Pochita's biggest mistake in Chainsaw Man may be his Aging Devil interaction

Modified Oct 31, 2024 01:35 GMT

One of the most important plotlines across recent months of publication from mangaka Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man series has been the Aging Devil’s deal with Public Safety. Per the contract established between the two parties, the Aging Devil is willing to sacrifice itself to and be eaten by Pochita, eliminating the concept of aging from the world likewise.

Aging even offered itself up to Pochita to fulfill this contract, yet was seemingly rejected by the Hero of Hell for reasons unknown as of this writing. Chainsaw Man fans championed Pochita’s choice at the time since it avoided the unnecessary deaths of 10 thousand children via the Public Safety contract.

However, there is an argument to be made that this was a major blunder on Pochita’s part when looking at the Aging Devil’s death from an alternate viewpoint. Moreover, such a perspective could also give more credibility to Public Safety and its leadership than fans are willing to acknowledge.

Alternate viewpoint of Aging Devil’s contract in Chainsaw Man highlights Pochita’s mistake, Public Safety’s true goal

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Pochita’s hypothetical consumption of the Aging Devil in Chainsaw Man would come at the cost of the lives of 10 thousand innocent children. This sacrifice is why fans initially and immediately rebuked Public Safety for making such a choice. Likewise, it explains fans’ later joy when Pochita seemingly refused to eat the Aging Devil.

However, there could be some benefits to eating the Aging Devil and erasing the concept of aging likewise, especially in the context of the Death Devil’s coming. The fear of death and mortality is inherently intertwined with the concept of aging and the passage of time. Many times, people’s fear of death grows, specifically for the fact of their aging and the effect that realization can have on them mentally.

It would likewise stand to reason that eliminating aging would weaken the Death Devil by completely removing a major source of the fear of death. While this wouldn’t be enough to neuter the Death Devil in terms of their strength and powers, it would have a noticeable impact. In this way, it can be argued that Pochita’s refusal to eat the Death Devil is a mistake, given the coming battle with the Aging Devil.

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However, this perspective also suggests that Public Safety may not act as unnecessarily cruel and sadistic as fans previously thought. This is further supported by the fact that Public Safety’s main goal in Chainsaw Man Part 2 seems to have been preventing the coming of the Death Devil. It’s more likely than not that a major influence of Public Safety contracting with Aging is the kneecapping effect it could have on the Death Devil’s arrival.

All of this, however, is not to say that the act of willingly sacrificing 10 thousand children isn’t completely reprehensible and detestable. The sacrifice of innocent lives should not be excused, even if it allegedly serves a greater good. However, this alternate viewpoint suggests that stopping Public Safety’s plan may be Pochita’s biggest mistake in the series.

Final thoughts

Public Safety’s deal with the Aging Devil may have been part of a larger plan that Pochita ruined (Image via MAPPA Studios)

While Pochita initially refused Aging’s offer and created this hypothetical mistake, nothing guarantees that the Chainsaw Devil won’t get a second chance. More likely than not, fans will see Pochita confront the Aging Devil once more when Denji and Asa Mitaka/War Devil Yoru escape from the Primal Fear Devil’s world. A “right” choice from Pochita in this second chance could see humanity get an edge over the Death Devil for their coming fight.

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Edited by Joseph Brogan