Chainsaw Man chapter 172 further hints at Pochita's true identity via an Uzumaki reference

Earlier this week, fans saw Chainsaw Man chapter 172 be officially released, bringing with it the continuation of Pochita’s return in his Hero of Hell form and a subsequent slaughter likewise. While fans were expecting this, the issue had one particularly gruesome panel that they weren’t expecting, in which Pochita poses with the severed heads of those he’s killed.

The Chainsaw Man chapter 172 panel in question specifically shows fans Pochita crouching with the Ear Devil’s head in his hands while his intestine scarf is holding the heads of six others. Five of these are those of Devils/Fiends, with the sixth and final head being that of a human Public Safety agent who was the handler of Special Division 6.

Interestingly, Chainsaw Man chapter 172 sees these heads arranged in a spiral-like pattern that is left open at its end rather than fully closed. Likewise, with the fandom recently theorizing that Pochita may not actually be the Chainsaw Devil after all, many are alleging that this panel could be hinting at Pochita’s true identity by nature of it being an Uzumaki reference.

Junji Ito’s use and portrayal of the spiral in Uzumaki teases Pochita’s true nature in Chainsaw Man chapter 172

The Chainsaw Man chapter 172 panel in question (Image via Shueisha)

It’s widely held that in famed mangaka Junji Ito’s Uzumaki series, the titular spiral is meant to represent eternal return, and a cycle which never ends and can never be broken.

Chainsaw Man chapter 172 seemingly harkens back to this portrayal of the spiral via the above panel, which sees Pochita arranging his next meals in a spiral as he prepares to feast on the Ear Devil. Beyond this, the obvious body horror in the panel can also be interpreted as an Ito reference.

Also read: Chainsaw Man chapter 172 highlights

Truly deepening this connection, however, is the life cycle of Devils as Chainsaw Man fans currently know it. When Pochita kills but does not eat a Devil on Earth, they’re then reborn in Hell, and vice versa, in an endless cycle of death and rebirth.

In chapter 53, Angel Devil spells this out to Aki Hayakawa and fans, adding that the last sound he and other Devils remember before dying in Hell is the sound of Chainsaw Man’s engine revving. However, when Pochita eats a Devil, they are removed from this cycle of constant death and rebirth, effectively permakilling them by erasing them and the concept they represent from existence.

Chainsaw Man chapter 172 represents both of these concepts in the aforementioned panel in a horizontal, nearly symmetrical split. The Ear Devil, whom Pochita eats shortly after, is removed from the cycle, while the Devils in the spiral above are set to go through it once more.

Ito's pervasive use of the spiral in the Uzumaki manga series (Image via Shogakukan)

Yet, as mentioned above, one human head is at the very end of the row of heads, just before the spiral made by Pochita’s intestine scarf ends. Given the head’s placement at the spiral’s end, this could symbolize the conclusive nature of human death.

It could also suggest that Pochita’s role in this cycle will always impact humans as well, either by nature of him directly killing them in the process of fighting Devils, or the Devils he returns to Earth killing humans.

In any case, all of this implicit symbolism in Chainsaw Man chapter 172, the chapter in question, serves to further reinforce that Pochita’s true identity is not the Chainsaw Devil but the Life/Birth Devil.

There is prior evidence for this throughout the series via its themes and messages, but also in Pochita’s design. Chainsaws were originally created as tools to help with the birthing process, meaning that humanity’s original fear of them would be related to the cycle of life in some way.

In turn, it would explain why Pochita is the one responsible for maintaining this cycle of life, death, and rebirth of Devils, as well as being their only means of escaping this endless fate. This further relates back to author and illustrator Tatsuki Fujimoto’s inclusion of a spiral shape here as an Uzumaki reference, with Ito’s use of the shape also symbolizing a cycle of eternal and perpetual return.

Chainsaw Man chapter 172’s use of a spiral could reference an eternal cycle even beyond Ito’s Uzumaki

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Yet while the Ito and Uzumaki reference is apparent and supports the idea of Pochita being the Life/Birth Devil, there are also several religions and belief systems that use the spiral/circle to represent a similar cycle. Some of these belief systems even offer a means of escaping the cycle of eternal death and rebirth, further linking it to how Fujimoto has portrayed Pochita’s role in the Devil life cycle.

Many of these belief systems also view escaping this cycle as a reward, either by appeasing a deity or fulfilling some sort of requirement on Earth. In turn, this implies that the cycle itself is a punishment or curse inherently forced on humans, or in this case, Devils. These belief systems often assert that humans are born into the cycle due to having some sort of inherent sin within them from birth.

To relate it to Devils, their “sin” and birth into this cycle could be their physical embodiment of that which humanity fears the most. This is how they are pulled into the spiral-like cycle of eternal birth, death, and rebirth, which Pochita is responsible for, as demonstrated in Chainsaw Man chapter 172.

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Likewise, Devils can escape the cycle by apologizing to or appeasing Pochita via succumbing to him in battle and being subsequently eaten, whether voluntarily so or not.

By absolving themselves of their accumulated sins in this manner, they are able to escape the cycle or “ascend” beyond it and their wicked origins to a higher plane beyond their Earthly suffering. Yet some beliefs argue that the cycle is inescapable no matter what one achieves in their Earthly life or the favor they’re able to curry with Gods.

This can be represented by the apparent fact that Pochita can be made to throw up Devils he has previously eaten, reviving them, the concepts they represent, and humanity’s fear of them. This is suggested as possible by War Devil Yoru in chapter 98 and seemingly called back to Chainsaw Man chapter 172’s end via Yoru’s smirk.

Final thoughts

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While the theory of Pochita being the Life/Birth Devil is speculative as of this article’s writing, the apparent symbolism in chapter 172’s panel and how it may support this theory is clear.

At a minimum, Fujimoto is at least driving home that to Devils, Pochita is a godly figure who can offer them salvation as easily as he can force them to continue to suffer for all eternity in an endless cycle of death and rebirth.