Chainsaw Man is known for pushing its visual and audio presentation into chaotic territory, but one of the most unusual production experiments behind the anime happened away from the screen. Composer Kensuke Ushio turned to an experimental generative AI system to help create the chainsaw sounds that became part of Denji’s musical identity.

The technology, called ChainsawGAN, was developed with Sony Computer Science Laboratories for a very specific purpose. Rather than generating the entire soundtrack, it gave Ushio unusual chainsaw-based sounds that he could cut, process and weave into his compositions. The distinction is important—and it reveals just how unconventional the anime’s sound production could become.

Kensuke Ushio used AI to explore the sound of Chainsaw Man

At the centre of the experiment was a simple but difficult creative challenge: how do you create a chainsaw sound that feels as unpredictable and chaotic as Chainsaw Man itself?

Ushio approached the anime’s music with the concept of chaos, particularly when dealing with Denji’s transformation into Chainsaw Man. The character’s identity is closely tied to the aggressive mechanical roar of chainsaws, making that sound an important part of the series’ overall atmosphere.

Instead of simply recording an ordinary chainsaw and placing the recording into the soundtrack, Ushio wanted something less predictable.

That led to his collaboration with Sony Computer Science Laboratories (Sony CSL) and the creation of ChainsawGAN, a purpose-built generative AI system designed to produce chainsaw sounds.

The system was not created from scratch as an entirely new concept. Sony CSL had previously worked on DrumGAN, an AI system capable of generating drum sounds. Ushio was already interested in that technology and saw an opportunity to adapt the underlying approach to a completely different type of sound.

The idea was to replace drum-sound data with chainsaw recordings and allow the system to generate variations that would be difficult to achieve through ordinary sampling.

That became ChainsawGAN.

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How ChainsawGAN worked on the Chainsaw Man soundtrack

The development of ChainsawGAN brought together Kensuke Ushio, Sony Computer Science Laboratories and Sony Music Publishing.

But creating a specialised AI capable of generating chainsaw noises came with an immediate problem: data.

DrumGAN could learn from a huge collection of drum recordings, while obtaining suitable chainsaw recordings was considerably more complicated. The team had to gather appropriate chainsaw sound data and deal with the necessary copyright clearances before the system could be developed properly.

Once the system was working, it could take a rhythm created by Ushio and translate that pattern into chainsaw-like sounds.

Ushio demonstrated the concept through a rhythm he created using his own body. When that rhythmic pattern was fed into ChainsawGAN, the system could transform it into chainsaw-based audio while retaining the underlying rhythm.

The result gave the composer a new source of raw musical material.

But there is a crucial distinction: Ushio did not simply take whatever ChainsawGAN produced and drop it directly into the anime.

He explained:

“When I’m composing, I don’t use the chainsaw beat that I got from DrumGAN as is. I process it, cut it up and embed it deeply in the music”

That process placed the human composer firmly at the centre of the creative work. ChainsawGAN could generate unexpected sounds, but Ushio decided how those sounds would be transformed and where they would ultimately belong.

Why AI-generated chainsaw sounds mattered to Ushio

The appeal of ChainsawGAN was not simply that it could make a chainsaw noise.

Traditional sound production could involve searching through recordings, selecting samples, editing them and testing different combinations. That approach can become time-consuming when a composer needs a large number of variations for different musical passages.

ChainsawGAN offered another route.

The system could generate different tones and variations, giving Ushio the opportunity to experiment repeatedly until he found something that worked for the soundtrack. The chainsaw starter sound was one example of the type of variation the technology could provide.

For Ushio, this was more than a novelty.

He explained:

“At the very least, without this AI tool, I’d never have been able to meet the deadline for delivering the Chainsaw Man soundtrack.”

That comment gives the experiment an important practical dimension.

ChainsawGAN was not simply there to make the production sound futuristic. It helped Ushio explore a specialised sound palette within the time available to complete the soundtrack.

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A documented breakdown of the AI experiment

Detail	Verified information
Anime	Chainsaw Man
Composer	Kensuke Ushio
AI system	ChainsawGAN
Development partners	Sony Computer Science Laboratories and Sony Music Publishing
Earlier technology	DrumGAN
Primary purpose	Generate chainsaw sounds for musical experimentation
Human involvement	Ushio processed, cut up and embedded generated sounds into the music
Key creative concept	Chaos
Example of generated variation	Chainsaw starter sounds
Broader soundtrack	Not entirely AI-generated

Chainsaw Man’s soundtrack was not created entirely by AI

This is arguably the most important point to understand.

Saying that Chainsaw Man has an “AI-generated soundtrack” would be inaccurate.

The anime’s official production information credits Kensuke Ushio as the composer, while MAPPA handled animation production. The soundtrack consists of Ushio’s broader musical work for the series, with ChainsawGAN functioning as one specialised tool within that process.

Sony CSL’s documentation describes the AI system as being used during production of the Chainsaw Man soundtrack. Ushio, meanwhile, explained that he processed the generated material rather than using it unchanged.

So the distinction is straightforward:

AI helped generate chainsaw-related sound material, but AI did not compose the entire Chainsaw Man soundtrack.

That difference changes how the technology should be understood.

ChainsawGAN functioned more like an experimental creative instrument. It gave Ushio sounds and possibilities that he could manipulate, rather than replacing his role as the composer.

The goal was controlled chaos

The technology also fits the musical identity Ushio was trying to establish.

Chainsaw Man can move between harsh, noisy passages and quieter, atmospheric moments, and Sony CSL described the resulting music as reflecting the destruction and chaos associated with the series.

ChainsawGAN was particularly useful because it could introduce unpredictability into the sound.

Ushio has described his approach to music in terms broader than conventional melody, harmony and rhythm. As he explained:

“I’ve always thought of myself as a composer of sounds rather than melodies, chords, or rhythms, and ultimately, as one who can stir up a wide range of emotions in an audience with a single sound.”

That philosophy helps explain why ChainsawGAN made sense for the project.

The purpose was not to hand the creative process over to an algorithm. Instead, Ushio could use AI to discover unusual sounds and then shape those sounds into something emotionally and musically useful.

The AI material was heavily transformed before becoming part of the music

Another detail that can easily disappear when the experiment is described simply as “AI-generated music” is the amount of processing Ushio performed himself.

The chainsaw material was not necessarily intended to remain recognisable as a standalone AI output.

Ushio described cutting it up, processing it and embedding it deeply into the music. That means the generated sounds became part of a larger musical construction rather than functioning as untouched samples.

This approach also explains why listeners may not be able to identify exactly which moments were generated through ChainsawGAN.

The AI material could be transformed enough to become part of the overall sound design.

In that sense, ChainsawGAN was closer to a source of raw sonic possibilities than an autonomous musical creator.

ChainsawGAN was not a secret new revelation

The renewed discussion around Chainsaw Man and AI can make the experiment sound like a previously hidden production secret.

However, the available documentation shows that ChainsawGAN was already publicly discussed.

Sony Computer Science Laboratories published an extensive explanation of the project and the development of the system, including comments from Ushio and members of the technical team. Sony’s material explicitly described the AI tool’s use in creating the Chainsaw Man soundtrack.

The official Chainsaw Man website also credits Ushio for the anime’s music and has published information about the show’s soundtrack, including “edge of chainsaw.”

That means the current conversation is better understood as renewed attention to an already documented AI-assisted sound-production technique, rather than a brand-new disclosure that the anime secretly depended on artificial intelligence.

Why the Chainsaw Man experiment matters as AI use expands in anime and manga

The ChainsawGAN story has also gained renewed relevance because generative AI has become a much larger topic across creative industries.

AI is increasingly being discussed in connection with different stages of anime and manga production, including sound, illustration, animation, backgrounds and 3D assets.

The supplied material also points to Inio Asano, creator of Goodnight Punpun and Mujina Into the Deep, whose comments about AI have generated discussion surrounding manga production.

Asano has discussed the potential usefulness of AI for creating the large environments used in Mujina Into the Deep. His manga already uses 3D tools including Unreal Engine and Blender to construct environments, and he has discussed the possibility that AI could accelerate parts of that process.

However, his position should not be reduced to the claim that he is simply “refusing to work without AI.”

His comments concern restrictions surrounding AI use in professional manga production and the possibility that changes to those rules could affect his working process. Reports in 2026 have connected those comments with the series’ hiatus through 2027.

The broader discussion therefore involves different creators considering different applications of AI, while questions surrounding copyright, training data, authorship and professional standards remain part of the conversation.

What Chainsaw Man actually shows about AI-assisted anime production

The Chainsaw Man example is much more specific than the broad idea that AI is somehow producing anime on its own.

Ushio had a particular creative problem: he wanted chainsaw sounds with enough variation and unpredictability to fit the chaotic identity of the series.

A technical team adapted an existing AI approach to generate those sounds.

Ushio then selected, processed and incorporated the resulting material into his compositions.

The finished soundtrack remained a human-directed musical work, with ChainsawGAN serving as one experimental part of the production process.

For Chainsaw Man fans, the most accurate takeaway is therefore clear: yes, AI was used in making the soundtrack, but it was used specifically through ChainsawGAN to generate chainsaw-related sound material—not to create the entire score.

And considering how closely Denji’s identity is tied to that violent mechanical roar, the experiment became an unusually fitting way to explore the sound of Chainsaw Man himself.

Conclusion

Kensuke Ushio’s use of ChainsawGAN shows a very specific way generative AI could function inside an anime production. Developed with Sony Computer Science Laboratories and Sony Music Publishing from the concepts behind DrumGAN, the system generated chainsaw sounds that Ushio could manipulate and integrate into his music.

The AI did not compose the entire Chainsaw Man soundtrack, nor did it replace Ushio’s creative role. Instead, it helped him explore a chaotic and highly specialised sound palette while working toward the soundtrack’s production deadline.

That makes ChainsawGAN less a story about an AI-created anime score and more a documented example of a composer using an experimental technological tool to push the possibilities of sound design.

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Disclaimer

This article has been prepared based on thorough research of the sources provided in the supplied material, including Sony Computer Science Laboratories, Sony Music Group/Cocotame, the official Chainsaw Man website, VIZ, and ComicBook.com. The article reflects the information available from those sources and distinguishes documented production details from broader discussion surrounding AI in anime and manga. It does not imply independent verification beyond what the provided source material supports.

Sources

• Sony Computer Science Laboratories: The potential of the AI developed for Kensuke Ushio’s Chainsaw Man soundtrack
• Sony Music Group/Cocotame: ChainsawGAN and the Chainsaw Man soundtrack production
• Chainsaw Man official website: Staff and cast
• Chainsaw Man official website: “edge of chainsaw” soundtrack announcement
• Chainsaw Man official website: TV anime music information
• VIZ: Mujina into the Deep official series page
• ComicBook.com: Inio Asano’s comments on AI and Mujina Into the Deep

Featured Image Credit: MAPPA