Chainsaw Man chapter 188: Denji barfs up Yoshida who immediately comes up with a plan for escape

Modified Dec 31, 2024 16:46 GMT

Chainsaw Man chapter 188: Denji barfs up Yoshida who immediately comes up with a plan for escape (Image via Shueisha)

Following the first-page tease fans got at Jump Festa 2025, fans were all but positive that Chainsaw Man chapter 188 would mark the exciting return of Hirofumi Yoshida. Officially released on Tuesday, December 31, 2024, the issue titled “Octopus, War, Chainsaw” did indeed confirm Yoshida’s return via Denji throwing him up in the Aging Devil’s world.

As expected, Chainsaw Man chapter 188 saw him immediately begin cooperating with Asa Mitaka and Denji after being briefed on the situation they’re all now in. This came after Asa and Denji’s initial shock that he not only threw up a person but also Yoshida, who is technically their current enemy.

Chainsaw Man chapter 189 sees Yoshida call a temporary truce for the sake of escape

As fans expected, Hirofumi Yoshida does indeed return in Chainsaw Man chapter 188 (Image via Shueisha)

Chainsaw Man chapter 189 began immediately, where the last issue ended, seeing Denji continue to throw something up. However, a shod foot instead protruded from his mouth, followed by an attached leg and the entire body of Hirofumi Yoshida. He was shown to be disoriented, but physically and seemingly mentally okay otherwise. Asa Mitaka immediately recognized him as Yoshida, who cut her arm off, prompting him to say she had both arms.

Denji hilariously, and seemingly deliriously, adds that he supposes arms can regrow sometimes. Asa demands an apology nonetheless since he still cut it off, but Yoshida instead asks for a sitrep. After being caught up, Yoshida points out that the Aging Devil could kill them anytime it wanted due to being a Primal Fear Devil. Denji explained that Aging’s true goal is to be eaten by Pochita “while watchin’ little kids get killed.”

Chainsaw Man chapter 188 sees Asa shocked to hear this, while Yoshida is seemingly unbothered. Yoshida correctly presumes Public Safety’s involvement, calling himself and Denji enemies as the latter eats more intestines. Yoshida then turns to Asa and suggests calling a truce between the three of them until they escape from Aging’s world. He even apologizes to Asa for cutting her arm off and begs forgiveness since it regrew anyway.

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Asa tries to punch him, but Yoshida catches her fist and instead shakes hands with it, thanking her before extending his hand to Denji. However, he makes it clear he’s opposed to teaming up with someone who likes killing kids, referencing Yoshida’s loyalty to Public Safety. Yoshida then recalls what a grade school teacher once told him to do when encountering a bear. The teacher said each side should strive to return to their respective worlds.

In other words, if a person sees a bear in the forest, the person should leave the forest, and if a bear wanders into town, the person must try and get it to leave. He adds that hostility benefits neither people nor bears and only leads to senseless violence. Chapter 188 sees Yoshida say he once doubted his teacher but feels the point is salient in their current situation. Yoshida tells Denji he should kill him either after they escape or eat him right now.

Denji and Asa scowl at Yoshida as Denji thinks this over, but he eventually grabs and shakes Yoshida’s hand. Each takes a brief shot at the other here before Asa asks what Yoshida can contribute since the Devil's powers don’t work here. Yoshida then confirms that Denji’s stomach is connected to Chainsaw Man. The issue ends with Yoshida asking if he can shove his hand in Denji’s mouth, clearly having come up with a plan that should be explained in chapter 189.

In summation

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Chapter 188 was an exciting and eventful issue despite not much occurring. The return of Hirofumi Yoshida earns chapter 188 such status by the nature of what this return does. In terms of pushing the narrative forward, Yoshida clearly plans to abuse the link between Denji and Pochita’s stomachs, which will likely incorporate the Octopus Devil’s powers.

However, Yoshida’s return via Denji’s stomach also raises questions about who or what Yoshida truly is. While Yoshida being the Octopus Devil’s host or the Devil itself has been a theory for quite some time, chapter 188 notably teases this as canon via its title of “Ocopus, War, Chainsaw.” Excitingly, it seems that mangaka Tatsuki Fujimoto is indeed building toward such an eventual reveal.