The following contains spoilers for Chainsaw man Chapter 217 and a discussion of sensitive topics, including suicide.
Tatsuki Fujimoto Chainsaw man is currently reaching new levels of international fame with its Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc film in theaters, largely due to the strength of the storytelling in the manga source material. As beautiful as the Bomb Girl Arc is in the manga, Chainsaw man Part 2 has just reached a new high that makes this first part of the series seem juvenile in comparison. Chainsaw man Chapter 217, “Two Good People,” feels like the real-time maturation of Fujimoto’s opus.
As beautiful as Reze’s love story is, it is superficial compared to Asa’s. Chainsaw man 217 picks up the strange dreamscape shared by Asa Mitaka with Denji. While running down an alley, she and Denji come across Asa’s mother, who has a disturbing look of apathy on her face. Chainsaw man 217 finally reveals the truth about Asa’s dream in the most important chapter of the entire series.
Revelation of Asa’s Repressed Trauma in CSM 217 Explains Everything Fans Need to Know About Her
In Chainsaw man 217, Asa remembers what made him run down an alley in his dream. It turns out she was remembering a repressed memory from her childhood. During a family outing to the river, Asa’s mother and father were attacked by a devil and Asa’s father was fatally injured. Asa’s mother told her to run for help from the local devil hunters, that’s when Asa ran into the alley like she does in her dream.
Asa remembers that she tripped and fell on the way and, worse, that she did it on purpose. Asa wanted to trip because she hoped her drunken and abusive father would die before she could return to save him. This singular fact reveals that Asa’s tendency to stumble during important moments was a psychological defense mechanism likely intended to protect her from the harsh reality that she actually wanted her father to die at that moment.
The narrative depth of Asa’s big reveal is already deep, but that doesn’t overshadow the technical delivery of the reveal in this chapter from an artistic standpoint. Fujimoto captures a brilliant sense of panic and horror in Asa in the aftermath of her father’s death, while she is in bed with her mother. The coldness of Asa’s mother’s dialogue as she justifies the fact that she actually killed her husband for Asa, the horrified expression on Asa’s face as the two lay back to back in bed – all of this draws the reader into Asa’s dark reality in real time, almost as if they are living his dream with Denji.
The art in this chapter is effective in its simplicity, highlighting how strong Fujimoto’s new art style really is in Part 2. Although the art in Part 2 remains its most criticized aspect (and the criticisms are generally fair and justified), Chapter 217 highlights how effective Fujimoto’s artwork remains. There’s an endearing charm to the art style of the second part that makes it unique, but it doesn’t sacrifice detail in important scenes, such as when tweaking the close-ups of Asa’s facial expressions, which still rely more on realism than the traditional exaggerated style of other shonen manga.
Chainsaw Man 217 is the official thesis statement for Part 2
Chainsaw man Chapter 217’s revelation about Asa’s trauma is an incredibly accurate way to describe the pathology. Although psychology is a complex field of study, it is often the case that a pathology can emerge in a person as a result of repressed trauma from their childhood. Asa’s tendency to trip while running at the worst possible moment is a way for her to reenact her deepest trauma without her being aware of it. This explains everything about Asa as a character, including his neurotic nature, his disconnection in social situations, and his awkwardness.
Asa is a deeply traumatized person who didn’t even know the source of these feelings because they were deeply repressed in his subconscious. An analysis of this singular moment could really go as deep as the reader is willing to dive, highlighting Fujimoto’s mastery of the subject. For example, in the field of psychoanalysis, “father” often represents the structure and order of the psyche, so the fact that Asa and Denji killed their father speaks volumes.
The “father”, in the case of psychoanalysis, is more of a symbol of the separation of each character from the legal structure of their mental environment. But importantly, at least as far as psychoanalytic symbolism is concerned, it is not simply about making a person good or bad. As this chapter’s title “Two Good People” suggests, Denji and Asa did not become bad people by killing their symbolic fathers, even though killing in real life is often considered the worst possible act.
A major theme of Chainsaw man Throughout the series, the ideal of “good” is not objective, it is more complex than that. Even though Public Safety fought for the “good” of humanity, very often they had the ability to cause the worst possible harm to people – such as when Fumiko planned to sacrifice thousands of children to the Aging Devil. Chainsaw Man very often confronts readers with the harsh reality that their preconceived notions of good and evil crumble when placed in the right situation. In chapter 217, this means raising the question of whether two children were wrong to kill their father if it meant avoiding a life of pain and abuse at their hands. And of course, these are not just any two children, but the two main protagonists of the series.
But more than just a thematic moment of genius, Chainsaw man 217 is the ultimate expression of incredible character development. Denji could only make Asa feel as accepted and seen as she does in chapter 217 because of everything he’s been through from part one until now. From facing the truth of his actions during the climax of Part 1, to facing the pain of losing those he cares about, to dealing with the guilt of how he acted towards other people through the Fire Devil, all of this has made Denji someone who can laugh with Asa at the sheer absurdity of the tragedies they have both been forced to face at such a young age. age.
Yoru and Pochita could become best friends
The comforting conclusion of Chainsaw man Chapter 217, where Denji and Asa laugh together, also carries a sinister undercurrent. There’s a dark quality to this light-hearted moment, as Denji and Asa can’t help but laugh at the incredible sadness of their situation. There’s a truly hilarious irony in Denji’s statement: “I killed my father and made it look like suicide…but I’m a good person.” » This ridiculous moment is juxtaposed with the final panel of the chapter, which shows Yoru and Pochita with their heads cut off, seemingly elated with joy over their fight.
It is difficult to detect true happiness on Chainsaw Man’s face, as he lacks eyes and a noticeable smile. And yet, if there could be a way to visualize Pochita’s black chainsaw man in a state of joy, it would be what he looks like in that final panel. It’s almost as if he and Yoru, like Asa and Denji, have found commonality in their love of fighting and destruction as devils. All Pochita really wanted was a friend to play with, and that’s what he found in Denji. Now, Yoru may have become Pochita’s second friend thanks to this unlikely set of circumstances.
At the start of the current arc, back Chainsaw man Chapter 192, Yoru says to Denji “come with me, I will teach you how devils play”. She then took him on a rampage of destruction throughout the city. It’s clear that this is how the Devils have fun, so Pochita and Yoru would really be in their element in a constant battle like they are in Chainsaw man 217. This once again highlights the nebulous nature of the notion of good and evil. For Devils, destroying and killing each other is the greatest ideal of “goodness” there is.
What Yoru and Pochita could become friends for the future of Chainsaw man the manga is anyone’s guess. This could mean they team up to plunge humanity into even more terror, making things even more desperate for the Death Devil’s ironic goal of saving humanity. This could also mean things become even more complicated for Pochita and Denji’s goal of defeating Yoru – especially considering how close Denji and Asa have become.
Chainsaw Man 217 improves all of Part 2 in hindsight
Fujimoto has woven a tangled web of character arcs and emotions into Chainsaw man which made this apparent finale more tense than ever. Chainsaw man is a manga that contains a lot more depth than is often given credit for, and that’s saying a lot considering the Arc de Rezé The film remained at the top of the Japanese box office for four weeks, beating Demon Slayer in the process. Still, the slow burn of Part 2 was a mixed bag for many readers. Chapters like Chainsaw man 217 make this accumulation worth it in hindsight.
Chainsaw man Chapter 217, “Two Good People”, is the climax of the second part of the manga and the ultimate thesis statement of the entire series. It brings everything together while showing Fujimoto’s true intentions with these characters, in a climactic battle that intentionally challenges the very notion of “good versus evil.” Denji and Asa are “two good people”, not because they are objectively good in the eyes of society, but because they are subjectively good to each other. On the other hand, Chainsaw man 217 is an objectively good chapter that every manga fan must read.
The Chainsaw Man manga is currently available to read via Viz Media, Manga Plus, and the Shonen Jump app.
- Author
-
Tatsuki Fujimoto
- Artist
-
Tatsuki Fujimoto
- Release date
-
December 3, 2018
Denji and Asa finally arrive at Asa’s mother’s house, only to discover a harsh truth that explains everything about Yoru’s physical host.
- Week a story of
- An art with emotional resonance
- Cliffhanger of Yoru and Pochita’s final panel