The second arc of the story focuses on Asa Mitaka, a high school student who enters into a contract with Yoru, the War Devil, who forces her to hunt down Chainsaw Man in order to reclaim what he had stolen from her.

Chainsaw Man has been overall well received by critics, who have commended its storytelling, characters, dark humor, and have particularly highlighted its violent scenes within the context of the story.

Kishibe organizes a raid to rescue Denji alongside cowardly Public Safety operative Kobeni Higashiyama.

However, his classmate, Devil Hunter Hirofumi Yoshida, blocks Denji's attempts to reveal his alter-ego while keeping tabs on him for the government.

After surviving a trap set for them by the Famine Devil, Fami, at an aquarium, Yoru tries to transform Denji into a weapon through Asa's body, but fails.

This would cause a war that would greatly increase public fear of both Chainsaw Man and Yoru, strengthening them enough to fight the Death Devil.

"[8] According to the manga's editor, Shihei Lin, Fujimoto is heavily involved in the production of the anime series, stating, "Fujimoto-san has seen all the Chainsaw Man's pitch documents, story structure, scripts, and even the storyboards.

MAPPA producer, Makoto Kimura, also commented that Fujimoto involvement extended to the casting, planning, and music, because the staff wanted the anime to capture as much of the manga's original vision as possible, including the violence and gore.

[51][52] It tells three stories focused on a theme of "buddies" about Power and Denji, Kishibe and Quanxi during their partner era, and Himeno and Aki around the time they first met.

[54][55] On December 29, 2022, it was announced that the series would receive a stage play adaptation, directed and written by Fumiya Matsuzaki, music composed by Shunsuke Wada and choreographed by Hidali.

The cast includes Naotake Tsuchiya as Denji, Mizuki Umetsu as Aki Hayakawa, Mahiru Coda as Power, Minami Tsukui as Himeno, Haruki Iwata as Kobeni Higashiyama, and Aya Hirano as Makima.

[58] Good Smile Company launched Nendoroid figures based on characters from the series in October 2021, including Denji, Pochita and Power.

[62] From September 6 to November 4, 2024, Universal Studios Japan hosted the "Chainsaw Man × Hollywood Dream – The Ride (Kick Back)" attraction based on the series, as part of the Halloween Horror Night event.

[103] In North America, the volumes of Chainsaw Man were ranked on Circana (formerly NPD) BookScan's monthly top 20 adult graphic novels list since October 2020.

Beckett commented, "[Chainsaw Man is] goofy, kinky, dark, and bizarre, which is already the kind of tonal mishmash I'm generally down for in my art," praising as well its compelling world-building and character development, adding that the volume "earns plenty of goodwill by committing to its surprisingly earnest and charming brand of ferocious bloodletting.

"[111] Nicholas Dupree from the same website commented, "[i]t's a bizarre, unpredictable, and undeniably unique thrill ride, and love it or hate it, there's nothing else quite like it.

"[116] Reviewing the first volume, Danica Davidson of Otaku USA called the series "a little creepy" and "downright bizarre," adding however, that it is "a bloody, action-packed shōnen with some heart showing through the weirdness, and it's been very successful in Japan.

"[117] Following her "read-a-thoning" of the series, Katherine Dacey of The Manga Critic commented that she finished it with a "grudging respect for Fujimoto's excessive, ridiculous creation, which entertained and repelled me in equal measure.

Wolf wrote that the main feature of the series is the action sequences, but criticized the lack of depth in writing, concluding, "Chainsaw Man has some things going for it and hopefully may well build up from a promising start.

Collins praised Fujimoto's penmanship, stating that the "thickly-sketched lines on individual characters and still moments convey the rough edges of [its] world.

"[112] Beckett called the character designs and general linework "a bit generic at first glance," but that when "the carnage comes flooding in," the series "has a clarity of style and consistency of vision that can be wondrous to behold.

"[111] McNeil said that the character designs, other than Pochita and Chainsaw Man, are "not memorable," but that the art "really shines for the creepy Devils, the action, and especially the gore.

[118] Wolf stated that the art of the series "feels better than its writing," adding that visually, the action and fighting make the manga appealing.

"[114] Dacey called the series a "blood-and-testosterone-soaked battle manga," commenting that its main appeal is the "outrageous displays of gore and violence," adding as well that Fujimoto "does his utmost to push the boundaries of good taste.

"[118] Beckett wrote that the "delightfully ridiculous and bloody" premise runs with it in "all sorts of fascinating directions," adding however, that its reveling in crude humor and violence could be off-putting to some readers.

"[118] Lee commented that the series has an "interestingly goofy contrast between the characters and what's going on," adding that Denji's simple mind and "kind-of-horny instincts" can get tiring at times, but it does not make the series bad, and with the introduction of the "extremely interesting side characters," like Power and Makima, the story "takes a turn for the better.

[120] Beckett said that when he read the premise, he took the series at face value as a "goofy nonsense comic, a parody of shōnen manga that primarily exists to push out page-after-page of gross-out gags and gory action," also calling it "a mishmash of raunchy teen sex comedies, Hellboy, and The Evil Dead.

"[111] Dupree stated that the "crass, crude, and purposefully lowbrow" humor is one of its defining characteristics, adding that there are multiple jokes where it feels like half the punchline is that the series, "in all its gleefully nihilistic indulgence," was published in the same magazine as other "bleedingly sincere and family-friendly" titles like One Piece or My Hero Academia.

"[112] Reviewing the series' 97th and last chapter published in Weekly Shōnen Jump, Reiichi Narima of Real Sound commented that Denji's growth through loss is a storytelling more related to seinen manga than shōnen manga, adding that he was "deeply moved" by the inclusion of this kind of stories in the magazine, ultimately calling it a masterpiece and concluding, "at the core of bloody violence, there was a boy's sad love story.

[141] Rafael Motamayor of IGN praised Chainsaw Man's cinematography, character dynamics and approach to its emotional moments.