Tatsuki Fujimoto's cult hit manga Chainsaw Man is finally receiving an anime adaptation, one that promises to bring the story to vivid life - including one of the manga's most disgusting scenes. Chainsaw Man became known for its willingness to go to extremes, from bloody violence to shocking plot twists, and this also included gross-out humor. Perhaps the most infamous example of this daringness is the scene where Denji's "first kiss" is ruined by a sudden onslaught of vomit, a scene that could be even worse to witness in the anime.
Originally published between 2018 and 2020 in Weekly Shonen Jump alongside One Piece, My Hero Academia, and other popular series, Chainsaw Man stars Denji, a crude and naive homeless teenager who can turn into a human/chainsaw hybrid. He joins the Public Safety Devil Hunters, a group that hunts devils born from human fears. Part of Denji's character is his struggle to understand women and his attraction to them. He obsesses over sexual "firsts" such as kissing or touching a breast. However, this first goal goes drastically wrong during one night of drunken celebrating after a difficult battle. Denji's coworker Himeno kisses him, but is so nauseated that she vomits down his throat. Fujimoto draws the scene in grotesque detail.
Based on the recently-released trailer, it seems that the Chainsaw Man anime will be largely faithful to the source material. Shonen manga adaptations sometimes add or remove certain elements of the story, like the filler arcs in One Piece or Naruto, but given this trailer it's very likely that the infamous vomit-kiss scene will be depicted in all its glory. Fujimoto's grotesque detail will no doubt actually be even worse in animated form, too, as while the manga is largely black and white, Chainsaw Man's trailer is full of vivid colors.
The addition of motion and animation will also add to the disgusting elements of Denji's first kiss. The Chainsaw Man anime will be done by Studio MAPPA, whose fluid animation in titles like Yuri!!! on Ice and In this Corner of the World has drawn praise. A poor team of animators will be sitting down for hours working on the sequence, trying to figure out exactly how fast and smoothly (or chunkily) Himeno's vomit should move. If the Death Note anime can make eating potato chips into a dramatic scene, imagine what a creative team of animators can do with Fujimoto's torrent of puke. Combine this with the obvious inclusion of voice acting in the anime, and it's clear a potentially nightmare-inducing scene lies on the horizon of the manga's adaptation.
This all said, Chainsaw Man isn't just a gross-out or shock manga. It's also about growing up, overcoming fear, and admitting vulnerability. The puke kiss scene contributes to these themes, showing how Denji's idealized ideas of romance clash with those of the jaded women surrounding him. But it's also undeniably filled with shocking and often gross moments. And in the anime, it's likely only going to seem grosser.