Chainsaw Man's Age of Devils has begun (& Fujimoto's latest Part 1 callback all but proves it)

Modified Mar 14, 2025 06:11 GMT

Chainsaw Man could already be hinting at the Age of Devils (Image via Shueisha).

Chainsaw Man chapter 196 recently came out, and it generated a lot of speculation as it was the official introduction of the Death Devil. Furthermore, this could represent the beginning of the Age of Devils in the series, which is something that was already established with this mysterious lady's arrival and has been emphasized by a recent callback to the first part of the manga.

In the first part of the Chainsaw Man manga, Denji and his friends were sent to hell during a battle, and the first image that readers saw was a line of ants on the floor. This is very similar imagery to the one featuring the Death Devil in the most recent chapter of the series, which could represent how the land of the Devils is slowly being brought to Earth.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for the series and is speculative in nature.

Explaining how the most recent Chainsaw Man manga chapter could hint at the start of the Age of Devils

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During the events of the International Assassins arc, Santa Claus made a contract with the Hell Devil to send Denji and his allies to that land, with one of the first images of the place being a line of ants on the floor. This is something that was recently mirrored with the Death Devil in chapter 196 of the manga, as she is seen slowly murdering one ant at a time.

This scene could represent the beginning of the Age of Devils, which was already teased by Fami and Nayuta, as they believe that Death is going to bring forth a new era of darkness and destruction across the world. Therefore, this could be author Tatsuki Fujimoto's way of making a callback to when hell was presented for the first time in the series.

However, there is also a counterargument to be made that Nayuta and Fami already mentioned how Death's arrival was going to mean the end of the world, and this scene with the ants could be a way to show the character's habit of taking lives. It is still early stages, though, so this narrative can take a lot of different directions.

The current mysteries of the series

Fakesaw Man as seen in the manga (Image via Shueisha).

There are some major mysteries to deal with in the series at the moment, such as the fake Chainsaw Man who recently returned in chapter 196, and more details regarding the Death Devil. Furthermore, there is also how this is going to be connected with Denji and Asa Mitaka's desire for him to stop Yoru's plan, although she doesn't want to tell the truth about the War Devil's intentions.

All of this comes with the background of a prophecy of the world potentially falling into darkness because of Death, which is something that Public Safety wanted to avoid. Therefore, it seems that Denji, with Pochita's powers, is the only one who can put an end to this, although there is no denying that Fujimoto is bound to deliver a plot twist at some point in the manga.

Final thoughts

This little callback in Chainsaw Man could probably hint at the beginning of the Age of Devils and also a possible final arc. There is also a very good chance that this could expand upon Death's personality and how easy it is for her to take other people's lives.

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Edited by Janhavi Chauhan