The most groundbreaking shōnen manga of the new generation, Chainsaw Man, has officially surpassed the genre’s cornerstone, One Piece. Tatsuki Fujimoto’s gory and provocative tale grabs the top spot on the Manga Plus reader, with over 934,000 views (as of November 2, 2022), leaving behind the best-selling manga in Eiichiro Oda’s history. , with a “small” 782,000 views.
Manga Plus is the official online manga reading app, created and distributed by Shueisha, the publisher of the world’s most popular manga, such as Dragon Ball, Naruto and, of course, One Piece and Chainsaw Man. Manga Plus is available worldwide, except for Japan, China, and South Korea, which already have their own services, including Shonen Jump+, the original Japanese service. As such, Manga Plus views are a good gauge for understanding a series’ popularity in the western world, and Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man currently stands proudly on top.
Chainsaw Man, better than One Piece?
The unprecedented popularity of Chainsaw Man is due to two main factors. First of all, the manga recently started its second part, a brand new story that picks up where the series left off in 2020. After almost two years of hiatus, which the author has used to focus on other projects, like the gorgeous one-shot Goodbye, Eri, Chainsaw Man returned at the perfect time.
The long-awaited anime series, based on the manga, debuted in October 2022, sparking further interest in the franchise. The anime is produced by venerable studio MAPPA and has received overwhelmingly positive reviews, which means more and more people will want to check out the source material, as Manga Plus’ “hottest” chart proves.
This can hardly be considered a defeat for One Piece, however. Eiichiro Oda’s masterpiece remains the best-selling manga in history, with over 500 million volumes in circulation and 25 years of uninterrupted publication, two goals Chainsaw Man can only dream of achieving. These two works of fiction look very different, but they actually have a lot in common.
While One Piece is definitely less gory and dark than Chainsaw Man, its lighthearted tones often give way to deeper themes like freedom and oppression, just as Chainsaw Man alternates ominous moments with genuinely funny and unique humor. It’s also worth noting that Sasuke’s Story, the new Naruto sequel/spinoff, jumped straight to fifth place just a week after its launch.
The world of shonen manga is full of tropes and stereotypes, but it’s also true that there are always products that show a true evolution of the genre. Just as One Piece stood out from its competitors and became a benchmark, Chainsaw Man has proven time and time again to be the most innovative manga of its generation, and the success and recognition it receives today. today are absolutely deserved.