Summary
The following contains spoilers for Chapter 153 of Chainsaw Man,“Chainsaw Man Hunters”, written by Tatsuki Fujimoto, translated by Amanda Haley, with lettering by Sabrina Heep, available to read viaVIZ Media.
With its second release of the new year, Tatsuki Fujimoto’sChainsaw Manhas taken an even darker tone in its current arc, with Chapter 153 setting up the stage for ahuge paradigm shift in Denji’s life. As his world crumbled down around him, Denji was forced to become Chainsaw Man once again, despite having given up that part of his persona, in order to ensure Nayuta’s safety.
Although Denji’s mastery of his Devil Hybrid abilities has allowed him to defeat more powerful foes in Part II ofChainsaw Man, this chapter hammered home the fact that he will always face problemsthat he cannot solve with strength alone. Simultaneously, the situation he found himself in also shed light on the Famine Devil’s plan to prevent the Prophecy of Nostradamus from coming to fruition. While her efforts may take time to bear fruit, the groundwork has been laid at great cost to Denji’s well-being.
A Hollow Victory Against The Weapon Hybrids
Pushed beyond the limits of reason when forced to watch helplessly as his home and pets were set ablaze by the agents of the Chainsaw Man Church, Denji gave in to his rage and transformed intoChainsaw Man once again in Chapter 152. This was his first transformation since Nayuta’s life was threatened by Hirofumi Yoshida, a classmate and former colleague from Public Safety. In short, Denji’s choice to assume his Hybrid form was a clear statement that he felt like he had nothing to lose.
Additionally, Denji also urged Nayuta to stay away from him for her own safety soon after he transformed. This was fairly out of character for him, as he was well aware of the fact that they were each other’s only family, and letting her go was a move akin to abandonment, in spite of Nayuta’s maturity, strength, and ability to take care of herself. At that moment, it seemed as if Denji had thrown away his sense of reason in one of the darkest moments of his life, laughing maniacally as he prepared toface the Weapon Hybrids.
It is safe to say that the ensuing fight itself was fairly short, where Denji quickly tore through his adversaries without much resistance. That being said, the victory he earned must have felt empty after he chose to give up on his life with Nayuta and the bonds he had built. Denji’s anger was not entirely unfounded, as he lost everything he had gained since Part I in just an instant due to the Chainsaw Man Church. The pain of losing Aki, Power,Makima, and all his comradesmust still have been fresh in his memory, and such wounds never truly heal.
The Rage Of A Mindless Mob
What happened immediately after the fight only piled on more damage to Denji’s psyche, as the actions of the Chainsaw Man Church had sowed the seeds for the public to lose faith in Chainsaw Man entirely. Under the direction of the Famine Devil, the Chainsaw Man Church orchestrated mass weddings involving thousands of members, which were actually a front to force theminto Devil Contracts with the Fire Devil.
This arrangement led to the involved individuals losing their humanity and sprouting chainsaws from their foreheads just like Denji’s Hybrid form. Subsequently, numerous people became pseudo-Hybrids with no sense of self and ran amok, causing death and destruction that Public Safety struggled to bring under wraps because of the impressive regeneration abilities that Hybrids possessed. Family members and friends of those affected in this tragedy quicklygrew disdainful of Chainsaw Man’s apparentculpability in this horrific course of events, despite Denji not being responsible for it in any way.
Hence, soon after Denji ended his battle against the Weapon Hybrids, he was confronted by an armed, angry mob, who sought to kill him in a bid to restore their loved ones back to normal. While their belief in killingDenji to save those closest to themheld no real grounds to be true, they were resolute in the execution of their goals. What made matters worse was the fact that he could not fight back against civilians, and his words fell on deaf ears, leading to a very grim state of affairs. This culminated in Denji being cornered, repeatedly stabbed, captured within a net, and set on fire by the mob, until Nayuta’s timely intervention created an opening for him to escape.
Is There Anyone Denji Can Still Rely On?
Amid all this chaos and confusion, Denji’s only source of support was Nayuta, who stood by him as the mob persecuted him for crimes he did not commit. Even as she was shaken by Denji virtuallyabandoning her in Chapter 152 of the mangaby telling her to stay away, she refused to heed his words, knowing that they were not uttered in the right frame of mind. She also desperately struggled to protect him from the mob, and suffered their wrath while trying to intervene.
Currently, at this juncture in the story, Nayuta is all Denji has left, but his grief and anger towards the Chainsaw Man Church has clouded his judgment entirely. Furthermore, the Famine Devil’s plan to empower Chainsaw Manbefore the coming of the Death Devil, by inspiring fear towards him, appears to be working better than expected, as seen in the reaction of the mob towards Denji’s transformation. At present, Denji does not have a lot of options apart from fleeing, as he cannot fight back or prove his innocence.
His hopes of living a normal life have been dashed once again, and it remains to be seen how he will recover from such a devastating loss. Despite this,Denji has never faltered, even in the faceof the harshest tragedies he has lived through, and it may only be a matter of time before he bounces back in his own way, right in time for the climax of Part II ofChainsaw Man.
