u/AngelinoT

I'm talking about Himeno of course, she was very believable when she flirted with Denji, kissed him, and almost slept with him. Where nymphomaniacs like Quanxi, Power and Asa are cartoonish clichés, Himeno is the representation of the despair of not being able to reach the heart of the loved one.

Asa manipulated Denji by inviting him on a date with the intention of turning him into a weapon. Even if she fails, it shows that she is somewhat like the Makima of Part 2. I think Fujimoto's initial intention was to show us what kinds of reasons could have driven Makima to be who she is. We empathize with Asa because she lost her family, killed a chicken, and has mental health issues. Unfortunately, Fujimoto quickly realized that defending a groomer would be perceived by society as something deeply immoral, and so he cancelled Asa's development after the Falling arc.

This is a criticism I would make of part 1 of Chainsaw Man. Makima was always portrayed as a dangerous groomer who wanted to trap Denji, and there were too many clues that showed Makima wasn't very nice. If the manga was well written, like SNK, we wouldn't have had to know who the antagonist was and what the ending would generally be. Denji growing up and questioning himself is a far too classic ending, especially since it was clearly shown to be BS by part 2. Since Kobeni was one of the last survivors and had a secret pact with a devil, she could have been a surprisingly interesting character in this almost lame story. Denji could have learned so much more by confronting someone as truly ambiguous as Kobeni. Instead, he faces the groomer known by the city's police department.

I followed this series for years like a drug and in the end I realize that I don't miss it at all. I think the story was so bad in retrospect that I was unconsciously emotionally detached. Just a few months ago, I would have declared that my hatred for this manga was fake and aimed at creating a ragebait spectacle, but today I realize that I was right about all the criticisms I made. This manga was really written with ass and was really intended to satisfy a bunch of guys who sucked each other off while pretending to be elitists who had understood how their manga was superior. Merci Chainsaw Man.