How Many Chainsaw Man Manga Volumes Are There?
Here’s the full picture: Chainsaw Man (チェンソーマン) by Tatsuki Fujimoto (藤本タツキ) is a completed series spanning 24 collected volumes in Japan. The English edition, published by VIZ Media, currently has 21 volumes available, with the remaining three still being released.
The series is divided into two distinct parts:
- Part 1 — Volumes 1 through 11 (97 chapters)
- Part 2 — Volumes 12 through 24 (147 chapters)
That’s 244 chapters total across both parts. Part 1 originally ran in Weekly Shonen Jump, a long-running weekly manga magazine in Japan and one of the biggest in the industry. Part 2 moved to Shonen Jump+, a digital-first companion platform where chapters are published online before being collected into physical volumes — so the print books still come out the same way regardless of which platform serialized the chapters. Both parts tell one continuous story, but the shift in platform also brought a shift in tone and focus that we’ll get into below.
For readers new to manga terminology: “shonen” refers to manga aimed at a teen male audience, though in practice series in this category attract readers of all ages and genders. Chainsaw Man is sometimes also labeled “seinen” (aimed at older male readers) due to its mature content — the distinction matters mainly for understanding where a series sits on the intensity spectrum.
If you’re planning to collect the whole thing, you’re looking at 24 physical manga volumes when the English edition wraps up. It’s a manageable collection — not the kind of multi-decade commitment that something like One Piece demands — but substantial enough that you’ll want to know what you’re getting into before you start buying.
Every Volume by Story Arc — What Each Part Covers
Chainsaw Man’s story moves fast. Fujimoto doesn’t waste pages on padding, and almost every volume pushes the plot forward in ways that feel genuinely unpredictable. Here’s a bird’s-eye view of how the story arcs — meaning the major connected storylines that span multiple chapters — break down across both parts.
Part 1 ran in Weekly Shonen Jump from December 2018 to December 2020, collected across volumes 1–11. Part 2 launched on Shonen Jump+ in July 2022 and ran until its final chapter on March 25, 2026, collected across volumes 12–24.
The pacing difference between the two parts is worth noting. Part 1 barrels forward at breakneck speed — it packs what many manga series would stretch across 30+ volumes into just 11. Part 2 takes slightly more time to breathe, spending more pages on characters’ inner lives and psychological tension, but it’s still lean compared to most long-running manga.
Part 1 Key Volumes (Vols 1–11)
Volume 1 (JP release: March 2019) kicks things off with Denji, a teenage boy drowning in debt to the yakuza (Japanese organized crime), surviving alongside his companion Pochita — a small creature known as a devil. In this world, devils are supernatural beings born from collective human fears. There’s a Chainsaw Devil, a Gun Devil, a Darkness Devil — the stronger the fear, the more powerful the devil. When Denji is killed and resurrected through a contract with Pochita (the Chainsaw Devil), he becomes the Chainsaw Man — a human-devil hybrid who can sprout chainsaws from his body. It’s as wild as it sounds, and Volume 1 establishes the series’ unique blend of grotesque action, dark humor, and genuine emotional vulnerability. Denji’s motivations are startlingly simple and human: he wants to eat good food, live in a real house, and maybe get a girlfriend. That grounded desire set against an apocalyptic world of devils is what makes the series click.
Volume 5 (JP release: January 2020) marks a turning point with the Bomb Girl arc. Without spoiling the specifics, this is where Fujimoto proves he’s willing to be genuinely cruel to his characters — and to readers who’ve gotten attached to them. The emotional whiplash in these chapters is devastating. Many fans point to this arc as the moment Chainsaw Man went from “really good” to “all-time favorite.” The arc also showcases Fujimoto’s cinematic approach to page layouts, with action sequences arranged across panels in a way that feels like watching a movie unfold frame by frame. (The English release has since reached Vol. 21 — the latest volume is linked below.)
Chainsaw Man
Volume 11 (JP release: March 2021) closes out Part 1 with the Control Devil arc’s conclusion. Named devils — devils with specific titles tied to primal human fears — play a major role throughout the story, and the Control Devil is one of the most significant. This volume is the emotional and narrative peak of everything Part 1 has been building toward. The stakes are enormous, the losses are real, and the final chapters recontextualize earlier events in ways that reward rereading. It’s a genuine gut punch of a finale — and somehow, it also sets the stage for Part 2’s very different story.
Part 2 Key Volumes (Vols 12–24)
Volume 12 (JP release: October 2022) begins Part 2 with a significant shift. The primary perspective moves to Asa Mitaka, a high school student who becomes entangled with the War Devil. This change in protagonist is intentional — Fujimoto deliberately steps away from Denji’s point of view to explore the world of Chainsaw Man through fresh eyes. Denji is still present but takes a backseat early on, and the story explores new thematic territory — identity, isolation, the weight of living in a world that knows the Chainsaw Man exists. The tone is noticeably different: more introspective, more psychologically complex, and in some ways more unsettling than Part 1’s bombastic devil battles.
Volume 17 (JP release: April 2024) hits during the mid-section escalation of Part 2, where the story begins pulling together the threads that Fujimoto has been carefully laying since Volume 12. The relationship between Asa, the War Devil, and Denji reaches new levels of tension, and the broader conflict over devil power intensifies in ways that had readers on the edge of their seats during serialization — meaning the weekly chapter-by-chapter release that precedes the collected volumes. This stretch is where Part 2 really finds its footing and rewards readers who stuck with its slower early pacing.
Volume 24 (2026) is the final manga volume, wrapping up the entire Chainsaw Man saga. The Part 2 finale landed on Shonen Jump+ on March 25, 2026, and this closing volume collects those final chapters. Without getting into spoiler territory, this is where every remaining thread comes together. Whether the ending will satisfy everyone is always debatable with a series this beloved, but it brings Fujimoto’s vision to a definitive close.
How Dark Chainsaw Man Gets — Content and Tone Guide
Let’s be real about this: Chainsaw Man is not a light read. The darkness isn’t incidental or played for shock value — it’s structural, built into every plot beat and character decision. You probably already have some appetite for dark fantasy, but it’s worth knowing what you’re walking into.
Violence and body horror are constant. Devils in this world are born from human fears, and the fights that result are visceral and graphic. Characters lose limbs, get torn apart, and die in ways that are rendered with unflinching detail. Fujimoto draws action with a cinematic eye that makes the impact land harder — the violence isn’t cartoonish, it’s physical and weighty.
Thematic darkness runs deeper than the surface-level gore. Chainsaw Man deals extensively with exploitation — Denji has been used and manipulated by nearly every authority figure in his life. Loneliness, the desperate need for human connection, and psychological manipulation are recurring threads. Part 1 explores these through Denji’s naivety and the people who take advantage of it. Part 2 deepens the existential and emotional horror through Asa’s perspective, exploring what it means to form genuine connections in a world designed to destroy them.
Part 1 features multiple mass-casualty events and devil battles with significant civilian death. Part 2 shifts toward more intimate psychological horror — the violence is still present, but the dread comes more from emotional and existential places.
⚠ Sensitive content note: The series also contains references to sexual exploitation and suicide, handled as part of character backstory and world-building. These elements are not the focus of the story, but they are present and may be distressing for some readers.
Bottom line for new readers: Chainsaw Man sits on the intense end of the dark fantasy manga spectrum. The violence is frequent, graphic, and depicted with realistic weight rather than exaggerated cartoon energy. Characters die permanently, body horror is a regular occurrence, and the emotional cruelty can hit as hard as the physical violence. If you’re comfortable with that level of darkness, this series is one of the best examples of it done with genuine purpose. If you prefer your dark fantasy on the milder side, this one may be more intense than you’re expecting. It’s recommended for mature readers.
Is the Series Finished — Chainsaw Man Manga Completion Status
Yes. Chainsaw Man is officially completed.
Part 2’s final chapter was published on Shonen Jump+ on March 25, 2026, bringing the entire story to a close after 244 chapters across both parts. All 24 Japanese manga volumes have been released.
As of now, no Part 3 has been announced. The story appears to have reached its intended conclusion. Of course, Fujimoto could always return to this world — he’s an unpredictable creator — but there’s nothing on the horizon suggesting a continuation.
For English readers, the situation is slightly different. VIZ Media has released 21 of the 24 English volumes so far, with the most recent (Volume 21) arriving on June 2, 2026. The remaining three volumes — 22, 23, and 24 — are still scheduled for release. VIZ has been releasing English volumes on a regular schedule, so the complete English collection should be available within the coming months.
Here’s where the Chainsaw Man manga volumes stand at a glance:
| Detail | Status |
|---|---|
| Japanese volumes | 24 of 24 — complete |
| English volumes | 21 of 24 — ongoing |
| Manga chapters | 244 total — complete |
| Part 3 announced? | No |
If you’re the type who likes to wait until a series is fully available before starting, you’re almost there. The Japanese edition is done, and the English edition is close behind. Starting now means you can read 21 volumes straight through with only a short wait for the final three.
Where to Buy Chainsaw Man Manga Volumes in English
The standard English edition of Chainsaw Man is published by VIZ Media as individual softcover volumes. This is the primary physical edition available — it’s a clean, consistent format that looks great on a shelf.
Digital editions are also available through VIZ and the Shonen Jump app. The Shonen Jump digital subscription is particularly worth mentioning — for a low monthly fee, it gives access to a huge manga library, and it’s where many readers first discover series like Chainsaw Man. Individual digital volumes can also be purchased outright if you prefer to own rather than subscribe.
All 21 currently released English manga volumes are available through major retailers. If you’re building a physical collection, availability has been generally solid for this series — it’s popular enough that reprints keep stock levels healthy, though individual volumes occasionally go temporarily out of stock during high-demand periods.
New readers should start at Volume 1. There are no standalone entry points here — the story is completely continuous from Chapter 1 through Chapter 244. Jumping in at Part 2 without reading Part 1 would be like watching the second half of a movie. Denji’s arc in Part 1 provides all the emotional context that makes Part 2’s different perspective meaningful.
Volume 1 is the perfect test: it’s self-contained enough to give you a clear sense of whether Fujimoto’s style clicks with you. If you finish Volume 1 and want more, you’ll want all of it. That first volume sets up everything — the tone, the humor, the heartbreak, and the chaos — with remarkable efficiency.
For the best reading experience, grab Volume 1 and see how it sits with you. The series rewards commitment — the emotional payoffs in later volumes hit so much harder because of the groundwork laid early on. And with the series now complete, you have the luxury of reading at your own pace without worrying about an indefinite wait for the ending. It’s all there, waiting for you.