Chainsaw Man: Denji's normal life was doomed to fail from the start

Since the start of Chainsaw Man part 2, fans have observed some huge changes in Denji. While he previously lived a terrible life full of debt, he still seemed enthusiastic about his future. However, the same cannot be said about his now seemingly normal life.

Chainsaw Man part 2 follows the aftermath of the Public Safety Saga. Denji is no longer in Public Safety and has begun his life as a high school student. However, the moment Denji tried to reveal his secret identity to people, he was stopped by a Devil Hunter, who led him to a "normal life."

Disclaimer: This article may contain spoilers from the Chainsaw Man manga.

---

Why Denji's "normal life" hasn't turned out great in Chainsaw Man part 2

While many Chainsaw Man fans would claim that Denji's time in the Public Safety Division was terrible due to the dangers he faced, the truth is seemingly far off.

When he first joined Public Safety, he was hopeful and enthusiastic. He had several goals that were built one over the other as he slowly tried to achieve each of them. Despite the fact that he was often left to fend off devils on his own, he never seemed exhausted and was always up for a fight if a reward was in sight.

Denji as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

However, in the manga's second part, Denji has been quite different. He not only does not have any true friends but he is also left alone to take care of Nayuta, Meowy, and his pet dogs. With that, he has less money and is always on the lookout to earn a living through odd jobs.

The one thing he began to enjoy was becoming Chainsaw Man and gaining some media attention. However, after Yoshida's appearance, all of that changed. Although Denji wanted people to know that he was the fabled devil hunter to become popular with girls, Yoshida forcibly stopped Denji from ever transforming into the devil again.

Yoshida as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

While it is true that transforming into the devil does put Denji in much danger, the truth is that, through the passage of time, the transformation became part of Denji's identity. In the manga's first part, Denji was obsessed with making people obsessed with "himself" rather than his alter ego. However, after he witnessed how much people loved his devil form, he could no longer see himself as just being Denji.

So, when Yoshida shut him off from becoming Chainsaw Man, he seemed to have lost his identity. Following that, he was left to process the trauma of losing his close friends, being betrayed repeatedly, and loneliness, all while being stripped away from his biggest source of gratification.

Denji as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha)

This is also evident in the manga's chapter 140, which showed Barem giving Denji an option to either live a "normal life" or become Chainsaw Man. While it seemed like Denji chose the "normal life," in reality, he avoided the question, hinting that he wanted to take on the form again.

Given that a "normal life" would be one where Denji should ideally never transform into the devil, Denji's "normal life" was bound to be doomed from the very beginning. Even if the "normal life" itself isn't so bad, Denji's preferences for the same has happened to change over time.