Warning: Contains spoilers for Chainsaw Man chapter #176.The latest arc inChainsaw Manhas taken the series for a dramatic turn where Denji, shaken by Nayuta’s sudden death, once again lost control to Pochita who was now angry enough to eat Devils and erase their concepts from existence. It’s the most menacing Pochita has been as Chainsaw Man, but the series shocked readers with another twist:the return of the Gun Devil.
Pochita in his true Chainsaw Man formhas easily taken down everyone who’s tried to fight him, including Yoru, who was almost immediately disarmed when she tried to fight him, both figuratively and literally with her last remaining arm cut off.
Yoru was forced to make a desperate play to save herself and stay in the fight, and in doing so,Chainsaw Manchapter #176brought back one of the biggest villains of the entire series. It’s another dramatic twist for an increasingly tense arc, and it’s one that completely changes the trajectory of the series.
The Gun Devil Returns To Make Asa & Yoru A Chainsaw Man-Level Threat
Yoru Is Stronger Than Ever In Chainsaw Man
With her arms gone and no other options available, Yoru used her power as the War Devil to turn two other weapon-based Devils into her arms and weaponize their abilities: the Tank Devil and, in a surprise twist,the Gun Devil, the Devil originally painted as the main villain ofChainsaw Manpart 1.The Gun Devil that appeared near the end of part 1was made from a small percentage of its flesh gathered by the United States government, so Yoru must have taken more flesh from another region, the Soviet Union, as shown in chapter #176.
The return of the Gun Devil is a big moment forChainsaw Man, and the series quickly played into that idea. As soon as Yoru turned the Gun and Tank Devils into her new arms, Yoru used the Gun Devil to blow off one of Chainsaw Man’s arms and make him vomit up the Mouth Devil, something even the Aging Devil, a Primal Fear, couldn’t accomplish. Not only does that emphasize how dangerous the Gun Devil is, butit finally makes Yoru someone who can fight on par with Chainsaw Man, which was desperately needed with everything going on.
Yoru’s Big Power-Up Shows That She’s Nothing Like Makima
Yoru weaponizing the Gun Devil is a big twist forChainsaw Man, and what’s more, it highlights how different she is from Makima. While both Yoru and Makima were willing to manipulate people for their plans, Yoru drew the line at weaponizing her children both out of pride and because she didn’t want to hurt them.Yoru’s initial hesitation to weaponize the Gun Devil emphasizes that she’s not as villainous a character as Makima. It’s a great contrast between the two characters, and this likely won’t be the last time the series does something like this.
Asa’s New Powers Finally Prove Chainsaw Man Is In Its Endgame
Yoru weaponizing the Gun Devil further supportsChainsaw Manbeing in its endgame. The return of the Gun Devil brings the story back full circle by once again pitting Chainsaw Man against the Gun Devil, something that was billed as the main focus of part 1, and with that kind of thematic writing,the fight between Chainsaw Man and a Gun Devil-empowered Yoru likely means thatChainsaw Manis nearing its ending. Naturally, there’s still plenty of story left to tell, but at this point, it’s unlikely to be much.
The idea that theChainsaw Manmanga is in its endgame has already been built up in some of the recent chapters of the series. The Chainsaw Man Church arc revealed that Nostradamus’ prophecy about the world ending in July 1999 was aboutthe arrival of the Death Devil, the strongest of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and the most powerful Devil in existence. There probably isn’t an organic way to top a threat like that, sothe Death Devil will likely be the final villain ofChainsaw Man, however long it might take for that to play out.
All of that coincides with series creator Tatsuki Fujimoto’s real-world comments about his career. Ina 2023 interview, Fujimoto said that he wanted to be like Aka Akasaka who transitioned into only writing manga instead of illustrating withOshi no Ko, soTatsuki Fujimoto might already be working on endingChainsaw Mantotransition away from drawing manga. Even ifChainsaw Manis coming to a close, of course, everything left in part 2 will surely lead to a great finale, and the return of the Gun Devil will be a great way to kick that off.
Chainsaw Man
Cast
Chainsaw Man follows Denji, a young man burdened by debt, who teams up with his pet devil Pochita to fight devils under the yakuza’s control. Released in 2022, the series portrays Denji’s struggle to achieve his dream of living a simple, peaceful life.
