Why is Chainsaw Man so popular even before his anime?

With more than 529 thousand users, the anime adaptation of the Chainsaw Man manga is already the most anticipated series according to the MyAnimeList platform , followed by the third season of Mob Psycho 100 with less than half this number. But how come Chainsaw Man is so popular even before its anime adaptation was announced?

Reddit user “ u/SuperAlloyBerserker ” wondered the same thing a few months ago, sparking an intense debate that included opinions like the following:

« It has to be the rarity. Yes, it breaks some clichés, and yes hybrid designs are a great original idea, but what really makes it is how real the “weirdness” is. The conversations are excellent and believable, especially when you see them from Denji and Aki's perspective. Makima is also very well written ».
" To me it's Fujimoto's beautiful storytelling, the character arc that Denji goes through is crazy, from having nothing and not caring to having everything that matters to him taken away in an instant and falling in love with the attention he didn't before. " he didn't care at all. All the fun and explosions are the vehicle that Fujimoto uses to tell his story of him ».
« Blood and gore have saturated the anime landscape since the 80s, if Chainsaw Man were just another bloody series, I doubt people would pay attention to it. I think the appeal is the dichotomy of the goofy and funny characters and their dark and gloomy setting ."
« I have voted for breaking the shounen clichés because it is the closest thing to my opinion. I like it not because it breaks the clichés, but because it actively plays with them. In the end Denji uses the power of friendship and love to defeat the villain. But both concepts twist beyond their extremes. Denji confides in his friends, but they are gone. He is alone. Denji's concept of love at this point is also so wicked and world-twisted, but it's still what achieves victory ."
" One thing that sets it apart from a lot of other shonens is that it doesn't have all those hateful monologues and bullshit that are so prevalent in other shonens. To me, Chainsaw Man is almost like a movie where Fujimoto uses vivid images and real dialogue to move the plot forward. The whole control demon arc is my favorite because of how good of a villain Makima is just because of his dialogue. “Shingeki no Kyojin” is my favorite manga and it still suffers from that monologue thing, “Jujutsu Kaisen” does that shit too and it gets annoying as much as I like it ».
« I think Chainsaw Man easily became my favorite manga because of its unique take on shounen. If I had to choose a specific reason, it would be because of "dying left and right". I'm so used to “script armor” and “timed” kills that seeing something like that was new and refreshing. Oh yes, and Kobeni ».
« For me it is the madness of history. Never has a series stayed in my head for so long after I finished reading it. Without giving away too much, there are a lot of scenes and lines, both from the first and last chapters, that haunted me when I first read the manga ."
« Well written characters. People who act like people. Things happen without being explained just because. Every punch, kick, or attack isn't accompanied by some stupid exaggerated name. The plot is well thought out and doesn't drag on too long. The designs are sick and creative ».
« I like it because it is delivered chapter after chapter. Compare it to something like One Piece, where sometimes you have to wait for entire arcs before getting the big expected reward. But with the man with the chainsaw, it won't be long before something mind-blowing turns up ."
« The main reason I like it is its exaggeration (I mean it's about a guy with chainsaws coming out of it), while also being able to tell an incredibly well-written story, with great characters. And it's full of crazy moments that couldn't happen in any other manga. It's kind of a cross between Fullmetal Alchemist, JoJo's Bizarre Adventure and One Punch Man, if that makes sense ."

Do you agree with any opinion? Which is yours?

Synopsis for Chainsaw Man

The story takes place in a world where Demons threaten the peace of humans, making them targets to be eliminated. Denji is a young and depressed man who has sold several of his organs and works as a lumberjack and demon hunter to pay off his deceased father's debt. Denji owns a dog (who is also a demon) named Pochita, who has chainsaws and which he uses to do his work.

This is explained because humans can make contracts with demons. After returning home from a job, Denji is called in by a Yakuza to infiltrate a building and assassinate another demon. However, the plan was a trap to kill him as part of a Yakuza contract with the demon, gaining them more power. But Pochita comes to Denji's aid and bonds with him, becoming a half-man, half-demon and acquiring Pochita's chainsaws.

Source: Reddit