Chainsaw Man chapter 120: Why Nayuta instinctively dislikes Asa, explained

Chainsaw Man chapter 120 was released on Tuesday, February 14, bringing with it some truly exciting developments to the overarching plot of the series’ second part. Equally, or perhaps even more exciting, is the fact that the series’ recent one-week break seems to have been just that, rather than a return to regular bi-weekly serialization.

Chainsaw Man chapter 120 also saw Nayuta and Denji reach an agreement which resulted in Denji not hanging out with Asa Mitaka anymore. This stemmed from Nayuta’s caution regarding how every woman Denji meets tries to kill him (which she herself says), as well as the bad feeling she gets from Asa, which she attributes to not liking her scent.

However, unbeknownst to Nayuta, there’s actually a very good reason why Nayuta instinctively dislikes Asa and her scent, given the circumstances of their meeting.

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Nayuta meeting Yoru, the War Devil, rather than Asa in Chainsaw Man chapter 120 likely key reason why she dislikes “Asa’s” scent

Brief recap

Chainsaw Man chapter 120 begins immediately where the last issue left off, showing Nayuta having tricked Asa Mitaka into believing she’s a dog. However, it’s actually Yoru, the War Devil, who is in control of their body at this point. Nayuta tells Denji that she did it to Asa because she spit on her property, meaning Denji, adding that she can’t change Asa back because she’s hungry.

While eating, Nayuta asks Denji if he’s sure that she wants her to turn Asa back. She points out how every woman he meets tries to kill him, asking him why he thinks Asa’s different.

He says he just has a feeling, prompting Nayuta to say she’ll only do it if she can eat ice cream every day and if he stops getting friendly with Asa. She says she’s requesting this because she doesn’t like the latter's scent, which is actually Yoru’s scent. After Denji reluctantly agrees, Nayuta alters Asa’s memories to make her think she was stood up.

Chainsaw Man chapter 120 then cuts to a disappointed Asa standing alone outside her and Denji’s high school, lecturing Yoru about how she’s actually happy they didn’t go on a date and that Denji apparently doesn’t like her. After eventually letting her true emotions show, she runs into Hirofumi Yoshida, who asks her to give him company for a bit.

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Why Nayuta instinctively doesn’t like Asa

As explained above, Nayuta doesn’t actually meet Asa Mitaka, but instead meets the War Devil, Yoru, in Asa’s body. This is due to the hybrid nature of Asa’s co-existence with Yoru, which allows them to switch who’s in control of their body at a certain time. When Nayuta arrived home, Yoru was already in control of Asa’s body, making it her scent that Nayuta smelled rather than Asa’s.

As seen in recent issues, the Four Horsemen Devils seem to have a particular distaste for each other. Makima described her compatriots negatively in the series’ first part, while the Famine Devil Fami and the War Devil Yoru seem to dislike each other. Although the Death Devil is yet to be introduced as of Chainsaw Man chapter 120, it can be assumed that this is a constant for all four.

Combining this apparent fact with the knowledge that Yoru was in control of her and Asa’s body when Nayuta got home, it’s clear why Nayuta instinctively disliked Asa based on her scent. What she was actually smelling was the scent of the War Devil Yoru, rather than that of the human Asa Mitaka.

It is already established prior to Chainsaw Man chapter 120 that hybrids have multiple scents, as well. The final battle between Denji and Makima in the series’ first part saw the former take advantage of this by baiting the latter with the scent of the Chainsaw Devil, Pochita. Meanwhile, his own scent and Makima’s lack of paying attention to it allowed him to sneak up on her undetected.

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In summation

It’s clear that Nayuta’s instinctive dislike for Asa Mitaka stems from her not smelling Asa’s scent, but rather picking up on Yoru’s scent. Ironically, this simple mixup may have just saved Denji’s life, even if Nayuta herself doesn’t know it.

Be sure to keep up with all Chainsaw Man anime and manga news, as well as general anime, manga, film, and live-action news as 2023 progresses.