How did Asa get her scar in Chainsaw Man? Explained

Modified Sep 04, 2024 11:44 GMT

How did Asa get her scar in Chainsaw Man? Explained (Image via Shueisha)

At the start of the Chainsaw Man manga’s second part, better known as the Academy Saga, fans meet Asa Mitaka, who is quickly established as a protagonist of the second part. These first few chapters exclusively focus on her, letting fans get acquainted with her and her role in the series as it relates to hosting War Devil Yoru.

This development comes at the end of Chainsaw Man chapter 98, which sees Asa Mitaka seemingly killed before being brought back to life by a deal with the War Devil. However, many fans are asking the question - “how did Asa get her scar?” with it suddenly appearing on her face at the end of chapter 98 despite her being brought back to life.

Asa’s scar in Chainsaw Man isn’t technically hers

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In Chainsaw Man, Asa got her scar as a result of being killed by her classmate and brought back to life by the War Devil, with the scar now appearing when Yoru takes control of her body. Thus, technically speaking, it’s more accurate to say that the scar is instead Yoru’s since it only appears when she has control over Asa’s body. However, since it is still Asa’s body, it’s equally fair to label it as Asa’s scar.

While this may answer the question of “how did Asa get her scar,” it doesn’t answer why Fujimoto chooses to draw Yoru with it specifically and not both Yoru and Asa. The most likely and logical explanation is that it provides an easy way of distinguishing the two characters from each other. This is especially helpful since they occupy the same body and likewise can only have specific features distinguishing them.

For example, the only other major difference in appearance between the two when they transform in Chainsaw Man is a change in their eyes. As Yoru, their eyes become ring-like as those of Famine Devil Fami and Control Devils Nayuta and Makima are/were. However, from far away, it would be difficult to make out or establish such a detail, whereas a scar spanning the length of their face would be much more apparent.

Why the scar disappearing makes sense in-series, explained

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There’s also a good answer as to why the scar appears for Yoru and disappears for Asa in-series. While it hasn’t been explicitly answered whether Asa is a Fiend or Hybrid, many fans have assumed that she is technically a Fiend, but displays Hybrid traits and abilities. This is most likely because Asa was only at near-death when Yoru took over her body rather than full death and due to the power and status Yoru has as the War Devil.

With this in mind, the scar coming back when Yoru takes over their body is emblematic of the Fiend process of reanimation. By the nature of Asa’s body being all but dead when Yoru took over, this scar would naturally appear after Yoru healed and took over the body. Quanxi’s harem of Fiends serves as a good example of how injuries can’t be fully undone once a Devil takes over a corpse and becomes a Fiend.

However, it only appears when Yoru transforms because they have an informal Hybrid-style contract in place. In other words, since Yoru isn’t in control of their body all the time like a regular Fiend would be, the scar doesn’t always appear. However, since Yoru took over Asa’s body in the same way a Fiend would, it emphasizes the context of their origins. This change in appearance is similar to a Hybrid and suggests that Yoru and Asa’s situation blurs the lines.