A manga about a boy who can turn his arms and head into chainsaws by merging with a demon dog is one of the most popular series in the world.
As of January 2026, Chainsaw Man has sold over 35 million copies. The second season of the anime adaptation is currently in development. Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc is one of the highest-grossing Japanese films of all time.
And yet, the manga is set to end despite its popularity and has multiple plot lines left unresolved. It’s a strange moment that’s got people asking “why now?”
What Is Chainsaw Man?
Chainsaw Man follows Denji, a broke teenager who works as a Devil Hunter to pay off a dead father’s debt to the Yakuza. Devils in this world are born from human fear. The more people fear something, the more powerful the devil becomes.
When the Yakuza betray and kill Denji, his devil companion Pochita merges with his heart to revive him. Denji wakes up with the ability to sprout chainsaws from his body. He later becomes Chainsaw Man.
From there, he’s recruited into a government organization that hunts devils. He navigates a brutal, unpredictable world, all while wanting nothing more than a decent meal and a girlfriend (or at least have sex just once). The contrast between the violence around him and the simplicity of what he wants is one of the reasons why people fell in love with this series.
Creator Tatsuki Fujimoto doesn’t play by the usual rules. Important characters die suddenly. Power and raw strength doesn’t always solve the problem. The story shifts between dark comedy and horror-infused tragedy without warning. Underneath all the gore is a story about a lonely, exploited kid who has never been treated with basic dignity. That kind of honesty is rare, and readers feel it.
Fujimoto’s artwork only adds to Chainsaw Man’s appeal. His drawings are cinematic, which is a big reason why the anime and film adaptations are able to resonate with viewers.
The Series Is at Its Peak
Chainsaw Man: The Movie – Reze Arc released in September 2025 in Japan and hit international markets in October. It grossed over $174.7 million worldwide and earned a 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. It’s currently the 14th highest-grossing anime film of all time. It topped the global box office in its opening weekend. It brought in new audiences across North America, South Korea, Europe, and beyond. The franchise wasn’t just popular. It was ascendant.
New fans discovered the manga due to the film while old readers came back. The appetite for more Chainsaw Man was, by every measurable standard, at an all-time high.
And then, on March 10, 2026, Chapter 231 was released with a shocking message at the end: Part 2 will conclude on March 25, 2026.
Why is Chainsaw Man Ending Now?
What makes this announcement so strange is that Part 2 (also called the Academy Saga) isn’t finished yet.
Chapter 231 ended on a cliffhanger where Denji and Pochita are devoured by a bug devil. With no way to escape and feeling hopeless about their situation, Pochita decides to sacrifice himself. The devil dog erases himself from existence by eating its own heart so that Denji can live a normal life without Chainsaw Man. We don’t know if Pochita’s sacrifice actually saves Denji or if his death will have any ramifications.
The world is overrun by insects and devils. Denji’s relationship with Yoru and Asa is unresolved. He still hasn’t reunited with Power and we’re not sure if his adoptive sister Nayuta is truly dead. The Primal Fears, the most powerful devils in the story, have barely shown up despite being set up as a major threat. And the Nostradamus Prophecy, which was introduced over 100 chapters ago, hasn’t been fully resolved.
There’s no way that Chapter 232 can possibly wrap up so many plot threads in a way that makes sense for the series.
What We Know and What We Don’t
On March 11, Gizmodo’s io9 reached out to Viz Media and their response was unambiguous: “The Shonen Jump team have confirmed Chainsaw Man is ending but details are yet to be confirmed.” That’s as official as it gets short of Fujimoto himself saying something and so far, he hasn’t.
The “details are yet to be confirmed” part does suggest that while Part 2 is coming to an end, the series could continue in some form. Maybe a Part 3 will follow down the line or a spin-off featuring different characters. It’s possible that the end of the Academy Saga isn’t a sign that Chainsaw Man is over for good.
Fans Are Praying This Is a Hiatus
Before the official confirmation, the dominant theory was that this wasn’t the true ending of Chainsaw Man and that the series was going into hiatus.
Fujimoto has done this before. Part 1 ended in December 2020, with a “final chapter” announcement. He spent the hiatus serializing two standalone works, Look Back and Goodbye, Eri before returning to Chainsaw Man with Part 2 in July 2022. Both one-shots are considered to be some of the best manga published in recent years. They gave Fujimoto a chance to recharge and experiment before he could shift his focus back onto Chainsaw Man.
The difference between December 2020 and now is that Part 1 had resolved its major storylines before stopping. Part 2 hasn’t and that makes it harder to view this as a true goodbye.
Fujimoto has always made Chainsaw Man on his own terms. At its core, the series is about a person who exists in a world that doesn’t care about his needs. Denji never got to choose anything about his own life. In a strange way, the ending of Chainsaw Man mirrors that. The story stops when the creator decides it’s time to stop, regardless of how anyone feels. No explanation, no promise of what comes next.
That’s either maddening or appropriate, depending on how you look at it. Probably both.
