Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man is a sensation that has gained further popularity after receiving an anime adaptation that was part of the Fall 2022 anime lineup. While banking on the real-life architecture from the contemporary time, the worldbuilding includes monsters and supernatural beings that add a layer of excitement to the series. However, among the many questions that fans of the series ask, one particular query that is often found includes the timeline of Chainsaw Man.
Part 1 of the series is canonically set in 1997 but in an alternate timeline where the Soviet Union still exists. Although it is difficult to understand most of the character’s date of birth or other important events, the Gun Devil and its appearances throughout Part 1 of the series are an important signifier of the time in the Chainsaw Man-verse.
Note: This article contains spoilers from the Chainsaw Man manga.
A detailed inquiry into the timeline when the Chainsaw Man-verse begins
The Gun Devil from Chainsaw Man pic.twitter.com/MDB3dnA6VZ
— Radio (@Negative_Bloom) July 1, 2020
Given the technology and architecture, Chainsaw Man seems to have a late-20th century setting. The obvious resonance of this period can be found in the series through the manga panels, where certain unspecified geographical locations in China, the USA, or Germany had been used.
Aside from that, the Chainsaw Devil’s presence is a huge factor in the change of timeline. As mentioned by Makima in the manga, the Chainsaw Devil has the power to consume other Devils or Fiends, the result of which leads to the disappearance of certain abstract concepts or things from that world. An example of this is found when Kishibe is unable to recall certain historical events like the existence of nuclear weapons, Nazis, the Holocaust, and AIDs. On the other hand, Makima is able to recall the names of several erased concepts. Moreover, one of War Devil’s main goals is to make the Chainsaw Devil vomit the Nuclear Weapons Devil.
Seems like the War Devil's ability is to make a weapon out of anything it touches. Its goal to make Denji spit out nukes is probably to make people more afraid of war, as nuclear war doesn't exist anymore. #chainsawman #CSM98 pic.twitter.com/9lEDByFcoo
— Dino (@dinoskiLoL) July 13, 2022
Although unclear as to when exactly the aforementioned real-life events took place, if they coincide with the timeline of our world, then it can be presumed that the 1980s have already passed. This is further supported by the removal of the knowledge of the AIDS epidemic, whose awareness emerged in the year 1981 with scientists’ discovery of the virus in parts of New York and San Francisco. Next comes the knowledge of the Soviet Union, whose dissolution didn’t take place in this world, as opposed to ours. While the effect of the Cold War wasn’t felt in the manga in the strictest sense, it could be related to the existence of the Soviet Union as a global power in the Chainsaw Man-verse.
However, the USA still enjoys the status of being the global superpower. In fact, the control it wields on international affairs is due to its major connection to the Gun Devil. In the list provided in the manga about the nations possessing the body of Gun Devil, the Soviet Union is the leading country with 28%. This is followed by the US and China’s share of 20% and 11%, respectively. The remaining 37% are in the possession of the other devils, while 4% is scattered among the rest of the countries. Now, an interesting thing to note here is that despite having the majority of the story set in Japan, the country itself doesn’t enjoy any prominent position in the Chainsaw Man-verse.
https://twitter.com/fIameoffrenzy/status/1276558086644301829
On pinpointing the exact timeline of the Chainsaw Man, one can resort to the appearance of Gun Devil once again. In the latter half of Part 1, Gun Devil appears, and the time that is recorded in the timestamps is crucial to understanding the date. According to the panels, Gun Devil appears at exactly 3: 18: 21 pm JST on September 12 in the year 1997. Technically, in Chainsaw Man, this is the first-time readers see Gun Devil appearing for a few seconds in Nikaho, Akita Prefecture, Japan. However, this raises the question of World Wars and if it had existed. World Wars had been a major incident that saw the use of heavy weapons and artillery, so the absence of Gun Devil is strange. On the other hand, World Wars would be a likely possible outcome given the Nazis and Holocaust were mentioned.
Coming back to the topic, the Gun Devil first appeared 13 years before the present events in the manga. This makes 1984 significant. In the same year, a gun warfare to combat the Devils led to the appearance of Gun Devil that wreaked havoc in the world within a few moments. In Japan, the Gun Devil killed 57,912 people within the span of 26 seconds. Here, a young Aki lost his family (consisting of his mother, father, and kid brother). On the other hand, the US saw 548,012 casualties within 2 minutes and 4 seconds. The other nations whose death numbers were recorded include:
- Soviet Union – 155,302 dead within 3 minutes and 30 seconds
- China – 316,932 dead within 32 seconds
- Canada – 8,481 dead within 7 seconds
- India – 29,950 dead within 15 seconds
- Mexico – 6,088 dead within 2 seconds
- Hawaii – 780 dead within 0.4 seconds
One of the best Chainsaw Man chapters.
The depiction of the Gun Devil as this force of nature is so harrowing and the use of a numeric deaths with the TIME those deaths happened within adds to that. pic.twitter.com/GECiEhsqO7
— aaron (@aaronzyeager) August 24, 2020
Though events before September 1997 have been seen in Part 1, September 12, 1997, becomes a crucial point in the manga from where one can map the characters’ age. However, unlike Part 1, Fujimoto doesn’t provide clarity on the time in the Part 2 events. It is deduced by the fandom that given the conclusion happening in late 1997, which saw the defeat of Control Devil Makima by Denji, there has been a substantial gap for him to recover, sort out things in life, and start school as a high schooler. Therefore, Part 2 may have started with the next year, i.e., 1998.
