Cruel, unforgiving, and currently in flames: this is the world of Tatsuki Fujimoto's revered and often controversial Chainsaw Man. Following the Public Safety arc, which comprises the entirety of the story's original run in Shōnen Jump, the series made its highly anticipated return with the premiere of Part Two on the online publication, Jump+, in July 2022. Now shaping up to become Fujimoto's longest serialization yet, Part Two of Chainsaw Man has shocked, disturbed, brought together, and tore apart its dedicated fan base for the better part of three years and counting.

From its earliest chapters, an unseen presence loomed over Part Two's narrative. The daily high school lives of Denji, Asa, and Yoru were as normal as they could have been for half-humans, until a stake called the Death Devil was planted directly into the center of the story. Every one of Chainsaw Man's events to follow has been clouded by a threat yet to expose itself. While the audience has had its attention turned towards a mysterious sister of the apocalypse, another has hidden herself in plain sight, and is ready to take over as the series' main villain.

Chainsaw Man's Death Devil Might Just Be a Red Herring

The Mysterious Horseman Has Distracted Everyone From a More Pressing Issue

Prophecies of Nostradamus that tell of destruction, and warnings that the most fearsome devil in existence will soon descend have haunted Chainsaw Man since Denji and Asa's action-packed aquarium date. Of the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, only three have been revealed to readers: Control, Famine, and War. The final of the four, Death, has been propped up into the final villain role much the same as the Gun Devil was during Part One. As fans might , however, Gun was not the eventual main antagonist.

A similar situation is brewing once again in Part Two, complete with parallels to Makima's dialogue with Denji. As everyone, both characters within the story and the audience following them, were preoccupied with the threat of a devil that had yet to harm anyone, another was hiding in plain sight. From the very first chapter in Part Two, it was made known that a devil planned to defeat Chainsaw Man, yet everyone seemed to turn their attention away. Now, as of the most recent chapter #193, "Burning Kiss", the War Devil is ready to become the series' final villain.

Yoru Has Always Been the Villain

The Death Devil Turned Heads Away From War

Whether it be because she spent so long in the spotlight, or the fact that she's attached at the hip to one of Chainsaw Man's dual protagonists, both fans and of the main cast have not only ignored Yoru's horrifying potential, but even viewed her as a weapon to combat Death. As recent chapters have made clear, however, Yoru is very much on track to becoming the series' main villain. Not only does this narrative direction hearken back to Makima's hiding in plain sight tactic of being evil, but it seems Fujimoto is set on revisiting Makima as a whole.

Chapter #193 ends with a direct callback to chapter #12 of Part One, in which Makima tells Denji that she will give him anything he desires so long as he can defeat the Gun Devil. Unlike manipulation through control, which is calculated and sly, war is quite a bit messier and chaotic. This is evident in Yoru's proposition to Denji, in which she cuts to the chase and promises to do NSFW things with him if he can defeat the Death Devil.

It is manipulation all the same, using the very same method Makima used nearly 200 chapters ago. While Public Safety, and by proxy, both Denji and Asa, were concerned about the impending arrival of the Death Devil, Yoru steadily increased in strength, single-handedly wrecked Tokyo, and is now sitting over Denji while attempting to use him for her own gain in the same exact way her sister did long ago. Not only were many of Chainsaw Man's characters lulled into a false sense of security regarding Yoru, but its audience was too.

The War Devil Can Never Be Makima

Key Differences Separate Yoru and Makima

Though Yoru's words and actions mimic Makima's during Part One, the War Devil will never be her sister. By nature, war is cruel and chaotic, while control is calm and calculated. Makima spent years establishing herself in a position of power while building a loyal following, while Yoru simply takes everything from her weapons to the body she inhabits and parades them around as her own. The two are opposed in seemingly every way, and that might just work in Yoru's favor.

Makima's plan of using Denji involved building him up, supplying him with a family and a good life, only to strip everything away in order to get to Chainsaw Man. However, it was those same relationships she provided that motivated Denji to fight back during Part One's final chapters. Yoru, being as uncalculated as she is, has given her proposition to Denji when he's already at his lowest. He has nothing left, and touched upon that when mentioning Power in chapter #192.

The Blood Devil was a major reason for Denji choosing to fight back against Makima, and now he wonders if finding her again is even worth it. Any reason for living beyond girls and food no longer holds meaning for Denji, and Yoru has just given him both of those things.

One Major Factor Will Hold Yoru Back

Asa Will Be the Key to Stopping Yoru's Plans

Yoru now has Denji dancing in the palm of her hand, and is finally presented with the opportunity to turn him into a weapon, but she hasn't. Though she will never it it, it's incredibly likely Yoru has developed feelings towards Denji of her own. Whether that is because of Asa's influence or her own twisted attraction is unknown, but it is clear those feelings are stopping her from going through with her initial plans. Even if Asa has nothing to do with those feelings, she is still the only character who can currently stop Yoru.

After learning of Denji's identity as Chainsaw Man, Asa made it her goal to save him. Though the original plan of separating him and Pochita failed, she still has the opportunity to save Denji, this time from her other half. Chainsaw Man's second part is rapidly approaching the total length of its first, and it seems the series is finally letting the audience in on who exactly is the main villain. The Death Devil may very well still appear, though fans should be watching Yoru with a close eye from this point forward.