Chainsaw Man's transformation from manga to anime has made it one of the finest contributions to the genre in 2022, and now Tatsuki Fujimoto's shonen masterpiece is making the leap to the theatrical stage in 2023.
The first instalment of Fujimoto's Chainsaw Man manga, the "Public Safety arc" (Kan-hen), was published by Weekly Shnen Jump in 2018, and the second instalment, the "Academy Saga" (Gakk Hen), was released this year, but it wasn't until the anime premiered on Crunchyroll that his work became massively popular. Chainsaw Man the anime has proved to be a more than adequate translation, with its first 12-episode season continually attracting more fans due to its superb presentation and viral opening theme song.
With that in mind, it's no surprise that Chainsaw Man is receiving the stage play treatment, as announced by its own website CHAINSAW MAN THE STAGE (via Anime News Network), which is set to debut in Japan in September 2023, in the cities of Tokyo and Kyoto, with performances lasting at least through October. The tale will not be adapted from the anime, but from the original manga, with Fumiya Matsuzaki handling playwriting and responsibilities, who has previously worked on a Japanese stage rendition of Romeo and Juliet named Meisaku Ibun Romeo to Juliet Tybalt Sono Koi no Giseisha.
Even if putting on a play based on manga or anime may seem strange at first, some may be surprised to learn that these shows are actually quite popular and successful in Japan, with stage plays of popular titles such as Death Note, Naruto, Bleach Jujutsu Kaisen, One Piece, Haikyuu!!, and even Pokemon doing quite well in several Japanese cities. So yet, there have been no casting announcements.
It's intriguing to speculate on how Matsuzaki would adapt Chainsaw Man's gore or Denji's infantile comedy, but with a vast ensemble of demon hunters and fascinating characters like Makima, this play has a lot of potential to put on a good performance. The first season of the Chainsaw Man anime concluded last week, and it's fair to say that newbies are eager to see where the programme goes next.
Chainsaw Man's start sequence alone is a cinematic tribute, and Kenshi Yonezu's "Kick Back" is the ideal anime beginning for this frenzied drama that's fast becoming a must-see.
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