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.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 168, Kiss, Love, Sperm Review: An Ominous Name.

Chapter 167 was a big chapter for Chainsaw Man.
It pretty much set the fanbase on fire, with debates raging over Yoru’s actions.
I decided to see the fallout until I judged, and we got that fallout with Chapter 168, “Kiss, Love, Sperm.”
The chapter begins in the immediate aftermath of Denji and Yoru’s sexual encounter, where Yoru cleans her hand and then insists she only kissed Denji because it felt good.
All well and good, Yoru, but you did quite a bit more than just kiss him.
To make matters more confusing for Denji, Yoru then kisses him again and continues to insist she doesn’t like him.
“Only the other me likes you,” she says. “Her feelings flowed into me.”
Yoru stating this makes me believe that her and Asa’s personalities are merging even more.
By the end of their story, the two may very well become one.
As for Denji, this line is the first hint he gets at what is actually going on with Asa.
He is undoubtedly still confused but the building blocks are there for his eventual revelation.
Yoru then leaves Denji in the alley, and the page of him sitting alone and dejected is just depressing.
The poor guy just wants to be loved.
Asa is in just as much turmoil, as she runs up behind Yoru and takes over their body to slam her head into a wall and then punch her in the face.
Asa’s biggest concern over this whole debacle is that Denji will think she is a slut.
She clearly still likes him and is obviously scared he will not want anything to do with her because of what Yoru did.
I, for one, think Asa and Denji just need to sit down and have a calm conversation about this whole mess… oh, who I am kidding?
Fujimoto’s just going to give them more trauma, anyway.
Speaking of which, the final panels of the chapter show the emotionally drained Asa and Denji on a train to a sushi place ominously titled “Death by Sushi.”
What a terrible name for a sushi restaurant.
Seriously, if I want sushi, the last place I’m going is one where the name implies I’m going to die because of the food.
Although, maybe this is Fujimoto implying that the Death Devil will be at the sushi restaurant?
Hey, it could happen.
All we can really do is hope that Asa and Denji at least get to have some good sushi, before the story inevitably throws more trauma at them.
Chapter 168 is a short but well done follow up to the previous chapter’s events, and sets an ominous tone for the next storyline with the “Death by Sushi” title.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 167, Super Smooch Review: Well… That Happened.

Every single chapter of Chainsaw Man, Tatsuki Fujimoto throws the fandom for a loop with the story’s events.
Chapter 167 “Super Smooch” is one of the best examples of this.
It is a short chapter, yet what happens had the entire community freaking out over it.
“Super Smooch” begins with Denji and Yoru in an alley following Yoru’s offer to castrate him at the end of the previous chapter.
Denji, naturally, is not too keen on the idea of having his privates removed so Yoru takes matters into her own hands.
And I mean that quite literally.
It is during their scuffle that Yoru remembers kissing Denji.
Some have speculated that Yoru remembering this means Nayuta has died, but I doubt that.
Yoru is Nayuta’s sister and, as one of the four horsemen, she is probably strong enough to break the memory erasure, which is likely what happened here.
Yoru’s memory of kissing Denji drives her to kiss him, which she immediately pulls away from, a look of shock on her face.
A moment of hesitation follows, before Yoru begins making out with Denji while her hands are still down his pants.
Yoru doing this is interesting when you look at what she says earlier in the chapter: “All I care about is fighting Chainsaw Man for real.”
Yet, as soon as she remembers kissing Denji, it drives her to start making out with him.
To me, this seems like Fujimoto is showing us just how much Yoru’s feelings are being influenced by Asa’s now.
Perhaps the two will truly merge by Part Two’s conclusion which, for all we know, may be a while from now.
Denji certainly does not take long though because the chapter ends with Asa regaining control and finding that Denji has… well, you-know-what all over her hand.
It never ceases to amaze me just what Fujimoto is able to get away with in Shonen Jump.
First there was the Quanxi sex scene in Part One, and now he’s gone full End of Evangelion.
The ending to this chapter has sparked a lot of debate online, mostly surrounding the consent aspect of this scene.
Some have said Denji was assaulted, others have said Asa was as well, since she was not in control of her own body.
Personally, I do not feel like touching that subject with a ten-foot pole until we see how the characters react next chapter.
That being said, Asa will probably be disgusted since Denji saying he wanted to have sex grossed her out earlier in Part Two.
Denji will also be incredibly confused since, in his eyes, Asa went from wanting to castrate him to giving him a hand job in an alleyway.
Maybe this will finally lead to him learning that Asa has the War Devil inside her.
Other than this, and the potential implication of Yoru becoming similar to Asa, I once again have no idea where Chainsaw Man is going.
Knowing Fujimoto though, it will probably be somewhere that throws us all for a loop again.
As for “Super Smooch”, it is a good chapter.
Incredibly awkward?
Yes.
But it is undoubtedly a significant moment in Denji and Asa’s relationship, however that turns out.
The fallout between Denji, Asa and Yoru will be quite interesting to see next chapter.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 166, Rain, Brothel, Removal Review: Post-Nut Clarity, Without the Nut.

In my review of Chapter 165 of Chainsaw Man, I speculated that Denji would be more reluctant to visit a brothel because his sister was missing.
Chapter 166, “Rain, Brothel, Removal” begins with Asa voicing this exact sentiment.
Well, apparently both me and Asa gave Denji too much credit because, after a moment of silence, Denji states, “Now that he mentions it… I haven’t masturbated lately.”
Cue every single character staring awkwardly, while Asa gets into another argument with Denji, who tries to justify visiting a brothel for “science reasons.”
Whatever floats your boat, Denji.
Well, Denji did not even need to bother because the chapter then hard cuts to reveal the brothel has been destroyed in the fighting, with Katana Man looking on in horror.
After the tease of the brothel in the previous chapter, many readers, myself included, speculated about its story potential, with characters like Kobeni possibly returning.
Well, Fujimoto typically defied expectations by having the brothel be already destroyed when the characters get there.
As it starts to rain, Denji collapses, berating himself for being so focused on sex while Nayuta is missing.
“I’m always thinking with my dick!” Denji cries: unironically the most honest thing he has said in the entire series.
We then get the big cliffhanger of the chapter, as Yoru takes over Asa’s body and kindly offers to castrate Denji.
I expect the next chapter will begin with Denji running for his penis’ life.
That is not even a joke.
Asa and Yoru have been looking for a way to convince Denji to fight them and I cannot think of a much better motivation than the threat of castration.
Or, who knows, maybe Denji will submit and allow Yoru to make his penis a weapon.
Wow, there is a sentence I never thought I would write.
Although, while Fujimoto has got away with showing a lot in Chainsaw Man, something tells me that this would be a bridge too far for his publisher.
“Rain, Brothel, Removal” is an awkward chapter, but I mean that in a good way, with the humor being the perfect kind of cringe.
I still don’t have much of a clue where the story is going but I am still interested to see, and I will probably laugh at that too.

Chainsaw Man Chapters 164 and 165 Review: An Upcoming Return?

Chapters 164 and 165 of Chainsaw Man, “Charred Remains” and “Everyday Scenery” are short chapters, which could potentially be building up to the return of a missing character.
Chapter 164, “Charred Remains” begins right after Denji’s balls were attacked by Yoru and Katana Man.
Denji, however, has his priorities clear, being desperate to find Nayuta.
Yoru holds no interest in this, but Denji’s pleading is enough to allow Asa to regain control of her body and ask him what happened.
Denji then takes the group to the remains of his burned down apartment.
We see Denji mindlessly sifting through the rubble like a grief driven zombie, while Asa and Yoru try to coax him into fighting them.
Yoru is blunt and cruel, telling Denji that Nayuta is dead and that he should face reality.
I know Fujimoto likes to kill off his characters, but I cannot imagine he would kill Nayuta off screen.
She’ll show up again.
That way Fujimoto can kill her on screen.
Dark humor aside, Asa attempts to coax Denji into a fight are much more sympathetic.
Although, telling someone, “I know how it feels when a family member dies because of you” is probably not the most sensitive thing to say.
Well, at least she’s trying.
Asa’s earnest attempt to comfort Denji naturally frustrates him, since Asa seems to be acting mean one moment and kind the next.
Denji still does not know about the existence of Yoru but, knowing Fujimoto, he will hit him with that revelation when it is most painful.
Realizing she’s not getting through to Denji, Asa asks Fami for help who, predictably, thinks Denji won’t fight because he’s hungry.
“Hunger makes you negative,” she says and, once again, I have to state how constantly amusing I find it that the literal Famine Devil is such a glutton.
Going along with Fami’s suggestion, Asa tells Denji to name whatever he wants to eat.
However, when Denji decides upon sushi, Asa immediately backtracks, telling him she hates sushi more than anything.
“What a bitch!” Katana Man declares and, when he of all people is calling you that, you know you’ve screwed up.
“Charred Remains” then ends with another prime Asa reaction shot to add to the collection, as she ruefully realizes she’s going to have to get Denji sushi.
Chapter 165, “Everyday Scenery” begins with a perfect juxtaposition of that title.
The “Everyday Scenery” Denji sees is that of dead bodies strewn around, injured people, buildings destroyed, and barely anyone reacting to this.
“That’s just expected at this point,” Asa states, showing just how quickly everyone had become used to the state of the world.
The group pile onto a train, with Fami listing possible sushi places which have not been destroyed by the current war,
Denji, however, wants to know why Asa is out to fight him.
Her response, “Because if I can fight you and win, you’ll be saved,” makes Denji draw the humorous conclusion that Asa has been brainwashed by the cult because, well, what she just said sounded insane.
Fami then explains that she wants to break Denji’s contract with Pochita so he will emerge.
They will then defeat him and transplant a human heart into Denji’s body so he can be normal again.
Honestly, this explanation is just as nuts.
Where would they even get a human heart to transplant into Denji in the first place?
Not only that but Fami absolutely refuses to elaborate on anything when questioned, which basically proves she’s lying here.
In the end, Denji lets it go, saying he cannot live a normal life, talking about how he literally used to eat toilet paper to survive but stopped once he no longer had to worry about being hungry.
Asa, unfortunately, sees this as a weird metaphor rather than the horrible truth it is, and promises to save Denji, no matter what.
Her determination is touching but, even if she can save Denji, there will probably be a whole lot of trauma and heartbreak before she gets to that point.
Asa’s poignant statement is then undercut by Katana Man, who has a rather unique suggestion on how to get Denji’s spirits up enough to fight them.
This suggestion?
Take Denji to a brothel so he can get laid, of course!
Who ever thought that the two of them would become such bros?
In all seriousness, I do have to wonder how enthusiastic Denji will actually be about this.
We know one of his main goals in life is to have sex but, now that his sister’s missing, this has most likely gone way down in his list of priorities.
As for story implications, Katana Man taking Denji to a brothel could see the return of a character who has not been seen since Part One ended… Kobeni.
Way back in the first Eternity Devil Arc, Kobeni said the choice her parents gave her was to either become a Devil Hunter or a sex worker.
We saw that Kobeni left the Devil Hunting profession in the last arc of Part One so, horrifying as it is to think about, her parents may have forced her into prostitution.
Kobeni showing up at the brothel would also be significant because her brother Nobana is with the group, and wouldn’t that just be awkward?
However, although I would love Kobeni to come back into the story, making her a sex worker might be taking things a bridge too far.
Kobeni’s suffering is played for laughs, often quite effectively, but her being forced into sex work would just feel gratuitous.
Of course, if she had not had to serve anyone yet and Denji’s arrival allows her to escape, I would feel a lot better about it.
That is if Kobeni is at the brothel.
After all, there has been wrong speculation about different characters returning at multiple points in Part Two.
Remember the theory that Reze was going to be the one to break Denji out of prison?
Either way, “Charred Remains” and “Everyday Scenery” are both good Chainsaw Man chapters, which provide humorous moments, and interesting interactions between Asa and Denji.
As for whether Kobeni will return next chapter or not, well, we will find out that tomorrow.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 163, Dream Balls Review: Katana Man’s Revenge.

Chapter 162 of Chainsaw Man ended the prison escape arc with Asa and her gang successfully rescuing Denji from Public Safety.
Going into Chapter 163 of Chainsaw Man, “Dream Balls”, I was curious to see how Asa and Yoru would react to the realization of Denji being Chainsaw Man.
The results were, as expected of Fujimoto, hilarious.
“Dream Balls” begins with Haruka flipping news channels, only to find that seemingly no one is talking about their prison break.
He finally manages to find a channel where an emotional woman appears to be talking about the chaos caused by the recent Chainsaw Man transformations.
She states she has had suicidal thoughts, that her mother cannot trust anyone anymore, and that she has one thing to say to whoever’s behind all this… “Koma Komagawa! Never stop being our idol!”
Cue my laughter as I realized, just as Haruka did, that this woman was not traumatized about the Chainsaw Men transformations, but by an idol supposedly having an affair.
Humor aside, I actually felt a large amount of sympathy towards Haruka during this moment.
He looked so distraught and remorseful for what he helped cause, before the reveal of what the woman was actually traumatized by.
Haruka is a character who I honestly found to be kind of meh for a while.
However, he has been growing on me quite a bit in the more recent chapters, what with his hilarious exchange with Fami in the prison escape arc and now this.
As for Haruka’s friend Nobana, his “thank goodness” response to the news that the idol’s affair may have fabricated reminded me a lot of his sister’s final scene in Part One.
In that scene, Kobeni was thankful that she no longer had to endure her abusive family, while here her brother is thankful that a smear campaign turned out to be a lie.
Although, Fujimoto seems to be keeping it ambiguous whether Nobana is really happy about that or happy about their escape not being on the news.
The reason for that, though, is probably because Public Safety is being quiet about it in the hopes that they can recapture Denji before word gets out.
Whether they can or not depends on the quality of the gang’s hideout, which appears to be the apartment block the Falling Devil attacked a few arcs ago.
Fami brought them here, and we see her gorging herself on food with her bare hands.
I still find the fact that the Famine Devil is a glutton to be morbidly funny.
Before the group can decide what to do, Denji wakes up, and his first question is what happened to Asa’s arm.
The following exchange is suitably awkward, as Asa simply replies “I dunno” when Denji asks why Yoshida cut off her arm.
The awkwardness of this conversation causes even Denji to wonder if he is dreaming.
A simple pinch would have been enough to prove to Denji that he is awake, but Katana Man takes this a boot further, stomping on Denji’s balls as revenge for the competition back in Part One.
This made me laugh but what comes next had me howling.
Both Haruka and Asa yell at Katana Man for hurting Denji, only for Yoru to take control of Asa’s body and stomp Denji’s balls again.
As I howled with laughter, the chapter ended with Nobana stating he does not feel safe with these people but Haruka replying that they have nowhere else to go.
So, now Denji will learn that yet another girl he has dated wants to kill him.
The guy just cannot catch a break.
I am curious to see what explanation Asa wants to give Denji, though.
She states that she plans to fight him after explaining things, so it will be interesting to see how that will go.
There is also the matter of Akoku.
He’s the only character from the group missing in this chapter and, since he is speculated to be the Fire Devil, that is a bit suspicious.
Or, who knows, he might just turn up next chapter?
“Dream Balls” is another hilarious Chainsaw Man chapter, and it has me excited to see how Denji will react to learning that Asa is possessed by the War Devil.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 162, Fearsome Review: Quanxi Solos.

Chapter 162 of Chainsaw Man, “Fearsome” depicts the brief fight between Quanxi and the Chainsaw Man rescue squad.
Looking back at my review of the previous chapter, it’s funny to see that I thought Asa and Katana Man had any chance in hell of beating Quanxi.
She quite easily solos all of the group’s heavy hitters, decapitating Katana Man, and easily incapacitating Yoru and the Nail Fiend.
The person who actually stops Quanxi in her tracks is, unexpectedly, Nobana.
As Quanxi prepares to cut him down, Nobana grabs the nearest thing for protection… that being Denji’s head.
Ah, using Denji as a human shield.
It is truly a time-honored tradition in the Higashiyama family.
Kobeni did it in Part One, and now her brother continues the tradition.
When Quanxi sees Nobana holding Denji’s head, she stays her blade, stating that, “An old friend warned me to never make an enemy out of this one.”
This “old friend” is almost undoubtedly Kishibe, all but confirming that he is no longer with Public Safety, since he wanted Denji to continue the fight at the end of Part One.
Although, there is also the possibility that the one Quanxi did not want to make an enemy of was Nobana.
No, I am not joking.
I mean, we know Kobeni was extremely skilled and had an unknown Devil contact.
Maybe these things run in the Higashiyama family and Kishibe wanted to warn Quanxi about it?
I’m probably wrong about that.
One prediction I was right about, though, was that Public Safety were using Quanxi’s Fiends against her.
Upon seeing Quanxi’s reluctance, the Public Safety Officer threatens to have their bodies thrown into a ditch.
When this does not work, the Public Safety Officer starts what seems is going to be a misogynistic rant, only for him to ironically be interrupted by his own transformed wife.
The transformed woman kills him, to which Quanxi simply says, “that works,” before telling Yoru to kill her so the group can escape without repercussions for her.
Yoru agrees once she learns Quanxi will regenerate but she first asks if Chainsaw Man is stronger than her.
Quanxi answers that he is weaker but much more fearsome.
Yoru then kills her off screen, as the chapter comes to an end.
“Fearsome” is a solid Chainsaw Man chapter.
It has another good fight and solid humor, like the doctors all agreeing that they did not see a thing.
I am interested to see if the rescue squad will have escaped the facility next chapter, or if the escape is still ongoing.
If they have escaped, then maybe we will get the confrontation between Denji and Asa we have been waiting for; their identities finally revealed to each other.

Centuria Chapter One, 100 Slaves Review: An Intriguing Beginning.

With Tatsuki Fujimoto being such a fantastic mangaka, it is no surprise that many people he has worked with have also done great things.
Tatsuya Endo’s Spy X Family and Yuji Kaku’s Hell’s Paradise are both excellent, for example.
So, when I heard that another assistant of Fujimoto’s, Tohru Kuramori was releasing the first chapter of his new manga, I knew I had to check it out.
The work is called Centuria and is off to a promising start with Chapter One, “100 Slaves.”
The chapter begins by introducing our main character, Julian, who is a slave.
We first see him rebelling against his abusive master, while narrating about the plight of slaves like himself, who have never owned anything.
The chapter then flashes forward to a ship in the middle of the ocean, which is transporting 100 slaves.
Some of the crew are worried about passing through a supposedly cursed area, yet their complaints to the captain are interrupted by the discovery of Julian, who stowed away.
The captain wants to kill him, but the 100 hundred slaves aboard are having none of it, with many offering to split their food.
It is through this that it becomes apparent many of the slaves are sick or elderly.
The first to speak up for Julian is a pregnant woman named Mira, who explains to him that since slaves cannot own anything, many of them value compassion.
Julian returns this compassion by polishing a knife Mira’s deceased husband gave her.
While he does this, Julian explains his backstory, stating that his own mother sold him as a child to a blacksmith who abused him.
Julian learned the craft from him but then escaped when it looked like his master was about to kill him, which we saw at the beginning of the chapter.
As the journey progresses, Julian and Mira grow closer.
Julian has never known the love of a mother, since she sold him, and Mira lost her son when she was enslaved.
And so, a mother and son type bond begins to emerge between the two in a short amount of time, which is a credit to Kuramori because of how natural it feels.
It even gets to the point that Mira suggests that they live together if they are ever liberated.
At this point, I said out loud, “Yep, Mira’s totally dead.”
All of the bonding scenes between her and Julian were practically screaming that she was a goner.
It was just a matter of how.
Sure enough, after the ship gets sucked into the area they were trying to avoid, the captain decides it is time to kill all of the slaves.
The reason most of them are sick and elderly is because the captain wanted to buy them at a low price and then stage an accident.
He would then get a big insurance payout on their lives.
This brutal sacrifice takes an unexpected turn, however, when Julian and Mira are offered a sacrifice of their own.
With all of the slaves dying to save them, this summons a supernatural entity, which says a sacrifice of love must now be given to earn her blessing of great power.
Julian offers to sacrifice himself for Mira to save her unborn child but, seeing her dead son in him, Mira refuses to lose another son.
Using the knife Julian polished for her, Mira performs a C-Section on herself, gruesomely saving the life of her daughter, whom she names Diana.
Trusting Julian with Diana’s life, Mira throws them one last, tragic look before jumping into the ocean.
Satisfied with the sacrifice, the entity now asks a heartbroken Julian what he wishes for.
Remembering what the ship captain said about their lives being worthless, Julian states he wishes for proof that Mira’s life wasn’t a waste.
The entity grants this wish, as dark cracks begin to emerge from Julian’s eyes, and he gains the strength of all one hundred sacrificed slaves.
Kuramori shows this strength in a frightening double page spread of the aftermath, where we see Julian has absolutely slaughtered all of the slave masters on the ship, with some of them even having their jaws ripped off.
However, just as Julian turns back to Diana, he is stabbed from behind by the ship captain.
But rather than dying, Julian heals, with the entity revealing that he has also gained the one hundred lives the slaves lost.
So, he now has 99 lives left.
Julian then kills the captain, before escaping the ship with Diana, while the entity destroys it, before telling Julian that because of his sacrifice, “The sea will no longer bear its fangs at you.”
The entity departs, leaving Julian alone to look down at his new sister, crying and laughing as he does so.
The first chapter of Centuria then finishes with Julian narrating that he has never had anything valuable in his life, until now.
This was a perfect book end to the first chapter, which opened with Julian reflecting on their being nothing valuable in his life.
Overall, this was a promising opening for Centuria.
It gave off a Vinland Saga vibe, but one with fantasy elements.
I assume that the story will follow Julian using his powers to take a stand against slavery, all the while looking out for Diana.
Apart from that, I have no idea where the story will go.
We know virtually nothing about the world, except for that it is set in a world with slavery and that supernatural beings exist.
Kuramori really could take the narrative anywhere at this point and, after this first chapter, I am intrigued to see where it goes.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 160 and 161 Review: A Long-Awaited Reveal.

For the past few weeks, I have been wondering if Tatsuki Fujimoto has been enjoying writing Asa’s chapters more than Denji’s in Part Two.
After all, there was a two week break between pretty much every chapter in Denji’s arc, whereas now that the story is focusing on Asa again, we are back to a week between chapters.
This was the case for Chapters 160 and 161, “That for Which the Heart Beats” and “Chainsaw Man Puzzle.”
These two chapters are great, progressing the plot with both hilarious and unexpected developments.
Chapter 161 begins with Asa and her gang about to face off against Katana Man and Nail.
Going into the chapter, I was curious to see how such a fight would pan out, only for that fight to not happen at all.
This was far from disappointing though because of how funny what we got instead was.
Katana Man starts the confrontation off by basically fangirling over Asa, before denying that he was to Nail.
After an argument, the two go to attack Asa when the Public Safety Officer orders them to, only for Asa to stop them by shouting that she’s here to fight Chainsaw Man.
I like how smart Asa was here, picking up on the fact that Katana Man had beef with Chainsaw Man during his argument with Nail and now using that to her advantage.
The Public Safety officer attempts to blackmail Katana and Nail back to his side but the effort fails, with Katana Man shouting that killing Chainsaw Man is the reason his heart still beats.
Fujimoto then gives us an unexpectedly mournful moment, when the Public Safety Officer tells his transformed wife that she was right when she said he should never have joined Public Safety.
Before Katana Man can kill the man, however, he flees, going to get someone who can actually kill him and Asa.
Following this exchange, Haruka is understandably freaking out that Asa and Katana Man want to kill Chainsaw Man, his hero, calling it stupid.
The chapter then ends on another humorous note, with Asa stealing Katana Man’s line that, “the reason my heart’s beating is to fight Chainsaw Man”, which Katana Man calls her out on.
“That for Which the Heart Beats” was a fun read.
The expected direction of the story took an unexpected direction instead, with Asa convincing Katana Man to join their side in finding Chainsaw Man to fight him.
The following chapter, “Chainsaw Man Puzzle” is even better.
The chapter begins with the doctors who were dismembering Denji finishing up their job, only to be interrupted by Asa, Katana Man and the others bursting into the room.
They demand to know where Chainsaw Man is, only to learn the doctors have completely dismembered him and put his parts in boxes.
The head surgeon is comedically unbothered by the threat to his life, demanding that everyone apologize for interrupting his work.
Of course, Nobana is the only one to apologize, which got another laugh out of me.
The group begin to reassemble Denji, resulting in a lot of humorous moments, like when Akoku finds his wiener and Katana Man wants to shove it up his behind.
The guy is definitely not over Denji and Aki’s competition from Part One.
Another funny moment is when Haruka also fangirls over holding Chainsaw Man’s guts.
However, his fangirling quickly ends when Nobana finds Chainsaw Man’s head and Haruka gets a look at it.
And so, the moment that we have been waiting for ever since Asa first met Denji in Chapter 104 arrives.
Haruka opens the box and shows Asa Denji’s head, revealing to her that he is Chainsaw Man.
The shock is so great it launches Yoru right out of control of their body, and Asa’s stunned face left me grinning at the reveal.
Asa has very little time to dwell on it, though, because the Public Safety officer returns with Quanxi, who he orders to kill everyone.
In my review of Chapter 159, I speculated that Asa would have a lot of trouble fighting Quanxi, but this theory was based on the idea that Katana Man would be fighting on the side of Public Safety.
With Katana Man now on Asa’s side, it levels the playing field quite a bit.
Or, at least, it could.
We have never seen Katana Man fight Quanxi, so maybe she will wipe the floor with them.
Or maybe Fujimoto will pull another Katana Man and have Quanxi also betray Public Safety.
We don’t know why she’s siding with them, after all.
Maybe her motives are similar to Katana Man.
It’s revealed in Chapter 160 that Public Safety offered to help him get his syndicate back.
Maybe they offered to help Quanxi find her Fiend girlfriends again, much like how Denji hopes to find Power.
As for Denji himself, the fallout of his identity being revealed to Asa and Yoru is sure to be interesting, and probably hilarious.
I imagine that once the chaos has calmed down, Yoru will be rubbing it in Asa’s face that Denji was telling the truth about being Chainsaw Man in Chapter 104.
Not only that, but I am intrigued to see how Denji will react to the fact that Asa has been possessed by the War Devil the entire time, meaning that yet another woman he dated tried to kill him.
I doubt he will take it well, although he will probably be focused on trying to find out what happened to Nayuta.
Overall, Chapters 160 and 161 were a lot of fun.
They had great humor and progressed the plot in interesting ways, most importantly with Asa finally learning Denji’s identity.
I am very excited to see where Fujimoto goes with all this.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 159, Attack on Samurai Review: Katana Man or Kool Aid Man?

Chapter 159 of Chainsaw Man, “Attack on Samurai,” continues the ongoing rescue arc with more hilarity.
The chapter begins with Haruka telling Nobana and Akoku that they don’t have to come with him, but they both have their own reasons for doing so.
Nobana’s is simply that he does not know how to get out of the building, while Akoku claims he has nowhere else to go.
Although, if Akoku does turn out to be the Fire Devil, then following Haruka to Chainsaw Man would most likely suit whatever his motive is.
Nobana, on the other hand, eventually comes across what he thinks is an exit, only to find it is a cell for people transformed into Chainsaw Men.
The group is confronted by a Public Safety Officer, whose wife is transformed inside the cell.
The man contemplates why his wife transformed, while his annoying neighbor and the Chainsaw Man Fan Club remain human.
When the man claims to have done nothing bad in his life, Asa asks if that’s really true, and the man reveals he cheated on his wife.
Yoru calls him a piece of crap, not for cheating, but for trying to buy time.
She then kicks Fami out of the way, as Katana Man bursts through the wall like he’s the Kool Aid Guy.
Fami tries to get Guilly to protect her, but the Guillotine Devil has already changed back into its totem.
It’s kind of funny how last chapter I wondered how long Guilly would stick around, only for them to immediately leave in the next chapter.
Fami also almost takes her leave, as the Hammer Fiend arrives next to bash her head in with a hammer.
Thankfully, Yoru is there to once again kick her sister in the head.
What else are siblings for?
The chapter then ends with the Hammer Fiend mocking Yoru for kicking Fami out of the way, and Yoru replying that they should try having one arm.
And so, we are left with a cliffhanger teasing the fight with Katana Man and the Hammer Fiend.
We could also hopefully learn the Hammer Fiend’s name and what their deal is next chapter.
As for the fight itself, I think Yoru and Fami will be able to handle it, so long as there are no other complications.
One such complication could be Quanxi.
If she shows up then, yeah, they are probably screwed.
“Attack on Samurai” is a solid Chainsaw Man, which has great physical humor, with Yoru constantly kicking Fami to keep her safe.