Warning: Contains spoilers for Chainsaw Man chapter #183

Chainsaw Man has never been shy about being crude. Over its 183 chapters, the series has been gross, gory, immature, over-the-top, and most of all, genuinely moving. This is seemingly the formula that author Tatsuki Fujimoto enjoys employing, one that can be seen throughout the majority of his increasingly exemplary body of work. Chainsaw Man's most recent Chapter #183, titled, "Barf, Head, Perv", once again puts that trademark writing style on display, revealing the series' central, heartfelt theme in as crass a way as possible.

The story of Denji and his chainsaw dog is about a lot of different things. In recent chapters, Fujimoto has decidedly thrown subtext out the window in some scathing commentary on both the Japanese and American governments, touched on the relationships of parents and their children, and sent his protagonists to an alternate dimension. But at its heart, more than any other topic or theme, Chainsaw Man is a story about finding hope and the reasons to keep living.

After being put through some of the worst that life has to offer during the series' second part, Denji has given up entirely by the time he and Asa arrive in Aging's World. But after some self-reflection and with assistance from the ever-lovable Pochita, he re why Chainsaw Man always rises back to his feet. With a newfound determination, Denji proudly states, "As long as the world has grub and girls, I still have something to live for."

Denji Has a Literal Moment of Self Reflection

Chainsaw Man Finds His Reason to Live While Staring at His Reflection

Staring down at a reflection of himself in a puddle, Denji realizes that he does have a reason to keep living, despite the constant tragedy that afflicts him. It isn't the pursuit of justice or strength, some grand revenge scheme, or even to be the best person he can be, like so many other shōnen protagonists. Instead, it's to experience a life that includes good food and girls. While this may seem primitive, fans of Tatsuki Fujimoto's works know that while one of his characters may say one thing, there's usually an entirely different meaning hiding beneath their words.

Denji is an incredibly interesting main character. What he says is crude and straightforward, and it may not seem like much thought goes into his statements. But observing his character throughout Chainsaw Man will often reveal that he's a tremendously honest person who never quite learned how to express himself. His earliest quest to "touch boobs" confirms this, when he achieves his goal, and it isn't quite what he wanted. Makima then teaches him that acts of intimacy feel better the more you know and love the other person.

When Denji claims to want to "touch boobs", what he's really searching for is intimacy. When he says he wants to eat good food, what he means is that he doesn't want to go hungry. In this latest chapter, what Denji likely means upon exclaiming that girls and food are his reasons for living, is that as long as he can come across people he will love, while being able to enjoy little things like good food, it's worth it to live. Tatsuki Fujimoto, once again, delivers a hopeful central theme in such a way that only he can.

Pochita Uses a Different Strategy to Help Denji

The Chainsaw Devil No Longer Hides Denji's Trauma Behind a Door

When Pochita took control of Denji's body in Chapter #171, he began specifically targeting and eating Devils directly linked to Denji's past traumas. It was theorized among fans that the Hero of Hell was attempting to erase those concepts in order to relieve his best friend's pain and struggle. However, trauma cannot be avoided for a person to heal, and Pochita is revealed to be well aware of that fact when his true intentions are brought to light in Chapter #183.

Pochita spent the first half of Chainsaw Man trying to protect his best friend by hiding his trauma. In Part Two, he pushes Denji to face it.

Leading up to Denji's ultimate proclamation, he is forced to the people he loved and lost throughout his time as Chainsaw Man, as the Devils Pochita ate begin to expel themselves from his stomach. Memories of the family he found with Aki and Power, as well as his first, bitter taste of love with Reze bubble to the surface as he sinks in the lake. Pochita wasn't trying to get rid of Denji's trauma, but rather remind him of all the good that came alongside it.

This strategy to help Denji is the exact opposite of what Pochita was trying to do in Chainsaw Man Part One. There were several scenes in which the main character dreamed of a door, behind which the Chainsaw Devil urged him not to open it. Hidden by that door was the earliest traumatic event Denji had ever experienced: the truth behind the death of his father. Pochita spent the first half of Chainsaw Man trying to protect his best friend by hiding his trauma. In Part Two, he pushes Denji to face it.

Tatsuki Fujimoto and Hiding Hope in Tragedy

The Author Keeps a Constant Theme Throughout His Stories

Despite the crude delivery of Denji's reason for living, the message behind his words is incredibly hopeful. Chainsaw Man is communicating that, although life is painful, the memories made with loved ones can withstand any tragedy. This theme not only lies at the heart of Chainsaw Man, but is present throughout the majority of Tatsuki Fujimoto's stories. Fire Punch's Agni shares a similar quest for finding reasons to live, while the recently adapted Look Back embodies the theme of finding hope in tragedy.

Fujimoto, in a collection of one-shots, revealed that a natural disaster acted as the main inspiration for Look Back, when the 2011 Tohoku Earthquake caused him to question his reason for drawing. Like Fujino within the story, he found that despite the tragedy which occurs in the world, art is still meaningful, if only for the positive impact it can have on both its creator and those that connect with it.

Chainsaw Man, despite being crude, crass, gross, and vulgar at times, is a story that uses dark themes to convey incredibly hopeful messages to its audience. And though Denji may sound immature in the most recent Chapter #183, his words hold a great deal of weight and signal significant growth in his character. chapters of Chainsaw Man are sure to be weird and wonderful, and will feature a newly determined protagonist fighting for his chance at girls and grub.