In the week following Chainsaw Man Chapter 156’s release, there was a lot of debate about who was going to attack the facility Denji is being held at.
Asa was the most obvious candidate, but Reze’s name was also being thrown into the ring, along with Kishibe’s as a joke.
Chapter 157 “College Fund” begins by confirming that it was indeed Asa we saw preparing to free Denji.
While it would have been good to see Reze again, I am glad Asa is finally back in the story.
She has only shown up in a couple of chapters since the Falling Devil Arc, so it is good to have her back as an important character.
It is also interesting to note that Asa’s arm has not grown back.
This makes her fundamentally different from hybrids like Denji and the Weapons.
It also reminds me a lot of Aki, which I hope is not Fujimoto hinting that something terrible will happen to her, like it did Aki.
Asa is not alone, however, because Fami is joining her in the assault on the facility.
We get a little more insight into Fami’s personality, as she refuses to respond when Yoru calls her “Famine,” only answering to “Fami.”
There is also this curious question from Asa: “Beating Chainsaw Man… will really save Chainsaw Man, right?”
Unless this is a mistranslation, Fami seems to have manipulated Asa into believing that she needs to beat Chainsaw Man now.
I am not sure why she would do this since Nayuta stated her plan is to make both Chainsaw Man and the War Devil stronger, but I guess we will have to wait and see.
In any case, Asa and Fami make their move on the facility, only for the staff to try and kill them with turrets.
This does not work because of how Asa’s power has increased, due to the growing fear of war.
Fami wrote up a fake contract to buy the turrets, which Asa believes she bought using her college fund money, from the work she did with the Chainsaw Man Church.
Not only is this humorous because of Asa’s naivety but it also shows how powerful she is now, being able to turns things into weapons without touching them.
Asa uses her “College Fund Turrets” to blow a hole in the facility.
She and Fami then run inside but the latter refuses to fight because she is the trump card which should be used last.
The two come across armed guards waiting for them and attempt to sneak past but, Asa being Asa she, of course, trips and faceplants.
The recurring joke of Asa tripping at critical moments, followed by an inevitable panel of her dying inside, always gets a good laugh out of me and this time was no different.
With the guards now aware of them, it forces Fami to release her trump card early.
The chapter ends with her calling Asa a klutz, and pulling out a small figurine, similar to one she put the Falling Devil in.
Does this mean that Fami is about to release the Falling Devil or some other Primal Fear on the facility?
That would be pretty overkill, but it would definitely ensure success.
As for what happens next chapter, it was stated that the leaders of the Chainsaw Man Church were being held in the facility.
This means Haruka and Nobana could be returning so Asa might just free them.
It will also be interesting to see if this is the arc Asa will finally learn Denji is Chainsaw Man.
Either way, “College Fund” is a great, short chapter.
It reintroduces Asa and brings back a funny, recurring gag.
With there once again only being a week break between chapters, it will not be long before we see what happens next.