Chainsaw Man Chapter 125, Apple Thief Review: A Polite Primal Fear.

Way back in the International Assassins Arc of Chainsaw Man Part One, we met the Darkness Devil.
This terrifying entity was the first Primal Fear Tatsuki Fujimoto introduced us to; a Devil so powerful and created from a fear so primal that the Devil itself had never experienced death.
There was no reasoning with the Darkness Devil.
If it wanted you dead then you were probably dead, which is why it is so weird to read Chapter 125, “Apple Thief”, and see the Falling Devil being so unusually polite.
Well, as polite as a Devil can be, anyway, as the chapter starts with her brutally gathering ten eyes and four ears for her dish, after which, she goes to a supermarket like any average shopper would.
We then see her engaging in an oddly respectful talk with a staff member, who she has made fall up to the ceiling.
The Falling Devil asks the worker if she has a variety of apple that goes well with human flesh, a question which honestly got a chuckle out of me because how does the Falling Devil expect this woman to know that.
As for the worker, she is too terrified to respond, until the Falling Devil assures her that she has no intention of killing her unless attacked.
After leaving the shop, the Falling Devil remembers she forgot an ingredient, again, just like any regular shopper, only the ingredient she forgot is a human head.
Displaying more bizarre yet disturbing politeness, she asks if anyone is willing to spare a head.
It is then that a group of unwilling volunteers arrive, as a group of Devil Hunters take on the Falling Devil with sniper rifles.
They reduce her to a pile of limbs and guts but, being a Primal Fear, this is naturally not enough to kill the Falling Devil, who says she would rather avoid meaningless slaughter, before asking for a head again.
She only kills the attacking Devil Hunters and destroys much of the surrounding area when they attack her again but she seems to do this fairly reluctantly since she sighs beforehand.
Again, it is quite bizarre to see this powerful Devil act polite while killing and mutilating people left and right.
It is also quite interesting how the Falling Devil seems reluctant to hurt anyone outside of her goal to serve up some people as food for the Devils, including Asa and Yoru.
Speaking of those two, with the head now in her hands, all the Falling Devil needs to do is make Asa fall and then her dish will be complete.
Before she can do so, however, Denji finally shows up, ripping through the Falling Devil and accusing her of stealing apples… you know, as opposed to all of the murder and mutilation she just committed.
Denji has his priorities straight, although that is nothing new for him.
Another thing that is not new for Denji is being sliced up into pieces while he fights.
Good thing he’s basically immortal.
Unfortunately, so is the Falling Devil, as she seems completley unfazed by Denji ripping her apart, as she complains this is the first time that she has been on the menu, which is the end of the chapter.
I wonder if this is Fujimoto foreshadowing that Chainsaw Man will eat the Falling Devil, thereby erasing the fear of falling from humanity?
Although, if this does happen then it could have a lot of unintended consequences, since I would argue that a fear of falling actually helps out humans a great deal.
As for Denji finally showing up to fight the Falling Devil, there is a theory going around that this is actually not Denji but the Chainsaw Man imposter who killed Yuko.
While this is possible, I doubt this is the imposter because we saw Nayuta convince Denji to go fight a few chapters ago.
Most likely, Denji will have to team up with Asa and Yoru to defeat the Falling Devil and then whatever Primal Fear comes next.
All in all, “Apple Thief” was quite a short Chainsaw Man chapter but one with interesting characterization for the Falling Devil.
It also ended on a great cliffhanger, which has me excited for Denji and the Falling Devil’s fight going forward.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 124, Soup Review: Falling Deeper.

Chainsaw Man is back after its two week break, delivering another chapter which delves into the depths of Asa’s psyche.
Chapter 124, “Soup” picks up with Asa from where we left her, dangling from a street railing as she risks falling upwards because of a trauma attack brought on by the arrival of the Falling Devil.
Despite Yoru’s insistance that she hand over control of her body to save herself, Asa loses her grip and begins to fall upwards again, only for Yoru to yell at her to scream, “Nail Knife!”
This causes one of Asa’s nails to fly off and form a knife due to the War Devil’s power, and Asa’s focus on her pain allows Yoru to get back in the driver’s seat of her body.
Yoru then begins speculating on the identity of the attacking Devil, like many of us readers did after Chapter 122.
She speculates that it could be tauma, gravity, suicide, and others, before correctly deducing that it is the Falling Devil.
The Falling Devil being linked to trauma does make a lot of sense though because of the concept of falling deeper into trauma.
Asa nearly does this herself, as she remembers her dead cat lying at the bottom of a river, only for Yoru to cut their hand so the trauma will not cause them to fall up again.
This fails, as Asa falls up into an apartment building, with Yoru demanding that Asa stop being afraid of her and to trust her.
Asa hits back by pointing out all of the reasons she does not trust Yoru, ending by screaming that she cut her hand.
This builds into Asa explaining to Yoru what she is really afraid of, stating that she sometimes approaches people out of lonliness, only for something to go wrong and for her to end up alone again.
“Solitude and companionship… I’m afraid of both!” She shouts to Yoru and this explanation does hit hard because we have seen exactly why Asa is afraid of companionship time and time again.
She had companionship with her cat but he was murdered by the orphanage director.
She had just accepted Bucky when the class president tripped her, causing Asa to accidentally kill him.
Yuko became her friend, only to accept a deal with the Justice Devil and then go on a killing spree, before being killed by someone resembling Chainsaw Man (not that Asa knows that last detail).
She went on a date with Denji but she now believes he stood her up on their second.
Asa even allowed herself to get her hopes up about Yoshida liking her but he shut down this idea practically immediately.
And then there’s Yoru, the only one whose companionship she is forced to endure, who keeps threatening and hurting her.
Asa’s entire life really is a cycle of gaining and then losing those close to her through tragic means.
It’s why the Falling Devil is a perfect foil for Asa to face at the moment.
Not only does Asa have a tendancy to fall at the wrong times, like when her parents died and in the aquarium, but the trauma she has experienced from these events make her the ideal target for the Falling Devil’s attacks.
Speaking of the Falling Devil, the final scene of the chapter sees her entering a door into hell with a captured Devil Hunter; his nose, eyes and tounge made into a soup for a slug-like Devil with a bib to consume.
As the Devil Hunter is horrifically eaten off page, the Falling Devil states that the main course is almost ready, this course being Asa and Yoru.
It is interesting to note that the Falling Devil is directly targeting the both of them.
It would have been a bit of a coincidence for the two to stumble across an attack from a Primal Fear so this attack being on them makes a lot more sense.
The question is, why are they being targeted?
Yoru is apparently mentioned in the Nostradamus Prophecy, being called Mars, so would she not tie into the Falling Devil’s goal of shepherding “the world to the ultimate terror” as Fami said?
Unless the Falling Devil’s intent it stop that specific part of the prophecy?
I guess we will just have to wait and see why the Falling Devil wants Yoru and Asa consumed.
As for what will happen to the two of them, Asa will have to gain control over her trauma if she is to have any hope of defeating the Falling Devil with Yoru.
Yoru will also have room to grow by treating Asa better, probably with less death threats.
The real wild card in of all this, though, is Denji.
Nayuta did sense the Falling Devil’s arrival, and convinced Denji to go fight it as Chainsaw Man, which we have yet to see.
Maybe Asa and Yoru will be forced to team up with him to get the job done?
Overall, “Soup” is another great Chainsaw Man chapter, building up the conflict between Asa and Yoru well, while delving into Asa’s traumatised mind.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 123, Hors D’oeuvre Review: Introducing the Most Hated Chainsaw Man Character.

Following the release of Chapter 122 of Chainsaw Man, many readers threw their hats into the ring over what Devil the new Primal Fear that was introduced would be.
Most, including myself, speculated that it was the Death Devil.
However, Chapter 123, ” Hors D’oeuvre”, opens up by revealing that the arriving Primal Fear is actually the Falling Devil.
This answer probably should have been obvious since the Devil just made people fall to their deaths, and a fear of falling is something that pretty much all people have.
Just think about how we all throw out our hands up wildly to catch ourselves whenever we trip.
Of course, falling would be a Primal Fear.
There were actually a few readers who did guess the Devil’s identity but I am certain that absolutley none of these people expected that the Falling Devil would put on a chef’s outfit and start speaking French.
It’s so weird and, once again, only something that an insane mind like Fujimoto’s could come up with.
Let the man cook, I say.
Although, the Falling Devil’s method of cooking is a lot more brutal, considering that she says that she is, “visiting at the request of the resident’s of hell.”
While this is happening, Yoru is continuing to flee, screaming at Asa to snap out of it, confirming that Asa’s earlier suicidal thoughts were a result of the Falling Devil.
This is further confirmed when the Falling Devil seems to trigger a traumatic memory for Asa, which introduces the most hated character in Chainsaw Man.
Yes, even more so than Makima.
Asa flashes back to her time in the orphange after her parents’ deaths.
All she had left was her cat, until the woman who ran the orphange offered to give it a better life.
The woman essentially guilt trips Asa into handing the cat over.
It is in this moment that Asa shows how truly good of a person she is at heart because she informs the woman that the cat’s name is Cambron, and asks her to make him happy.
She throws away her own happiness for the sake of Cambron’s and this makes it all the more infuriating when the next scene reveals that the woman actually drowned Cambron.
A fellow orphan tells Asa that he and his friends saw the cat’s body at the bottom of a river.
When Asa confronts the woman with this information, she is coldly told, “Everyone here lost their family. You can’t be the only one with a family member. Isn’t that unfair?”
No, what’s unfair is tricking a vulnerable girl into giving you her cat so you can murder it and render her entirely alone, all because you were jealous that she had a family member when you didn’t.
It gets even worse when you remember that Asa’s mother died because she saved Cambron.
Not only does this rob Asa of the only family she had left but it also probably deepened her guilt by making her mother’s death feel pointless.
What an evil woman that orphanage director is.
I truly hope this character returns at some point so she can be on the recieving end of some much deserved justice.
Being killed by the Cat Devil would be true karma, for instance.
Getting back to the chapter itself, this traumatic memory Asa is experiencing plays right into the Falling Devil’s hands, as it causes her to suddenly fall upwards.
Asa is only able to stop herself from falling up into the sky because she grabs hold of a railing.
Many others are not so lucky, as the Falling Devil makes them fall up until they disappear into doors, which presumably lead straight into hell.
Given what happened during Denji’s visit there in Part One, I highly doubt anything nice happened to these people.
It would seem that that the Falling Devil’s power is only affecting those with traumatic memories, as she explains, “The lower the heart sinks, the higher the body falls.”
The chapter then ends with Yoru yelling at Asa to not be afraid because she cannot enter her body if she is, paying off the set up from the Bat Devil attack near the beginning of Part Two, where Yoru learned exactly this.
All in all, Hors D’oeuvre is a fantastic Chainsaw Man chapter, which does an excellent job of introducing the Falling Devil and delving further into Asa’s traumatic past.
As for what the future holds, this face off against the Falling Devil is clearly not going to be easy.
She is a Primal Fear, after all; a Devil which has never been killed, just like the Darkness Devil.
What’s worse, there may be more Primal Fears coming if a certain fan theory is to be believed.
This theory, posted by u/winddagger7, states that the seven prisoners who are set to die in the next week represent a Primal Devil travelling to earth, building up to the apocalypse.
However, this theory is too detailed to get into here so if you want to read it you can do so here.
In the end, whether this theory turns out to be true or not, we are certainly in for more insanity in Chainsaw Man and I am all for it.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 122, The Prophecies Review: Getting Darker.

After a two week break, Chainsaw Man has returned with Chapter 122, “The Prophecies” and, boy, does it not disappoint.
“The Prophecies” is definitley the darkest chapter of Part Two so far and has a lot of implications for the future of the story.
Rather than begin with where the previous chapter left off, with Asa and Yoru encountering an unknown Devil, the chapter instead begins with Yoshida finally confronting Fami, an event that was foreshadowed all the way back when they had their stare down following the aquarium incident.
Much like he did with Denji, Yoshida attempts to interrogate Fami by buying her some food at a cafe.
This is not good for Yoshida’s wallet however because Fami orders enough to feed an entire class of students, all for herself.
Although, it does make quite a bit of sense for the Famine Devil to be so hungry.
Yoshida is suspicious of how little Fami is doing to hide her identity and uses this as a segue to question her about a prophecy from Nostradamus, a French man who actually lived in the 1500s and was supposedly a seer.
Yoshida recites a part of Nostradamus’ prophecy, stating, “In the seventh month of 1999, a great king of terror will descend.”
Since Chainsaw Man takes place in the 1990s, it is easy to assume that the time of this supposed prophecy is close.
Supporting this is the fact that Yoshida tells Fami that Public Saftey had 30 convicts make a contract with the Future Devil to see when they would die.
All but seven were said to die in July 1999.
Fami then correctly guesses the other seven were prophecised to die this week.
So does this mean that the events of the prophecy will happen in seven days?
The implications for the story become even graver when you know the rest of Nostradamus’ prophecy, which is actually not said in the chapter.
The rest of the prophecy states, “[Shall be] revived the great King of Angoulmois. Before and after, Mars [shall] reign as chance will have it.”
The King of Angoulmois is thought by many to be Genghis Khan, who was a conqueror so maybe this represents the Horseman of Conquest, meaning Nayuta.
However, although that Nayuta theory is a bit dubious, the mention of Mars is almost certainly key because Mars was the Roman God of War, so Fujimoto is most likely using this prophecy to foreshadow Yoru’s importance.
Getting back to Yoshida and Fami, the latter then reveals to Yoshida that forty seconds ago “The first of the Devils who will shepherd the world to the ultimate terror” appeared at an apartment block.
She explains that this Devil is a primal fear, making it at least as strong as the Darkness Devil, but the scene cuts before she can tell Yoshida its name.
We then get the most disturbing scene of the chapter, as we see a couple sitting in their apartment.
The man excitedly tells his partner that he might get a promotion next month, leading to a discussion about the possibility of buying a car, only for the man to suggest, completley out of the blue, that they should both die.
His partner instantly agrees and the two go outside and fling themselves from their apartment to their deaths, along with many other residents in the apartment block.
The full-page panel of these people committing suicide in front of Yoru is highly disturbing.
It also makes me wonder if Asa’s suicidal thoughts in the previous chapter could have been caused by the Devil making these people take their own lives.
Speaking of that Devil, it makes quite the entrance, forming from the corpses of its victims.
Despite having a ruler sword, Yoru realises this is not a fight she can win and runs for both her and Asa’s lives, as the Devil forms behind her in the form of a giant naked woman with multiple hands, bringing “The Prophecies” to a close.
As for what this Devil is, I think the most likely candidate is the Death Devil.
The Suicide Devil is a possibility but I can’t imagine suicide being a primal fear, like say darkness or death.
Plus, the Death Devil is the only member of the Four Horsemen who we have not seen yet.
If this is the Death Devil then Yoru definitley made the right call running away from it because death is definitley the thing humans fear the most so it would undoubtedly be the most powerful Devil.
I think even Denji would struggle against it.
Overall, “Prophecies” is a fantastic chapter for Chainsaw Man.
It sets up a dark future with the inclusion of the Nostradamus’ prophecies and potentially introduces the Death Devil itself.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 121, Theory of Happiness Review: An Unhappy Chapter.

The cliffhanger of Chapter 120 of Chainsaw Man made me think that we would finally get a reveal of just what is going on with Yoshida.
Instead, we got something kind of funny which, in turn, lead to something much more depressing.
Chapter 121, “Theory of Happiness” begins in the Devil Hunter Club room where Yoshida has got Asa a coffee in the hopes of talking to her.
This makes Asa wonder if he has started to like her since Yoru asked him out.
Yoshida begins the conversation by asking what she was mumbling outside of school.
When Asa explains that she was saying “life is easier on your own,” Yoshida agrees, stating that, while it might be easier to live with another person, there is really no guarantee such a thing will be permanent so a solitary life is less risky.
Yoshida affirming Asa’s “values” makes her believe that the Devil Hunter likes her.
Notice that I put “values” in quotation marks because, despite Asa saying to herself that “life is easier on your own,” everything she does goes against this.
After some reluctance she pursued a friendship with Yuko, then she began to like Denji and was secretly looking forward to going on a second date with him, and now she is anxiously excited at the thought of Yoshida liking her.
Asa is someone who craves social interaction in her life, whether that be friendly or romantic so, even though she claims to want a solitary life, she is just lying to herself.
Such can be seen with Asa’s disappointment when it is revealed that Yoshida actually wants to tell her to stay away from Denji.
The way this is revealed is pretty humurous, as Fujimoto builds up to it with each panel zooming in on Asa and Yoshida’s faces to make you think that Yoshida is about to confess, only for him to say “I want you to stay away from Denji,” in bold, on the next page.
What makes this reveal funnier is how much Yoshida sounds like a jealous lover, not helped by him saying, “you can interpret it however you like.”
His actual reasoning is more likely to be a way to keep Denji’s identity a secret, which the mysterious organization he works for ordered him to do.
However, Yoshida’s change in plan is rather strange.
He was the one who orchestrated the first meeting between Denji and Asa, hoping that if he set them up Denji would have no reason to reveal he was Chainsaw Man.
Now, he is trying to convince Asa to stay away from Denji so what changed?
Maybe he realized that Denji would just want to reveal his identity to Asa anyway, or maybe he became more suspicious of Asa’s power, since he is apparently the only one to notice when Yoru takes over, or maybe it is for some other reason entirely?
Whatever the case, we do not get an answer in this chapter, as the scene then cuts to Denji who is laying on the floor in his apartment, looking depressed after Nayuta convinced him to stay away from Asa.
It is at that moment, however, that Nayuta senses “the nastiest Devil scent I’ve ever smelled.”
She then continuosly slaps Denji’s butt, demanding that he go fight the Devil as Chainsaw Man because she wants to see the fight.
Denji is too sad to fight, until Nayuta points out that a lot of people will like him if he’s Chainsaw Man, even though she will not allow him to get a girlfriend.
We then cut back to Asa, who is walking the streets with Yoru, more depressed than ever.
Yoru actually tries to make Asa feel better about herself but even she looks disturbed at the dark turn Asa’s thoughts take, with her eventually thinking she would be better off dead, heavily implying suicidal thoughts.
It is then that a body crashes down from an apartment building next to Asa in what looks like a suicide.
Yoru immediately takes over Asa’s body, declaring something is wrong, and the two look up to see a bunch of people looking down at them from the apartment building with chillingly emotionless expressions as the chapter ends.
The people staring down at Asa and Yoru really reminded me of the Doll Devils’ power but I do not think this is what it is.
Instead, I think this is most likely going to turn out to be the Suicide Devil.
After all, Asa was just experiencing suicidal thoughts and the man who fell to his death from the building looked like a suicide.
Also the Death Devil is the only horseman we have not seen yet and I feel like the Suicide Devil could be closely connected.
Whatever Devil this turns out to be, Denji is definitley going to try and fight it, which will probably lead to a second confrontation between Yoru and Chainsaw Man.
Overall, “Theory of Happiness” was ironically a rather unhappy chapter, dealing with heavy subject matter like suicical thoughts but I thought Fujimoto handled these subjects well with plenty of realism.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 120, Triangle Review: Control Makes a Dog.

Chapter 119 of Chainsaw Man finally reintroduced Nayuta, a character many of us had been excited to see since the beginning of Part Two.
I, for one, was highly intrigued to see how Denji was raising her, what with the controlling nature of her previous life.
Well, it turned out that Nayuta has quite the controlling streak when it comes to her big brother, as the cliffhanger for Chapter 119 had her attacking Asa when she walked in on her and Denji kissing.
I originally thought that Nayuta was trying to kill Asa but what she actually does in the beginning of Chapter 120, “Triangle”, should have been obvious to me: She turns Asa into a dog.
Not literally of course but Asa is mentally a dog in this moment, barking at Denji and Nayuta’s huskies while Nayuta laughs her head off.
Of course, the character whose past life controlled Denji like a dog in Part One would make Asa a dog in Part Two.
Denji is none too pleased about Nayuta’s actions and demands that she turn Asa back, only for Nayuta to refuse because, “She spit on my property.”
It is readily apparent that, despite Denji’s best efforts, Nayuta still has the controlling aspects of Makima’s character.
This is to expected, however, since Nayuta is literally the Control Devil so being controlling is just in her nature.
As for Denji, he seems to have actually done a good job with Nayuta because he is actually able to talk her down, something he could not do with Makima.
Denji does have to make some concessions to Nayuta in order to free Asa, though.
The first of these is the simple demand of being allowed to eat ice cream every day.
The second is that Denji can no longer be friendly with Asa.
Nayuta does have a good reason for this, however, as she explains that she does not “like her sent,” which probably means she can smell Yoru but does not realize it is the War Devil.
So Nayuta actually does have Denji’s best interests at heart, even though she is a controlling little sister.
Nayuta then explains that she will wipe Asa’s memories to make her think Denji stood her up, and Denji protests this, obviously liking Asa at this point.
In the end, he relents because Nayuta comes first.
Nayuta’s response to this statement is to throw Denji a peace sign, much like Denji does to Kishibe near the end of Part One, again showing how much Nayuta is learning from him.
We then get the final scene of the chapter, where we see Asa standing outside the school, now believing that Denji has stood her up.
Asa then goes full wikipedia article again by detailing every single reason why she is absolutley, totally, one hundred and ten percent not disappointed that Denji forgot their date.
Yoru certainly does not buy Asa’s wikipedia entry excuses and neither does Asa herself, as her posture sags while she is wondering why she is so sad about Denji when she should be focusing on getting her body back.
But then who should show up but none other than the most suspicious character in Chainsaw Man, Yoshida, who offers to keep Asa company, bringing an end to the chapter.
There have been a ton of red flags surrounding Yoshida in Part Two, with him apparently being the only character who can see Yoru’s scars, referencing the Death Devil, and looking up at Fami after everyone escaped the aquarium.
I have seen many theories, from him being the Death Devil himself to him being the fake Chainsaw Man, and I wonder if the next chapter will maybe confirm one of these?
Or, who knows, Yoshida might not have any ulterior motives in this instance and just want to hang out with Asa.
You can never be sure with Fujimoto.
“Triangle” is an intriguing chapter for Chainsaw Man, showing exactly how Denji raising Nayuta has been going and heaping more suspicion upon Yoshida.
It will be interesting to see where these storylines go in the next few chapters.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 119, Thief Review: You Had One Job, Yoru!

I have said it once and I will say it again, “God damn it, Yoru!”
I was excited for Chapter 119 of Chainsaw Man, “Thief”, because all signs pointed to it being the chapter where Nayuta would return to the story.
This turned out to be the case and Tatsuki Fujimoto certainly did not disappoint with her reintroduction.
“Thief” begins with Denji and Asa arriving at his apartment; a building named Tatsuki Apartments, named after Fujimoto himself.
As Denji lets Asa in, he informs her of the rules which will get her killed if she does not follow them.
However, rather than these rules being absurd, the first two are pretty standard stuff: Don’t open any other apartment doors and don’t open the fridge.
The third rule is that Asa should not make out with Denji in front of Nayuta.
This rule in particular is strange because how would Denji know that him kissing a girl is something Nayuta would freak out about?
Has Denji maybe had another girlfriend in the timeskip who Nayuta did not take kindly to?
As for Asa, she is obviously embarrassed by Denji’s insinuation that she wants to make out with him so goes on the offensive, claiming to hate him.
We know this is not the case because she then uses this as an excuse to tell Denji to stay away from her or he will wind up dead.
If Asa did not care about Denji at all then she could just leave him to Yoru.
Asa’s lie about hating Denji causes him to have a bit of downward inner spiral, as he begins to wonder if he stinks like a wet dog.
He turns to ask Asa this only to find that he is not looking at Asa.
The next panel can only be described as a jumpscare, as a grinning Yoru leans in and kisses Denji in what is undoubtedly another attempt to turn him into a weapon.
Yoru screwed up big time, however, because she breaks rule three just as Nayuta shows up after walking the dogs and she sees her making out with her brother.
Nayuta’s response?
To point at Yoru, call her a thief, and send one of the Control Devil’s chains straight through her head, bringing an end to the chapter.
It was great to see Nayuta again and her attack on Yoru was certainly in character.
Of course, the reincarnation of the Control Devil would see Denji as a possession, wanting to keep any girl from stealing her big brother’s attention.
Nayuta even looks like Makima here, with the hair braid.
Yoru really should have followed rule three.
She had one job and she blew it.
The outcome of this will definitley be interesting to see because Yoru will have to recognize Nayuta as the Control Devil now and will certainly have questions about why she is in Denji’s care.
Denji will also probably learn that Asa has a Devil sharing her body when he sees that she survived Nayuta’s attack.
I am eager to see what will happen in two weeks time, when the next chapter is released.
“Thief” was yet another fantastic Chainsaw Man chapter.
It was short but it had a lot of funny little details, like Denji and Nayuta counting their farts each month.
However, it was Nayuta’s return that was the standout in this chapter and I cannot wait to see how she will factor into the future of the story.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 118, Saying Goodbye Review: Control Incoming.

Chapter 117 of Chainsaw Man had one of the most intriguing cliffhangers of Part Two so far, as we were left wondering if Yoru would succeed in turning Denji into a weapon.
My theory was that she would and that this would lead to a comedic reveal for her and Asa learning that Denji is Chainsaw Man, when he manages to survive being decapitated and turned into a sword.
Another theory that was thrown around was that nothing would happen to Denji because it seems he is unaffected by Devil powers, like with the Doll Devil back in the International Assassins Arc.
This latter theory seems to have been the correct one because indeed nothing happens to Denji in Chapter 118, despite Yoru’s attempts to weaponize him.
Fujimoto definitley attempted to scare the readers into believing that this would be Denji’s end, however, as he titled the Chapter “Saying Goodbye”, and the first panel is of a murder of crows flying away in a moment that seems like sinister foreshaowing, only to cut to Denji staring at Yoru, incredibly confused.
What follows is multiple panels of an also incredibly confused Yoru screaming “Denji Spinal Cord Sword!” repeatedly.
In typical Denji fashion, he misinterprets this as some kind of weird goodbye from Asa, so places a hand on her head and shouts, “Asa Spinal Cord Sword!” before leaving.
Yoru is very confused about not being able to weaponize Denji and Asa speculates that it is because Denji does not have feelings for her yet.
I am curious to see if this is actually the reason or if it was because of Denji’s immunity to Devil curses, as I stated earlier.
If it is the former then there is still a possibility of Yoru weaponizing Denji in the future.
Asa, however, wants to focus on Fami but Yoru is dismissive, simply stating that her big sister is crazy and Asa should steer clear of her, before comedically flopping down onto Asa’s bed and falling asleep immediately.
Yoru falling asleep quickly seems to be a trend with her.
As for her relationship with Fami, I am curious to see why Yoru considers her to be crazy.
As Yoru lies sleeping, Asa thinks about Denji and seems depressed that Denji seemingly does not like her, before this depression humourously transforms into indignaiton.
Unfortnately for Denji, this leads to Asa acting rather coldly towards him the next day as he lays out a plan for their date.
Rather than agreeing to go on a movie marathon with him, Asa instead demands they use his VCR at home to watch movies.
Denji panics about this but in the end he agrees on the condition that Asa follow all of his house’s rules because if she does not then she could die.
Dear god, what kind of house is Nayuta running?
In all seriousness, I am now incredibly excited for the next chapter because we will probably finally be reintroduced to Nayuta and see how her personality has been reshaped from Makima after the end of Part One, and if Yoru will recognize her.
I am also curious to see why Haruka is now stalking Asa and Denji.
It is probably because he recognized Asa’s power somehow in the previous chapter but exactly what he recognied about it remains to be seen.
It’s going to be a long two week wait to see what will happen next.
“Saying Goodbye” is another great Chainsaw Man chapter which hypes up the return of Nayuta well.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 117, Penguin and Weapon Review: Damn it, Yoru!

The cliffhanger for Chapter 116 of Chainsaw Man raised a lot of questions about what would happen next.
Well, the cliffhanger for Chapter 117 “Penguin and Weapon” just topped that with the best cliffhanger for Part Two of the manga so far.
“Penguin and Weapon” begins with, well, a penguin.
While Asa uses the one million yen to buy the endless aquarium in her mind, Deni begins to have an internal debate, remembering that he decided to stop mindlessly obeying girls, yet still pondering continuing to do so because Asa offered him anything he wanted.
However, Denji is distracted from his inner thoughts when he sees a penguin and grabs it just as Asa transforms the aquarium into a weapon, freeing her and the rest of the captives from the Eternity Devil’s hold.
What follows is an epic panel of Asa facing off against the enraged Eternity Devil who calls her a moron for thinking she could buy an aquarium with just a million yen.
He then goes to attack her, while cursing Fami, only for Yoshida to interfere with the Octopus Devil, giving Yoru enough time to take control of Asa’s body.
Yoru then proceeds to give the aquarium back to the Eternity Devil, chucking her weapon at it, which launches a whole school of fish and sharks through the Eternity Devil’s stomach, killing it.
As Yoru revels in her victory, we get some interesting reactions from two of the other characters.
The first of these is Haruka, who seems to recognise Asa and Yoru’s power.
This would make sense if he knows about Fami being a Devil.
Much more interesting, however, is Yoshida, who spies Fami looking down at Asa in disappointment.
Yoshida and Fami then have a brief stare down.
So Yoshida definitley knows who Fami is.
This and his mention of the Death Devil in a previous chapter make him the most suspicious character in the manga, right now.
I am incredibly curious to see exactly what he knows and what his motives are.
In the aftermath of their escape, Denji is sadly forced to part ways with his penguin before walking Asa home.
Denji then decides what he wants from Asa; another date, as he will teach her how to have great ones.
Of course, in typical Fujimoto fashion, this wholesome moment is interrupted by something screwed up.
Yoru appears and senses that Asa now has feelings for Denji and proceeds with her plan, taking control of Asa’s body, placing a hand on Denji’s head and saying, “Denji spinal cord sword.”
Damn it, Yoru; they were having a moment!
The chapter then ends on this massive cliffhanger of Yoru trying to weaponize Denji, like she did Asa’s teacher.
Just like with the Chapter 116 cliffhanger, the question is, “will this work?”
It would be pretty awkward for nothing to happen, as Denji just stands there thinking Asa’s weird.
However, I think it will work, and Yoru will make a weapon out of Denji’s decaptiated head and spinal cord.
That being said, Denji is definitley not dying.
We have seen that he is pretty much immortal in Part One of the manga.
I think only removing Pochita’s heart can truly kill him.
So next chapter, I would not be surprised to see Yoru boasting about having a new weapon, while Asa freaks out, only for Denji’s decapitated head to also start freaking out, this causing Yoru to join Asa in freaking out.
In one promotional image for the manga, we saw Asa holding a chainsaw, and I think this was symbolising her and Yoru weaponizing Denji’s chainsaw abilities while he is still alive due to his immortality.
Once this whole debacle is over with, I can definitley see Denji, Asa and Yoru working togethor to fight Fami, and maybe Yoshida if he turns out to be against them.
This is all assuming that Yoru’s attempt to weaponize Denji works, though.
Maybe Fujimoto has something else planned.
After the cliffhanger, I am eager to see what will happen in Chapter 118.

Chainsaw Man Episode Twelve, Katana vs Chainsaw Review: The Contest to End All Contests.

Episode Twelve, “Katana vs Chainsaw” is the final episode of the Chainsaw Man adaptation’s first season, and what a fantastic point to end it on.
Directed by the series’ overall director Ryū Nakayama, “Katana vs Chainsaw” picks up with the fight between Aki and the Ghost Devil the previous episode ended on.
Aki is currently being strangled by the Ghost Devil and passes out, only to hallucinate a prior exchange with Himeno, where she offered him a cigarette, only to take it back when she learned he was underage, promising to hold onto it for him.
When Aki opens his eyes, the Ghost Devil is holding out a cigarette with “EASY REVENGE” written on it.
Some part of Himeno seems to have survived inside the Ghost Devil and, remembering what she told him about the Ghost Devil only being able to see through fear, Aki uses this to climb the Devil and decaptitate it, leaving only Sawatari to deal with.
Before Sawatari can call on the Snake Devil, however; Kobeni sneaks up behind her and puts a knife under her throat.
Aki asks why she stayed with Public Saftey, causing Kobeni to humorously respond that it was because their bonuses are coming up.
While this is happening, Denji and Power are riding up in an elevator to confront Katana Man, only to stop on a floor full of zombies.
Rather than take the elevator up away from them, Power instead launches herself into the zombies, crying out for Denji to watch her slaughter them.
Instead, Denji takes the elevator up, while an oblivious Power continues to obliterate the zombies
Eventually, Denji reaches Katana Man, who explains that he is prepared to give up so long as Denji allows himself to be killed by him.
Denji refuses and Katana Man attempts to manipulate him, again bringing up Denji not feeling empathy because he apparently lacks a human heart.
Denji may not be smart but he is clever enough to see through this and he cheerfully refuses again, leading to the final fight between him and Katana Man.
The two crash out of the building, eventually taking the fight atop a train with some truly excellent CGI.
They eventually crash inside the train, with Katana Man using his speed ability to cut both of Denji’s arms off before demanding he apologise for his grandfathr’s death.
This was Katana Man’s mistake, however, because Denji uses this to lure him into another attack, drawing his attention to his head while Denji uses a chainsaw in his foot to cut Katana Man in half.
“Didn’t the geezer teach you that beasts shouldn’t trust anything a hunter says?” Denji shouts, showing exactly what he learned from Kishibe and how much his training paid off.
When Katana Man regenerates, Deni ties him up to the train tracks.
However, much like Katana Man wanted satisfaction by killing Deni to avenge his grandfather, Denji too wants satisfaction for Himeno’s death so he decides to hold the contest to end all contest.
Aki then arrives and Denji gives the rules of the contest.
He and Aki will kick Katana Man in the nuts until the police show up and whoever gets the loudest scream wins his family jewels.
Aki is reluctant, until he again looks at the “EASY REVENGE!” cigarette and decides to compete.
Watching Deni and Aki kick Katana Man in the nuts over and over again to wholesome music was absolutley hilarious.
I like to think that Aki got the loudest scream as Katana Man’s screams serve as a reqiuem for Himeno.
The credits then begin to roll, with Makima reporting on the events of the raid and what they learned, primarily that Sawatari’s deal with the Gun Devil was to obtain Denji’s heart.
However, before they could find out why, Sawatari was killed by the Snake Devil in an apparent suicide part of her contract with the Gun Devil.
Makima then tells her superior that the Gun Devil parts they recovered have begun to move towards the main body, although the ED, “Fight Song” by Eve, begins before we can learn which direction it has started to move.
The ED shows Denji, Power and Aki going about their daily life after the Katana Man raid and it was a good final ED to end on.
Pretty much all of the ED’s are high quality, with them having great music and visuals, showing just how much care went into this anime.
After the ED, we get another anime original scene of Aki, as we see him go outside and smoke the “EASY REVENGE!” cigarette in what is probably his final goodbye to Himeno.
As this is happening, Denji is having a nightmare about the mysterious door, just like he did in Episode One, tying the opening of Season One up with its ending.
Just as Denji approaches the door, he hears Pochita on the other side, ordering Denji not to open it.
The episode then ends with a teaser, as an unseen female character walks through an alleywar towards a cafe, stating, “Tell me Denji, between the country mouse and the city mouse, which would you rather be?”
To anime only watchers, this tease will not mean much but, as a manga reader, it makes me incredibly excited for whatever follows, whether that be a Chainsaw Man Season Two or a movie to cover the next arc.
Overall, “Katana vs Chainsaw” was a fantastic final episode, delivering incredibly well animated fight and nut kicking scenes, alongside excellent music.
It is absolutley apparent that the people who made this anime love Chainsaw Man, as this is easily one of the best adaptations of a manga out there.
Hats off to you and your team Mappa.
I cannot wait to see what comes next for the Chainsaw Man anime.

Manga Spoilers:
As a manga reader, it was exciting to see Reze get teased at the end of the episode.
She is one of the best antagonists in Part One and brings up one of the big themes of the story, which is the whole country mouse vs city mouse argument.
I am curious to see if the Bomb Girl Arc that centers on her will be adapted as a movie or in a Season Two.
After all, the Bomb Girl Arc is short enough to be contained in a movie.
Although, it might be better for the pacing of the series overall for it to be kept for a Season Two.
Season Two could be the Bomb Girl and International Assassins Arc, and then Season Three could be the Gun Devil Arc and the Control Devil Arc, before moving onto Part Two.
Whichever it turns out to be, though, either a movie or Season Two, I will eagerly anticipate the return of the Chainsaw Man anime because of how amazing this adaptation was.