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.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 172, Bzz! Boom! Chomp! Review: Called It.

In my review for Chapter 171 of Chainsaw Man, I predicted that Pochita would instantly kill the titular Special Division 5 at the beginning of the following chapter.
I was so confident about this that I literally titled the review, “They’re All Going to Die.”
Well, surprise, surprise, Chapter 172 begins with Pochita immediately slaughtering all of the newly introduced Fiends and their handler.
One of the Fiends seems to have successfully avoided the attack, only for them to immediately lose their head in a moment which had me laughing at the darkly comedic timing.
With Special Division 5 dead, the Devil Hunters of course throw Special Division 6 at Pochita.
Because that totally had a chance of working!
The 6th Division gets wiped out quicker than the first and I have to wonder what exactly Public Safety’s plan is?
Are they just going to throw Divisions 7 through 100 at Pochita individually and hope that they eventually kill him?
Well, whatever plan they do have is going to be next to impossible to communicate now that all of the characters have no ears.
In a disturbing panel, Pochita seems to be lining up the heads of the various Fiends he killed to eat, and he starts with the Ear Devil.
This removes the very concept of ears from the world so now people can’t hear each other.
It is pretty funny to think that Public Safety thought having the Ear Devil fight Chainsaw Man was a good idea.
Seriously, who’s afraid of ears?
Now they have only made their jobs harder, since they can no longer communicate using sound.
Did all of the competent people at Public Safety die, leaving only the idiots?
We’ll just have to see as the story progresses if their plan is as idiotic as it seems or if there is something more to it.
I doubt ears will stay gone forever, though.
Having the characters unable to communicate through sound for the rest of the story would be difficult to pull off.
So, how will ears return?
Well, Pochita will probably throw the devil representing it up again.
And who better to accomplish this task than Yoru?
She did promise to make Chainsaw Man throw up nuclear weapons at the beginning of Part One.
The chapter ends with her realizing Chainsaw Man has taken a concept away, her expression angered.
Looks like the long-awaited fight between the War Devil and Chainsaw Man is about to begin.
Yoru and Asa may be the only ones who can stand up to Pochita, since they were empowered by the growing fear of war.
I am really looking forward to this fight, which has been built up since Asa rescued Denji from Public Safety.
Let’s see how Fujimoto pulls it off.
Chapter 171 is yet another solid Chainsaw Man chapter, which shows off the power of Pochita, while hyping up the fight between him and Yoru.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 171, Special Division 5 Review: They’re All Going to Die.

Following the devastating reveal of Chainsaw Man Chapter 170, we all knew Denji’s world had been destroyed.
The opening panels of Chapter 171, “Special Division 5” are haunting.
Denji’s horrified face takes up half a page, with the environment around him being entirely blacked out, forcing us to focus on his emotion.
To make matters worse, Barem continues to taunt Denji.
“This is downright cruel of me, isn’t it?”
Understatement of the century there, Barem.
We then get the most satisfying moment of the chapter, as Pochita begins to take over, as predicted, and brutally rips Barem’s head from his shoulders.
I liked the detail of Barem attempting to take one last bite of sushi, like he wanted to get some last little enjoyment before his painful demise.
Unfortunately, this demise will not be permanent for Barem.
He is a hybrid, after all.
The only way for him to die for good would be if Pochita ate him.
Denji’s transformation into his old friend is just as gruesome as it was in Part One.
Asa and Yoru’s horrified reactions definitely show they are regretting wanting to fight Pochita.
They spent most of this arc trying to convince Denji to fight them this way but now they are seeing the true horror of it.
Be careful what you wish for, indeed.
Pochita’s design has even been updated, since he has even more horns now.
But don’t worry, there is someone there to stop Pochita now that he has been unleashed.
No, not Asa, Yoru and Katana Man.
I am, of course, talking about Special Division 5, Special Division 4’s successor.
The chapter ends with Fujimoto introducing these new fiend characters in various panels, showing off various interesting designs.
So, these new characters will definitely be capable of taking on Pochita, right?
Nope, they’re all dead.
Seriously, if Makima could not kill Pochita with the Weapons on her side then these random fiends do not stand a chance in hell, even if they are just trying to hold Pochita off.
Reading this chapter instantly reminded me of the Yuko arc where Fujimoto introduced the Devil Hunter Club, only to kill off the majority of its members immediately afterwards.
The same fate is almost certainly going to befall these new characters.
The only characters who may stand an actual chance are Yoru and Asa, since they have been powered up due to the world’s fear of war.
Everyone else is screwed.
Overall, “Special Division 5” is a short chapter but one with yet another impactful moment as Pochita returns to wreck everything following the loss of Nayuta.
My only criticism of the chapter is that the final panel is drawn a bit weird.
I honestly cannot tell if Pochita already appeared behind Special Division 5, if they are walking away from him for some reason, or if this is a separate panel.
Aside from the confusing final panel, though, “Special Division 5” is a great if short read.
Get ready to see all these new unnamed characters die horrible deaths next chapter.

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.