Summary
Warning: Contains spoilers for Chainsaw Man Chapter #174Chainsaw Man’s Denji may very well be themost tortured protagonist in all of anime and manga. When Part One concluded with his cinematic, cathartic, and sort of strange victory over Makima, there was hope that Denji might finally be able to live happily on his own accord. With Part Two now approaching its climax, a normal life just does not seem to be in the cards for Chainsaw Man. However, Pochita, the one constant light in Denji’s horrific life, may once again betrying to save his best friend from suffering.
Chapter #174, titled, “Ayyy Aging”, sees Pochita back in his full-power form,having eaten the Octopus, Snow, Mouth, and Bitterness Devils. While Public Safety admitted to feeding him the Ear Devil as a sort of experiment, Mouth Devil’s disappearance looks to have been a surprise based on Fumiko’s reaction toward the end of the chapter.
Tatsuki Fujimoto is not the type of author to specify certain details without a purpose,meaning Pochita/Armored Chainsaw Man might be targeting these devils for a reason, and that may be his best friend Denji.
“Human Evolution”: Chainsaw Man Finally Reveals the Main Villains of Part 2 and Their Plan
Chainsaw Man Part Two has held its secrets close to the chest since beginning publication, but it seems the real villains have finally been revealed.
Pochita Might Be Eating Devils Associated With Denji’s Past Trauma
The Devils Eaten by Armored Chainsaw Man Represent Denji’s Traumatic Experience
Full-armored Pochita’s first appearance inChainsaw Mandisplayed two predominant details about the devil;he’s an unstoppable force with mysterious erasing abilities, and he cares for Denji deeply. During his fight with Makima, he makes a detour to a hamburger shop, and then takes Kobeni for a date in one of the more outlandish sequences in the series. Pochita’s actions weren’t without reason, however, as eating a burger and going on a date were dreams of Denji’s. He was trying desperately to show Denji the good things life had to offerand to convince him to return after breaking their contract.
Now, in his second appearance after another breach of contract from Denji, it seemsPochita may again be attempting to pull him back, this time by erasing devils associated with Denji’s past trauma. By erasing the concept of mouths in the world, so too would all of Denji’s horrible kissing experiences disappear from his memory. There would be no recollection ofHimeno throwing up in his mouth, Reze biting his tongue off, or Yoru violating him in an alley.
The same goes for the erasure of the Octopus Devil. Gone would be the memory of Fumiko humiliating Denji in a movie theater, where she forced him to suck on the tentacles of a dead devil. Erasing the bitterness of coffee would remove memories of spending time in the café where Reze worked, Denji pretending to like the taste before she ultimately betrayed him. Snow could be in reference to Aki, while theiconic and terribly sad snowball fighthappened only in his mind, it’s still unclear if he was physically speaking during that scene. They also bonded during their trip to Hokkaido, while watching the snowfall.
Public Safety Could Be Aware of Pochita’s Plans
Pochita’s Targeting of Devils May Already Be Accounted For by Public Safety
Given that Public Safety specifically chose the Ear Devil to feed to Pochita, it wouldn’t be unreasonable to assume thatall the other devils in the vicinity have purposefully been placed there. Octopus was present because Yoshida was directly involved in the fighting, but having a devil like Mouth present would be highly irresponsible on Public Safety’s part, unless they were planning for it to be eaten. Even if Pochita is purposely targeting devils in order to help Denji, everything could still be going according to plan.
It’s possible they wish to learn if Pochita’s erasing abilities continue to exist even if he has no way of eating. What they learn could, in turn, inform Public Safety if the erasure of the Aging Devil would weaken or altogetherget rid of the Death Devil. Either way, this sequence of eaten devils is another small detail that, while open to interpretation, proves the genius of the artist behindChainsaw Man.
Chainsaw Man
Cast
Chainsaw Man follows Denji, a young man burdened by debt, who teams up with his pet devil Pochita to fight devils under the yakuza’s control. Released in 2022, the series portrays Denji’s struggle to achieve his dream of living a simple, peaceful life.
