Norman Reedus has a new anime obsession, and he has video game legend Hideo Kojima to thank for it. The American actor—known for playing Daryl Dixon in The Walking Dead and Sam Porter Bridges in Kojima's Death Stranding games—revealed at Hong Kong Comic Con this weekend that he's been watching Chainsaw Man after Kojima personally recommended it.

"There's Chainsaw Man, which Hideo Kojima told me about," Reedus told GQ Hong Kong. "He said it was his favorite." The actor added that he first checked out the series during a recent flight to Japan, marking his introduction to the anime.

Reedus clearly made an impression during his initial viewing. When asked which anime superpower he'd want for himself, he didn't hesitate: he chose Reze's ability from Chainsaw Man. "I'd be able to just blow things up with my mind," he explained. "I'm very destructive."

The endorsement comes as Reedus appears as a special guest at Hong Kong Comic Con 2026, which ran from May 29-31 at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Center. It's a fun reminder that anime's reach extends well beyond dedicated fans—even Hollywood actors and gaming auteurs are getting in on the action.

Chainsaw Man has built a passionate fanbase since its manga debut, with the anime adaptation earning widespread acclaim for its distinctive animation style and faithful adaptation of Tatsuki Fujimoto's source material. The series follows Denji, a young man who becomes a hybrid human-chainsaw demon after merging with a chainsaw devil named Pochita, thrusting him into a world of devil hunters and supernatural threats.

Kojima's recommendation adds another layer to Chainsaw Man's cultural penetration—the legendary designer behind Metal Gear and Death Stranding clearly sees something special in the series worth sharing with his collaborators. And if the series can win over someone like Reedus, who's spent decades in horror and action entertainment, it says something about the anime's broad appeal beyond the typical anime fandom.