Why We Love Brutal Shonen Like Jujutsu Kaisen And Chainsaw Man

In the past few years, we’ve seen this trend of brilliantly animated “Dark Shonen.”

First Demon Slayer then Jujutsu Kaisen, Chainsaw Man, and now, Hell’s Paradise.

All of them have been major hits both inside and outside of the anime community, and for very good reasons. I mean these anime are all genuinely enjoyable.

But what is about anime like these that makes them so much fun to watch? Why do we love Brutal Shonen like Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man?

This is what we’re going to be talking about today, there won’t be any spoilers.

So sit back, relax, and see this post through till the end.

First, not all Battle Shonen Anime are created equally. This goes without saying but how many times do fans start talking trash about any new and coming shonen anime?

When Demon Slayer came around, people clowned on it and said that it's nothing more than “good animation”. The same thing happened with Jujutsu Kaisen. Naturally, as more and more people got into these anime.

The initial misconception cleared away quite fast, especially in Jujutsu Kaisen’s case.

I believe it doesn’t get enough credit for the story it has created.

When Jujutsu Kaisen first came out, some Naruto fans called it a Naruto-Copy simply because the main characters felt similar to Team 7 from Naruto, but it only takes a few episodes to see how there are little to no similarities between Naruto and Jujutsu Kaisen.

Jujutsu Kaisen is a Dark tale full of tragedies. Just like Chainsaw Man, the interpersonal relationships and the lack of gimmicks when it comes to primary characters make the two shows feel refreshing right from the get-go.

Although Chainsaw Man may take the weirdness of the characters further up a notch, it is nuanced and raw enough to show us that it’s not the same kind of Battle Shonen we’re familiar with.

The mystery, horror, and relationships between characters are different from anything we’ve seen in traditional battle shonen.

There is a clear lack of formula.

Rather than following tropes, it’s more about subverting them.

Yes, it can be edgy depending on your definition of the word, but that’s just a one-dimensional way of looking at this story. Chainsaw Man makes sure to deliver when it comes to serious moments, not everything is a joke, and not everything deserves a reaction.

Unfunny jokes have always been one of the weaknesses of Battle Shonen.

Especially the entire Pervert gimmick that always gets blown out of proportion. This was something not even Eiichiro Oda could keep himself from doing, Sanji has been so relentlessly used and abused as a butt of so many jokes at this point.

But these new generation Shonen are different.

Denji may be horny, but he is a lot more normal, and therefore, he is a lot more relatable as well.

Then there is Itadori Yuji from Jujutsu Kaisen. He loves tall women with big butts - that’s his preference. Now, instead of using this as a cheap gimmick, the show delivered something truly amazing with the entire Itadori and Todo dynamic.

Two guys bonding over their taste in women?

Simply brilliant.

Now, Chainsaw Man is generally considered to be the most unusual of all the Modern Day Shonen, but Jujutsu Kaisen’s thematic and layered storytelling isn’t far behind either.

The World Building and the Power System are so well thought out, it just makes sense, Well, sometimes it also doesn’t.

Take Gojo’s Infinity for example. It is confusing at first, but once you think about it for sometime and connect the dots, you begin to see the entire story differently.

Also, I don’t see many people talking about this, but the action choreography in Jujutsu Kaisen demands some major respect. Both Fujimoto and Gege don’t care about pandering to the usual Shonen fans, they want to tell the story the way they want after all.

Now guys, please note that I’m not saying all of this as a disrespect to traditional Battle Shonen. Heck, Demon Slayer also qualifies as a traditional Battle Shonen. It’s just that Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man show us a different path that Shonen anime can take.

One thing I’d admit is how it’s genuinely refreshing to see the female characters actually getting respect and attention.

Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man both have one hell of a cast. I mean, when was the last time you saw a female villain like Makima be the Big Bad of the story?

The points don’t end here though.

Since the authors don’t care about pandering to the fans, they also don’t think twice about killing your favorite characters. This is what keeps you at the edge of your seats. This is what has been missing from traditional battle shonen.

I’m looking at you “One Piece.”

The fakeouts may please the immature audience for the time being, but they ultimately take the stakes away from the story. What’s fun about that?

And it’s not like the characters are getting just because either. All the deaths in Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man were just the story taking its natural course.

There is a clear lack of focus on the protagonist when it comes to the greater context of the story, Itadori is handed Ls after Ls, but we still see him as an incredible protagonist.

Which, he obviously, is.

Something interesting about Jujutsu Kaisen is that the ones who end up with plot convenience are usually villains. The author always just keeps making things harder for our protagonists, isn’t he?

The villains are not dumb. They aren’t laidback enough to let the main characters go either.

They are ruthless and just like how they are supposed to be. And more importantly, they grow and evolve.

It’s this sense of danger, this excitement, this unpredictability that makes us love Brutal Shonen like Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man.

Unlike Luffy or Naruto or Deku, the main characters of Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man didn’t start off with some grandiose dream or worthy goal. No, they were ordinary people.

In Yuji’s case, he was living an ordinary life.

In Denji’s case, his life was hell on earth, he even had to sell one of his nuts to clear his dad’s debt. Think about that.

That’s why, Yuji simply took his grandpa’s advice to help people while Denji was even more true to himself, he knew that all he wants is some good food to eat and a girl he can cuddle with.

These dreams are nothing in comparison to becoming the Pirate King.

But they are much more relatable.

I love Luffy just as much as any other hardcore One Piece fan, but for many he’s too bright to relate to. See what I’m getting at?

Between interpersonal relationships, female characters done right, some actually refreshing comedy, and a clear lack of formulaic gimmicks, both Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man tell their stories.

And those stories don’t just keep us on the edge of our seats, the main characters are also relatable, even though their circumstances may very well be despair incarnate.

Hell’s Paradise is another similar anime I mentioned at the beginning of this post.

It is the most recent of them to get an anime adaptation and conveniently, it is also being done by MAPPA. I wouldn’t put it on the same level as Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man, but it is still worth watching and worth reading.

Overall, Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man, along with Demon Slayer, defined the current generation of Battle Shonen, but what’s next?

What kind of Battle Shonen can we expect from the future?

That’s the question.

With the way things are, Kaiju No. 8 and Undead Unluck are next in line to receive anime adaptations.

Hopefully, Dandadan too.

That’s another Brutal Shonen and it’s the same kind as Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man.

So there you have it folks, these were some of my thoughts on why we love brutal shonen like Jujutsu Kaisen and Chainsaw Man.

I’m sure we'll see many more interesting and unusual shows in this upcoming decade.

After all, the new generation always surpasses the old.

Isn’t that right, Naruto?

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