Chainsaw Man blurs the line between humans and Devils in chapter 182

Modified Nov 06, 2024 04:03 GMT

Chainsaw Man blurs the line between humans and Devils in chapter 182 (Image via MAPPA Studios)

With the series returning from a one-week hiatus, Chainsaw Man fans were naturally intrigued to see what the next installment of mangaka Tatsuki Fujimoto’s series had in store. While it’s unlikely that anyone predicted exactly what would transpire in chapter 182, there were some aspects of it that fans anticipated.

One such aspect was Denji’s interactions with War Devil Yoru and Asa Mitaka, which went in the general direction readers expected them to. However, a key variable in what fans got combines with a specific Denji scene in the issue’s final pages to suggest that the walls between the human hosts and their Devil inhabitants may be breaking down.

Chainsaw Man sees the walls between Asa and Yoru, Denji and Pochita begin to break down

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The first sign of this comes from War Devil Yoru’s conversation with Denji, a discussion that Chainsaw Man fans expected to take place. However, what wasn’t anticipated was what appeared to be Yoru developing her own, genuine feelings for Denji.

This is indicated by her saying that he’s cute when he cries before going back in for another kiss, not caveating any of this with the claim that it’s Asa’s feelings as she did before.

With this in mind, the only logical conclusion fans are left with is that Yoru is truly infatuated with Denji in the same way Asa is. However, the fact that she once attributed it to Asa’s feelings and no longer does suggests one of two things. Either Yoru does have feelings for Denji like Asa does, or the lines between them are blurred enough that neither knows where one ends and the other begins.

While one could argue that the former is most likely, the latter is further suggested in Chainsaw Man chapter 181’s focus on Denji. In the issue’s final pages, Denji throws up the head of the Snow Devil which Pochita ate. This is significant for a few reasons, the first being its suggestion that Denji has access to Pochita’s powers while in his human form. This is especially important since his consumption of Control Devil Makima as a human still led to Nayuta’s incarnation.

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In turn, this would suggest that the walls between Pochita and Denji are also crumbling down, much like they are with Asa and Yoru. This would also make sense since both Yoru and Pochita each saved the lives of their respective hosts.

Yet whereas Yoru and Asa are distinct physically but showing mental blending, Pochita and Denji are seemingly becoming physically indistinguishable while remaining mentally separate.

Such inversion makes sense to implement into their relationship as well, giving them similar struggles while still keeping each’s journey distinct in some meaningful way.

It would also serve to highlight the dangers of having a Devil’s power in such a way. This could become more significant once the pair escape the Aging Devil’s world, and if the other Weapons Hybrids become a central focus again.

Final thoughts

Chapter 182 could be the start of Asa and Yoru, and Denji and Pochita becoming single individuals (Image via Shueisha)

While the aforementioned is still speculative, there is significant evidence within chapter 182 alone and the series overall that these lines are becoming greatly blurred. However, with great challenges ahead for both Asa and Denji, they’re unlikely to slow down anytime soon.

Hopefully, the coming chapters will shed more light on this topic, starting with chapter 183’s official release on Wednesday, November 13, 2024, at 12 am Japanese Standard Time.