Chainsaw Man

Chainsaw Man (the 2022 anime adaptation by MAPPA, covering the first major arc of Tatsuki Fujimoto's manga) follows Denji, a broke, downtrodden teenager burdened with his late father's massive debt to the yakuza.

His only companion and friend is Pochita, an adorable dog-like Chainsaw Devil who helps him hunt lesser devils for cash (which mostly goes straight to paying off debts). Denji's dreams are extremely basic and relatable: eat good food, maybe get a girlfriend, and live a normal life.

After a brutal betrayal by the yakuza, Denji ends up killed—but in a desperate act, Pochita merges with him, becoming his heart. Denji is revived as a hybrid (part human, part devil): Chainsaw Man, able to sprout chainsaws from his head and arms to shred enemies in incredibly gory, over-the-top fashion.

He soon gets recruited by Public Safety Devil Hunters (a government organization that employs devil hunters), where he joins a team of eccentric, powerful hunters and starts taking on increasingly dangerous devils while chasing his simple desires amid chaos, violence, dark humor, and surprisingly heartfelt moments.

The anime is known for its wild action, bizarre characters, emotional depth under the insanity, and a tone that mixes extreme gore with slice-of-life weirdness. Season 1 (12 episodes) adapts the Public Safety arc, and there's a movie that came out later adapting the Reze/Bomb Girl arc.

Super fun, messed-up, and addictive if you like high-energy shonen with a dark twist!