Tatsuki Fujimoto Chainsaw man has explored many genres including action, fantasy, horror and comedy. One aspect of the series that often doesn’t get enough attention is its romance, as it’s so closely tied to the rest of Denji’s story that it never feels overly emphasized. However, a significant underlying plot thread in recent chapters has been Denji’s confusing love triangle with War Devil, Yoru, and Asa. Chainsaw man Chapter 181, “Trees in the Mind,” is a love story that is both touching and terrifying.

Chainsaw man 180, “Aging’s World”, ended with the Aging Devil directing the full force of his power towards Yoru out of annoyance for her insolence. The next thing she knew, Yoru found herself in the world of the Aging Devil: a mysterious separate reality of strange beauty. In this new world, time does not pass and nothing ages. This sounds great in theory, but there’s a good reason why the inhabitants of the World of Aging have all gone crazy. Chapter 181 takes the manga in a brilliant new direction that encapsulates uncertainty, fear, and the promise of new budding love.

Chapter 181 ramps up the horror for the holidays

As Halloween approaches, CSM embraces its spooky side

Fujimoto is infamous for horror films, and Chainsaw man was at least partially inspired by the Texas Chainsaw Massacre. So it’s no surprise that Chapter 181 – released less than two weeks before Halloween – leans into horror more than ever. Yoru comes to terms with losing her power in the world of the aging devil, but she does so in a truly disturbing way.

Loss of power and acceptance of one’s weakness are major themes of chapter 181 and could very well (hopefully) permeate the rest of the current arc, as Yoru must learn to live without her powers. She has officially and definitively lost the fight against the Aging Devil in a major way, and she has never been more aware of her own powerlessness. Yoru doesn’t have much time to feel sorry for herself, as she soon learns that all the trees in the bountiful forest she was transported to are actually human beings.

Yoru’s nerfed abilities give the spooky living trees of the aging world an added sense of dread, as Yoru is truly helpless to fight back. Chainsaw man‘s power system is so over-the-top that incapacitating a main character and sending them to a strange, otherworldly dimension doesn’t seem as artificial or random as it seems. This is actually a welcome direction and change of pace for the series, as the story has become increasingly serious with emotional moments and intense fights. Throwing the characters into this strange mystery is a great way to surprise fans.

With Yoru significantly weakened and the world filled with creepy living trees with terrifying faces, MSC has officially moved into the survival horror genre. This isn’t the only unexpected outcome of Yoru’s loss to the aging Devil, however. Yoru’s weakness is also defined by a lack of power over her own emotions, which is fully reflected in her feelings for Denji.

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Is Yoru in love with Denji in Chainsaw Man?

Denji’s love triangle with Yoru and Asa bubbles to the surface in CSM 181

A prerequisite to Asa and Yoru’s shared body is that whenever they are afraid, Asa takes control. This works perfectly, because Asa is much more fun to watch when she’s terrified than Yoru ever would be. In chapter 181, Asa serves as a brief source of comic relief when she falls for the 11th time. Asa tripping and falling has become an essential motif for her character, although this time it seems a little more poetic – as she trips over Denji.

Denji has been lying on the ground in the Aging Devil World at least since Chapter 180, when Yoru first noticed him after being transported there herself. It is unknown if Denji was sent there at the same time as Yoru, or if he has been there longer. Denji has been completely absent from the narrative since he gave in to his pain and became Black Chainsaw Man in chapter 171. It took ten full chapters to MSCThe main character finally has a line of dialogue, and despite how he feels about himself, it doesn’t disappoint.

After being woken up by a punch to the face – the second time Yoru wakes Denji up by inflicting physical damage on him, the first being in chapter 163 when she kicked him in the face – Denji immediately begins to wallow in his body. misery. Denji’s self-loathing has naturally come to a head, as he grapples with his failure to protect Nayuta. Denji had already struggled with his inability to save her, but the true magnitude of that failure was never clearer than when Barem Bridge served him Nayuta’s head on a plate of sushi in Chapter 170, “How to Eat Sushi “.

It makes sense that Yoru would kiss Denji at that moment. Chainsaw man 181, even if it seems at first glance unsolicited. Denji has undeniably become Yoru’s weakness. In her most fragile moment in Aging’s World, where she is forced to face the reality of her lack of power, she embraces the one who first forced her to show her weakness. Yoru always tries to act tough, and avoiding showing her emotions is a side effect of this. After realizing that she no longer has any way to pretend to be strong, she fully accepts her emotions and falls into Denji’s arms.

Denji is a person who has never been afraid to show weakness, as he has lived with weakness his entire life. When Denji breaks down crying in front of Yoru, it could be that this is actually a quality she admires in Denji, as Devils never have the luxury of showing weakness..

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Chainsaw Man teases Denji’s spiritual enlightenment

If wisdom comes with experience, the world of aging could turn Denji into a sage

Denji deciding that he is going to become a tree is an interesting reflection on the life experience he has gained through his struggles. Unlike the people already present in the aging devil’s world – who became trees after enduring the torments of countless years of living in oblivion – Denji already chose this destiny from the moment he set foot in the world of the aging devil. In fact, even before being sent to Aging’s World, Denji had already abandoned his identity to become Black Chainsaw Man, trading his ego for revenge against Barem Bridge and his enemies.

Chapter 181 makes it clearer than ever that the aging devil’s world is all about ego death. What the Resident essentially describes to Denji is a person embracing the loss of their individuality. In Chainsaw Man Chapter 180, it was revealed that people are sent to the Aging Devil’s world after seeking a contract with him due to their vanity. The fear of growing old is ultimately a fear of losing a sense of identity. So it makes sense that the only way to escape the world of aging is to completely let go of yourself.

By simply accepting the death of his ego, Denji moves closer to enlightenment. MSC than many who have lived for hundreds of years. It’s a deep symbolism that expands in new ways on the series’ notoriously overt religious and spiritual themes. What makes MSC the way it develops its characters in a realistic and believable way is so unique and never seems to serve any higher purpose, other than being a character study of their individual personalities. Fujimoto simply creates the background conditions and lets his characters run wild.

That’s why this version of Denji, who would happily turn into a tree and die without hesitation, is not the same as the one fans met in Chapter 1. Denji’s goal has always been to live a normal life, but now it’s clear that he wants nothing more. He has truly gone to the other side and come back, and this is an extremely vital moment in his growth as a person. This gives readers the feeling that Denji will emerge from this specific conflict a stronger person than ever, and Yoru might be the one to help him get through it.

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CSM officially plants the seeds of love

Chapter 181’s climax brings chapter 167’s controversy to an emotional conclusion

MSC Chapter 167, “Super Smooch,” still lives in the minds of readers, rent-free. As shocking as this was due to its controversial imagery for a shonen series, it was even more shocking for MSC fans who had followed Denji and Asa’s stories since their inception. The romance between Asa and Denji is nothing new, but Yoru always seemed like more of an unwitting third wheel to AsaDen until Chapter 167 shook things up. Chapter 181 takes things to a whole new level in its final page by depicting the most genuine kiss shared between Yoru and Denji yet.. Unlike the other two times they kissed, this time it’s explicitly stated how Yoru feels. The unlikely pairing between War Devil and Denji may play into the desire for love that underlines Denji’s every move.

Chapter 181 talks about accepting weakness. In Yoru’s case, accepting weakness means embracing his humanity. For Denji, this means abandoning everything he thought was important to get to the heart of what life is (or isn’t). Chapter 181 in no way makes a grand statement that ego death is a “good” thing. It’s not how heroic or impressive Denji deals with his pain that makes him MSC interesting. Instead, it’s just him going through the pain, dealing with it horribly, and coming out the other side.

Although its themes are clear, there is no particularly obvious message to be taken from it. Chainsaw man Chapter 181, “Trees in the Mind.” It’s an experience every bit as paranoid and surreal as the overuse of the drug referenced in its title. Fujimoto took the series in a new direction with this new isekai-style horror/romance angle.which makes it exciting to see what happens next to Denji, Asa, and Yoru. Time may not be passing in Aging Devil’s World, but the future of the series definitely looks bright.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 181 is available in English via Media viewing.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 181, “Trees in the Mind”

Yoru and Denji both come to terms with their respective failures as they stare down the barrel of an eternity in the world of the Aging Devil.

Author

Tatsuki Fujimoto

Artist

Tatsuki Fujimoto

Release date

December 3, 2018

Editor

Shueisha, Viz Media

Benefits

• Yoru and Denji’s love story is taken to the next level
• Fujimoto embraces the isekai inspiration of the previous chapter
• The new horror angle is promising for the next chapters

Disadvantages

• The art isn’t particularly impressive compared to previous chapters

Develop