ‘contracting’ party. To prevent people from approaching Hell’s gate, a wall gets built. And as the story progresses, the Superhumans or the Pactisants, which can be identified via an astronomical catalog, are used by nations to work as secret agents and assassins.
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Soul Eater
Soul Eater is about evil and Shinigami etc. Shinigami-Sama creates an academy where two types of people are trained, one is ‘Weapons’ and the other is ‘Overlords’. The training is done to fight an Evil being called ‘Kishin’, who has the power to destroy the world and plunge it into complete darkness. The function of the Weapons as the name suggests is to be the weapon with which the overlords will fight Kishin.
Hellsing Ultimate
The story of Hellsing Ultimate is about a protestant order which functions to fight the monsters looming around in society such as vampires, ghouls, etc. The order is led by Abraham Hellsing, who fought and killed many such monsters one by one. The order is considered a paramilitary group working for the Crown. After the death of Abraham Hellsing, his young daughter Integra Hellsing is forced to take up the role of his father as a leader of the order. The order works in complete secrecy. Abraham Hellsing leaves a secret for Integra. That something is inside the mansion that will help Integra on her journey as a Monster-killer.
Black Clover
The story is about two young men named Asta and Yuno, who were both orphans and had grown up together as best friends in the clover kingdom. When young, Asta is determined to become the next most powerful magician in the Clover kingdom which is known as ‘Emperor-Mage’.
This determination rubs on Yuno and he too decides to become the next emperor mage. Out of the two, Asta is born without any magical ability, and Yuno has some magical predispositions. The story explores the two young men on their path to obtaining the same title of ‘Emperor-Mage’. You can read this manga on Viz.
Gungrave
Gungrave, the story is a flashback about two young thugs who had joined a criminal organization which gradually explains the intro of the story, where, a truck surrounded by a monster is shown, inside a scientist and a young girl is alive and awake.
To protect themselves from the monsters attacking them, the scientist wakes up a war machine called Brandon. It ends with no further explanation. From then, the story dives straight into a flashback story which gradually reveals everything.
Goblin Slayer
The story of Goblin Slayer is about Goblins that attack and kills humans. It revolves around a young Priestess who joins the adventurers guild which wanderers join to get their fate known through a roll of dice. Her first quest turns into a nightmare when the goblins attack and kill all the members of the guild.
However, the priestess gets saved by a mysterious person clad in armor. It turns out the man is called ‘Goblin Slayer’, who as the name suggests is a goblin killer, who aims to eradicate goblins.
Berserk
The story of Berserk revolves around two characters named ‘Guts’ and ‘Griffith’. Griffith is the leader of ‘The Falcon Troop (a team of mercenaries for the kingdom of midland). While Guts is a member of the Falcon troop. The whole story revolves around the two characters growing friendships and how they interact with each other etc.
Uzumaki
If you love the horror genre, then this manga is definitely for you all. Junji Ito wrote this manga extremely well. Apart from being a psychological horror, it is a supernatural manga series based on a dark fantasy theme. The basic plot of the manga revolves around a hypothetical city where the residents are suffering from a supernatural curse. This supernatural plague is all about the spirals.
In 2000, Japan witnessed a live-action adaptation of Uzumaki manga which had four different parts. All over the world, it was critically acclaimed and hence, Uzumaki received positive reviews. Moreover, an anime adaptation is already announced but the release date is still to be stated. However, it will be released in the US earlier than that in Japan.
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