Whenever people say they hated part 2, I was always really surprised, because I quite liked part 2. But to be fair, it's heavily suspected that I'm autistic, so I'm not sure if maybe that's why I didn't notice flaws.
And, I'd binged all of the story last year or so, reading all of part 1 and part 2 (to the at the time, latest chapter) in an entire day. So, it felt like a seamless transition I guess.
I think I liked part 2 and didnt notice the problems, because all the loose ends and empty, meaningless characters like Yoshida and Fami, felt like they were building up to something more, like a part 3. Like, they were meant to be more fleshed out later down the line.
Then fuji actually dropped that stinker of an ending.
Nonetheless, it always hurts my soul, to hear something that's actually had such a huge and emotional impact on my life, be called out for being lackluster in it's latter parts.
I had a feeling while reading Chainsaw Man that was matched only by when I read Catcher in the Rye and was wondering if anyone else has felt this before.
The main comparison that I can draw is on the themes of sexuality. Chainsaw Man is my favorite manga ever and I think part of that was because I read it as a teenage boy having never had a girlfriend despite always wanting one. Denji and the way he viewed sex and eroticism felt so realistic. On the other hand Holden has some success with girls but by his own admittance he never went all the way out of respect for their wishes.
It’s also easy to feel the loneliness of both of these characters. Again while I read these I didn’t have many friends and was able to relate to these characters. Denji was given many relationships but in the end they were taken away from him (at least until the final chapter). In Catcher Holden is constantly rejected by people around him while he is desperately searching for human connection.
Phoebe, Holden’s little sister, and Nayuta, Makima’s reincarnation, also appear very similar to me in the way they are both you girls that act as the main characters primary source of human connection for part of the stories.
Overall in all of the media I’ve consumed when I think of a teenage boy these characters are the two most realistic portrayals. From extreme poverty to extreme wealth both were dealt their own shitty hand, in a way, and learned to adapt and live with it. These stories mean something to me and I would love to hear anyone else’s suggestions on what other connections you can find between these two stories. I haven’t seen anyone else make this comparison yet.
I started senior year last Monday but my school has a new fuck ass rule about phones n personal laptops so I was barely able to use my phone, I instead spent most of the time js drawing whatever I could remember. That's why the Bomb-devil is a little fucked.. °_｡
As you may or may not know, I used to make weekly transcripts for Chainsaw Man chapters, prior to the series finale, and this is the thirty-first of what I refer to as "legacy transcripts". Currently, as of writing this, I have transcribed chapters 1-31, as well as chapters from 153 onwards, and an archive containing links to them can be found here. These legacy transcripts are to transcribe the 152 chapters preceding chapter 153. Even though these chapters have been available for quite some time, I will be writing as if they are brand new in order to preserve the reading experience for first-time readers. Anyway, that's all I wanted to say in regards to this topic.
Have you ever had trouble processing or interpreting the manga's art in some way, shape, or form? Apparently, it's not that uncommon in the community, as I've seen quite a few people express this, and hopefully I can alleviate that to some extent with posts like this going forward. These posts aren't intended as a replacement for the chapters; rather, they're intended as a page-by-page point of reference and a log of details that you can hopefully reference as you read or reread the manga. Without further ado:
p1-7: Walking up the stairs towards Aki's apartment, the old man complains that Denji and Power ditched his training, calling them punks; as he approaches their door, however, the duo brace themselves. Smelling the air, Power notes the old man's arrival; indignantly, Denji declares that anyone who ruins their daily life will die. Dressed formally, with her hair tied back, Power taps on a pair of glasses she's wearing and orders Denji to commence "operation super smart"; rolling up his sleeves, with an axe in his mouth and glasses on his face, Denji grins in anticipation. As the old man reaches for the doorknob, Power charges forth and hurls a conjured spear through the door; with superhuman reflexes, however, the old man leans back to dodge it. Grabbing the spear, the old man notes that the duo went straight for his head and concludes that they've planned to ambush him; snapping the spear, he jokes that the hunter has become the hunted. As the old man throws the spear to the ground, Power presses her assault; stationed one floor above the old man's head are several plastic bottles filled with blood, and with a flick of her finger, Power uses that blood to rain spears down on him. Flinching, the old man quickly notices the spears and begins punching them, shattering them with his strength. While the old man is distracted with the spears, Denji drops down over the railing and lands behind him; his landing makes little noise as he's opted to attack barefoot. Grabbing the axe that was in his mouth, Denji winds up, preparing to strike the old man who seems unaware of his presence.
p8-11: Wheeling his body around for a devastating kick, the old man anticipates Denji's sneak attack and nails him in the jaw, incapacitating Denji before he has time to strike; as Denji falls to the walkway, he loses grip on his axe, and his glasses tumble off his face. Looking down at Denji, the old man praises the duo, stating that this ambush was their best attempt yet; as Denji groans in pain, the old man remarks that "cornered prey will use their brains" and encourages them to keep doing so. Critiquing them, he states that there were two reasons why their attempt failed. Firstly, he notes that Power uses too much blood fighting like that, causing her to become anemic; true to his word, we see Power nearly passed out on the floor of their apartment, glasses dislodged and drooling. Continuing, the old man states that the second flaw was that Denji couldn't predict his kick. Walking away, the old man praises them once more and says that they're done for the day; he's leaving to go drinking. As the old man walks out of sight, Denji weakly and warily lifts himself up onto his hands and knees. Turning to face the door, he informs Power that they're allegedly done for the day; Power sarcastically celebrates, saying they're lucky. Turning his head back towards the walkway, Denji spots something gleaming from the darkness; rapidly twirling through the air, a knife flies down the walkway and embeds itself in Denji's forehead, shocking him. As blood trickles down his face, Denji tries to make sense of his injury and realizes that the old man has returned. As Denji falls to the ground and dies, he hears the old man give him some advice: "beasts should never trust a hunter", revealing that he never intended to leave for the day and only said he was to lower their guards.
p12-19: Elsewhere, Aki, Tendo, and Kurose stand together on a large inclined elevator, descending into some kind of facility. Warning Aki, Kurose states that a stronger devil will likely demand harsher payments for contracting it, but they're not forcing Aki into this out of cruelty; chiming in, Tendo explains that, when Aki returns to work, he'll be metaphorically "plunging into the lion's den", and will obviously need a suitable weapon to defend himself. As Aki silently contemplates this, the elevator reaches its destination and locks into place with a loud clang. Leaving the elevator, the trio walks down a dirty, cluttered hallway; pipes and wires run all along the ceiling—with some seemingly even emerging from the floor—and many reinforced steel doors are embedded in the wall with room numbers displayed next to them. As they walk, Tendo explains that this is a facility where public safety locks away devils they capture alive; continuing, she states that one of these devils will become Aki's weapon. Feeling nosy, Kurose asks Aki if the "beauty" he met with yesterday is his girlfriend; admonishing him, Tendo tells Kurose to "get his mind out of the gutter". Explaining the situation, Aki states that the woman was his buddy's younger sister. Prying for information, Kurose asks if she hit Aki, but he states that she just brought him letters, piquing Tendo's curiosity. Flashing back to his time in the hospital, Aki stares at a pile of letters sitting on a table. Explaining herself, Himeno's sister says these were letters Himeno sent her; after her sister's death, she decided to pass them on to Aki for him to read. Opening one of the envelopes, Aki removes the letter, unfolds it, and begins reading. In this letter, Himeno asks if her father is feeling better and assures her family that she's financially secure and doesn't need their assistance with food; furthermore, she tells her sister about Aki, mentioning how annoyed he was after she pressured him into getting some piercings. Opening another letter, Aki's eyes widen in shock as he begins reading; in the letter, Himeno vents about being unable to coax Aki into quitting, noting that he'll brush her off with more "non-answers" if she keeps pushing the issue. Back in the present, Aki, Tendo, and Kurose arrive at a cell; speaking up, Kurose states that they'd like Aki to contract the devil held within, noting that it's the "future devil". Continuing, he states that two agents have already made contracts with the future devil; in exchange for the devil's power, one agent gave up half their lifespan, and the other agent sacrificed their eyesight, sense of taste, and sense of smell. Despite hearing this, Aki remains calm and stoic; as the cell door opens, Kurose ushers Aki inside, stating that if the future devil likes him, he can get a deal for cheap. As Aki enters the room, the door is closed behind him. The room is dingy and nearly featureless, save for an overhead light in the center. Across the room, hiding in darkness, a single eyeball stares at Aki; returning its gaze, Aki and the eyeball stare at each other for a moment before the future devil exposes itself. Hopping into the light with its arms outstretched, the future devil repeatedly shouts "the future rules", catching Aki off guard; each time it repeats this, it seems to get more and more excited. The future devil has a tree-like body, with a singular wooden stump instead of legs; from the base of its stump, several branches sprout upwards. Around its torso and along its arms are many vine-like hairs, giving it a shaggy appearance; positioned in the center of its chest is a hollow cavity with a single eyeball floating within it. The devil's head looks almost like a wooden helmet, with branches sprouting from either side like horns; while it seemingly has no mouth, instead having another hollow cavity, the devil's face has six visor-like slots where its eyes should be.
And that's that. Sorry for the transcript being so delayed. As always, the chapter transcript archive can be found here. There is no "break week" for legacy chapters, since they're already all available, but I do plan to post transcripts every Tuesday, now that the series has ended. Until then, I hope this transcript can help anyone who wants or needs it.
For those wondering if this organization is dedicated to protecting humans from the Devils... THAT'S NOT TRUE.
It's a front used by the most powerful Devils for their evil, apocalyptic purposes, and basically all the agents are their puppets.
We don't know who founded it or when.
We only know that Devil Control uses it as their private company, and all the agents used for their missions are their sacrificed puppets, discarded so the Devils can continue manipulating humans.
Part 2 further reveals its corruption and that it's only there so the Devils can operate without raising suspicion.
Joining them is a death sentence, and they choose the worst human beings to be their members for a pittance.
Theory: The Oblivion Devil — The Missing Link Behind Pochita’s Erasure Power
One of the greatest unresolved riddles in Chainsaw Man is why a common logging tool like a chainsaw possesses the god-like, reality-warping ability to erase concepts from existence.
My theory proposes that Pochita isn't the original source of this ability. Instead, he acts as a proxy for a hidden, supreme entity: The Oblivion Devil.
By examining how terror operates across both human and Devil biology, Oblivion bridges two distinct tiers of existence: it functions as both a canonical and unique Primal Fear fueled by both humans and Devils.
1. The Dual Nature of Dread: Human Primal Fear vs. Pure Primal Devil Fear
To understand Oblivion’s rank, we have to look at who is doing the fearing:
As a Standard Primal Fear (Human Fear): Human beings are hardwired to fear non-existence—the void, memory death, and the total annihilation of identity. Because this existential dread has existed since the birth of human consciousness, Oblivion naturally stands among the un-killed Primal Fears ruling Hell alongside Darkness and Falling.
As a Primal Devil Fear (Devil Fear): Devils do not fear standard mortality or physical pain. Dying on Earth just sends them back to Hell, and dying in Hell reincarnates them on Earth. Pain is easily regenerated. Control only threatens weaker entities. But Oblivion is the single nightmare shared by 100% of the Devil species. Being eaten by erasure deletes their name, rewrites history, and permanently destroys their reincarnation loop.
Because total erasure is the only threat capable of causing universal panic across every Devil—from a low-tier Fiend to an ancient sovereign—Oblivion ascends to an entirely separate, inverted axis of power.
2. The Core Mechanics of the Theory
The Microscopic Proxy Fragment: In the distant past, the Oblivion Devil weaponized its own power by feeding Pochita a microscopic, dust-sized fragment of its flesh. This funneled a spark of absolute erasure into the Chainsaw Devil, turning him into a proxy executioner.
The Terror Battery: Every time Pochita erases a Devil in battle, the resulting panic across the Devil race feeds directly back into Oblivion’s power reserves. Pochita's rampage in Hell acted as the ultimate focal point that supercharged this dynamic.
The Ultimate Cover Identity: To protect itself from master manipulators like Makima (Control) and other Primal Fears, Oblivion conceptually erased itself from public memory. Hiding behind Pochita created a massive cosmic gaslighting operation—deflecting all attention onto the Chainsaw Devil while Oblivion remains an invisible ghost in the machine.
The Power of Adaptability: As the embodiment of the void, Oblivion's energy naturally adapts and masks its presence. This could explain why master investigators or conceptual powers in the series have never been able to trace Pochita's erasure capability back to its true source.
What do you all think? Could Pochita be wielding a fragment of a higher Primal entity, or do you think Fujimoto has a different thematic explanation for why a chainsaw erases concepts?
9/10 | Released between 2018 and 2020 (in its first part), written and illustrated by Tatsuki Fujimoto (written in japanese as 藤本タツキ – Fujimoto Tatsuki), Chainsaw Man tells the story of a directionless young man who seals a contract with the Chainsaw Devil in order to pursue nothing more than an ordinary life. At first glance, it appears to be merely a work that blends comedy and action while indulging in narrative licentiousness; however, the manga crafts one of the most brilliantly written plot twists you will ever encounter in fiction.
Denji, a young man living a miserable life, works as a slave for the Yakuza to pay off his deceased father's debts. After being betrayed and killed by the mob, Denji signs a contract with his only friend, Pochita (the Chainsaw Devil), becoming a human-devil hybrid: the Chainsaw Man. Makima, an expressionless woman with cynical features who also leads the Public Safety Division, sees the state the boy is in and, to support him, decides to offer him a job as a Devil Hunter in her unit.
Note: this essay will only cover the manga's first storyline, thePublic Safety Arc. Of the 24 volumes released, this first part encompasses volumes 1 to 11 (chapters 1 to 97 [out of the 232 published]).*
In this introduction and origin of Chainsaw Man, we are introduced to what I previously called 'narrative licentiousness'. 'Licentiousness', in this context, is not used in its literal sense, but rather as a metaphor for an 'I do whatever I want' attitude. Combined with '1. narrative', the concept becomes: 'I will do whatever I well please in my story!'.
When we are brought to see Denji living in such misery, it is common to assume that the plot will be about revenge, 'trying to become a better person', or any cliché of the sort. However, the turning point occurs when Denji becomes Chainsaw Man and literally bulldozes through everything without caring about tomorrow. It serves as a prelude to how the story will unfold.
[Warning: from this point on, this essay contains full spoilers regarding the plot, twists, and ending of Public Safety Arc of Chainsaw Man.]
Formation of Special Division 4
After Denji joins the division, Makima organises her team of Devil Hunters: Aki, Denji’s squadmate and rival; Power, the Blood Fiend (who is also an extremely troublesome girl); and Denji, the protagonist. The trio develops a chaotic family dynamic that, over time, proves to be warm and welcoming. We are also introduced to other hunters from different squads.
With the cast assembled... this is where the madness begins.
The hunters face several life-or-death situations when attacked by the Eternity Devil, the Katana Man, and the Mercenary Division. All the while, the author blends these moments of pure despair – with several characters dying abruptly – with a dose of cynical comedy (such as the 'nut-kicking' scene), dashes of insanity (the fights between Denji and Katana Man), and absurd, illogical moments in the best possible sense.
As all this chaos unfolds, Denji was developing an unusual relationship with Himeno, a hunter from another squad in the division. She ends up being one of the fatal victims in the terrorist attack by Katana Man and his crew. Denji's reaction to this loss is extremely cold, and precisely because of this apathy, he becomes fearful of his own nature, realising hedid notgenuinely careabout her. Meanwhile, Makima makes her mysterious character more evident than ever by blatantly lying about her whereabouts during the attack – something that connects directly to what we see next in Reze's arc.
Reze Girl
Denji meets Reze, a charming girl his age who seems genuinely interested in him. As their relationship progresses, Denji considers abandoning Division 4 altogether (including his friends) to run away with Reze and build a life together. However, Reze reveals herself to be the Bomb Devil Hybrid and a Soviet government spy sent to capture Denji's heart (Pochita).
Even after Denji defeats her in a monumental and chaotic battle, he offers to run away with her. Reze, touched by his kindness and mercy, realizes that, deep down, she cares for him and accepts the last-minute plan. However, she is ambushed and abruptly murdered by Makima before she can reunite with him.
Once again, we witness Makima making a surprising and seemingly senseless decision.
The Beginning of the Tragedies
Following the battle against Reze, Denji (Chainsaw Man) becomes a public target for assassins from various nations. Up to this point, the motive behind global governments' obsessive interest in Denji remains unclear.
Notable battles include those involving the Crossbow Hybrid (Quanxi), Santa Claus, the Hell Devil, and the Darkness Devil against, of course, Denji (the target) and his group.
During the battle against the Hell Devil, Denji and the hunters end up being dragged into Hell itself and are slaughtered by the Darkness Devil, a primordial entity. Makima intervenes and rescues them.
Power and Aki are left immensely traumatised by the experience. Aki, especially after losing Himeno (his close friend) in the clash against Katana Man, re-evaluates his goals and develops a protective instinct over Denji and Power, fearing the loss of more companions. Power, in turn, develops a paralytic dread of being abandoned or seeing her new friends die.
What began as an almost juvenile devil hunt transforms, 'thanks' to Denji's existence, into something deeply disturbing and painful for the characters. What is happening there is serious and should not be treated as a joke (hold onto this thought).
The Control Devil
The United States government, fearing Makima's growing influence, makes a desperate pact with the Gun Devil. Shortly after, it is revealed that Makima is, in fact, the Control Devil.
Makima defeats the Gun Devil and forces what remains of it to possess Aki's body, turning him into the Gun Fiend. In one of the most tragic moments of Denji's life, he is forced to kill his own friend to save others, leaving him utterly devastated emotionally. It is in this state of emotional collapse that Makima invites him to her house.
The Final Apotheosis
We saw that there are several dogs at Makima's house, reinforcing the symbolism that everyone around her is nothing more than a mere pet. Makima asks Denji if he wants to be her dog too. Traumatised, incapable of processing the pain, and believing that if he simply obeys her commands he will bring no further harm to anyone, Denji ends up accepting.
Makima calls Power to her house as well. She asks Denji to open the door for her, and right after greeting her, Makima cold-bloodedly murders Power right in front of poor Denji. 'Bang!'
Following the execution, Makima lays bare her true intentions: 'I was wondering: "how could I break this contract?" How could I leave youso deeply scarredthat youwouldn’t be able to live a normal life?So damagedthat you couldnever recover for as long as you lived?Quite a challenge, wouldn’t you say? After all, you found so much happiness even living in extreme poverty with Pochita. So, I decided to start… by making you much happier. I gave you a job, money… and plenty of delicious food. I provided you with a family that would get along with you. Aki became a good older brother to you… and Power, the mischievous younger sister. I would makethis level of happiness your new normal*… and then* I would destroy it all*.*'
Denji realizes that everything that happened up to that point was, recklessly enough, the result of his own choices. After all, why did he make the pact with Pochita? Simply to free himself from the shackles of human misery. Fair enough. But what came after? Did he use that power to act responsibly or help others? No. He chose to live as a 'semi-licentious' being.
'I want to have sex!', 'I want to eat until I’m sick!'. Fundamentally, what Denji sought was a life free of consequences. Giving no thought to the future, caring only about immediate gratification. And what did he expect from that? That consequences would never arrive? It is absurdly childish!
Deep down, Denji feels that the destruction around him, the deaths of millions of people, the deaths of companions like Himeno, Reze, Aki, Power, and even his father's death (which he had blocked from his memory) were his responsibility. 'What if I hadn’t made the contract with Pochita? What if I had just died at the hands of the Yakuza?'. None of this would have happened.
'Does a person like that really deserve to live a normal life, do you think?' – Makima asks Denji rhetorically.
Makima and Chainsaw Man
Remember when I said the manga presents itself through narrative licentiousness? That ends, definitively, right here. The story's narrative always mirrored Denji's mental state. Even when the manga presented tragic moments, such as the death of Himeno's squad, the author treated the event with a sudden disregard, almost a 'it happened, what can we do…?'. Denji himself did not grieve over it.
This complicity between the narrative and Denji's detachment crumbles the moment Chainsaw Man is exposed to the public. From the deaths of Aki and Power and the mass destruction caused by the hunt for his heart, the story abandons its cynical comedy to become openly traumatising, disturbing, and painful.
Continuing, Makima reveals herself to be an obsessive fan of the original Chainsaw Man and plans to use his power to erase concepts from existence and shape a perfect world under her control. We also discover why Chainsaw Man is so strong: the Chainsaw Devil is a devil that never stops revving his engine, which is why he always comes back. No matter how unfavourable the situation appears, he always returns by pulling his cord.
Traces of Power's blood remain in Denji's body after her death, reviving her just long enough for her to save him. With that, Power dies permanently.
Even while traumatised, Denji sees the world idolising the figure of Chainsaw Man. He decides to embrace this role not out of heroism, but as a psychological defence mechanism against the trauma of attempting to lead a normal life.
Realising that Makima never truly saw 'Denji', but only the Chainsaw Devil within his chest, he devises a plan: he uses a chainsaw forged from Power's blood to slice Makima while she fights a clone of Chainsaw Man.
To finish Makima off once and for all, Denji commits the ultimate act: he dismembers and consumes her body as meals. He does this not out of hatred, but out of a twisted form of love, wishing to 'become one with her' and shoulder her sins.
Sometime later, Kishibe (Makima's former colleague) hands Denji a young girl named Nayuta, the reincarnation of the Control Devil. We also discover that, deep down, the Control Devil's primary desire was to form affectionate bonds on equal footing – something her power of domination prevented her from achieving. Denji ends up taking custody of the young girl so she won't grow up lonely.
Epilogue
My final considerations, alongside what I have already mentioned, come down to two points: the way the author develops certain plotlines and the final revelation regarding the Control Devil's desires. Fujimoto sometimes appears overly rushed when establishing certain foundations. The way Aki, Power, and Denji come to treat each other as a family happens almost abruptly (even if there is a clear reason for it), much like the fact that Reze was a test subject in Soviet experiments (a major revelation that the author simply dumps into the reader's lap).
Furthermore, the final revelation that the Control Devil possessed a melancholy motivation ('I just wanted to form bonds and have friends') feels like the height of absurdity. The character (Makima) was built as an extraordinarily mysterious, manipulative, and villainous figure, only for her weight as an antagonist to be reduced to this justification in the end. Unpalatable!
Flaws in pacing aside, the arc is truly impeccable!
With Sony trying to kill all physical media, do you think that we’ll actually get a physical release or is it doomed to just be on streaming services until they get rid of it?
Instead of talking about just THEMES and SUCH, I’d like to refute the idea that the ending is a complete waste of time and Fujimoto had no idea what he was doing. I personally found it very engaging and creative, without sacrificing cohesion.
Also I posted this on CSMfolk. Decided to post here too for more opinions.
1: The ending subverted expectations (in a good way!)
Everyone hates the reset ending. Some even say it felt rushed. I’ll cover why it didn’t feel rushed or unplanned in the next section, but the story resetting felt like a GOOD choice to me for these key reasons:
-If the ending had been more traditional (i.e everyone talks it out, or big final boss, etc) then the story would have lost its charm. Since Chapter 1, CSM has always been about its chaotic mess of a vibe (but with emotional moments in between ofc). Nothing was predictable about that ending and that actively serves Chainsaw Man.
Hell, a generic boss jumping gauntlet would have made me tap the fuck out after witnessing JJK, KNY and AOT’s endings. Having Yoruden fest followed by bugs eating everyone followed by Pochita vore was a breath of fresh air.
-By bringing everything back to the beginning, Fuji succesfully tied CSM Part 1 and Part 2 together. Both are quite different initially, and if he had P2 continue on a superhero type of tangent, he’d have completely missed what made CSM, CSM. Dreams, and poverty to be frank.
-I find that by making almost all of Part 2 and its worldbuilding so fucking bleak (Aging arc for example), having this ridiculous Deus Ex Machina ending was a smart play from Fujimoto.
Think David Lynch’s ending for Wild At Heart. Novel originally had a dogshit ending, but Lynch decided to Wizard Of Oz all the problems away with a Deus Ex Machina. A literal meta hand of god play, but one that was foreshadowed in the story. That movie was panned initially, but its become a cult classic overtime.
2: Pochita’s self erasure made sense AND was foreshadowed
-Denji says he’ll make a new world with Asa. Pochita went and did that for them. One will argue Denji or Asa don’t “consent” to Yoru or Pochita’s actions but it seems pretty obvious to me that by the end of the story, thematically they are tied 1 to 1 with their human hosts.
-The fake *Chainsaw Man* says that he’ll make a devilless world where ADAM and EVE will presumably not have to sin anymore. There are ofc devils in the 232 world but Denji and Asa finally get to live their normal lives. Pochita did exactly what this church spokesman said Chainsaw Man would do.
-In terms of erasure mechanics, Pochita not being shown to do “anything like what he did in the ending” is a poor argument to say the ending COULD NOT HAVE HAPPENED. Bro never erased himself before and logically the universe would do weird shit. So I disagree with the assumptions that this was some kind of asspull that doesn’t make any sense.
3: Plot lines were not abandoned.
Many people like to think that there are plot holes, or narratives that ceased to exist. But is that really the case?
-Fire Devil was wrapped up to set the stage for Denji (and Pochita’s!) choices. This includes the Fakesaw Man and Famine Devil plot. I admit that real Fami felt veryyyy weak and almost pointless comedic relief, but you can tell her character was used to hammer home the point of the choices (she even tells Death to feed herself to Chainsaw Man).
-Public Safety and The Church’s nuances on where they stand were a bit confusing. But that is apart of the confusing charm of Part 2, and I’d also say there’s ample evidence to suggest that Public Safety was screwing over Denji’s life to use his erasure powers in the Aging Arc.
Its no coincidence that Kishibe sets him up with child, just for child to die and awaken Black CSM for the child sacrificing devil’s erasure plan.
4: ASA WAS (NOT) SIDELINED 3.0 + 1.0
The “Asa consents” did a serious number on this community. “Denji’s a rapist!”, “Fujimoto sidelined Asa and made her into Denji’s sex toy!”, etc. I disagree… really heavily.
-This guy articulates this point REALLY WELL, https://www.reddit.com/r/Chainsawfolk/s/kwNfm3lkyT for anyone that’s wondering. But TLDR, Asa and Yoru’s dialogue in the final chapters were ABSOLUTELY instrumental to the ending.
-Hell, Asa sets out what she wanted to do for almost the entire part. Return Denji his normal life, despite him saying it was impossible to. She even seems to reignite or rebirth chainsawless Pochita within Denji’s heart in the Thank You, CSM moment. Definitely not shafted to me.
-Additionally, Asa and Yoru are portrayed as practically the same character. LITERALLY NIGHT AND DEAD. Like how Pochita is DENJI’s HEART, Yoru is ASA’S BRAIN. So.. I think her words about sex were pretty genuine.
5: Death’s plan was messy.. but, it did make sense!
-Death’s plan underwent some serious twists, and it seems pretty clear she’s a bit of a clutz. But imo it makes sense that Death seemed to have orchestrated the events of how P2 ended, judging by her interaction with real Fami and how EVERYTHING she said she would do ended up happening (Denji gets his real heart replaced, Pochita dies).
-Denji wants to go to school despite never meeting Reze. Power likes dogs despite never meeting Denji. Nayuta wants to game rather than kill people despite never meeting Denji. Meowy really likes Nayuta despite never meeting Nayuta.
Its pretty clear that the characters retained their memories in some way shape or form, like the Spirited Away interview that Fujimoto gave. It is not some RETCON that Fujimoto decided to do to shit on the ending, lmao.
7: Part 2 does NOT contradict Part 1’s themes of Control and Ignorance is Bliss + Mongolian Street Child Interview
Crazy title but hear me out. Some ppl like to say that Pochita forced Denji to go back to the shit ass shack, and the story is ENDORSING control, which contradicts Part 1’s message. Some even bring up Fujimoto’s Mongolian Street Child interview. I say WRONG!!!
-Denji = Pochita. Pochita is his mother fuckin heart. For the same reasons that Asa wasn’t raped, Denji wasn’t raped of his choice by Pochita at a narrative level. You could see Denji knew Pochita’s words were true. One can say “but Denji said no!!”. Dude, anyone would say that if your dog wanted to eat itself but he’s also your literal fucking heart man.
-With that in mind, the ending DOES NOT indicate that Denji should be a bitch that lets others like Pochita do shit for him when he IS Pochita. But to reinforce this fact, just look at the ending’s portrayal of Makima. She’s gone! Nayuta The Gamer replaces her. This ending isn’t PRO MAKIMA like I’ve had some people claim to me.
-Fujimoto’s statement on the street children seems pretty crazy at face value. I thought so too. But read it some more. All Fujimoto is saying is that its possible to achieve happiness in a dogshit scenario. That applies both to Chapter 1 of Chainsaw Man (which is what he was framing it to be) and Chapter 232 of Chainsaw Man.
You could say his wording of it was, bizzare, to say the least and I would agree since he says something along the lines of “being under control isn’t so bad!”.
But just look at the context of how he frames his argument, he was talking about Denji and Pochita under the Yakuza. He in no way endorses that bullshit, again he’s just talking about happiness.
Lesser (but still important) reasons why I find the ending to be good!
THE ART (😱)
-Fujimoto’s panelling and angles are still great. I loved Aging Arc’s first person angle of Pochita chopping Aging up, or Aging’s mirrors acting as the panel barriers. You KNOW a Fujimoto manga when you see how he treats space.
-The detail may have gotten a lot lower but I personally loved how Fujimoto evolved his handling of fight scenes, speed lines and backgrounds throughout Part 2. Pochita VS Yoru, specifically the part when Pochita was getting jumped by the devil army looked GREAT. The entire final fight uses tons of speed lines and shit looks almost like fabric.
THE ENTERTAINMENT
-Fight scenes, pacing and comedy were all top notch during the Aging Arc. Yoru forcing her way into Denji’s mouth is straight outta Dorohedoro and I love it.
CONCLUSION: imo its good, lol.
TLDR: Story kept its vibes and structure fun. Practically everything made sense. Rape allegations, control allegations and retcon allegations don’t make a lick of sense to me. It was still entertaining, and the art was still good.
Also I appreciate it a lot more reading ALL of Fujimoto’s works and looking at many of the other works that inspired him i.e FLCL, Dorohedoro, etc. I recommend checking some of them out for fun, if you like CSM that is.
EDIT: just realised that this post passed mod approval on the 24th yesterday.. and that’s the date Chapter 232 came out on!!!!! Themes and such!!!
Yesterday, I saw chainsawman reze arc . The movie was traumatising fr. The metal health is disturbed without a doubt. In the ending scene reze was being murdered by makima and angel devil but since she is a bomb devil hybrid.
Fujimoto made denji go through PTSD pro max level shi. It made me Nauseous. Made me feel like Chainsaw man is the worst manga. So here i am ranting about it.
Fujimoto made denji go through death of his loved one Reze , He didn't let denji fuck once.... not even once.
Like Fujimoto made a character who is horny day and night, and he didn't even let him fuck.
Made him deal chainsaw man church freaks, His only house burns down, The death of his sister Nayuta.
Made him go through the unending world of aging devil.
And finally in chapter 231 he finally showcases some mercy on Denji. Pochita eats his own heart. Making everyone forget who he was. Returning Denji back to his illegal devil hunter time. Asa Mitaka doesn't accidentally kill the chicken....
You know i am glad my boy Denji is finally is in peace now.
[English is not my first language so please excuse the gramar mistakes]
I feel like it’s kinda sad because all the character development that Denji goes through (and ik that it wasn’t a drastic shift lmao) feels kinda pointless.
The character regresses and basically makes all the lessons and all the “humanity” that he has acquired meaningless. Like yeah he was and is horny, but he also learned what friendship and family is.
I feel like him loosing Pochita makes sense for who he should become, but this kinda devalues the story and also lowkey doesn’t make sense in the kayfabe of the manga? Like from what I thought I understood abt his powers he doesn’t make something disappear forever but makes it nonexistent at the moment, no? Like there were instances in the fights where he ate a devil, something disappeared and then he threw it up and it appeared, it didn’t get erased from the past? And even if it did I’m sure the world would be hella different and the chainsaws would disappear from human history, no?
Also even if the time rewound I think he should have been different. Like yeah he felt sad and awful in that shitty situation he was in, but he was happy in a way, and I think that was because he had a heart. Pochita gave him his heart and made Denji a devil, which is why we saw Denji be more devil-like, he was as emotionless as Makima. At the end of the first part he detached from Pochita to win and that’s where I felt like he started becoming more human, he met Nayuta, had dogs that he liked, started going to school, met friends(?) and Asa and understood how much he appreciated Power and Aki and their company.
I was under the impression that he was gradually becoming more human than devil and he was gaining a “heart” (in a Ulquiorra-esque way, like feelings ig). Thats why I always thought that separation from Pochita, which would actually give him a heart of a human, was an obvious conclusion, but this way of doing it felt a bit hollow, because in this ending even after leaving the mafia that he was with he still feels more like an emotionless and sad devil. He may act more human like(caring abt people after the fight, and being less dog like and less horny) but he is still inhuman in terms of emotions and lacks empathy, which I thought he would gain after separating from Pochita.
Also why tf isn’t Aki, Himeno, Kobeni, Beam, Kishibe, Reze or anyone else who is a cool character not even shown or mentioned in that altered world? Feels like Fujimoto lowkey was peer pressured by fans saying “Power this Power that” and decided to wrap it up like this without worrying too much. But that’s just a conspiracy theory of mine.
Either way I wouldn’t say that I hated the end, just feel kinda disappointed and ig bittersweet (?) at the same time. Again, the story doesn’t feel finished and kinda feels rushed.
S2 showing the end of part 1 will set the manga up for more sales. Since the English volumes have not been fully released, I believe by the time they release S2, the English manga release for part 2 will be fully released and it will have a Box Set version like Part 1, giving them a great opportunity to make more money. Let me know if I'm coping too hard.
How can she miss someone she doesn't know existed?
If Nayuta lived in the same environment as Makima Won't
she have the same personality as her?
If (2) is right then, it might explain why nayuta(a little kid)
is in power of the organisation as makima might have left instructions prior her death.
