Chainsaw Man: Denji's Life, Explained (2024)

Author Tatsuki Fujimoto's hit manga/anime franchise Chainsaw Man is clearly a brutal subversion of the shonen formula, but it's not just that. For all its dark, deconstructive humor and bloody action scenes, Chainsaw Man spends just as much time, if not more, meditating on its flawed characters. Chainsaw Man may be twisted, but it's not a joke, and neither are its characters, such as protagonist Denji/Chainsaw Man.

Denji isn't just a vehicle for crude humor and devil-hunting action sequences. He is a tragic, relatable young man with a grim yet fascinating life story for shonen fans to experience. Subversive or not, Denji as a character is someone who's been through a lot as a deceptively likable protagonist, and many of his actions and emotions appeal to everyone's basic humanity. He helped shape the world around him as a devil hunter, and the world certainly shaped him in return, from his youngest days to his current adventures with Asa Mitaka in recent Chainsaw Man manga chapters.

Denji's Childhood: Pochita, Poverty, and Paying His Father's Debts

Denji's early boyhood experiences were shaped by tragedy, hardship, and isolation. Years before Chainsaw Man's main events, Denji endured the death of his father, a man who owed money to a local criminal organization. Denji barely even had time to mourn his father before his father's creditors burdened him with the huge, unpaid debt, making Denji's life go from bad to worse. Denji felt like he had nothing left, a lonely boy with no education, no family, and no hope. Soon after his father's burial, Denji did gain one good thing in his life: a chainsaw devil dog named Pochita. Denji sympathazed with Pochita as a fellow miserable creature fighting just to survive, so they bonded as a boy and his dog.

Denji grew up with no one but Pochita and the mobsters for company, struggling to repay his father's debt piece by piece, earning money by cutting down trees with Pochita's chainsaw. In those days, Denji ate little more than bread slices, and he considered jam and jelly a luxury. Finally, when Denji was 16 and with no end to his debt in sight, a brutal betrayal took place. Denji was lured into a trap when his creditors summoned him, and the fearsome zombie devil attacked Denji, outright killing him and Pochita in the process. Then, Denji's leaking blood trickled into Pochita's mouth, reviving the canine devil, who made his most desperate move. Denji's mangled body reassembled itself as Denji and Pochita merged into one, reborn as the mighty Chainsaw Man. Denji massacred the zombie devil and its many undead thralls, which happened to include his main creditor. Denji was healthy, powerful, and debt-free, but he still had much to gain.

Denji Joins the Public Safety Commission Under Makima's Watchful Eye

Denji's life changed for the better, at least up front, when a mysterious red-headed woman named Makima found him and offered him a new job at the Public Safety Commission. Makima needed Denji's formidable powers, and Denji needed a purpose and money, so they teamed up at once. Denji thought it was an incredible luxury just to get fast food noodles, much to Makima's amusem*nt. Denji soon began work, complete with a simple work uniform, and met his wacky new co-workers: the horned fiend Power and the tsundere devil hunter Aki Hayakawa. Denji didn't get along with either of them at first, given Aki's hostility and Power's highly dysfunctional personality, but he had little choice.

Denji's first major battle pitted him against the bat and leech devils, with his shady new co-worker Power actually selling him out to the bat devil in exchange for her pet cat's safe return. However, Power sympathized with Denji as a fellow pet lover, and they teamed up against their devil foes after all. That battle gave Denji some much-needed combat experience, and Aki helped bail him out when the leech devil threatened to kill Denji. After that, the three of them became a twisted but real found family, all living together in Aki's apartment, much to Aki's dismay.

From there, Denji fought a variety of devils, such as the eternity devil residing in a hotel, and even his counterpart and unfriendly shonen rival, Katana Man. Like Denji, Katana Man was a human/devil hybrid, and he vowed vengeance for his mobster father's death. However, Denji got the best of him, and he and Aki happily abused him. The whole experience helped remind Chainsaw Man fans that Denji was a frustrated boy who still felt helpless about his life, and he wouldn't miss a chance to vent on his enemies, like Katana Man. Denji sharpened his skills when he underwent training with the veteran devil hunter Kishibe, who pushed Denji and Power to their limits in various sparring matches.

Around this time, Denji also learned the harsh reality of being a devil hunter, and not just because of the constant danger of fighting devils. Like Aki before him, Denji had to learn how to cope with the frequent deaths of his co-workers, with Himeno losing her life while fighting Akane and Katana Man one fateful day. Denji was eager, even desperate to get a girlfriend and get more comfortable around women, only for Makima to keep him at arm's reach, and Himeno and Kobeni weren't Denji's ideal dream date, either. Himeno did comfort Denji as a friend and helped him emotionally prepare himself for the job, but when she died, Denji was distraught, and Aki, doubly so. Denji's love life wasn't going anywhere fast — but then Reze appeared.

Denji Meets Reze and Experiences Ordinary Life

Denji didn't have much luck with the women at the Public Safety Commission, certainly not with Power, who was more like a wacky foster sister to him than a love interest. All that changed when Denji met a lovely girl while on patrol, a dark-haired beauty named Reze. Denji's meeting with Reze wasn't just another chance at love, though; it was also one of Denji's first real chances to experience ordinary daily life. For a brief time, the Chainsaw Man manga actually had conventional slice-of-life elements to it, with Denji spending quality time with the civilian Reze and getting to know her. Sparks flew between them as Reze showed Denji true happiness with meaningful gestures, such as helping him sneak into a school one night and going to a festival with him as the fireworks went off. Denji had never experienced school or festivals, but now he had Reze to show him.

The good times ended for Denji when Reze showed her true nature as an assassin from the Soviet Union, and her kindness toward Denji had been a farce all along. Reze's mission was to destroy him, and once she dropped the act, Reze revealed her true nature as the Bomb Devil, a creature with incredible explosive powers. A shocked Denji leaped right into action to defend himself, and the tragic battle ended in Reze's total defeat. She could not be Denji's friend or lover anymore, so a heartbroken Denji moved on, his soul still empty, his life still aimless.

Denji Goes to Hell

See Also

Chainsaw Man, Vol. 1: Perro y motosierra (Chainsaw Man,…

Some time after Reze's defeat, Denji faced all-new enemies, mainly assassins from foreign nations such as China and the United States, among others. That launched the International Assassins story arc, with Denji and his friends caught right in the middle of it all. Denji fought hard against doll-like enemies and did well at first, only for a horrifying plot twist to change the battle's venue entirely. Denji found himself in Hell itself after a giant hand descended from the sky to send everyone there, including Denji's enemies, such as Quanxi the Chinese assassin. Denji didn't understand what was happening any more than Power or the others, and then he saw a new devil approach: the horrific Darkness Devil.

Denji was powerless against the Darkness Devil, but he did stand a chance against the villain calling herself Santa Claus, who struck a deal with the Darkness Devil to get stronger. Denji and the others returned to Japan, where Denji used all-new tactics to fight and win his most challenging battle yet. He soaked himself in gasoline, then used the sparks from his clashing chainsaws to set himself ablaze, using the light to weaken Santa Claus' darkness-based powers. It was a memorable and spectacular victory for Denji, but personally, it meant little.

Once again, Denji was fighting just to survive, not find happiness, and it still felt like his life was going nowhere, job or no job. He was just stalling for time, and his friends weren't doing any better. Power was traumatized by her experience in Hell, her boastful and reckless personality replaced with timid fear. So, Denji stepped up as Power's foster brother and looked after her, showing his nurturing side at last. Denji finally cared about a being aside from himself and Pochita, but it didn't last long. When the next arc started, Denji suffered yet more losses — some of them self-inflicted.

The Gun Devil and Makima's Endgame

Too late, Denji discovered Makima's true goal: to have the chainsaw devil to herself as her beloved companion, and she would kill anyone who got in her way. Makima was a brutally selfish being the Control Devil, and Denji paid a steep price for it. He got what he thought he wanted (Makima's affection) but it cost him a price he wasn't willing to pay. One fateful day, Denji was spending time at Makima's apartment when Power paid a visit, only for Makima to swiftly kill Power, offering no explanation for her actions. Denji fell into a silent shock while Makima continued her day as though nothing had happened, and around this time, the gun devil was making its move, too. Denji had both the gun and control devils to contend with, and fighting them would cost him not just one friend, but two.

Denji's co-worker Aki Hayakawa tragically and ironically became an undead gun fiend, a thrall of the devil he hated most, the devil that had once killed his family. Denji assumed his Chainsaw Man form once again and defeated Aki, and mercifully, Aki was able to die happy, imagining his battle with Denji as an innocent snowball fight with his brother in their childhood. Then, with two of his friends now dead, Denji had nothing left but self-preservation, and he got to work. He directly challenged Makima and reluctantly slew her, ending his last chance at happiness. Denji was safe and free once again, but it meant practically nothing, which was becoming a recurring theme for the tragic shonen protagonist. That would continue in the next saga of Chainsaw Man, with a new girl rising to prominence as a teenager turned devil hunter of sorts.

Denji Goes Through the Motions as an Empty Celebrity

The overall Public Safety saga left Denji a broken shell of a young man, having gained chainsaw powers but losing practically everything else. After Makima's demise, Denji fell into an apparent depression, shuffling his way through life as the Academy saga began in Chainsaw Man's manga. This is Denji's current state, and manga fans will find out in time how, when, and even whether Denji will overcome these personal hardships and find true happiness at last. Shonen protagonists tend to get a happy ending, from Naruto becoming Hokage to Tanjiro defeating Muzan, but there's no telling if the subversive, twisted Denji will get a similar ending. For now, the light at the end of the tunnel is a long way off, and all Denji can see is darkness.

Currently, Denji is sharing the spotlight with a new shonen star, a girl around his age named Asa Mitaka. Like Denji, Asa was once an ordinary civilian in 1990s Japan, only to get dragged into the bloody, unforgiving world of devils and violence. Asa has her own Pochita of sorts — Yoru the war devil, who isn't too friendly to Denji and Chainsaw Man. Denji isn't entirely sure what his relationship with Asa is, though he's at least willing to protect her, suggesting he still has the heart of a hero buried deep in his miserable soul.

Denji may struggle to discover his future during this time, since he's shackled to the past by Nayuta's presence. Nayuta may look like an ordinary young girl, but she is actually Makima's reincarnation, with some control powers of her own, manifesting as chains. Denji is trying to play house with Nayuta and emulate happiness, but there's no spirit in it; he's just going through the motions. Nayuta is also possessive and jealous, chasing off people like Asa when they get too close to Denji. But just like Denji's quest to romance Makima, once again, it's a dead end.

Finally, Denji's current life has a celebrity edge to it, with Japanese society both adoring and fearing him as Chainsaw Man. Denji's most ardent supporters have since formed an entire church around him, though Denji has little interest in their worship. What he needs is not fame and adoration, but true love and a personal goal to fight for, two things he sorely lacks thus far in the Academy saga. Still, Denji isn't out of the game, so long as he keeps fighting as Chainsaw Man. There's no telling where Denji's blood-soaked antics will take him next, but surely, it can't be much worse than what he has already experienced. Sooner or later, Denji must face his future — or invent one himself.

Chainsaw Man

TV-MA

Anime

Action

Adventure

Following a betrayal, a young man left for dead is reborn as a powerful devil-human hybrid after merging with his pet devil and is soon enlisted into an organization dedicated to hunting devils. When his father died, Denji was stuck with a huge debt and no way to pay it back.

Release Date

October 11, 2022

Cast

Kikunosuke Toya , Ryan Colt Levy , Tomori Kusunoki , Suzie Yeung

Main Genre

Anime

Seasons

1

Studio

MAPPA

Creator

Tatsuki Fujimoto

Main Characters

Denji, Makima, Pochita, Power, Himeno, Kishibe

Number of Episodes

12

Network

Crunchyroll

Streaming Service(s)

Crunchyroll , Hulu