Chainsaw Man: Is there an impostor Chainsaw Man?

With the release of Chainsaw Man chapter 118 on Tuesday, January 17, a vast majority of the series’ most pressing questions were immediately answered. However, a few lingering issues still remain, despite author and illustrator Tatsuki Fujimoto’s satisfactory resolution of Yoru’s attempt to weaponize Denji.

One of the biggest issues stems from several Chainsaw Man chapters prior, in which fans saw what was suspected to be an impostor to the titular hero killing and eating Yuko. While many thought this might be Haruka Iseumi, his own confession seen in the Return of the Eternity Devil Arc seemingly absolved him from being the impostor.

Thus, fans are questioning if there is even an impostor at all, and if so, who exactly it could be and how their powers may have come about.

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Impostor Chainsaw Man likely not a red herring, but Fujimoto likely using other plot point for a bait and switch

Is there an impostor?

Based on everything fans currently know, it is almost a foregone conclusion that there must be an impostor Chainsaw Man running around Tokyo. The single strongest piece of evidence for this argument comes from chapter 111, which is where Yuko dies and the concept of an impostor is introduced.

One of the last pages of the issue sees the “bdroom” sound effect echoing across the buildings of Tokyo as the sun rises. This onomatopoeia is typically used to show that Denji is transforming into his Chainsaw Man form. However, the next set of panels making up the left half of the page sees Denji sound asleep at home, as evidenced by the dogs and what is suspected to be Nayuta’s head surrounding him.

This set of panels also establishes that Denji is at home sleeping as Yuko is being killed by the impostor. While open to interpretation, her saying the titular hero’s name in the form of a question before she dies also suggests that there’s something about him that is differentiating from Denji’s form. This also occurs while he is still, as far as fans know, sleeping, further suggesting an impostor to exist.

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Who is the impostor and how did they get their powers?

Prior to recent issues, fans heavily suspected that Haruka Iseumi was the impostor, mainly due to him having a ripcord on his chest which looked just like Denji’s in the same place. Yet, per his own admission, this is a cosmetic surgery he had, rather than being some sort of actual power.

However, it doesn’t make sense for Iseuki to admit to having Chainsaw Man’s powers if he actually did, somewhat invalidating his story. He’s also implied to be more knowledgeable of Devils than he may initially seem, with chapter 117 suggesting he knows what Asa’s powers are and chapter 118 seeing him stalk Denji and Asa as they plan their date.

As such, Iseumi is still very much a candidate to be the impostor, with the ripcord on his chest being the most damning piece of evidence yet. Until it’s proven to fans that pulling his ripcord doesn’t activate any powers, he simply cannot be excluded as a suspect to the impostor’s true identity.

If it ends up not being him, however, then the possibilities are truly endless. One subtle clue which may help narrow down a general idea of the impostor’s identity also comes from chapter 111, which sees several crows flying over a sign which reads “egg.” While not necessarily true, this may be Fujimoto leaving a clue to who the impostor is.

It has never been confirmed or denied that Devils can be cloned, have multiples of themselves, or (most relevantly) spawn Devils from fear of their own existence. It is possible that, while the original Chainsaw Devil (Pochita) was born from the fear of humans towards chainsaws, there could be a Chainsaw Man Devil born from the fear of Devils towards Chainsaw Man.

An alternative explanation could be that this impostor is born from the adoration of humans towards Chainsaw Man, and the fear that they may one day betray or leave them. In either case, this newly born Devil may have found a human to contact with, thus giving them powers to mimic those of Denji and the original Chainsaw Devil.

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