In shonen and seinen anime alike, a popular trope is the "half-other" protagonist -- a hero who is half human and half something else, usually something monstrous. Popular examples include the half-demon hero InuYasha and Eren Yeager, who is both human and a Titan Shifter. Often, direct comparisons between these half-other characters can be made, revealing more about their true nature.

Denji, the protagonist of Chainsaw Man, is anime's most recent half-other character. He was once a human teenage boy but is now the devilish Chainsaw Man, a gruesome and brutal fate he never asked for. Denji's life story has remarkable parallels with that of Ken Kaneki, the half-ghoul antihero of the famed seinen title Tokyo Ghoul. However, one of these half-other boys is more compelling and nuanced than the other.

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The Life of Ken Kaneki, the One-Eyed Ghoul

Ken Kaneki in Tokyo Ghoul's anime promotional art with his eye patch and mask.

Ken Kaneki is a seinen protagonist who once thought he'd live an ordinary life as a college student, until the sinister ghoul Rize Kamishiro attacked him one fateful night. After this violent encounter, Dr. Kano implanted Rez's organs into Ken, morphing him into a half-ghoul by design. Ken realized almost right away that he looked human but was now something else, from his rejection of human food to his ravenous hunger for flesh and his supernatural strength. Ken was a half-other with a ghoulish left eye, meaning he had to give up his ordinary human life for good. Now he must embrace the ghoulish underworld -- a place of violence, hungry predators and thought-provoking moral ambiguity.

Ken did more than power up as a half-ghoul with his own kagune, or combat-oriented appendages. He learned that some ghouls are innocent, just like many humans are, and CCG investigators like Kureo Mado and Kotaro Amon unfairly targeted the innocent ones. Ghouls are a mixed bag, just like humanity itself, and indiscriminate killings will never make the world a better place for either ghouls or humans. Ken sought to unite the two feuding sides, which had more in common than they realized.

Along the way, he was tortured brutally, which awakened his true ghoulish side, and he started fighting for real against both ghouls and CCG investigators. Ken clung to his reconciliation mission, but he was on the verge of losing himself to wrath and hunger, becoming the very monster he sought to eliminate. However, in the end, he found a balance between his two selves after losing and regaining his memory, creating the peaceful world he had longed for.

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The New Powers & Lifestyle of Denji, the Human Chainsaw Devil

Denji changes into Chainsaw Man in Chainsaw Man.

Denji the wily antihero is another half-other protagonist who didn't ask to become a partial monster but was given no choice. One night, Denji was lured into a trap, and the zombie devil, working with the mob, butchered both Denji and his devil dog Pochita. They seemingly died, only for them to fuse and create a unique entity: the human devil now known as Chainsaw Man. Denji isn't a devil or even a devil/human hybrid, but rather something entirely new -- something with a human mind but devil powers. This prompted the cunning, enigmatic Makima to hire him as a rookie devil hunter and put his bizarre talents to good use.

Denji is also like an anti-dreamer, having very modest and simple desires that reflect the incredibly humble, impoverished life he had once led. Denji aims not to become Hokage or the symbol of peace, but to eat bread with jam, have a real bed to sleep in and get himself a girlfriend at long last. Career-wise, Denji is powerful but lacks arrogant pride, instead willingly becoming Makima's "dog" and following orders without question. As a half-other, Denji knows that he's just a tool and a living weapon, unable to return to mainstream society. Fighting devils and seeking simple pleasures are all he's got, and like Ken, Denji must embrace his powers without losing his remaining half of humanity. If he loses the "man" of Chainsaw Man, Makima may put him down like the wild dog he is.

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Ken Kaneki vs. Denji: Who's the Better Half-Other Antihero?

Ken Kaneki snaps his fingers in Tokyo Ghoul Root A

Chainsaw Man's Denji and Tokyo Ghoul's Ken Kaneki both have serious merit as memorable, monstrous half-others, but in the end, Ken Kaneki is the better hero. He and Denji have many basic things in common, but the key difference is that Ken is deeply compelling on his own, while Denji is appealing because Chainsaw Man, as a whole, is an enticing shonen deconstruction. Put another way, Denji is cool because Chainsaw Man itself is cool, meaning Denji is contextually an outstanding half-other. Of course, Denji is still a great character thanks to his relatable, humble dreams and his sense of humor, and most of all, his dazzling chainsaw powers. However, Ken can do more.

Ken has even cooler powers than Denji, and a better getup too. Besides that, Ken has more thematic depth, such as his more emotionally and philosophically nuanced struggle with his two halves. This also echoes society's own struggle to reconcile its ghoul and human sides. Ken's personality was warped by his brutal ghoul nature, but he also retained his noble humanity, making him almost like two characters in one while remaining cohesive as a single entity during his dark but noble quest. All this makes Ken anime's finest half-other antihero.