Chainsaw Man Chapter 106, Bonfire Review: War vs Justice.

Coinciding with the first episode of the Chainsaw Man anime, Tatsuki Fujimoto released Chapter 106, “Bonfire.”
It is a much shorter chapter than the prior ones in Part Two but that does not make it any less significant, building up to a fight between Yoru and the Justice Devil at Asa’s school.
“Bonfire” begins by detailing the fallout between Asa and Yoru, following Yuko revealing that she made a deal with the Justice Devil and now plans to kill all of Asa’s bullies.
Asa wants to talk Yuko out of it but Yuko attacking the school plays right into Yoru’s plan to draw out Chainsaw Man, so she takes over Asa’s body to make sure the attack happens.
So much for them seemingly coming to an agreement in Chapter 101.
Yoru’s other reasons for taking over Asa’s body is to silence Yuko about her, and also that killing a Devil will get her and Asa into the Devil Hunting club, thus getting them closer to Chainsaw Man, or so they think.
Either way, Asa has no say in the matter, as Yoru plans to stay in control until Yuko is dead.
Speaking of Yuko, we then see her burning the body of her neighbour in her backyard, promising to kill all of Asa’s bullies.
Her wording, “I’ll kill all the bad guys for you, just like Chainsaw Man” appears to be Fujimoto showcasing some of the negative effects of Denji’s actions, such as Yuko sees herself as like him by murdering those bullying Asa.
The next day, Yuko journeys to school, only to be confronted in the hallway by Yoru with a sword.
Using the Justice Devil’s power to read her mind, Yuko realizes it is Yoru she is talking to and that Chainsaw Man goes to their school.
As she reflects on her disappointment about this, we get a curious panel, where the speech bubbles are shown behind a window, partially blocked but not to the point that we cannot read what is being said.
Perhaps this is Fujimoto showing how the sound of their conversation is muffled elsewhere.
Or maybe they are being observed?
Perhaps by Yoshida?
In any case, Yuko asks Yoru to step aside, saying they can fight after she kills the bullies but Yoru refuses, knowing Yuko will run after this to escape the Devil Hunters.
Yuko then tells Yoru that she cannot beat her because she can read her mind.
Although this does raise the question of how Yoru managed to defeat the Justice Devil back when it controlled the Class President in Chapter 98, it does lead to a smart moment from Yoru, where she uses Asa as a hostage, saying if Yuko kills her then she will be killing Asa as well.
This angers Yuko, causing her to say that she likes Asa but hates Yoru, before transforming into the Justice Devil, bringing this short chapter to a close, with the cliffhanger teasing the rematch between the War and the Justice Devil.
One thing that is interesting to note about the Justice Devil, though, is that its design has changed.
Back in my review for Chapter 98, I criticized its design, stating that its form did not seem to resemble the fear it was based off, like all the other devils.
Well, this issue I had is fixed with this chapter, as the Justice Devil now has a form that kind of looks like a monstrous version of Lady Justice, to me.
I do wonder why the Justice Devil changed forms between its hosts?
I have heard a theory that it is because Yuko has a keener sense of justice than the Class President, so maybe that is it?
Either way, the fight between Yoru and Yuko should be interesting.
It could lead to Yoshida stepping in or even Denji revealing himself as Chainsaw Man.
As for Yoru and Asa, they actually have an advantage against the Justice Devil.
Because Asa considers Yuko a friend, this means Yoru can transform her into a weapon, although I am sure Asa will try to stop this.
Yuko is probably going to end up biting the dust, though.
If this does happen, it sure will sure have been an unexpected way for her to go.
When Yuko was first introduced, we all thought that when she died it would be in a way to motivate Asa, not as an antagonist.
It just goes to show how inventive Fujimoto is as a writer.
All in all, “Bonfire” is another good Chainsaw Man chapter.
It is a short one but this has an upside because it means we will be getting Chapter 107 next week, rather than two weeks for now.
I am intrigued to see how the fight between Yoru and Yuko will play out.