Chainsaw Man chapter 168 may have seen Denji finally realize what his dream truly is

Modified Jun 12, 2024 21:42 GMT

Chainsaw Man chapter 168 may have seen Denji finally realize what his dream truly is (Image via MAPPA Studios)

Earlier this week, Chainsaw Man chapter 168 was officially released via various Shueisha platforms and was one of the series’ most anticipated releases in history. The reason for this hype and excitement surrounding the release stemmed from its suspected resolution of recent harrowing events, which it did indeed deliver on.

However, in the process of doing so, Chainsaw Man chapter 168 gave special focus to how Denji and Asa Mitaka were impacted by War Devil Yoru’s recent actions involving them. While Yoru’s healing process was much more active and vocal, Denji clammed up, seemingly overwhelmed by the situation he now found himself in.

That being said, Chainsaw Man chapter 168 did see Denji receive a few lines of dialogue which at first appear largely inconsequential. Yet in reality, what little Denji said in the latest issue is more telling than any soliloquy he could’ve delivered, and it suggests that he’s finally starting to realize what his true dream is.

Chainsaw Man chapter 168 sees Denji’s desire for unconditional love bubble up to the surface yet again

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In Chainsaw Man chapter 168, Denji receives less than two full lines of dialogue, with the first seeing him begin to ask Yoru (whom he thinks is Asa) why she kissed him. After Yoru kisses him again, he asks her if she likes him, emphasizing the word “like” to establish that he’s asking in a romantic sense. Unfortunately, Yoru rejects this, leaving Denji with an explanation he doesn’t fully understand, which he silently sits and ponders in the aftermath.

However, likely, what Denji is pondering is not the answer Yoru gave him, but instead a bit of self-reflection on his desires and what is at the root of them. More specifically, this chapter clearly shows that Denji is awakening to the realization that what he desires isn’t physical intimacy, but unconditional love.

This has also been teased long before Chainsaw Man chapter 168, with his life with Nayuta specifically serving as fantastic evidence for this. By creating a family life complete with pets and a younger sister, Denji was able to experience unconditional love for the first time. However, following both his actions and those of others who took this life from him, he’s now scrambling to try and recover this serenity and happiness he once felt by any means necessary.

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In classic Denji fashion, he’s defaulting to physical intimacy to find these emotions due to his constantly confusing love with the act of physical intimacy. Again, this is set up long before chapter 168, with Makima’s words to Denji about physical intimacy being more fulfilling with someone you’re familiar with being the first inklings of this. While Makima meant it as the emotions coming before the act, Denji’s instinct is that the act leads to those emotions.

However, Chainsaw Man chapter 168 makes it very clear to Denji that this isn’t the case with Yoru’s answer to his question of whether she likes him. It’s this clarity that is likely sparking a realization in Denji that he can have love without having physical intimacy, and vice versa. That being said, it’s unlikely that this will result in any immediate major changes to his character, especially with how traumatized he is by recent events.

That being said, Denji appears to be set for some significant long-term character growth as a result of these latest events. While his looming fight with Yoru likely won’t start this character growth, it should serve as the last bit of character regression before the growth period begins. Hopefully, Fujimoto sticks the landing and can finally transform Denji’s character into the best possible version of itself.