r/ChainsawManTheories

-while retroactively mischaracterizing pt1 dennis and claiming pt2 is flanderization

Obligatory mention that pt2 is flawed (though we probably disagree on what those flaws are), and this is not a "defense" of the ending (i think it does matter but we can argue later)

Denji struggles to maintain happiness without being Chainsaw man, and Chainsaw mans existence brings hell. The usual rebuttal to Pochita's "...only find heaven when you're in hell" claim is any panel with Denji looking content or happy, hanging around Aki, Power, Reze, or Asa but that surface level observation is ignoring the fact that just being with them isn't (inherently) at odds with his dreams or wanting to be Chainsaw man.
The tragedy is, if he was told to stop being Chainsaw man to be with them (before his "I want to be chainsaw man...!" moment at the end) he could've probably attempted to move past needing Chainsaw man; Unfortunately with everyone wanting his heart, and his own desires, this likely wouldn't've lasted.
He is forced to be Chainsaw man due to his circumstances, getting to chase his dreams of sex and fame, and the thrill of violence ultimately outweighs any notion of family- even one with Nayuta- or properly confronting his guilt.

"I would probably be depressed for a bit, but after three days or so i'd probably be back to enjoying my life"

"And if they die too! I'll find another new family!" Tough luck bad guys! I Can make a perpetual motion machine!"

"...Which side is heavier"

"Somebody like me shouldn't be allowed to be happy!!"

Denji's entire life is built on unfair circumstances, and having to pick between two choices is just another facet of that. This is a deliberate writing choice, there is no "correct" answer.
These bad circumstances lead to bad choices and bad outcomes, whether this makes Denji a 'bad' person or not is really up to your own ability to sympathize with him, even at his lowest and most selfish moments.
But for better or worse he'll pick a third option, he'll always get back up, even in the face of guilt or loss he can always fall back on the high of chasing his dream of having tons of sex while he gets to carve up bad guys. The only way for someone in Denji's shoes to move past this, was to have never had it at all. This is not a moral to be taught or a nihilistic world view, this is a story about a character.

(or fujimoto couldve just decided hed get better because thats whats supposed to happen to the hero at the end duh)

I can understand Denji not being able to grow is frustrating (and the release schedule didn't help) but that's what the entirety of part 2 was telling us- even with his moments of clarity, guilt, maturity, or suffering and at the end of the world, he couldn't break from his vices- but even if he could it would probably be too late.

obviously its fine if you dont like it and "it being the point doesnt automatically make it good" but disliking Sisyphus for rolling his boulder or disliking a tragedy for being tragic isnt really a "valid criticism" i dont think

thanks for reading maybe

Many people found it strange that in 232, Power and Nayuta show up at the perfect time to save Denji’s life from the Zombie Devil.

For Power, you can reason that her contract with Denji to become friends pretty much survived the universal reset, like how Pochita is still Denji’s heart despite everything.

Makima states she’s “The only one who remembers those names now”, in reference to the concepts Pochita erased. Even she is gradually forgetting these concepts and what they represent, but still ultimately remembers them. Nayuta is the control devil 😱

What if Nayuta remembers Chainsaw Man or her past life in the same way Makima vaguely remembered AIDS, what the Nazis did to the Jews, etc.

In the original timeline, Makima says she came hunting for the Zombie Devil and thats how she found Denji, but you could argue things were way too convenient and its more likely she finally found Chainsaw’s resurgence via Denji’s transformation.

So on a similar note, perhaps Nayuta sought out Denji (and Power) at the warehouse. Maybe she instinctively knows of the connection she had with Denji, and that’s why she drafts him into Public Safety.

We don’t see much of Nayuta in the final chapter, so it could even be possible that she almost fully remembers Denji and dispatches him to kill fodder devils while she plays games to keep him safe (assuming she values him as property like in the old timeline).

Only hole in this theory I can think of is why didn’t previous Control Devil incarnations remember this information? This next part is full on crackpot, but perhaps Makima knew that her next incarnation would have the happy family life she always wanted, so chose to die to let Nayuta come back.

TLDR: Its awfully convenient for Nayuta to appear during the Zombie Devil attack, considering in the OG timeline it was most likely Denji’s transformation that drew Makima in. So what if Nayuta remembers bits of her past existence thanks to being the Control Devil, and that’s why she chose to go to the warehouse?

I think we need to stop overthinking this one. Pochita is just the Chainsaw Man devil. The fear of Chainsaw Man, not of chainsaws. That’s why Denji can ask for a chainsaw, that’s also part of the reason why Pochita is still his heart, and thats why when Asa says “Thank you, Chainsaw Man.” Pochita as Denji’s heart revs up for a moment. It’s the concept feared by devils made by humans that erases concepts and is the hero of Hell.

It also explains why when Pochita eats himself everyone dead, and the entire world seemingly resets. It’s because he’s not just eating the concept of Chainsaws, or himself as Pochita, he’s eating an extension of himself and the concept of this entire story, and for this story to have never had happened, you need to erase everyone ever affected by it.