Chainsaw Man chapter 176: The Gun Devil reappears as Yoru calls her children to battle against Pochita

Chainsaw Man chapter 176 was expected to open with a focus on War Devil Yoru and the impending flashback she was set to have given the stylization of the last issue’s final panels. While fans did get a Yoru flashback, it was far from what they were expecting and instead focused on a conversation Yoru and Asa Mitaka had recently before this fight.

While Chainsaw Man chapter 176 did go in a different direction for the issue overall than fans were expecting, it was nonetheless revelatory in the end thanks to a major decision by Yoru. This revelation also sets up an incredible fight between her and Pochita in the subsequent release and beyond, likely being the final fight of this arc, which will fully close it out.

Chainsaw Man chapter 176 reveals Yoru as the mother of the Gun and Tank Devils

Chainsaw Man chapter 176: Old grudges

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Chainsaw Man chapter 176 opened up with a flashback to Yoru taking a bath while in control of Asa Mitaka’s body. She’s seen sticking her hand out towards some soap, eventually causing it to float toward her after a few seconds. She then transforms the bar of soap into a soap sword, commenting on this as Asa Mitaka’s consciousness appears. Asa comments on how she turned her apartment into a weapon without saying a name when she did so.

Yoru confirms that they can turn things into weapons without naming or touching them now, but it likely still isn’t enough to beat Pochita/Chainsaw Man. She adds that since people are being killed by a pseudo-Chainsaw Man each day, both her and Chainsaw Man’s fear grows at the same time. Asa then suggests burying the hatchet, pointing out to Yoru that defeating Denji won’t make her happy anyway.

Chainsaw Man chapter 176 sees Yoru almost sadly ponder this as Asa continues to say that everyone remembers war’s terrors, and Yoru should just say she’s achieved her goal. Yoru looks even more dejected at this and begins explaining that there’s something she wants to reclaim from Pochita. She reveals that her comrades were eaten by him and that she simply wants to find a way to make him vomit them back up.

Fans finally learn what Yoru's issue with Pochita is in Chainsaw Man chapter 176 (Image via MAPPA Studios)

Asa asks Yoru if she has a way to beat Chainsaw Man, to which Yoru unenthusiastically answers that she has two weapons she could make to do so. She adds that they’d be far more powerful and fearsome than the weapons Asa is able to make. Asa asks why she didn’t try them in the first place, pointing out that she gave up her home and her college fund to make weapons and further their shared goals.

Chainsaw Man chapter 176 sees Yoru immediately tell her not to compare what she’s discussing with such trifling things. She adds that turning “those two” into weapons would run counter to her goal of saving her comrades. Asa suggests that Yoru simply stop, causing her to look dejected and sad once more. Yoru responds that she wants to beat Pochita/Chainsaw Man and prove that she’s the more fearsome Devil, being willing to give anything to do so.

Chainsaw Man chapter 176: A mother’s love

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The focus then returns to the present, where Pochita is preparing to kill Yoru and amid his attack to do so. Yoru, having just remembered this conversation, asks if she would even turn her own children into weapons for that as Pochita’s blade is inches from her face. She says that she guesses she would as the chainsaw draws nearer, a new resilience and hope clearly in her eyes.

Chainsaw Man chapter 176 then sees Yoru order the Tank and Gun Devils to “come to mother,” seemingly confirming that Yoru is somehow the mother of the Gun Devil. The focus then shifts to a Devil Containment Facility in the Gulf of Mexico, likely run under US control. A massive and very reinforced door is seen with six soldiers standing in front of it, when a perfect hole suddenly bursts through the door, revealing nothing inside the cell.

The focus then shifts to Mount Elbrus in the Soviet Union or Russia, where a massive explosion of snow and dust can be seen on the side of the mountain. The focus then returns to the present, where Pochita has been shot through his stomach by Yoru, who now has arms. The issue ends with Yoru naming her new weapons the Right Gun Gauntlet and the Left Tank Gauntlet, as the Mouth Devil is revealed to have been “thrown up” due to her attack.

Chainsaw Man chapter 176: In summation

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Without a doubt, Chainsaw Man chapter 176 is one of the most exciting and intriguing installments in all of the Academy Saga thus far. The reveal of Yoru being the mother of the Gun and Tank Devils is incredibly exciting and opens up a world of theory-crafting possibilities both in general and with the Four Horsemen Devils specifically.

Chapter 176 also does a fantastic job of setting up what’s sure to be an incredible final standoff between Yoru and Pochita, with the former now seemingly being on the latter’s level. Without a doubt, mangaka Tatsuki Fujimoto is clearly building into the climax of the Academy Saga, which is likely to have many more reveals via the fight between Pochita and Yoru.