Chainsaw Man Chapter 231, Goodbye Pochita Review: Well, That Was Abrupt.

In my review for the previous chapter of Chainsaw Man, I speculated on the story’s future.
It seemed like Fujimoto may have been gearing Denji and Asa up for a fight with Fami, powered up by the growing fear of insects and vermin.
Well, once again Fujimoto did the unexpected by delivering us an abrupt penultimate chapter to Chainsaw Man Part Two.
Yes, the next chapter of Chainsaw Man will be the last chapter for a while, maybe forever if Fujimoto decides not to make a Part Three.
Chapter 231 opens in the immediate aftermath of the previous one, and I was immediately struck dumb by the title, “Goodbye Pochita.”
To me at least, nothing prior seemed to be hinting at Pochita’s death.
Well, this is apparently what just happened.
The chapter begins with Pochita appearing before Denji, revealing they were eaten by the Devil that just attacked them.
Denji is horrified because he no longer has the chance to have sex, but Pochita says this is a good thing because some part of Denji was still unhappy, even when he connected with Asa.
Transforming into Chainsaw Man, Pochita tells Denji that he is, “One that can only find heaven when you’re in hell.”
While this is a compelling quote, I am not sure if I like its implications, considering that Pochita is now saying Denji would be happier being back under the Yakuza’s thumb.
After hugging Denji as Chainsaw Man, something Pochita always wanted, Pochita proceeds to eat his heart, erasing himself and Chainsaw Man from existence, seemingly creating a world where he and Denji never met.
The final panel takes us back to Denji’s rundown shack, where his story began.
So, Denji is seemingly back to square one.
He will probably be indebted to the Yakuza, dying of a disease that makes him cough up blood, and with no Pochita to help him.
Seriously, why did Pochita think Denji would be better off?
I guess we will see next chapter, along with whether this is the last chapter of just Part Two or the entire series.
The reason the latter might be a possibility is because this does feel like the setup for an ending, just not a good one.
If this is going to be the conclusion of Chainsaw Man, there will probably be many questions unanswered.
What happened to Asa and Yoru?
Does this mean Denji and Power will never reunite?
What was the point of this entire last fight if everything just gets reset?
Granted, we do not know for certain that this is the end.
Fingers crossed it is just the conclusion for Part Two.
Although, even if is that, I do not think it will be completely satisfying either.
This whole Pochita-eating-himself-and-sending-Denji-back-to-the-beginning ending just feels really out of nowhere, and not in the usual good way Fujimoto is able to pull off.
Pretty funny how the last chapter restored my faith in Fujimoto, only for this one to make me doubt him again.
On the day Chapter 132 releases, I will be anxious to see if my concerns are warranted.