The ecchi genre is still a controversial one for those new to the world of anime. We still hear newcomers say it's absurd how oppai are bigger than reality and how guys just fall into them like magnets are attached to their hands and said oppai. Older fans of the genre are accustomed to this, we know it happens, and we see oppai and ecchi like it is a normal element of anime. Chainsaw Man did something we haven’t seen in anime before to those who are watching the series, and that’s making ecchi a big part of the show without being the focus.

If you go on Tik Tok or even Instagram, you’ll see videos of guys and girls watching Chainsaw Man joking that they don’t understand how people can love oppai so much then two seconds later are mirroring the famous scene of Denji grabbing a certain someone’s chest—we won’t spoil who—and people are just not shocked or appalled. Power even plays with her own oppai and seemingly it’s a joke to viewers! Chainsaw Man might have begun to pave the way for newcomers to anime to finally see the greatness in ecchi and not just deem it as extremely perverse or obscene…even though it can be at times. We’re looking at you, High School DxD.

Many see Denji as a true hero. The man who becomes Chainsaw Man himself has been spoken of in forums and Twitter posts as being a true saint of an anime protagonist. Is it because he really wishes to save the world and beat down evil devils? No. Denji is loved because he is probably one of the most honest and straightforward protagonists we’ve seen in a long time. Denji starts off trying to scrape a few Yen together to buy bread and live in a shack. The minute he was given a chance to be somewhat taken care of—like a dog mind you, he jumped for it and all so he could touch oppai and do perverse things as a secondary form of payment.

Denji does begin to grow further as a protagonist—as many of us do in real life—which makes him a truly relatable hero despite his special ability. Could it be possible that we’ll see more anime take Denji’s archetype and infuse them into the MCs because they know people will relate to and understand their struggles—as many experience the same situations in the real world?

Remember the 90s or even the early 2000s? Anime was really apprehensive about showing too much oppai touching or ecchi that went too far, especially in series that were mainstream. Yes, we saw fondling and panty/bra scenes but we didn’t see women in anime—especially if they were tough—flaunting themselves excessively. Yoruichi from Bleach was a strong woman who didn’t mind showing off her naked body but a lot of that was censored and was meant to be playful since it is a shounen series.

Chainsaw Man has both Power and Makima who are strong, tough, and aren’t afraid to do some rather raunchy things! Power gropes herself to tantalize Denji and Makima even flaunts her looks to convince Denji he’s getting something, good fighting devils and evil people. Yet none of these girls are damsels in distress. They can hold their own in combat and aren’t afraid to jump into combat if they need to! Chainsaw Man made sexualized females who are not mere sex dolls, girls who can kick butt and won’t stand by idly while being ogled at! We absolutely love strong women and that’s why we aren’t complaining at all about the sexy Power/Makima cosplay out there.

Hulu, like many other non-anime-focused subscription services—is more recently promoting its anime library which grows by the day. Hulu subscribers have no doubt noticed that the promotions of Chainsaw Man on their front pages and even adverts, is something revolutionary in its own right. Hulu sees the love people are having for this series and aren’t afraid to shower others with ads to make them want to watch it.

We mentioned a moment ago that many are watching Chainsaw Man because they saw it randomly on their homepage. This is for people who aren’t even watching anime on Hulu! Chainsaw Man is being advertised heavily and that could possibly be showing a wider acceptance of trying to get non-anime fans into the world of Japanese animation!