When Bandai Spirits and Tamashii Nations announced an S.H. Figuarts Chainsaw Man action figure, the anime figure community lost its collective mind — and for good reason. Chainsaw Man, Tatsuki Fujimoto’s blood-soaked Shonen Jump+ manga turned MAPPA anime sensation, is exactly the kind of chaotic, gore-forward property that lives or dies on how well a toy captures its manic energy. The S.H. Figuarts Chainsaw Man Denji figure first launched in Japan in April 2022, arriving alongside the anime’s early hype cycle before MAPPA’s series even finished airing. It stands roughly 5.9 inches tall, and depicts Denji in his transformed, chainsaw-headed devil-hunter form rather than his mild-mannered human self. Bandai later revisited the mold in a 2024 re-engineered release (and a subsequent Denji & Pochita reissue) with newly sculpted upper-body proportions to sharpen his silhouette and widen his range of motion even further — a sign of how much Bandai’s internal team kept iterating on this character even after the initial launch.

Sculpt and Paint Applications:

Right out of the box, the figure nails Denji’s proportions: the lanky teenage build, the oversized Public Safety devil-hunter jacket, and — most importantly — the jagged chainsaw motor jutting from his chest and the twin chainsaw blades mounted on his head. The sculpt captures the chaotic, almost feral silhouette that makes Chainsaw Man such a striking design compared to more traditional shonen protagonists.

Paint apps are where S.H. Figuarts figures traditionally shine, and this one mostly delivers. The jacket’s weathered texture, the yellow devil eyes, and the chainsaw blade’s metallic sheen are all clean and well-masked, with minimal bleed even around tight panel lines. That said, some collectors and reviewers have noted that later Chainsaw Man releases in the line — like Power — lean a little too heavily on bare, uncolored plastic to define costume details rather than actual paint, giving certain areas a slightly “toy-ish” look rather than the painted finish you’d expect at this price point. Denji himself fares better than Power in this regard, since his color-blocked jacket and boots hide unpainted plastic more effectively.

Articulation:

If there’s one thing nearly every reviewer agrees on, it’s that articulation is this figure’s biggest selling point. Bandai gave Denji an unusually wide range of motion in the shoulder and hip joints specifically to replicate his frenetic, off-kilter fighting style from the anime — think wild haymakers and lunging chainsaw slashes rather than clean martial-arts poses. One toy blogger summed it up bluntly, calling the figure “ridiculous” and adding that the articulations allow for insane posing, and he just looks awesome in any pose. The interchangeable lower jaw is even ball-jointed at its base, so you can flare Denji’s chainsaw-mouth open at different angles rather than being locked into a single “screaming” expression. It’s a small touch, but it’s the kind of engineering detail that separates a great action figure from a merely good one.

Accessories:

Accessory loadouts have varied slightly between the original 2022 release and the updated 2024 Denji version, but the core package is solid for a figure in this price bracket:

• Interchangeable expression parts — the original release includes swappable lower-jaw pieces (including a screaming variant), while the updated Denji figure expands this to four full face plates
• Multiple pairs of interchangeable hands — two pairs on the original figure, expanded to five pairs on the newer release, including hands designed to clip onto the arm-mounted chainsaws
• A face-covering hand piece, useful for recreating Denji’s more unsettling manga panels
• An optional necktie part for standard devil-hunter uniform poses
• A starter cord accessory, referencing the rip-cord pull that triggers Denji’s transformation
• An axe and a rolled-up magazine, small but thoughtful nods to specific scenes from the source material
• In the Denji & Pochita bundle, a fully separate Pochita figure with two swappable expressions

One clever engineering choice: the interchangeable hands split into two halves that clip onto either side of the forearm chainsaws, letting you swap hand poses without having to remove the entire arm blade. It’s a small design win that a lot of competing lines still haven’t figured out.

The Chainsaw Man S.H. Figuarts line has expanded to include Power, Aki Hayakawa, Katana Man, and Samurai Sword, alongside a separate, more static “Figuarts ZERO” PVC statue line for characters better suited to a single dramatic pose than full articulation. For a franchise as visually specific as Chainsaw Man — where the “cool” factor comes from Denji’s design looking genuinely dangerous and unhinged rather than heroic — the S.H. Figuarts sculpt threads the needle well. The proportions track closely with MAPPA’s anime interpretation rather than Fujimoto’s rougher manga linework, which makes sense given the figure launched alongside the anime’s marketing push. Small details, like the tongue’s ball-joint or the exact tooth spacing on the chainsaw blades, show that Bandai’s sculptors referenced actual production materials rather than working from static promotional art alone.

How It Compares to Other Chainsaw Man Figures

Vs. figma Power (Max Factory): Released around the same window as Bandai’s Power figure, the figma version makes for a useful comparison point across the line. One detailed comparison found that the sculpt is far better on the Figuarts, but the paint and finish is superior on the figma — a trade-off pattern that’s fairly common between these two rival articulated-figure brands.

Vs. Nendoroid Denji (Good Smile Company): The Nendoroid takes the “super deformed” chibi route rather than a realistically proportioned figure, but it’s surprisingly accessory-dense, including swappable transformation faceplates, a starter rope, an articulated jaw with a tongue part, and interchangeable chainsaw arms — plus a tiny Pochita. It’s a cheaper, more playful alternative for collectors who want the character without the higher price tag or shelf footprint of a Figuarts release.

Vs. Pop Up Parade Denji / Chainsaw Man (Good Smile Company): These are static, non-articulated PVC statues rather than action figures, priced around ¥4,800 (roughly $32), making them a budget-friendly display option if posability isn’t a priority. The Pop Up Parade Chainsaw Man variant in particular leans into a more dramatic, arched-back transformation pose that the fully articulated Figuarts can also replicate — just with far more flexibility.

Within the S.H. Figuarts line itself: Fans frequently pair Denji with S.H. Figuarts Power and the newer Aki Hayakawa release, since the figures are engineered to scale with one another, making it easy to build out the Devil Hunter squad on a single shelf.

Pros:

• Exceptional, borderline over-engineered articulation in the shoulders and hips
• Clever hand-swap system built around the arm-mounted chainsaws
• Strong overall sculpt fidelity to the anime’s character design
• Soft-plastic joint solutions that hold up to repeated posing

Cons:

• Accessory count feels slightly thin relative to the asking price
• Some paint application areas rely on bare plastic rather than full paint coverage
• Pricing has crept upward compared to typical S.H. Figuarts protagonist releases

At the end of the day, this is a figure built by people who clearly understood what makes Chainsaw Man’s title character visually compelling: chaos, momentum, and a fighting stance that looks like it could fall apart and reassemble itself mid-swing. It’s not a flawless release — the price-to-accessory ratio is a legitimate gripe, and Power’s paint issues suggest Bandai’s Chainsaw Man line isn’t immune to cost-cutting — but as a display piece and a poseable toy, the S.H. Figuarts Chainsaw Man Denji figure earns its spot as one of the more dynamic action figures currently representing the franchise. For hardcore Chainsaw Man collectors chasing screen accuracy and posability, it’s a easy recommend; casual fans who just want a shelf-friendly likeness may find better value in the cheaper Pop Up Parade or Nendoroid alternatives.