Chainsaw Man wrapped up in Shonen Jump in December 2020, and ever since, fans of the cult-hit manga have been desperate to hear what's next from the author, Tatsuki Fujimoto. Luckily, Chainsaw Man's story is far from over, as the mangaka announced he would be working on a "Part 2" of the series for Shonen Jump+ after a hiatus. The series is also receiving an anime adaption by Studio MAPPA (Dorohedoro, Jujutsu Kaisen, Attack on Titan Season 4), set for next year. During his break, Fujimoto has also put out an impressive 100-plus-page one-shot titled Look Back, chronicling the journey and relationship of two girls becoming manga artists. However, maybe the most curious piece of Chainsaw Man news is the upcoming novel, Chainsaw Man: Buddy Stories.
Chainsaw Man: Buddy Stories is an upcoming novel with three original stories featuring different duos among the cast. The novel will be written by Sakaku Hishikawa, who previously wrote a light novel titled Gamble Witch Kingdom and a novel adaption of a popular manga, Jigokuraku: Utakata no Yume, based on the Shonen Jump+ manga, Hell's Paradise Jigokuraku, by Yuji Kaku. It's a good sign that Hishikawa has experience writing spinoff material for existing manga franchises.
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Each story is about a different "buddy" pair. The initial announcement for the novel's plot included the following synopsis: "Self-proclaimed detective, Power, and assistant, Denji, Kishibe, and Quanxi in his companion era, and Himeno and Aki when they met. Three stories of buddy theme + α. It's a story that can't be read in manga!"
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The idea of Denji and Power taking up the roles of detectives to solve a mystery is a recipe for disaster and laughter. A story set in Kishibe and Quanxi's partner days presents a range of possibilities, given the unrequited love of their relationship, and contrasting Himeno and Aki's relationship from when they first met to when we meet them as hardened veterans in the manga sounds both exciting and fearful in the best way.
The cover, drawn by Tatsuki Fujimoto, himself, was recently released, showing off the lovable duo of Denji and Power ready to solve mysteries in the name of "justice." Honestly, the way Power's horns just poke straight through her deerskin hat is just absolute "no thoughts, head empty" perfection.
The novel is set for its Japanese release on November 4th, however, no word has been given yet on the status of translated versions for worldwide release. It's unlikely this will remain a Japan-exclusive, given Chainsaw Man's explosion in popularity over the last year.
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