Ranked #2402

Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge (Manga)

Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge is a romance, action, comedy manga that tells a deep story revolving around the lives of Yamamoto Yousuke and Yukisaki Eri.

The story is short, filling only 8 chapters, each about 45 pages long. However, despite this, it manages to tell a deep, emotional tale about two high school students. 2nd year Yamamoto is seemingly a slacker who is bored with life, but in fact, faces deep mental troubles, caused by his friend's death and his low self-esteem. 1st year Yukisaki at first appears to be an outgoing girl, but much is hidden beneath the surface. As the story progresses, each character struggles with his or her own problems, while at the same time, faces each other and the mysterious Chainsaw Man who appears every day at night.

The story imparts many deep, serious themes through the thoughts of Yamamoto and as he interacts with Yukisaki. Most revolve around the idea of an ephemeral and short life. But no fear, Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge won't leave you going emo about how your life will end in a few decades. It also shows the bright side of living as well.

Despite the general seriousness, many small comedy scenes left me laughing, so there wasn't any heavy atmosphere as I was reading Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge. Such scenes include Yamamoto's ecchi, visualized thoughts and Yukisada's well aimed kicks at Yamamoto when she's irritated.

The art was drawn very well in defined lines; there isn't any type of smearing, except for some parts in the background. What's noticeable is the way the mangaka draw the male characters when they are surprised: they open their mouth wide, their faces elongate, and you can see each of their teeth individually. It made the characters look somewhat ugly, but you gotta admire the mangaka's detailed attention to teeth :P

Overall, Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge is highly recommended. The story was serious and touching, yet well-placed comedy scenes prevent the mood from being too heavy. A nice epilogue would be nice, but don't get me wrong, the ending's very conclusive and satisfying. read more

Negative Happy Chainsaw Edge, a very odd name for a brilliant manga. This is an action/romance story with some occasional comic relief. You may notice it is only 8 chapters, but don't let that turn you off - it ends just right.

Story - 10
This was a very quick ride at only 8 chapters but it played out perfectly. The story is, at heart, a teen romance with a sudden girl appearance (oh boy original! - I know). The twist on this one though, is that the girl fights some chainsaw-wielding maniac every night. The hero meets the heroine fighting the evil chainsaw man one night and is mystified by the experience and decides to follow her. The story's premise starts out pretty... 'not-so-unique' I guess?, but it quickly develops into an engrossing tale before everything comes full circle in the end.

Characters - 9
Theres 3 main characters and a couple side characters that are mostly limited to the hero's friends.
-Yousuke Yamamoto ~ your typical depressed teen who runs into the main heroine by chance. His depression stems from a recent death of someone close to him and so now he is searching for a reason to live. He initially follows Eri around on the pretense that "the situation is really cool and I have nothing better to do", but he quickly grows attached to Eri.
-Eri Yukisaki ~ the main heroine who fights the evil chainsaw man every night for the sake of justice! As she reveals more about herself, the story really gets interesting, but I cant really explain much without spoilers! (sorry, its only 8 chapters - most of it is revealing the characters)
-Evil Chainsaw Man ~ appears to be some chainsaw-wielding maniac at first, but as the story develops, even he holds a secret.

Art - 8
Well the art is nothing particularly outstanding, but it is well drawn. I'm not rating it a 10 simply because ive seen more attractive manga art.

Enjoyment - 10
The manga starts out as rather... "typical" as i said before, but it quickly ramps up as Eri and Yousuke grow closer to each other and you learn more about them and their darker pasts. Theres some fantastic comedic moments thrown in the middle as well to break up the drama once in a while. The only thing I didn't particularly like was why Yousuke initially follows around Eri, but the rest makes up for it.

Overall - 10
Highly recommend if you enjoy romance/action. An outstanding gem in my book. One of the highlights here is that its only 8 chapters, so even if it didnt end up suiting your tastes, the time investment is very low. Check it out! =)

**Side-note, I think this deserves an OVA release and honestly I'm surprised it hasn't gotten one considering the popularity of Welcome to the NHK! (same author). read more

Negative happy chainsaw edge. Truly an enjoyable experience. Its one of those manga where it starts out decently but then runs through to a climactic scene following a typical sad day.

The art quality was very good. Ive scene better(comparing to tony taka) but then again I have scene much much worse. The quality is quite good. There is one panel in particular which stood out detail-wise. Its a scene where the villain jumps down from a building and every brick is drawn out. There is also another scene showing the city or at least a part of it in great detail.

The characters were good. I can relate to the main character in that I find each day relatively boring and find myself wishing that something new and exciting "like in an anime" would occur. I can also relate to a love of battle. Somewhat :P

I completely enjoyed this series, short though it was. I would reread this again and Probably will later when it starts to fade. If I could find this in stores, it would be in my collection.

Overall, a great book. I didn't mean to use a phrase that has been already beaten to death but "this is a must read"... kinda. read more