After God Is the Chainsaw Man Successor Fans Didn’t Know They Needed

But one new-gen hit emerged during the pandemic era, launching August 2021 with a premise of a different cosmic menace than devils, curses, or smaller-scale immortals. In Sumi Eno’s After God, gods have invaded Japan, rendering much of its territory uninhabitable, telling a wild shōnen story of the humans who grasp the gods’ existence, while also trying to exterminate them.

Sumi Eno’s Dark Fantasy Manga Is Perfect for Chainsaw Man Fans

While not perhaps featuring the same overtly themed gods as a counterpart to Tatsuki Fujimoto’s iconic opus, After God similarly features a central organization, the Anti-God Science Institution, to combat its main foes. The deities in After God are frequently massive eldritch beings, with central enemies like Ahu’Az being incomprehensible cosmic horrors. But yet, humanity persists.

Despite their fight being effectively a suicide mission, as they’re forced to cover their eyes and mask up when facing these gods, Anti-God members hold their own. Such is the case when their veterinarian, Sachiyuki Tokigawa, finds the protagonist of After God, Waka Kamikura. Harboring a malicious god of her own, Waka seeks answers and vengeance for her friend mercilessly killed by the gods.

But instead of glorious action featuring the main characters overcoming the odds and awakening their own deadly abilities, much of the manga is spent by the Anti-God forces performing intense research and desperately grasping at ways to defeat the gods. But it turns out, unsurprisingly, that Waka’s inhabiting god, Alula, may be the key to turning the tables.

After God’s Visuals Are the Wildest in Shōnen Dark Fantasy

Beyond even just the incredible character designs easily evoking Chainsaw Man vibes, Eno’s visuals in After God perfectly compliment the heady psychosocial themes throughout the series. The main characters are easily unforgettable, from Waka’s easily distinguishable dual identities and Tokigawa’s design down to his unique eyepatch, to phenomenal cosmic enigmas like Ahu’Az and the tragic-yet-adorable Vollof, resembling a stuffed bunny.

In creating a battle between humanity and Lovecraftian-scale gods, Eno entered the challenge of creating a big enough nemesis that can’t be taken down with sheer grit or typical power-scaling. Gods like Ahu’Az believe themselves to be invincible, and their presence often results in panels featuring desolate hallways barely able to contain their gargantuan presence.

Yet, as seen in After God chapter #49, Eno proposes that, despite the living creatures called IPOs by humans call themselves gods, their status as lifeforms mean their complexities beget imperfection. Alula, Waka’s god, got other gods addicted to her drugs, with Vollof’s withdrawal being a striking image of their vulnerability that got Alula cast out.

Eno is able to create these impressive visuals in After God with a thorough understanding of each panel’s composition. This means particular emphasis on scenic depth like Vollof’s Alice in Wonderland-style psychedelic interlude; expressive characters reacting to paralyzing body horror like Waka and Alula; and how just two characters against a blank background command focus on impactful moments.

As a result, After God has crafted a world far too terrifying to be an escapist series, perfect for dark fantasy fans. Its central gods feature entrenched beings like Azu’Az, granting willing subjects a portion of its incredible divinity, but many leaving the occupied zone are notably child-like, concealing complexities like snake god Orokapi, or even eternally frustrated, obsessive beings like Alula.

It’s a brilliant series, and Eno deserves plenty of recognition for creating a story that’s refreshing, yet not letting go of its humorous spirit. Sillier characters like Nyababa easily break the tension, and it’s utterly disarming seeing Alula break down to Tokigawa’s bargaining. But there’s one caveat to this story’s excellence.

This Dark Fantasy Hit’s Publishers Are in the Middle of a Scandal

With primary issues resting not in any of Eno’s work, but rather, her employers at Shogakukan, particularly at MangaONE, which is the digital home in Japan for After God, reading this manga raises certain concerns among the readership and Eno herself.

Simply put, MangaONE quietly re-platformed a known sexual abuser, allowing him to work under a different pseudonym, and even recently acknowledged employing more than one with Tatsuya Matsuki, the creator of Act-Age. Eno not only expressed doubts about continuing the series should staff at MangaONE and Shogakukan continue to be complicit with this cover-up.

The 11th volume of After God, scheduled for release on April 17, 2026, has already completed proofreading for both the cover and the included manuscripts as of mid-February. However, due to the ongoing unresolved issues with Shogakukan and the uncertain outlook ahead, we have decided to postpone it for the time being. We deeply apologize for the inconvenience this causes to everyone who has been looking forward to the release.

Eno is even now addressing the uncertain future of After God, with even its print volume release being held back due to the ongoing scandal in place. She has further requested fans not to criticize or harass any authors who let their works continue during this scandal.

So with Eno, while it’s certainly great to celebrate her series, it’s key to be mindful of who benefits off financial support in light of current events. Reading monetized chapters on Comikey will mean partially funding Shogakukan, which some, including Eno, might not support until their investigation yields actual results and consequences. Buying volumes from VIZ Signature has similar effects.

However, beyond readers seeking alternative ways to read the manga in the grandest tradition, it’s best at the very least to support Eno during this time. She has an active presence on Twitter and Bluesky, and posts striking manga updates featuring her illustrations on Instagram.

Boosting any future statements of Eno’s can help make a difference in the ongoing controversy. Eno is refusing to let sexual abusers get away with their crimes, and appears not to want to contribute to platforms which allow them to hide away like Kazuaki Kurita did, with potential for their predatory actions to be swept under the rug. Every little bit helps.