Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto ruthlessly calls out fans in chapter 142

With the release of chapter 142 of author and illustrator Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man manga series, fans saw the Weapon Hybrids’ plan kick off in an exciting fashion. While it kicked off in a wholly unexpected way, fans were pleased with the execution and excited to see the next fight in the series as being set to imminently begin.

What was particularly shocking about Chainsaw Man’s latest release, however, was Fujimoto’s choice to preface this setup with a conversation between Denji and Fumiko Mifune. While fans’ opinions of Mifune have been varied, to say the least since her introduction, this latest scene has seemingly warmed many up to the idea of her as a character.

Fans are also asserting that the Chainsaw Man mangaka used her conversation with Denji and Barem’s conversation with him immediately after to call out readers of the series. While a shocking claim to make, there certainly seems to be more than enough evidence to substantiate it beyond a shadow of a doubt.

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Chainsaw Man mangaka looking to prove a point to fans with latest series dialogue

Chainsaw Man’s latest issue began with Denji sitting on a bench at a park while watching Nayuta play in some bumper cars. He and Fumiko Mifune discussed the current state of his life in the meantime, with her revealing that she and Public Safety have been watching him in the bathroom. After reacting to this news, Denji asserted that Fumiko isn’t a fan of his despite her claims, asserting that all the women who come onto him hate his guts.

Fumiko admits that she does hate him a tiny bit too, revealing that during his fight with the Gun Fiend, he let her parents die because he was too busy fighting to hear her cries for help. She adds that she’s not mad at him, also revealing that she saw him turn back to human and realized he was just a boy when she saw him crying. She asserted that she was a Denji fan and, at that moment, made up her mind to one day save him from his supposed fate.

Barem joined the two and asserted that he’s a Chainsaw Man fan, wanting to see him fight, carve up devils, get covered in gore, and die and come back to life again and again. He let Denji know that a Devil attack on the park’s nearby building was about to begin, asserting that people would soon be begging him to save them as the issue ended.

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How Fujimoto calls fans out

As mentioned above, Fujimoto goes out of his way to offer two juxtaposed opinions on Denji in terms of who he is as himself versus who he is as the series’ titular hero. Fumiko cares more about Denji and his well-being than she does his alter ego. Meanwhile, Barem feels that Denji’s preferred nature is that of the eponymous Hybrid.

One of the strongest arguments for this chapter serving as a representation of the series’ fanbase stems from Fumiko's last comment. By asserting that she is actually a Denji fan rather than a Chainsaw Man fan, it’s clear that she is meant to represent those readers who’ve enjoyed the second part’s grounded, human focus. Likewise, Barem must represent those fans who prefer part 1’s insane, over-the-top action, which is further supported by his actual dialogue.

While it may not seem so at first glance, Fujimoto is using the two characters and their respective monologues as representations of the current Chainsaw Man fanbase. Some have heavily praised the focus on Denji and his normal life over his heroic form, even as others wish the series would return to the fast-paced, chaotic nature that part 1 was known for.

Obviously, there is no right answer to which is the better way to write the series, and Fujimoto even seems to agree with that himself despite having the power to give a definitive answer. It’s almost as if, for this specific chapter and comparison, Fujimoto painted himself as Denji, with Fumiko and Barem representing the aforementioned sides of the fanbase.

The issue also appears to be Fujimoto’s tongue-in-cheek way of both acknowledging and alleviating the problems some fans have with the second part so far. By framing Denji’s return as Chainsaw Man within the context of an event in his everyday life, it’s almost as if Fujimoto is telling fans (or even himself) that there’s a way to have cake and eat it too.

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