Title: Chainsaw Man Vol. 14
Author: Tatsuki Fujimoto
Publisher: Viz Media
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 187
Genre: Action, Horror, Sci-Fi
Publication Date: February 6, 2024
The Story
Volume 14 of Chainsaw Man brings us to our date between Mitaka and Denji. Mitaka chose an aquarium and set a very strict schedule for their date where she wanted to educate Denji on sea life. For instance, did you know that sea anemones are relatives of the jellyfish? They have these tiny hairs growing on them that they use to feed by stunning fish, shrimp, zooplankton, and so on. But they can survive for years without food. They’re like jellyfish in that way. There are even sea anemones that have lived longer than 70 years with the proper care. They’re found all through the world’s oceans, and they can slowly move too. There are also fish that live inside them called anemonefish. The sea anemones protect them from predators and share their food scraps.
I know… you’ve had enough about sea anemones, right? You want me to get on to the rest of the review.
But sorry. We’re not deviating from the plan and I have thirty more minutes to talk about starfish.
Starfish are echinoderms and relatives of the sea urchin. There are as many as 2,000 starfish species around the world. Not all of them are star-shaped either. There’s even species with 30 arms and…
Okay, fine. I’ll continue the review before you go walk off and look at penguins on your own.
After our riveting lessons on sea life, they find out that much like Mitaka’s fish speeches, they cannot escape the aquarium. The Eternity Devil is back! The Devil Hunting Club also shows up as, they too, got trapped because they heard a rumor that the aquarium is a hot spot for devils. Needless to say, Denji is quite familiar with the Eternity Devil; however, he’s not the one who gets them out of there!
After they free themselves, Denji asks Mitaka out on a second date. She ends up going over to Denji’s house where we are reintroduced to Nayuta. There’s a pretty hilarious moment that happens there but something interesting is happening on the other side of town. Yoshida comes into contact with the Famine Devil who just goes by the name Fami (how original of her). Seems there is a connection between the Future Devil and Nostradamus’ predictions. One of the devils connected to said predictions appears and Fami knows exactly where they are!
Characters
Mitaka sure loves marine biology… I’ll give her that much. Despite her uncanny and vast knowledge of sea life, the War Devil was correct in the fact that she couldn’t turn Denji into a weapon but she could not understand why. She even admits that she hates Denji and feels nothing for him (which is the reason why). However, this causes her to become depressed, and yet, she still wants to find a way to get control of her body back from the War Devil. God, this girl is a mess but she’s still a rather fun character.
We got introduced to Fami… the Famine Devil… who just so happens to be a relative of the War Devil! Despite her small parts in this volume, those parts were put to good use as each appearance caused a significant impact. There is a possibility that Famine Devil could be the big evil of this arc but, then again, she may not. It’s too early to tell but with her involvement in the aquarium situation and her knowledge of devils appearing in accordance with Nostradamus’ predictions, she seems like a pretty important character to just toss into the series for a short stint. We’ll have to see how this plays out but, for now, color me interested.
Ah, Nayuta… our little reincarnated control devil. How I missed you (even though it’s only been 20-something chapters). Some pretty hilarious moments with her and Mitaka but I’ll leave it at that for now. Still good to see her.
Yoshida, on the other hand, is sticking his hands into several pots. At first, we thought that he was just running around trying to protect Denji from himself; however, that doesn’t seem to be the case any longer… especially when he takes an interest in meeting and gleaning information from the Famine Devil. I knew there was something more to him and we’re just now starting to see what that ‘something more’ is. Another interesting character that’s slowly unfolding into something bigger.
Final Thoughts
This was a great volume as it didn’t truly bring the Mitaka arc to a close but, more or less, gave it the JoJo’s “To Be Continued” arrow. We know that there will be more of Mitaka in the future but how she’s handled from here on will be quite interesting. I like how Yoshida is coming along with his motives being revealed bit by bit. I thought it was odd for him to take a keen interest in Chainsaw Man only. I’m looking forward to seeing how this develops… especially with the Famine Devil.
Speaking of which…it’s too early for me to make an informed prediction about how she will play a role but even though she’s made her presence known, one thing is for certain… she is a ‘work from the shadows’ type. As soon as the Eternity Devil showed, she disappeared. She had information on the Nostradamus predictions and knew where the next devil would appear… something an information broker would be akin to knowing. That means she’s a manipulator type and not one to get involved which also means she’s a prime candidate for the “mastermind” type of final boss. That’s why I said earlier that she could be this arc’s big bad but it’s too early to tell. I do like her direction, though.
All in all, we’re wasting no time moving from one story arc to the next. No downtime or filler here as it’s all about the Famine Devil from here on out. Again, really interesting stuff that I can’t wait to check out.
One last note. I miss Power. Thanks for that, Denji.
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This item was provided for review by VIZ Media.
