A collection of Tatsuki Fujimoto manga that bridge the gap before Chainsaw Man and the early ideas for that series can be seen here. The story about Nayuta that fans of Chainsaw Man will recognize in the newest volume of the series. Fujimoto has an iconic artstyle, always bold but sometimes very beautiful and delicate to participate in the story about mermaids. His greatest strength is his framing which is always very dynamic and doesn't adhere to the expected panel structure of manga. The stories don't really have time to develop as they're ones shots but he does a lot in a short time.

Will be very popular in my library, as my patrons are already big chainsaw man readers. Interesting to see an array of different types of the authors writing.

An interesting set of stories, slightly hit-or-miss. I enjoyed the mermaid story most - their casual viciousness adds a good lesson: just because a creature is beautiful doesn't mean it won't try to eat you if it gets the chance! I didn't care for the gender swap story, it didn't really go anywhere. The devilish little sister was pretty good, I wouldn't mind another story or two about her and her brother, and the final story about the two artistic sisters was just okay. The art throughout was great, and overall, this was a good read, if a little uneven.

#TatsukiFujimotoBeforeChainsawMan2226 #NetGalley

Thanks NetGalley, VIZ Media, and VIZ Media LLC fornthis arc.

1.5/5 stars rounded up

I gave this 1.5 because i liked the first story about mermaids. The rest was a mess. Waking up as a girl syndrome, wtf is this? "Girls can't have sex with other girls so you should date my brother instead!" WTF IS THIS?! The murderous girl with horns that can speak but only with like violent terms, lol. And the one about the sisters and the nude paintings 😭😭😭 BRUH WHY. PLUS the story about the goldfish at the end?! Just.... WHY BRUH

Honestly this is the second thing I've read by Tatsuki Fujimoto and I also disliked the other thing and I don't plan on ever reading anything by him again

3.5 stars

I enjoyed this short story collection for the most part, though a big part of this could be because I enjoy Fujimoto's style of manga. There was really only 1 story in this volume that I can say I loved, while I was indifferent to the others. There were some questionable things that happened in these stories, and I'm glad this isn't my first exposure to Fujimoto's works.

Tatsuki Fujimoto will forever be known as the author of Chainsaw Man, which began publication in 2018 and has been one of the most successful titles published in the manga magazine Weekly Shōnen Jump, the home of One Piece and My Hero Academia. This manga was so huge that it made MAPPA’s TV anime adaptation one of the most anticipated releases. There hasn’t been confirmation about a second season being developed yet; luckily, there’s plenty of Fujimoto’s other material to check out until then, including the latter half of his two-volume anthology collection of one-shot stories that he wrote and drew.

Just like 17-21, Before Chainsaw Man: 22-26 covers four stories that the artist told during that age period in his life, before Chainsaw Man and even his first long-running title Fire Punch. It’s worth noting that with all these stories, the quality in the art varies, but it is here where Fujimoto develops his style with young innocent looking characters living in mundane surroundings, going through some journey that has a supernatural edge.

Starting off with possibly the most conventional story from the whole anthology as “Mermaid Rhapsody” is your typical boy-meets-girl-who-just-happens-to-be-a-mermaid narrative. Whilst there is a hint of horror that always lingers, which is the fear of humans being eaten by a mermaid, it is really about a boy so disconnected with his normal life that he only solace in playing a piano underwater, where he befriends a certain mermaid. Fujimoto loves doing coming-of-age stories and although this isn’t as insane as his most popular work, there is a gentleness to storytelling that sometimes goes unnoticed, and that is definitely the case here.

Arguably the best title in this collection as “Woke-Up-as-a-Girl Syndrome”, whose title pretty much sums up the story as Toshihide is now suddenly a girl with no chance of a cure and tries to adjust to this new transition whilst still having a girlfriend and being bullied in high school. Readers will be divided over the story’s approach to gender identity and relationships, from Toshihide trying to figure out who they want to be, to the boys objectifying them, even disgustingly proposing sex. It still maintains a light-hearted tone with moments of levity, particularly Toshihide’s girlfriend and her brother, both of which pack a punch.

Out of the four stories here, “Nayuta of the Prophecy” is the closest to Chainsaw Man’s melancholic insanity, in which Kenji is determined to protect his younger sister, who is prophesied as being a mage that will bring about the end of the world. Along with Fujimoto’s art balancing the cinematic with the surreal, Nayuta looks like a character that could have existed in the pages of Chainsaw Man, from her horned, magic-sword producing appearance to her quirky, sadistic personality. The ambiguous outcome is oddly touching, seeing a young man who would rather let the world burn than let anyone harming his sister, who might be the greatest threat of all.

The relationship between siblings continues the final story, “Sisters”, narrated by Mitsuko who is plagued by a nude painting of herself that is presented in her school for her fellow students to look at. Revealed that it was her little sister who did the painting, Mitsuko exacts revenge by doing a nude painting of her. Essentially a precursor to Fujimoto’s masterpiece Look Back, it is ultimately about one girl realizing how much an inspiration she is to her own sibling, even if it means being overshadowed by her.

Like the previous volume, Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 22-26 feels like a preview for what Tatsuki Fujimoto will eventually do, but does feature better stories that are varied through art and themes.

These were fantastic stories! I really enjoyed the last story about the two sisters and the one about the girl with the horns. But they were all good! I will definitely be reading more of these stories by Tatsuki Fujimoto!

Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 22-26 is the second compilation of one shot manga by Tatsuki Fujimoto, the creator of Chainsaw Man.

Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 22-26
Written by: Tatsuki Fujimoto
Publisher: Shueisha Inc.
English Publisher: VIZ Media
Release Date: April 18, 2023

This collection includes four one shot manga, which were drawn when Fujimoto was between the ages of 22 and 26 (hence the 22-26 in the title).

The first one shot in this volume is “Mermaid Rhapsody.” The story focuses on a middle schooler named Toshihide, who is the son of a human and a mermaid. Toshihide has no memory of his mother, though, so he’d like to meet a mermaid, even though humans believe that mermaids eat people. There’s an underwater piano built by mermaids that can make sound underwater, and Toshihide skips school in order to play it. Since he’s part mermaid, he can stay underwater longer than regular humans, but he still has to eventually come up for air. One day, a mermaid named Shinju who’s been watching him play rescues him as he’s going to drown. Toshihide offers to teach Shinju how to play the piano to pay her back, since there aren’t any mermaids who know how to play the piano anymore. The relationship starts off kind of rocky, but after Toshihide and Shinju form a friendship, something unexpected happens that changes the dynamic. According to the note at the end of the story, Fujimoto explains that Jump SQ. editorial said that he couldn’t write a normal story, and he wrote this one to prove them wrong. When compared to the one shots that appeared in Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 17-21, this is definitely a more normal story. This story also shows at this point that Fujimoto’s writing had gotten stronger, as did his art style.

This is followed by “Woke-Up-as-a-Girl Syndrome,” and it’s basically what the title says: a boy named Toshihide (it’s not the boy from “Mermaid Rhapsody,” even though they share the same name) wakes up one day and he’s now a girl. Unfortunately, there’s no cure for this syndrome, so Toshihide has to deal with the confusion of trying to live as a girl. Toshihide had been seen as a “crybaby” prior to this incident, and now the boys who teased Toshihide are trying to take advantage of the situation now that Toshihide is a girl. But Toshihide is saved by Akira, who is the brother of Toshihide’s girlfriend, Rie. But after being saved by Akira, the situation between Toshihide and Rie becomes awkward. This story seems to be Fujimoto’s attempt to focus on a transgender character, and he does a decent enough job with it, considering it’s a short story. It could have been a little better, I think, but considering the page length for a short story, there wasn’t as much space to truly delve more into Toshihide’s gender confusion. If Fujimoto could have had more page length to do a one-volume story, “Woke-Up-a-a-Girl Syndrome” probably would have been a little stronger.

“Nayuta of the Prophecy” is the story where the character on the front cover of the volume comes from. A young man named Kenji is raising his younger sister, Nayuta, alone. There was a prophecy saying that a mage will be born with horns that lacks a human heart, will speak unintelligibly, and one day will destroy the world. Nayuta is born with horns, and everyone in the town thinks she is the child of prophecy and want her destroyed. As she gets older, it can be seen that she speaks unintelligibly, uses magic, and does things that show she doesn’t seem to have a human heart. When Nayuta does something that affects the livelihood of one of their neighbors, Kenji tries to take the blame for it. But as we see, Nayuta does something that shows that she does think about her brother and has some kind of heart in her after all, and this becomes important for the climax of the story. In a note for this story, Fujimoto says that Jump SQ. editorial told him that he can’t write unique characters, so he wrote this story to prove them wrong once again. Nayuta is definitely a more unique character than the others that have appeared in his other works. The story itself was also interesting and kept me wanting to read more in order to find out how it was going to be resolved.

The final story in this collection is “Sisters,” and it’s about two sisters who attend the same art college. The younger sister won first place in the school art contest, and it’s a painting of the older sister in the nude. Since this was the first place entry, it’s hung up at the school entrance for the entire school year. When the student body realizes that the subject of the painting is a student at their school, she has to endure other students commenting about the painting to her. This leads to a confrontation between the two sisters, and the ending sees the older sister teaching the younger sister a lesson. As you can probably tell from this description, there are some panels of female nudity because of the younger sister’s painting. “Sisters” is an interesting look at a sibling relationship, especially one where the siblings aren’t that close anymore, but the younger one is still trying to chase after the older sibling in the hopes of being like them. According to the note Fujimoto has at the end of the story, he says that “Sisters” is foundational to his later one shot, “Look Back.” I’ve already read “Look Back,” and I think I think I understand where Fujimoto is coming from when he says “Sisters” is foundational to “Look Back.”

Just like the previous volume of one shots, Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 22-26 is a quick, yet enjoyable read. When compared with Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 17-21, these stories seem much stronger. Considering that all four of these one shots were done after the ones in the previous volume, it makes sense that these would come across as stronger works. As a set, these two volumes of one shots show Fujimoto’s evolution as a mangaka over the course of nine years. The four stories in Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 22-26 have more in common in both its art and storytelling with Chainsaw Man than the stories in Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 17-21. I appreciate seeing that these two volumes of one shots were released in order to give fans of Tatsuki Fujimoto and/or Chainsaw Man insight into Fujimoto’s earlier works.

If you’re a fan of Tatsuki Fujimoto and his work, I would recommend reading both Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 22-26 and Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 17-21, in order to get the fullest appreciation for Fujimoto’s work and evolution as an artist.

Another fun collection of short stories following up the "17-21" book. These ones felt much more adult in nature. I was intrigued by the "Woke Up As A Girl Syndrome" one because, even though Fujimoto may not have meant to, he kind of captured what it feels like to be trans and/or have body dysphoria.

My favorite story was "Nayuta of the Prophecy" because I really like the silliness that he captured in the sadness of the overall plot.

These are surprisingly good stories that only show off how far Fujimoto has come and how far he will go. Some of these stories definitely do have elements of Chainsaw man, but each one stands out individually enough. There are so many strange concepts, with outlandish sci-fi to laugh out loud comedy bits that will have you rolling. Also, Fugimoto is able to take the most of normal situations and make it relatable to the reader which is a talent in itself.

*ARC provided by NetGalley in return for an honest review*

Outside of disliking sisters (one of the many short stories), this compilation of mini stories was really enjoyable! I think Nayuta of the Prophecy is the closest to the style and dark-humor of chainsaw man… plus the brother and sister relationship reminded me a lot of the fatherly relationship a certain character had with two chaotic characters in chainsaw.

22-26 continues our journey through Tatsuki Fujimoto's growth as an artist and storyteller. The art definitely looks better than 17-21 and the storylines are much more character/relationship-based. I'm not even going to try explaining what goes on in their head, but Fujimoto has a knack for stripping bare human desires, whether emotional or carnal, and translating them to the page. The results are wild, but it's art. (I received a free ARC from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for my honest opinion.)

Another fun collection of shorts by the creator of Chainsaw Man. the subject and themes are as varied as the last collection. For me, the standouts were "Woke-up-as-a-girl-syndrome" and "Nayuta of the Prophecy." Woke-up says some very interesting things about gender norms, and about physical attraction in a short page count. Nayuta is a sweet, if twisted tale about trying to connect, forget what fate has to say. I like how even in a "normal" manga story, like Mermaid Rhapsody, Tatsuki Fujimoto still has creative flares that are distinctly his. Fans of "Look Back" can see a lot of similar themes in the last story, "Sisters."

Ok. I did not like this collection. I really love 18-21 and Chainsaw Man, so I figured I'd love this as well and was unpleasantly shocked by all but the first story. The Mermaid story is sweet and twisted, which seems like Fujimoto's MO. The second 'woke up as a girl' story seems incredibly problematic (like, it seems like it ALMOST strays into progressive 'gender is a construct' territory, but it also really, REALLY doesn't), 'Sisters' is also problematic AF, and the cover-art-featured story is a very mixed bag (though it definitely has shades of themes that Fujimoto explores further in Chainsaw Man).

Very unique and bizarre read. I can see why Fujimoto is popular if this is any indication of the uniqueness. Not my style though.

Like the last volume, this collection features one-shots from the author’s earlier years. While it’s a nice look into the younger mind of Fujimoto, the 22-26 era feels a little less distinct.

Tatsuki Fujimoto Before Chainsaw Man: 22-26 contains four stories new to western readers. Mermaid Rhapsody is about a boy who plays piano for a mermaid while navigating the ravenous nature of the species. Woke-Up-As-A-Girl-Syndrome’s about a man who wakes up as a girl to the shock of him, his girlfriend, and everyone else. Nayuta of the Prophecy puts our protagonist in charge his sister who bring about the end of the world. Finally, Sisters asks the question, “What if your younger sister draws you nude and it wins awards?”

One of these is not like the others. However, it’s not for the reason you think.

The problem I have with this volume is that all these stories are inferior to Fujimoto’s later works. Woke-Up-As-A-Girl-Syndrome? Togata’s arc in Fire Punch is a much better exploration of gender roles. Nayuta of the Prophecy? Chainsaw Man’s redesign is a better starting point. Even Sisters with its goofy take on one-upping each other is more emotional when Look Back does it. (Fujimoto evens says Sisters is foundational to Look Back.) Oddly enough, Mermaid Rhapsody becomes my favorite of these one-shots because there isn’t a distinct parallel.

The art style feels more in line with his serialized work (which makes sense, considering he’s found his style). However, it makes the anthology feel too similar to each other, which doesn’t make for an entertaining read. Also, the last story has some uncomfortably sensitive elements regarding its subject matter, and I felt like both sisters were unlikeable.

If you’re a fan of Tatsuki Fujimoto, it’s worth a read. However, I would recommend the first collection if you could only choose one.

Like the previous volume, the short stories here continue to highlight the artistic development of Tastuki Fujimoto. Here, the art and stories are more refined, more closely resembling the work he'd become famous for with his artistic inclinations coming into clearer focus (Fujimoto himself even draws an explicit parallel between the story 'Sisters' and his later one-shot 'Look Back').
Some stories in this collection are rougher than others, but they all have a strange heart to them that speaks to an intrinsic need for connection with others that follows through to his work today (even in Chainsaw Man).