Are Asa and Yoru the same person in Chainsaw Man? Explained

Asa Mitaka was introduced in Part 2 of the Chainsaw Man manga, where she served as one of the main protagonists of the Academy Saga. Despite having a rough start, Asa eventually became a favorite among fans, mainly due to her dynamic with Yoru, the War Devil.

Although they share the same body, Asa and Yoru are vastly different individuals - the former is an ordinary high school girl, whereas the latter is the War Devil. Their relationship is perhaps one of the most intriguing and entertaining parts of Chainsaw Man's Academy Saga, especially since it is the direct contrast to Denji's relationship with Pochita, the Chainsaw Devil.

Disclaimer: The article contains spoilers for the manga.

Asa and Yoru's body-sharing situation, explained

Yoru in Asa's body as seen in the Chainsaw Man manga (image via Shueisha)

Asa Mitaka started off the series as a quiet and unsociable high school girl with a troubled past, which led to her developing an extremely negative outlook on the world, other humans, and Devils. However, her already miserable life took a turn for the worse when she died an unexpected death at the hands of her classmate, who was using the powers obtained from forming a contract with the Justice Devil.

In her dying moments, Asa saw the War Devil appear in front of her, who offered her an opportunity to survive by striking a deal with her. Asa was then resurrected as the War Fiend by the War Devil, who took control of her body and swiftly eliminated the classmate.

What's interesting about their body-sharing situation, however, is the fact that it is completely different from most Devil-human fusions in the series. In other words, this was not simply another case of a Devil inhabiting a human corpse, but rather, a unique coexistence between Asa and the War Devil, Yoru, where both of them retained consciousness and could alternately control their shared body.

Asa Mitaka as seen in the Chainsaw Man manga (image via Shueisha)

Asa and Yoru's body-sharing situation is perhaps the most complex part of their arrangement. The majority of the time, Asa serves as the primary host, wherein she goes about her normal life until Yoru decides to take over her body.

This takeover by Yoru is usually sudden and cannot be stopped by Asa. It initially happened only during situations involving combat, but later on, Yoru started taking over Asa's body whenever she saw fit. As a result, Asa frequently found herself in troublesome and awkward situations, especially during those times when Yoru took control of her body to kiss Denji.

It also created a constant tension and conflict between the two, since Asa simply wanted to go about her usual life, whereas Yoru constantly sought power and revenge against Chainsaw Man.

How Asa and Yoru are different in Chainsaw Man

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Despite sharing the same body, there is a sharp contrast between Asa and Yoru. Asa is extremely socially inept and reserved, whereas Yoru is straightforward and aggressive in approaching others.

Given that she was basically pulled into the world of Devils against her will, Asa doesn't have any particular willingness to aid Yoru in her quest for revenge against Chainsaw Man, and would rather live her normal life. On the other hand, Yoru is driven by the singular desire to reclaim her former power and kill Chainsaw Man.

Furthermore, the two often clashed due to the difference in their respective approaches to the problems they face. Over time, Asa started showing little to no fear towards Yoru and wasn't afraid of defying the latter in certain situations.

The difference between Asa and Yoru's personalities was made painfully obvious at the beginning of the Academy Saga itself. Asa was reluctant to harm or kill others simply to make weapons out of them, whereas Yoru was solely focused on having someone fall for Asa so that she could create a weapon powerful enough to defeat her longtime rival.

Asa and Yoru's relationship

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As evident, the relationship between Asa Mitaka and Yoru, the War Devil, is one of reluctant coexistence. Initially, Asa viewed Yoru as an intruder, who had disrupted and worsened her already troubled life, whereas Yoru saw Asa as nothing more than a means to an end.

Although Asa eventually got used to Yoru's presence in her body, she never quite trusted her in the slightest, since the latter always told her to do disturbing things and took over her body whenever she felt like it. On the other hand, Yoru made it abundantly clear to Asa that she only cares about achieving her objective and would not hesitate to kill her if she gets in her way.

For a major part of the series, neither character seemed to care even a little bit for each other, given that Asa and Yoru differed in almost every aspect. Yoru showed little concern for Asa's frequent breakdowns, which led the latter to grow increasingly frustrated with the former for not understanding her feelings, despite being capable of reading her mind.

However, as seen in the past few chapters of the Chainsaw Man manga, moments of reluctant collaboration emerged between the two. This was made especially apparent when Asa rescued Denji from the Public Safety facility, where Asa and Yoru were seen becoming more influenced by each other's emotions. As such, it only remains to be seen how the duo's relationship will evolve after the manga's recent developments are resolved.