Chainsaw Man Chapters 169 and 170 Review: Barem Bridge Must Die!

In my review for Chapter 168 of Chainsaw Man, I said the sushi place Denji and the group going to being called “Death by Sushi” was ominous.
Well, after reading Chapters 169 and 170, I can say that I hate being right.
Chapter 170, “How to Eat Sushi” is right up there with Chapters 79 and 81 in terms of the sheer trauma unloaded upon Denji.
But I am getting ahead of myself.
Chapter 169, “Hands and Adaptation” builds up to this devastating moment well, with Denji still reeling from his and Yoru’s intimate moment in the alleyway.
He wonders if he is “happy or unhappy now” which is pretty sad to see that he still does not know.
Unfortunately, I doubt he will be happy ever again after what is revealed later.
While some of the group seem unsure about eating, Fami, of course, digs right in.
Asa, however, does not, seeing as she does not like sushi.
Fami has said that she can control people who are starving, so maybe this is a strategy to control Asa?
If Fami is pulling Asa’s strings, then Barem is definitely pulling Denji’s.
The Flamethrower Hybrid once again proves himself to be a master of stealth, as he just slides on into the conversation as he has done plenty of times before.
Denji attempts to attack him, only to stop immediately when Barem brings up Nayuta, promising to let Denji see her if he does what he says.
His first request?
“Eat this egg sushi.”
The chapter ends on this line, and my immediate thought was, please don’t let Nayuta be the sushi. 
After thinking about it for a bit, though, I reasoned that there was no way Fujimoto would kill Nayuta off screen.
I had been telling myself that ever since she disappeared, and I told myself that right until the devastating reveal of Chapter 170.
“How to Eat Sushi” begins with Denji initially refusing Barem’s demand, only to relent when he brings up Nayuta again.
Denji begins to resentfully stuff his face, to which Barem says, “Good boy.”
Once again, I cannot help but be reminded of Makima, which makes sense considering how key she is to Barem’s motivations, which are still mysterious.
He says he wants the Chainsaw Man with the ability to erase names from existence but Denji protests, saying that chainsaws don’t have that power and they are just for cutting down trees.
Barem then raises the interesting possibility that chainsaws had other uses, which Chainsaw Man removed knowledge of.
There is a theory going around that Chainsaw Man is the Life Devil or Birth Devil, since the original purpose of chainsaws was to help during childbirth.
If Chainsaw Man is the Life Devil, it would make sense that it could remove names from existence.
If it can bring concepts into the world then it can also take them out.
Chainsaw Man being the Life Devil would also make it the direct opposite of the Death Devil, which raises interesting implications, since Yoshida asked Denji at the aquarium if he thought he could eat the Death Devil.
Back to the chapter itself, Barem then tells Denji that two things are needed for Chainsaw Man to return.
The first of these is for people to fear Chainsaw Man, which has already been achieved through the Chainsaw Men transformations.
The second of these is Denji’s unhappiness.
This reminded me so much of Makima orchestrating Aki’s death and killing Power to make Denji miserable, and the parallel is clear because of what happens next.
Barem orders another round of sushi and, as it goes down the conveyer belt, we see each customer’s disgusted reaction, from Asa to Katana Man, as Fujimoto slowly builds to the full page spread reveal of Nayuta’s head on a plate.
Nayuta is dead, and Barem has most likely been feeding Denji pieces of her, just like Denji ate Makima.
I screamed “NO!” when I saw Nayuta’s head on the plate.
This moment is just as horrifying as when Denji was forced to kill Aki.
It is just as crushing as when Makima killed Power.
Denji went through a lot of suffering in Chainsaw Man Part One, but his ending was hopeful.
He had Meowy, Makima’s dogs and, of course, Nayuta, a little sister who he was raising to be a good person, despite all that her past life had put him through.
Now, he has had everything taken away from him again.
Meowy and the dogs likely burned to death in the apartment fire and now Denji has lost the person who meant the most to him.
The chapter ends with a close up of Nayuta’s decapitated head, while Barem watches Denji’s horrified reaction with a smug smile.
To that, I say can someone please kill this monster?
Barem Bridge is one of the biggest psychos in the series and he has probably just surpassed Makima in terms of emotional trauma inflicted upon Denji.
I cannot deny that he is a great villain, though.
The bastard is probably going to get his wish too, as Denji will transform into Pochita, and a fight between him Asa will then ensue.
As for Nayuta, I hope there is some way that she can be revived.
Power stated at the end of Part One that she could be brought back, so maybe Denji could do the same for Nayuta?
Hopefully?
I just want Denji to be happy.
Sadly, this probably will not happen.
Hell, I would not be surprised if Denji stops trying to find happiness altogether after this.
I would too if everyone I loved was taken from me in the most tragic and cruel ways imaginable.
Chapter 170 is one of Chainsaw Man‘s most gut-wrenching chapters, and Chapter 169 is a tense build up to it.
Knowing Fujimoto, the fallout of this in the next chapter is probably going to be just as traumatizing.