The author of Chainsaw Man, Tatsuki Fujimoto, reveals the scrappy origins of two short stories from his latest publication.
Fujimoto’s latest project — outside of the ongoing Chainsaw Man series, currently on Chapter 128 — titled Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 22-26 features two stories written to irritate the Shōnen Jump editorial team . Fujimoto created the shorts in question to counter the criticism that the editors of the major publishing house threw at him.
Fujimoto created the story to prove his editors wrong
The first story – “The Little Mermaid” – was born as a response to claims that he could not write a normal story. Fujimoto said, “The editor of Jump SQ. told me something like, ‘Tatsuki Fujimoto can’t write a normal story,’ so I created this to prove them wrong.” The short film follows a boy whose mother is a mermaid as he becomes attached to one of the sea creatures in a shojo-type romance. It has very little of the violent or abstract concepts that are typical of Fujimoto.
This was followed by a short titled “Nayuta of the Prophecy”, which Fujimoto wrote to counter an editor’s claim that he could not create “unique characters”. The story follows the exploits of a young girl (Nayuta) who has demon horns and is prophesied that one day the world will end. Fujimoto deliberately made the character “unique” by showing her as being overly violent but caring for her brother and speaking in a series of confusing but creepy words. Finally, he stated that “Nayuta is still a favorite character of mine.”
Chainsaw Man: 22-26 written by Fujimoto in his 20s
Before Chainsaw Man:22-26 was released in digital and physical print through Viz Media on April 18, 2023, the novel of four short stories was written by the famous author over the years. early twenties, with the remaining two short stories “Woke-Up- as-a-Girl Syndrome” and “Sisters.” It also contains an excerpt in which Fujimoto confesses to eating his pet fish in the past.
Fujimoto has extensive experience in manga production, including a serialized series called Fire Punch and the one-shots Goodbye Eri and Look Back. His most famous work, Chainsaw Man, has been serialized by Shōnen Jump and is set to release Chapter 129 after the Golden Week holiday. The series was adapted into a popular anime by Studio MAPPA in 2022 and showed its cultural impact by being featured in the popular new manga series Oshi no Ko.
Chainsaw Man is available to read on the Viz Media website with a Shonen Jump membership. Additionally, Before Chainsaw Man: 22-26 and the previous compilation novel, 17-21, are available for purchase on Viz Media.
Source: Viz Media