This is exactly what makes Denji’s character arc, and Chainsaw Man as a whole, so incredible. How Denji reaches this conclusion is incredibly messy and more than a little frustrating in places which is to say that it epitomizes the uncomfortable struggle of navigating platonic relationships with someone you have the potential to be attracted to, a common aspect of growing up for many, and it’s both heartwarming and validating to see a character experience this part of life in a shounen manga.
Yet these series rarely depict relationships between men and women as purely friendship, and feel the need to tack on romantic underpinnings.Ĭhainsaw Man, a Shonen Jump series by Fujimoto Tatsuki, has its main character, Denji, realize the value in having a strictly platonic relationship with the leading female protagonist, Power. Naruto centers on how bonds can help people overcome their struggles, friendship in Baccano! keeps characters tethered and fulfilled even through dire circumstances, and Fairy Tail is just about how cool it would be to do wild stuff with fifty of your best friends all the time. Content Warning: Discussions of sex, violence, heteronormativity, homophobia, and infantilizationĬountless anime and manga, especially shounen series, have friendship as a central theme and place a lot of value on these relationships.