The official twitter account of Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence used a Chainsaw Man illustration to highlight the use of HIMARS in its efforts against Russia on July 31, 2022.

Tweeting a modified illustration of Chainsaw Man manga’s volume 1 cover, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence wrote, “Today #HIMARS has a Ukrainian heart beating inside of it. Today #HIMARS wears Ukrainian military uniform.”

The picture portrays Denji equipped with HIMARS instead of his usual Chainsaws.

Today #HIMARS has a Ukrainian heart beating inside of it. Today #HIMARS wears Ukrainian military uniform. pic.twitter.com/XmuXZ5HSoj

— Defence of Ukraine (@DefenceU) July 31, 2022

The post elicited mixed response from fans, as some believed using Chainsaw Man or in fact any manga for spreading war propaganda was unfair.

Ukraine doesn't need to use Japanese characters as propaganda in order to win a war, I promise you.

There are people dying all over the world, you aren't special and aren't owed access to everyone's intellectual property just because your conflict is popular with the media.

— Joshua (@NewTypeOfGuy) August 2, 2022

“prop·a·gan·da
/ˌpräpəˈɡandə/

noun
1. ⁰information used to promote or publicize a particular political cause or point of view.”

it is propaganda, not saying its wrong tho, but it is ironic since csm is anti-war

— Kunjo (@KunJoMama) July 31, 2022

However, others argued that cartoons and comics have been used in such situations for a long time, even during the World War.

According to a twitter user, the illustration was originally made by user @yurskiy_fella and was meant to be used as a meme. However, it the Ukrainian ministry of Defence decided to repurpose it.

Another fan felt that Ukraine would certainly win the war on the internet.

Comment from discussion ProfessionThin9928’s comment from discussion "Official page of the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine just posted the HIMARS-man".

HIMARS, or the M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket System, was given to Ukraine by the United States to better equip in their battle with Russian invaders. It is essentially a long range high precision rocket launcher which can be used to hit targets in the radius of 80 km.

According to the Insider, Ukraine had repeatedly requested for long range artilleries to fight effectively. The United States responded by sending the war stricken country 12 HIMARS, which Ukraine claims would help them fight back effectively.

Chainsaw Man is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto. It was serialized in Shueisha’s Weekly Shōnen Jump magazine from Dec 2018, with its chapters collected in eleven tankōbon volumes. As of December 2021, the manga had over 12 million copies in circulation.

The second part of the manga began serialization on July 13, 2022, with the first chapter crossing 2.5 million views on Jump+ within the first day.

The manga was nominated for the 13th Manga Taisho awards in 2019, and ranked at #4 on the Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2020 (This Manga Is Amazing!) guidebook’s top manga for male readers. The manga won in the Best Shōnen Manga category at the 66th Shogakukan Manga Awards in January.

Additionally, the manga topped the Kono Manga ga Sugoi! 2021 list for male readers. Chainsaw Man also won the Best Manga award at The Harvey Awards in October 2021.

Source: Ukraine Ministry or Defence official Twitter account.