Chainsaw Man Chapter 187, Barf! Review: Treesaw Man.

Going into Chapter 187 of Chainsaw Man, I was excited to see the fight between Pochita and the Aging Devil.
Sure enough, it did not disappoint, as “Barf!” begins with Pochita’s heart crashing through the building, his body forming before anyone can stop it.
Pochita immediately slices the Aging Devil apart but, being a Primal Fear, it takes more than that to kill the Aging Devil who turns Pochita into a tree.
These panels are excellent, once again showing off Tatsuki Fujimoto’s skill.
Back in the Aging Devil’s dimension, Denji continues to kill and eat the tree people to power Pochita up.
However, no matter how many times Pochita cuts through the Aging Devil, it always regenerates.
Left with no other option, Denji tells Pochita to vomit up a Devil that will help them.
The chapter then ends with Denji about to barf up this Devil.
There were theories going around after this chapter that Denji would either throw up the Nuclear Weapons Devil, or the Octopus Devil, but we know from some teaser panels released that Denji will throw up Yoshida himself.
Not only is this teased panel grossly hilarious, but it also adds more weight to the theory that Yoshida is the only person who once escaped the Aging Devil’s dimension.
He will probably help Denji and Asa escape next chapter so the fight with the Aging Devil can continue.
As for Chapter 187, it is a brief but exciting one, with a lot of great action panels.
I am interested to see how Yoshida will help next chapter.

Chainsaw Man Chapters 184-186 Review: Return of the Perpetual Motion Machine.

Having fallen behind in my Chainsaw Man reviews, I have decided to review all three at once before Chapter 187 releases tomorrow.
Chapter 184: “Run Denji” is a short chapter, but one that shows his development from the previous chapter.
It begins with Denji running around the lake in the Aging Devil’s dimension, while Asa and Yoru sit down, confused by his actions, and the crazy guy continues to imitate a cicada.
While Denji runs, the Aging Devil appears to try and make a contract with him.
If Denji convinces Pochita to eat the Aging Devil, thus dooming thousands of children, he will be freed.
Denji refuses and the Aging Devil finds it odd how optimistic he is after Nayuta’s death, cruelly concluding that he never loved her.
It is then that Fujimoto shows why Denji’s memories of Aki, Power, Reze, and Nayuta last chapter were so vital.
Denji now knows that no matter how many loved ones he has lost, he can always find a new family, while remembering the old.
Although hopeful, it is pretty morbid when Denji says that he can find a new family repeatedly if they keep dying.
It’s not really a good sales pitch for potential loved ones, you know?
With this, Fujimoto brings back the concept of a perpetual motion machine from the original Eternity Devil Arc.
There, Denji used it to defeat the Eternity Devil, now he is using it to motivate himself to keep moving.
The Aging Devil calls Denji stupid for believing this, and the chapter then ends with Denji calling him stupid back, stating that his escape plan is already in motion.
I would say that “Run Denji” is a solid chapter, which builds upon Denji’s emotional growth.
It also leads well into the next chapter, “Stomach in Another World” where we see the beginning of Denji’s plan unfolding.
Before this though, we get more of the Aging Devil’s blathering.
It once again state that it is impossible to escape the dimension, revealing that all of the humans who came before have turned into trees after thousands of years trapped.
This fascinates the Aging Devil, who wants all humans to live long enough to become trees and “discover unseen concepts,” providing another motivation for it, beyond the murder of thousands of children.
Or, at least, that seems to be what the Aging Devil claims when speaking to the elderly government official, who it is currently using as a chair.
Denji then reveals his master plan: Using a weapon created by Asa to cut out a tree person’s guts and then eat them.
Since Denji’s stomach is in the real world, this allows Pochita to revive himself.
It is kind of funny how in Chapter 104, Denji told Asa Chainsaw Man would only eat people the “one time” (referencing Makima), and now he is doing it again to save both himself and Asa.
In my review of Chapter 183, I also predicted that whatever Denji’s plan was, it would be stupid enough to work.
Well, with Pochita’s revival, this proves accurate.
The chapter concludes with the Aging Devil warning Public Safety that Chainsaw Man is on his way.
Good thing too because if the chapter went on for another page, we would probably see all of the Public Safety Agents crap their pants in terror.
Chapter 186, “Yank, Blorsh, Bdoom” begins with Pochita beginning his lightning-fast advance towards the Aging Devil.
Thinking quick on its feet, the Aging Devil offers a contract to the Public Safety officers, including Fumiko.
If they give it charge over their bodies, it will save them from Chainsaw Man.
All of the officers agree, and the Aging Devil sacrifices their nails to bloodily incapacitate Pochita.
However, due to Denji constantly eating in the other dimension, Pochita is able to revive.
It is at this point that Fumiko tells the Aging Devil not to worry about them, and continue to use their bodies to defeat Chainsaw Man.
Bold of you to assume that the Aging Devil actually gives a damn about you, Fumiko.
As for her, I continue to wonder just what Fujimoto has planned for her character, if anything.
Her stated motivations do make sense with her backstory but, at the same time, I cannot help but believe there is something incredibly sketchy about her.
Maybe it’s just because I’m still mad she refused to help Nayuta, leading to her death.
The Aging Devil takes Fumiko’s liver, causing her to vomit blood, and then takes another officer’s eyes.
And so, another perpetual motion machine is created where, every time Pochita falls, Denji eats in the other dimension, reviving him.
Pochita eventually decides to accelerate the motion, ripping out his own heart and throwing it right at the Aging Devil.
He used this same move to fight Makima back in Part One and it is no less metal here, with the chapter ending on it.
So, next chapter we will finally see the confrontation between Pochita and the Aging Devil.
It will be interesting to see if Pochita can end it quickly or if the Aging Devil will put up more of a fight.
Either way, Pochita is definitely not going to eat the Aging Devil, at least not willingly.
Overall, these three chapters were a lot of fun, delivering on character development for Denji, and perfectly displaying the insanity of his plan.
Fujimoto also brought the old concept of a perpetual motion machine back, this time to reference Denji’s constant loss of loved ones, and to reference the cycle of Denji reviving Pochita.
I look forward to reading the next chapter tomorrow and seeing the outcome of the fight between Chainsaw Man and the Aging Devil.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 183, Barf, Head, Perv Review: Bitter Memories.

I was pretty excited going into Chapter 183 of Chainsaw Man, “Barf, Head, Perv.”
The previous chapter ended by teasing one of Denji’s memories of Aki and Power, making many of us believe we were going to get a flashback about them.
Unfortunately, all we actually get is a couple of panels of the back of their heads, as Denji remembers them.
The brief, mournful flash is quickly followed by disgust as Denji throws up another Devil, this one the Bitterness Devil.
Denji doing so allows him to remember the bitterness of the coffee he shared with Reze, followed by another now tragic memory of him walking the dogs with Nayuta.
This causes Denji to realize that Pochita ate all of those Devils to make Denji remember the times when he was happy.
The Snow Devil was to remember Aki and Power, and the Bitterness Devil was to remember Reze.
Once again Pochita proves himself to be the best Devil there is.
Denji gets his second wind and, in a crude way that is so typical of him at this point, tells Asa that he is going to get them out of the Aging Devil’s dimension.
Whatever Denji’s plan is it involves Pochita’s stomach in the outside world, but Denji declares that this plan is “super smart.”
Given Denji’s previous “super smart” plans in the series, I am willing to bet this is a plan so stupid that it will somehow work to hilarious effect.
But we will have to wait until next chapter to see what this plan is because, with Denji’s declaration, the chapter comes to a close.
Overall, it is a pretty good chapter.
It was disappointing to see that the Aki and Power cliffhanger only resulted in a brief tease, but it was also nice to see Reze again, if only briefly.
This shows Fujimoto has not forgotten about her and hopefully has plans for her, since she should still be alive like the other Devil Hybrids.
We will have to wait and see, just like we will have to wait until next chapter to see what Denji’s “super smart” plan is.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 182, Cute Review: Let It Snow.

Well, Chapter 182 of Chainsaw Man sure was a surprise.
Its ending left me both in shock and incredibly excited for the next chapter.
Starting from the beginning, though, Chapter 182, “Cute” begins from where the last one left off, with Yoru kissing Denji.
Going into the chapter, I wondered if we would be getting a Tokyo Ghoul Chapter 125 kind of deal but, in hindsight, this was pretty shortsighted of me.
For Denji to give into Yoru’s advances would be to walk back on his development, and he proves how much he has grown by pushing Yoru away, telling her, “I can’t reflect on my mistakes for crap like that.”
It is unclear if either Yoru or Asa talks to Denji next, since we cannot see their face, but I think it is Asa, given how solemn she seems when she talks about all she has lost.
It is Yoru who clearly takes over next though because, with scars clear on her face, she tries to cheer Denji up by joyfully telling him he will get over his grief like she did.
Asa rightfully punches Yoru in the face for that and takes back control.
It is not Yoru’s platitudes about getting over grief that will help Denji, but Asa’s realistic dissection of it.
She tells Denji about the loss of her mother, and the guilt she harbors from that day, telling him that it is impossible to get over it.
Asa then throws Denji’s words back at him, stating that he taught her that she has, “Something I look forward to so much that I’m willing to eat a Crapburger!’
This somehow causes Denji to do the very opposite of eating, throwing up the Snow Devil that Pochita ate.
This seems to release its power inside the Aging Devil’s dimension, making it snow.
The chapter then ends in the most shocking way of all: showing Power and Aki on a ship from a time before their deaths.
Originally, I thought this was them somehow manifesting in the Aging Devil’s dimension, but the black background of the paneling makes me think Denji is flashing back to a time when he was happy with them.
Whatever the case, I am incredibly excited to see Power and Aki again next chapter.
It has been so long.
I thought Power might be making a return soon, due to Pochita taking part in the blood drive, but Aki was a complete surprise.
Asa’s development with Denji is also great, as she relates to him through her own grief in a moment that actually felt reminiscent of Kobeni opening up to Denji at the end of Part One.
Overall, “Cute” is a fantastic Chainsaw Man chapter.
It has great emotional development for Denji and Asa and hypes up the return of two long gone fan favorite characters, even if that return will be brief.

Chainsaw Man Chapters 180 and 181 Review: Yoru Does It Again.

Going into Chainsaw Man Chapter 180, “Aging’s World”, I was expecting to see Yoru and Pochita temporarily team up to fight the Aging Devil.
Instead, the chapter opens with the Aging Devil sending Denji, Asa and Yoru into a different dimension, where it has trapped many people who have made contracts with it.
Asa gets this information from one of these men who has been trapped in the dimension for over 80 years.
The man has understandably gone insane and imitates a cicada in a typically bizarre ending.
Before this ending, though, the man does mention that someone managed to escape the Aging Devil’s dimension before.
Yoshida and Kishibe seem to be the most likely candidates but I am personally going with Yoshida, since an artwork by Fujimoto depicted him standing in a forest very similar to the one Asa, Yoru and Denji are now trapped in.
Asa tries to find a way out in Chapter 181, “Trees on the Mind”, but her hopeful thoughts are stopped dead by Yoru taking control of her body and attempting to shoot Asa in the head with her powers.
This moment made my jaw dropped because, if Yoru’s powers had been working, Asa would have definitely died here.
Yoru has been pretty sadistic in the past few chapters, but I thought she would at least hesitate if she needed to kill Asa to facilitate her plans, given all they have been through.
Apparently, I was wrong.
Asa, however, seems to brush aside Yoru trying to kill her as an experiment pretty quickly, and Yoru punches a tree, only to realize that tree is a person.
This is the fate of all who end up in the Eternity Devil’s prison: They are trapped for a thousand years, slowly going mad, until they are turned into a tree.
It is among the most disturbing fates in all of Chainsaw Man and it breaks Yoru, who starts blaming Denji for everything.
This causes Denji to break down as well.
He still undoubtedly blames himself for Nayuta’s death.
Drowning in his own guilt for the misery he sees himself as having brough onto others, Denji declares he will stay to become a tree as a punishment “for being a horny, empty-headed idiot.”
Yoru once again proves she cannot help herself and kisses Denji for the third time, ending the chapter.
The last time Yoru kissed Denji, it ended with her giving him a hand job in an alleyway.
This time?
Well, let’s just say I would not be surprised if next chapter turned into Tokyo Ghoul Re: Chapter 125.
Fujimoto has got away with plenty before so I definitely think he can get away with that.
Although, I question what Asa would even think if that happened, considering that is once again Yoru making a move on Denji in Asa’s body.
Also, Denji still does not know Asa is possessed by the War Devil so that will be a whole can of worms if they end up having sex.
That is if it happens though.
Who knows, they could be interrupted by figuring out a way to release themselves from the Aging Devil’s prison?
Either way, these two chapters are brief but solid, clearly showing off the disturbing power of the Aging Devil.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 179, Vamvagh Review: Gaslight, Gatekeep, Devilboss.

Going into Chapter 179 of Chainsaw Man, “Vamvagh”, I am sure that many of us were concerned about Pochita possibly eating the Aging Devil.
If he did so, it would cause the deaths of thousands of children.
I had my doubts that Pochita would eat the Aging Devil, and I was right but for the wrong reason.
Instead of refusing to eat the Aging Devil to save the children, Pochita instead refuses to eat the Aging Devil because… he’d rather focus on continuing the blood drive?
Yeah, still not sure if this is Fujimoto referencing Power or not.
It does make for some funny panels, though, as the Aging Devil watches Pochita slowly crawl away from him, grab the sign and continue to shout, “Vamvagh!”
Whatever that means.
As the Aging Devil tries to get Pochita to eat him, Yoru is preparing to attack again.
Asa, however, is attempting to convince her to stop, horrified by Yoru’s Devil nature.
She is also obviously concerned about Denji, and so Yoru tells her turning Chainsaw Man into a weapon would free Denji.
Is Yoru outright lying here?
Perhaps.
At best, she thinks there is a chance of it but, either way, she is willing to risk it.
Though, we as the readers know that Pochita is Denji’s heart, so separating the two would probably kill him.
Thankfully, Yoru does not get the chance to test it, at least not at first, because Asa’s newfound fear of Yoru forces the Devil out of her body.
And then we get the ultimate moment of gaslighting from Yoru.
She acts all sad about Asa being scared of her, and yet the moment Asa feels guilty enough to let her back in she continues the attack.
The Makima parallels are evident, as she joyfully uses her finger gun attack to take another shot at the Aging Devil.
Being a Primal Fear, it takes more than that to wound the Aging Devil, as he stops the bullet mid-air, transforming it into a giant thumb, which he then disintegrates.
Declaring both Chainsaw Man and the War Devil too immature to talk with him, the Aging Devil ominously states, “Time to have them grow up,” ending the chapter.
Looks like we are going to see a team-up to defeat a Primal Fear again.
Only this time, it will not be Asa and Denji vs the Falling Devil, but Pochita and Yoru vs the Aging Devil.
As for the “grow up” comment, it would be creepy if the Aging Devil caused Denji or Asa to rapidly age with his attacks.
Not sure how that could be reversed, if Fujimoto takes that route.
There is also the matter of Yoru gaslighting Asa to oblivion this chapter.
She really is moving towards being a full-on villain this arc, and she may have just ruined any trust she and Asa have built with her actions.
I am extremely interested to see both the fight with the Aging Devil, and how complicated Asa and Yoru’s relationship will be going forward.
“Vamvagh” is another short, yet great chapter, which continues to widen the divide between Asa and Yoru.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 178, Gun Goddess Review: A Grim Reminder.

In almost every review I do for a Chainsaw Man chapter, I talk about my complete inability to predict what Tatsuki Fujimoto will do next.
Well, in a nice change of pace, I actually got two of my predictions right, both of which played out in horrifying ways.
In my previous review, I joked about a Titan breaking out of the Statue of Liberty.
Well, Chapter 178, “Gun Goddess”, begins with exactly that happening.
A massive, skeletal monster holding a gigantic rifle emerges from the statue, once again proving Fujimoto’s skill when it comes to monster designs.
This monster was probably created from fragments of the Gun Devil, and Yoru uses it to attack Pochita.
In a moment eerily similar to other Gun Devil attacks, the monster fires on Pochita, absolutely decimating the city around him and no doubt taking hundreds, if not thousands, of lives.
And so, my second prediction comes true, as we see Asa’s horrified reaction to what Yoru has used her body to do.
In my previous review, I said Asa had an expression which screamed, “Oh, yeah, Yoru’s a Devil!”
Well, this is almost word for word what Asa thinks as she looks on in horror, while Yoru laughs behind her.
The sight of the destroyed city is certainly terrifying, especially given how fantastic Fujimoto’s artwork is this chapter.
He not only gave us a terrific design for the Statue of Liberty monster, but also plenty of cinematic panels of the destruction Yoru wreaths.
It is kind of funny because, for the past few months, some readers have been complaining about Fujimoto’s artwork not being as good as Part One.
Now, with this chapter he has, in my opinion, delivered some of his best work.
Yoru’s attack on Pochita leaves only his head and chest area remaining but, luckily for him, the Aging Devil is there to help him out.
Unluckily for many children in Japan, the Aging Devil is only doing so because, if Pochita eats him, then that means a lot of these children will die because of the Aging Devil’s contract.
The creep even has a window open up so he can get a front row seat of the children dying while Pochita eats him.
Honestly, though, I don’t think Pochita will eat him.
He will probably just ignore him, like he did Yoru last chapter.
Although that could be just wishful thinking on my part.
Hey, I don’t want to see a bunch of children die, sue me.
“Gun Goddess” is a fantastic Chainsaw Man chapter.
The artwork is incredible, and the reactions to the horror they have unleashed from both Yoru and Asa are great.
It would not surprise me if Asa started working against Yoru starting next chapter.
She was orphaned in a Devil attack so there is no way she is okay with Yoru orphaning others in her destructive attempt to kill Chainsaw Man.
Way back in my review of Chapter 146, I said that Part Two had crossed the precipice into Fujimoto’s brand of insanity.
Looking back with the benefit of hindsight, I can definitely say I said this way too soon.
The actual crossing of the precipice came with Nayuta’s death (if she really is dead) in Chapter 170.
Ever since, every chapter has been insane moment after insane moment.
Ears and mouths were erased and returned, the entire concept of aging is at risk of disappearing, Yoru got two new arm gauntlets, and now, in Chapter 178, Yoru has launched an attack of Gun Devil proportions while using Asa’s body as an unwilling host to deliver it.
I expect things will only get crazier next chapter.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 177, Trigger Finger Review: A Possible Return Hinted?

I ended my review for the previous Chainsaw Man chapter by saying, “I do not know how the fight between Yoru and Pochita will progress, but it is sure to be epic.”
Well, for what feels like the hundredth time, Fujimoto pulled the rug out from under me, this time by having Pochita not fight Yoru at all.
Yeah, he just leaves the fight as if Yoru is not even worth his time.
Where does he go?
To take part in a blood drive.
He was even kind enough to give the girl advertising it a break.
It was kind of rude of her to run off screaming, though.
As for why Pochita is taking part in a blood drive, I cannot help but wonder if Fujimoto is hinting at the return of Power with this?
I mean, she asked Denji all the way back at the end of Part One to find the Blood Devil and turn them back into Power.
Of course, as Fujimoto proved this chapter by having Pochita run off instead of fight Yoru, it is almost impossible to predict what crazy thing he will write next, so I am probably reading too much into this supposed Power hint.
As for Yoru, she does not take Pochita’s refusal to fight sitting down.
Instead, she uses her newfound strength in typical Devil fashion, by destroying the index fingers of 400,000 NRA members.
She appears to be sacrificing these fingers to awaken some kind of power inside the Statue of Liberty, which cracks at the end of the chapter.
What, is a Titan about to emerge from it?
My best guess for why Yoru is able to affect the statue is because it was a gift from France to the USA after they won the American Revolution which, as a war, Yoru undoubtedly benefited from.
We will see whatever she plans to use the statue for next chapter, along with probably more disturbed reactions from Asa about Yoru’s attitude.
She looked pretty horrified when Yoru was so nonchalant about turning her children into weapons.
It was like she remembered, “Oh, yeah, Yoru’s a Devil!”
I do believe Yoru had to feel some guilt from the sacrifice because, as has been explained before, powerful weapons are created by guilt.
Given that Yoru’s new hand gauntlets were able to wound Pochita, I imagine the guilt would have to be pretty strong.
Yet it is not Yoru destroying 400,000 index fingers, cracking the Statue of Liberty, or her possible guilt over weaponizing her children that is getting the fandom talking about this chapter.
No, it is Yoru’s other asset… Yes, I know, I am ashamed of myself for making that pun too.
It is kind of funny though that this became the main talking point of the chapter, rather than all of the other crazy stuff that happened.
I guess people are just used to whatever insane concepts Fujimoto comes up with.
I certainly expect we will see more insanity next chapter, as Fujimoto reveals what Yoru is doing to the Statue of Liberty.
As for Chapter 177, “Trigger Finger” is another blast to read, with great comedy and typical Fujimoto craziness, among other assets… I know, I will stop now.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 175 and 176 Review: A Literal Call to Arms.

Upon reading Chapter 175 of Chainsaw Man, “Both Hands”, I decided to delay my review until the following chapter.
I decided to do this because I knew I would have little to talk about, since the characters in the chapter do not talk either due to… well, having no mouths.
Little did I suspect that Chapter 176, “Two Children”, would drop yet another bombshell.
As for “Both Hands”, it begins with Pochita being attacked by a mob of civilians.
Unfortunately for them, Pochita is not some regular Chainsaw Man Devil, but the real deal.
Easily killing the civilians, Pochita is then attacked by the Aging Devil, Katana Man, and Yoru all at once.
But Pochita, being the all-powerful Devil that he is, easily fights off the attack, seemingly with a single strike.
He cuts off the Aging Devil’s hands, temporarily kills Katana Man again, and removes Yoru’s remaining arm.
Pushing Katana Man’s body off her, Yoru then marches towards Pochita, still determined to fight him, despite having no arms.
However, as she reaches him, she falls to her knees, with the chapter ending on a panel of her wild, spiral-like eyes.
This ending was pretty confusing, when I first read it.
It turns out that a character having a mouth helps when trying to read their facial expression.
Who knew?
The look in Yoru’s eyes could have been shock, anger or denial for all I knew.
I never would have guessed what her expression actually meant though, and I am willing to bet no one else did either.
Chapter 176 begins with a flashback to Yoru and Asa bathing.
Yoru makes a weapon out of soap without naming or touching it, confirming that the fear of war has made her powerful enough to make weapons without speaking or making contact.
However, because this war is against Chainsaw Man Devils, the fear is also making Chainsaw Man stronger, lessening Yoru’s chance of beating him.
Asa suggests burying the hatchet, but Yoru wants to free her comrades who were eaten by Chainsaw Man.
If you will recall, one of these comrades is definitely the Nuclear Weapons Devil, as Yoru said she would make Chainsaw Man vomit it up all the way back in Chapter 98.
This would definitely be a bad thing.
I mean, I think we can all agree that world-ending nukes are a concept better left erased, right?
But, if Yoru gets her way, they will not be erased for long.
This will not come without sacrifice for her, however, as Yoru will have to weaponize two things she cares about to have a hope of defeating Chainsaw Man.
Although Yoru admits to Asa in the bath that she would give anything to defeat Chainsaw Man and prove herself to be the most fearsome Devil.
The chapter then cuts to the present, where Pochita is seconds away from killing Yoru.
It is revealed that the things she has to weaponize are her own children, but Yoru is willing to make that sacrifice.
“Come to mother,” she calls in her mind. “Tank. Gun.”
And with that line, another bombshell is dropped.
It makes complete sense that Yoru would be considered the Gun Devil’s mother, considering that guns are a weapon used in warfare.
The Gun Devil’s return could also make the fight between her and Pochita more personal, since the Gun Devil was involved in Aki’s death which hurt Denji.
As Yoru calls for her children, they are ripped free from their prisons across the world and attach themselves to Yoru, becoming her and Asa’s new arms.
Her literal call to arms complete, Yoru uses the power of the Gun Devil to shoot Pochita, freeing the Mouth Devil from his gut and returning mouths to the world.
The final panel shows Yoru sporting a victorious look, as she prepares to take on Pochita with her Right Gun Gauntlet and Left Tank Gauntlet, the Mouth Devil’s decapitated head falling in front of her.
This cliffhanger makes for a great final panel that hypes up the coming fight between Pochita and Yoru, which is one I think will be on much more equal footing now.
Sure, Yoru will still probably struggle, but she will have more of a shot now, especially since there is probably a lot of guilt involved in weaponizing her children, making them much more powerful weapons as a result.
After reading Chapter 175, I wondered how Yoru was supposed to fight in the series with no hands but now we know.
“Both Hands” is a good chapter, which shows off the power of Pochita in complete silence.
It has nothing on “Two Children”, however, as Fujimoto dropped yet another plot twist with the return of the Gun Devil as Yoru’s right arm, along with the Tank Devil as her left.
I do not know how the fight between Yoru and Pochita will progress, but it is sure to be epic.

Chainsaw Man Chapters 173 and 174 Review: Fumiko is Irredeemable.

When Pochita ran wild back in the final arc of Chainsaw Man Part One, Fujimoto released a whole lot of chaotic insanity.
Somehow, things are getting even weirder now that Pochita has returned in Part Two.
Chapter 173, “Hard of Hearing”, and Chapter 174, “Ayyy, Aging”, do an excellent job of showcasing the might of Chainsaw Man’s power, while also showing the true extent of government corruption.
Starting with “Hard of Hearing”, the chapter begins by revealing the consequences of Pochita eating the Ear Devil.
We see people dropping their phones, and animals like cats and elephants without ears, showing that Pochita’s power truly has a worldwide reach.
Upon confirming that the Ear Devil has been eaten, Public Safety begin their operation to get Pochita to puke it up.
They do so by contacting what is later revealed to be the Aging Devil, a Primal Fear.
The way that they make a contract with the Devil is disturbing, as three Public Safety Officers amputate one of their fingers using scissors, before writing the word “HIT” on a mirror.
The Aging Devil, who has a great design by the way, then attacks Pochita, giving Yoshida enough time to use the Octopus Devil to wrap around him, forcing Pochita to vomit up the Ear Devil.
This returns ears back to the world, as seen by the final panel of the chapter where an elephant has its ears returned.
“Hard of Hearing” does a great job of showing the consequences of Pochita’s power and sets up the following chapter perfectly.
“Ayyy, Aging” is definitely the superior chapter of the two, showing the corruption of the government and the irredeemable nature of Fumiko.
The chapter is set in a government meeting, where the officials are mostly elderly.
Using the temporary erasure of ears as proof of Chainsaw Man’s power, Fumiko states that the Aging Devil has agreed to let itself be eaten by Chainsaw Man, which will remove aging.
Because a lot of the government officials in the room are facing their own mortality, they are eager to see this deal happen.
There is a catch, though.
Before it dies, the Aging Devil wants to murder 10,000 children in front of mirrors.
The use of mirrors in this disturbing demand really ties into the nature of the Aging Devil.
In the previous chapter, the Public Safety Officers had to amputate their fingers in front of a mirror, and now the Aging Devil wants to kill thousands of children while looking through them.
Mirrors are the way we tell our own age because, each time we look, we know that we are closer to death.
Wow, I made myself depressed just writing that.
Anyway, this is why it makes perfect sense for the Aging Devil to use mirrors in its contracts, especially the horrifying ones like this 10,000 dead children deal.
The old officials in the room view this as a necessary sacrifice to remove aging, with the oldest official in the room stating that, “Ten thousand lives is a small price to pay for the future of Japan.”
Of course, this is just the way this selfish geezer justifies the monstrous act to himself.
He, and every other official in the room, clearly just want to live longer, even ignoring the potential consequences of aging being removed.
There is one government official who at least has a conscience, but he is threatened into submitting when his own children are mentioned.
The only person left in the room who could stop the order being given is Fumiko, but she suggested the whole thing.
It is funny how I thought Fumiko could have a good side back when she brought up her backstory to Denji.
Ever since then, she has only proven herself to be a terrible person, abandoning Denji and Nayuta, wanting to collect a piece of Denji before he gets dissected, and now helping plan the murder of 10,000 children, all with a smile on her face.
She is truly one of the most despicable characters in the manga, at the moment.
I have even heard some theorize that she is the Death Devil but I am not sure how this would work, since her eyes are different from Nayuta and Fami’s, and she told Denji her backstory earlier… if that was even true.
As for the government officials, they are all corrupt scum and, watching how selfish they are, it is no wonder Makima turned out the way she did.
If the Prime Minister in this chapter is the same one Makima had a contract with then she would have had a front row seat to all of the corruption in Japan.
It adds a lot to her motivation of wanting to use Chainsaw Man to make the world a better place, along with highlighting how great of a job Denji did raising Nayuta.
And now I just made myself feel depressed again by reminding myself how Nayuta died… if she did die that is.
There is a theory that the decapitated head Barem showed Denji was actually not Nayuta’s because there was a mole missing.
However, this could be because Fujimoto just forgot to draw her mole.
Honestly, I would be happy if Nayuta survived somehow or got revived.
God knows Denji needs some happiness in his life after all of the misery he has been through.
If Nayuta really is dead, though, then that makes me hate Fumiko all the more for abandoning her.
Unless she has some sort of major turnaround soon, her character is pretty much irredeemable to me at this point.
I thought we might actually get this turnaround, when Fumiko appears to hesitate before making the call organizing the deaths of 10,000 children.
In some masterful paneling from Fujimoto, we see sweat building along her face, making us wonder if her conscience is making her hesitate, only for the next page to reveal Pochita has eaten the Mouth Devil, removing the concept of mouths entirely.
Now Fumiko cannot make the call, meaning that Pochita just saved 10,000 children.
Chainsaw Man really is a hero, even if the act was unintentional.
In the final panel of the chapter, we see that Pochita has also eaten the Snow, Bitterness and Octopus Devils, meaning Yoshida lost the fight.
I doubt Yoshida is dead though.
It would be weird for him to die off screen after so much buildup.
Of course, Fujimoto also supposedly killed Nayuta off screen so we should at least consider it a possibility.
As for Pochita, him removing the Mouth Devil means that he cannot erase any more concepts, since he does not have a mouth to eat Devils.
It also theoretically means no concepts can return because Pochita can no longer vomit their Devils back up.
I say “theoretically” because of course mouths are going to return, like ears did.
Could you imagine if Chainsaw Man continued without the characters having any mouths?… wait, no, I shouldn’t give Fujimoto any ideas.
In all likelihood, I suspect someone will cut Pochita open to return Devils like Mouth back.
And what character better than the War Devil, who has been powered up over the fear of war?
I am still looking forward to the fight between Chainsaw Man and the War Devil, and I am interested to see if this will bring nuclear weapons back as well.
“Aaay, Aging” is a fantastic Chainsaw Man chapter, and “Hard of Hearing” builds into it well.
Both show off Pochita’s powers, while Chapter 174 alone shows the corruption and irredeemable nature of the government and Fumiko.
The battle between Pochita and Public Safety will continue in Chapter 175.