The first season of Chainsaw Man aired back in 2022, and it was weird, right? It starts with Denji getting killed (he gets better) and getting his first kiss (it goes badly) before he ends up in a fight against a yakuza hitman made out of swords. But let me tell you, gentle anime-only fans, that Chainsaw Man is only getting started. Season 2 is where the show figures out how spectacularly weird it can really be.

Chainsaw Man Season 2 was recently confirmed. Following the success of the Reze Arc movie in late 2025, MAPPA announced at Jump Festa that we would be getting a second season of Denji, Power, and Aki. Though they didn’t say when that second season would be airing (probably late 2026 or 2027), they did confirm a slightly more important detail. Chainsaw Man Season 2 will cover the Assassins Arc from the manga.

Finally, we get to see Santa reach his full murderous potential.

Sure, that is a bit of a spoiler, but I figure it is just bizarre enough that, if you haven’t read the manga, you’ll still want to know what the hell I’m talking about. The Assassins Arc in Chainsaw Man is where the world starts to really expand and show the odd stuff that has become Tatsuki Fujimoto’s trademark. There are shapeshifters and fiend orgies abound, plus that all-important appearance by Santa Claus.

The thing that makes this arc work alongside the rest of Chainsaw Man is how it pushes the main theme of the series. Season one primarily introduces us to the depressing mess that is Denji’s world; he is used and abused by everyone around him because of his power, but no one really shows him any real affection other than Aki and Power. The Reze Arc shows how manipulated Denji is by the women around him. The thing that the Assassin Arc highlights is that, rather than being frustrated at this treatment, Denji honestly likes it. At least, he has convinced himself that he likes it, which is almost the same thing (only sadder).

Part of this is Fujimoto’s thinly veiled fetish for being stepped on, both proverbially and literally, which is why so many of the show’s female protagonists treat Denji so poorly. But the whole point of Chainsaw Man isn’t just that it is weird or violent. The whole series is built on how society is designed to control us. Denji is initially broken by the constraints of capitalism, forced to sell his body to pay off his father’s massive debt.
Remember, that’s not a euphemism; Denji has literally sold off his organs and even one of his testicles by the start of the manga to pay off his debt.

By the end of the Assassins Arc, Denji has gone even further down the road to devotion to Makima, in an absolutely mindless way that highlights how he is so utterly dependent on others to control and guide him. Because Denji is a tragic figure presented as a comedic hero. He is not interested in bettering himself in any way that isn’t directed by Makima. He is her willing and eager dog because that is what she and the rest of the world have decided he must be.

Of course, this being Chainsaw Man, we’re treated to a lot of weird imagery along the way. Again, I don’t want to get too bogged down in spoilers, but there are moments I had to read through a few times to wrap my head around. Particularly, the fight with the aforementioned Santa Claus goes to some dark places.

Now, I know that we’ve seen some odd stuff in Chainsaw Man so far. The Bat Devil in season one, for example. But season two is where a lot of the payoff for that buildup is. The Assassins Arc is the most fast and furious part of the Chainsaw Man manga, but it succeeds because it is also laced with tragedy and the oppressive truth that no one actually treats Denji as a person. 

And, again, everyone has to fight Santa Claus. 

Let’s freaking go.

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