10 surprising movies that directly inspired Chainsaw Man

polygon.com:

If there’s one thing that Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto loves, it’s movies. Fans of Fujimoto’s work will know the author is an enthusiastic cinephile, incorporating references from his favorite movies in all his series to date, from his 2016 manga series Fire Punch to 2022’s Goodbye, Eri. This is particularly notable in the opening title credits of studio MAPPA’sChainsaw Man anime, which packs in visual nods to such popular films as Pulp Fiction, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Fight Club, and more.

Back in July, Japanese magazine SWITCH published a (near-complete) list of every movie, TV show, and anime Fujimoto has referenced in Fire Punch and Chainsaw Man or cited in an interview as inspirations on his work. Between the referenced movies and visual allusions in the manga, Fujimoto’s reference points are an eclectic bunch. So we’ve combed through and cherry-picked a handful of unexpected films to consider, along with an explanation of how the influence of these movies can be seen in the manga itself.

We’ll try to keep spoilers to a minimum as much as possible, but if you haven’t already read the first part of the manga in its entirety yet, tread lightly.

[Ed. note: This post contains light spoilers for the Chainsaw Man anime and manga.]

Let’s not mince words here:Chainsaw Man is a name so patently ridiculous on its face that it somehow circles back around to being awesome by the sheer dint of its raw descriptive power. The same could be said of Psycho Goreman, the sci-fi action horror-comedy written and directed by Steven Kostanski.

The film plays out like a Troma-style parody of Japanese tokusatsu shows (e.g., Mighty Morphin Power Rangers), following the story of a sister and brother who accidentally come into