Author Tatsuki Fujimoto's hit shonen manga series Chainsaw Man is now considered part of the unofficial but widely recognized "dark trio" alongside two other dark shonen series, Jujutsu Kaisen and Hell's Paradise. All three of those series have strong horror elements, graphic combat scenes, and personal arcs that involve grief, betrayal, revenge, and generally feeling lost in the world. These are grim storylines, but they're also highly compelling.
Each "dark trio" member has cool plotlines and subplots that prove why these series are three of a kind. While Jujutsu Kaisen had the plot about Junpei Yoshino's tragic demise and Hell's Paradise forced Sagiri to think hard about her place in an unfair society, Chainsaw Man had even bloodier and darker plotlines that made it the most subversive and twisted shonen series airing today.
10 Denji Pays An Impossible Debt
When the story of Chainsaw Man begins, the antihero Denji is no action star. He is a deeply impoverished teenager living in obscurity, trying in vain to pay off his late father's staggering debt to organized crime. Denji cuts down trees for cash with the aid of Pochita the devil dog, but it's not nearly enough.
Denji has an eyepatch because he sold his right eye and only eats bread for dinner, but he still cannot pull his financial life together. At this rate, Denji is doomed to either starve to death or end up getting himself beaten or killed because he's taking too long to repay an unpayable debt.
9 Makima Recruits Denji Just to Use Him
Chainsaw Man's very first episode shows Denji dying at the zombie devil's hands, only to fuse with Pochita and be reborn as Chainsaw Man. That is when the mysterious kuudere Makima finds and recruits Denji to be her newest devil hunter employee, and Denji is grateful.
However, this only sets Denji up for more misery and exploitation, since Makima does not have his best interests in mind. She locks him in a gilded cage as her pawn, deceiving Denji with kindness while secretly plotting to use and eventually steal the chainsaw devil's power for herself.
8 Power Betrays Denji to the Bat Devil
After starting work as a professional devil hunter, Denji meets his bizarre new partner, the horned fiend Power. Denji and Power don't get along at first, though Power still wants a personal favor from Denji, and the latter agrees. Power needs to rescue her pet cat Meowy, and she's willing to sell out Denji to do it.
Power throws the unsuspecting Denji right into the bat devil's arms, truly a rough start for their partnership. Denji promptly fights back to protect both himself and Meowy, and in the end, he and Power become actual friends and bond over their mutual love of pets. Only in a dark anime like Chainsaw Man will a supporting character betray the hero and get forgiven so easily.
7 Denji's Team Fights the Horrifying Eternity Devil
Denji and several of his fellow devil hunters start a new mission to take down the eternity devil, a grotesque mass of flesh that took over a hotel. Psychological horror sets in when the eternity devil traps Denji's team on the hotel's 8th floor, giving them no chance to escape the terror of forever.
This plot is dark not just because Denji finally finds and fights the eternity devil in a bloody duel, but because the psychological pressure is too much for dandere characters like Kobeni. In fact, Kobeni tries to sell out Denji at knifepoint in exchange for her freedom, setting a precedent of Denji getting betrayed constantly.
6 International Assassins Converge In Tokyo & Battle It Out
The Chainsaw Man manga's international assassins story arc remains one of the manga's best plotlines to date. It's only moderately dark compared to Chainsaw Man's other arcs, but in return, it's a who's-who of devil hunters and assassins and all their amazing powers.
In this arc, Denji and Power meet deadly warriors from the United States, China, and other foreign lands, all of whom have outlandish abilities such as turning people into blade-wielding dolls. One of Quanxi's minions, Cosmo, can even overload a person's mind with information and make them unable to say a thing except "Halloween."
5 Denji's Team Visits Hell Itself
The international assassin story arc takes a hard left turn when a gigantic hand emerges from the open sky and thrusts its palm down, forcing Denji and all his friends and enemies into a new realm – Hell itself. Despite its name, not even the Hell's Paradise anime actually takes its characters to Hell, but Chainsaw Man does, and in memorable fashion, too.
In Hell itself, the terrifying darkness devil approaches, heralded by an array of praying astronauts. Then, the assassin called Santa Claus strikes a deal with the darkness devil to gain even more power, all while robbing every one of their arms to pacify them. It's a truly bizarre and sickening sight to see the helpless, armless characters kneeling while their arms hover over them.
4 Reze the Bomb Devil Betrays Denji's Trust
Denji urgently wants a girlfriend to love in the Chainsaw Man manga, and when he meets a charming waitress one day, he believes he's found the one. The young lady, Reze, takes an interest in Denji and begins dating him, but it's all a ruse. Reze is an agent sent from the Soviet Union to kill Denji with her bomb devil powers.
Denji's heart is broken when Reze turns on him and fights him with all her explosive might. In the end, Denji defeats Reze, but his potential romance with her is absolutely dead. It's yet another example of people betraying Denji's trust, which makes him feel more alone than ever. This heartbreaking story arc might be the focus of the upcoming Chainsaw Man anime movie, in fact.
3 Aki Becomes a Gun Fiend
The tsundere devil hunter Aki Hayakawa becomes Denji's worst enemy not long after the international assassins arc concludes. The enormous gun devil, an engine of unstoppable slaughter, kills Aki and turns his body into a gun fiend, complete with a giant pistol emerging from his forehead.
Aki the gun fiend confronts Denji at the latter's apartment and opens fire, starting a destructive battle that Aki envisions as an innocent snowball fight with his brother. It's tragic to see Aki being used that way, but at least he has the comforting lies of thinking he's back with his family, enjoying the life he used to have.
2 Denji Must Fight Makima Himself
Eventually, Makima makes her move and prepares to break Denji's contract with Pochita so she can seize the chainsaw devil's power for herself. Makima does whatever she must, including killing Power, and Denji succumbs to Makima's psychological warfare. Once again, the dejected Denji seemingly has nothing left.
Still, Denji has it in himself to fight back, and he reluctantly kills Makima himself with his amped-up chainsaw powers. Despite these actions and his heartbreak, Denji is still fond of Makima, which makes it all the harder to say goodbye to her. Makima will soon be reborn as Nayuta, but this parting still hurts.
1 Denji Feels Empty When Part 2 Starts
After defeating Makima, Denji has nothing left. Power, Aki, Himeno, and his other friends are all gone. So, Denji quits his job and starts going to school, but it's a far cry from typical "school life" anime where the main characters have fun with their slice-of-life antics. Denji feels empty, and he wears that fact on his face.
Denji spends much of this new saga with a slack, apathetic look on his face, barely mustering the willpower to do much of anything outside bloody combat. He even lets people pay him 10 yen to sit on him like a human chair, showing how little he thinks of himself despite his growing fame as Chainsaw Man. No amount of fame or victory can fill the gaping void in Denji's wounded heart.
