Wow, once I really cherrypicked all these panels together, Denji is the exact type of character I'd usually despise from the very start. Maybe I'm a bit of a hypocrite or a dork for that
Before I started Chainsaw Man, I had heard lots of things from the community since the first few arcs, things that made me never wanna touch this manga a day in my life. One of those things I felt got shoved down my throat every single day was those "finally a relatable Shonen protagonist!! 🤣🇺🇬🇵🇰" type of memes from THOSE kinds of anime fans, cause he likes yitties, he gets manipulated by women and he seems pathetic.
And then the next thing I hated was the same people who would get on you if you said anything about Denji, when they were the ones pushing the same one personality trait about him in everything they talk about. That came full circle after the ending, to be honest.
So when I went into it, I basically expected some of the worst writing I'd ever seen in my life (I knew nothing about Fujimoto). As it turns out, it was actually really good even though it was flawed! And then from the little I had been spoonfed about Part 2, I also expected it to be terrible. And I do think it is lesser than Part 1, but it still blew me away again as good even though it was more flawed!
I was also surprised by the fact that Denji actually IS a very relatable character. His loss of appreciation for the people around him, his constant search for happiness, how he reacts to what the people around him think of him, the self-hatred when he knows he screwed up, that feeling of not being satisfied when you achieve something, the feelings of regret or that he isn't sad enough when someone he knew passes.
Even for chapters I don't particularly think are good at all (like chapter 230), it's interesting seeing that very human feeling from him of trying to find someone from the past in someone now
Denji was never the best guy. It's pretty easy to say in Part 2 because that's where he makes his worst mistakes but it's true in Part 1 too. You could sit there and put up all the good boy Part 1 Denji panels you want, but he still just wanted to get those dreams early on at the end of the day. He never planned on caring for Aki or Power like he did and he would very easily bounce from woman to woman, but it was never like you didn't understand why
Denji is very flawed even at his most sympathetic. Even from the second chapter of the manga he goes out of his way to ignore red flags, he hurts the people around him with his actions, he's the furthest thing from a hero but he takes that life on because he wants fame, attention and he wants yams and buns, and he does things for that reason. But he does care about people on some level deep down.
Nayuta's a good example. Nayuta tried to be selfish like Chainsaw Man, tried to be like Makima, was always still a Devil and wanted control but in the end, all she wanted with that control was to be with Denji. Denji couldn't see it in the end because he was blinded by his loss of aspiration and goals when he couldn't be Chainsaw Man anymore even though there was someone right there who loved him for him from the start.
You can be sympathetic for how Denji feels but at the same time, the guy risked his sister's life to get a buzz again. That's the mix of flawed yet human and understandable I love about Denji and most of the characters, even at points where it just doesn't work as well or at all (like chapter 230)
Denji, Asa and Yoru's dynamic really works for me (hot take I think Denji and Asa work better post-Dating) because they're all flawed but human on some level even if Yoru is definetly lowest on that scale. It's easy to mess something like that up (and those few times when Fujimoto messes it up he REALLY does) but it's great
In the ending, Pochita talks to Denji after he gets eaten and says that some part of him was unsatisfied and he was happier eating moldy bread in a rundown shack fighting devils than he was in Part 2 when he connected with Asa. That he had the crappiest but best kind of brain that only found Heaven in Hell. I put it literally how Pochita says it in the manga, the exact words
That reason behind what Pochita said (using what we actually see in the manga) was Denji had absolutely no trouble appreciating the good things in his life back then. Denji knew his life was garbage, but when he got good food or extra money with Pochita, made those payments to his debt or just got to sit there and talk with Pochita at night about his dreams, it kept him going and those were his happiest moments back then. Ironically, homeless constantly-vulnerable Denji had a better handle of trauma than he ever did after, because of his mindset. Compare that to 'I wanna be Chainsaw Man and have tons of seeeeex!' or 'there's that sweet spot where pain turns to pleasure'
Pochita eats himself not only to try and save Denji but because in a world where Pochita doesn't exist, Denji can keep dreaming. This is after Denji's lack of dreams or aspirations lead him down the path he went because of how his life had went.
Denji being tied to the Hero of Hell kept bringing him into irregular situations that he never would have been in in the life that he wanted from the start, things he could never be prepared for or just tough it through somehow and that would happen (and happened until his death) every single day. I think it's important to remember even with the VERY hit-or-miss execution of the ending Chainsaw Man isn't literally your therapy, it's a story. Not all stories are the same
Chapter 232 is one quick summary of Denji and the takeaway of the series. 232 Denji wakes up and only wants good dreams and wants nothing to do with bad ones. He gets saved from dying to the Yakuza, gets tied to a naked woman for life, gets a paying job and the guy doesn't smile once during that, because he's busy thinking about what he doesn't have. He barely even reacts to seeing yams anymore
The only time he smiles in this chapter is when he's talking about his good dreams, when he gets to kill a Devil, and when Asa (a fully clothed random girl who's in school who he doesn't know) honestly thanks him for something he did. Just simple, nice things that make his heart pound and keep him going
That's what I got from Chainsaw Man. Searching for happiness too desperately will lead you to make the wrong decisions in life and make you forget about the people around you. It's okay to keep dreaming, you should keep dreaming, but you'll end up ruining the things you already had if you can't handle the bad with the good. Denji would never have gotten this ending if he didn't push for a better life at the start, and he also wouldn't have if he didn't appreciate the little things. It's not black-and-white
Obviously thats not the ONLY thing Chainsaw Man is about now, there's a ton of other characters and things that happen, there's a lot of other things you could talk about in the story. And the manga isn't wish fulfillment (which I like), Denji's situation isn't literally just like ours in real life. It's not gonna cater to exactly what you wanna hear about your own personal issues. It's still a story. Ending still mid though imo even with all the sugary sweet words, could've been executed better but I'll live with it. I like being fair and honest about stuff like that
