#185 spoilers

[dailyuh]

this was them this chapter.

[sugar-grigri]

To regenerate Pochita, Denji decided to eat human flesh

But don't you wonder why Denji made Pochita hungry? I mean, does he need to be especially hungry to eat and regenerate in this state?

Hunger bound Pochita and Denji together, and as they ran, symbolically, Denji drew closer to Pochita as if to reach him.

Starving to death, escaping with human flesh - that was how they met.

And the best way for them to reconnect

The only one who shares your dreams, the only one who can save you when your heart is too heavy

It's your body

It's you

become who you are again, man and instrument, chainsaw man

[dolche-tejada]

Interesting to note that according to the Aging Devil, humans turning into trees isn't an ability of his but a natural process occuring when they live long enough to see their thoughts reaching some kind of culmination.

Which means those trees are basically a physical manifestation of our thoughts.

So going with that, does anyone else think it makes perfect sense that the Chainsaw Devil, whose gimmick rely on the tool most commonly associated to cutting trees... can actually cut thoughts and concepts out of people's minds ?

[bunkerjking]

[lowpawly]

asa irl minecraft talent reveal

[narutonkachi]

denjis solution: irl minecraft

[cephydeluxe]

Asa and Denji just had their second date in Minecraft asaden is so back

[smokin-symbiotes]

Cinematic parallels

[mundanneman]

CSM 185 Review

Chainsaw chapter 185 begins with what is possibly the most unbiased presentation of the Aging Devil by Fujimoto. It is nothing more than him voicing his thoughts out loud. We know everything he says is something he is contemplating. The gap between his words when monologuing about not giving the world an exit showcases this.

Furthermore, he nonchalantly mentions how he did not give this world an exit, implying he created this world. The readers of this manga can easily speculate something like that. The terrifying part is how casual he is about this.

The scenery changes in every panel for the reader. It reminds them of how many people have been thrown into this world. It gives weight to Aging's words that follow about nobody succeeding in escaping. The terrified expression of the treed person is possibly one of the more brilliant additions. Even after a thousand or two thousand years, there is no peace for the damned. This world is presented as a place where you can be detached. Yet, there is no rest for the damned.

Based on his words, either he did not create this world with an end goal in mind, or if he did, it never reached that point because people turned into trees. I am not completely on board with the idea that it is just a natural fate but I will not deny that possibility. It could very well be a side effect of Ageing's ability. After all, there have been theories and discussions pretty frequently about how humanity could progress if they were immortal; if they could beat the bane of old age. Who is to say that such a fate will be desirable? After all, the people trapped in this world did reach an answer. The answer they chose presumably allowed them to get as close to stopping their suffering as much as possible.

When the devil talks about the what-if, the speech bubble comes from the old age face which has closed its eyes. When it talks about what it wants, it comes from the youthful and blind face. In my opinion, its eyes are closed because it has turned its eyes away from the possibility of the potentially bleak realities that it faces. On the other hand, the energetic youth is too blinded by its desires.  The fact that ageing does not have an attachment to life comes into play here. At the same time, it makes his motives. 

To showcase its resolve, the cost dialogue is written in a close-up manner with a bigger font size. 

When we finally see ageing, almost poetically, it's looking down on what has grown old, remaining in shadows as light falls on the old man. Ageing's light falls on its back while its front is covered in shadows, showcasing his current state and desires and the gap between them. His emotional state is visible through the distorted speech bubbles. Ageing is unmoved. It cannot sympathise or empathise. 

Similar to a few chapters ago, it continues to look down on the youth it claims to support.

Surprisingly, Ageing conveniently does not mention a thing about the person who supposedly escaped.  This is just my headcanon but it could relate to the Fakesaw Man.

We finally get to see Asa make a weapon without an ability; without help from Yoru. She is holding it together through sheer will. Her distorted speech bubble indicates she is not calm. But, she got the job done. Nobody predicted Denji would eat someone who has already given up on their life. He takes advantage of the mechanism of this world in a manner that you would expect from a foolhardy youth.

Pochita saved Denji from his heart disease and saved him from dying to the zombie devil; he took over when he could no longer go on. However, what saved him this time was Denji. The current actions of this duo are separated. One acts as Denji and one as Chainsaw Man. This reminds me of a partnership as compared to the past when Denji was trying to become the Chainsaw Man.

Interestingly, even though Denji only transforms into Black Chainsaw Man when he can no longer go on, this time, even though he is back on his feet, Pochita remains in his Black Saw form. The engine roars and he gets back up, but the one who makes his engine roar is Denji, as he gets ready for a fight with the primal fear.

[whiskingskin]

I love that rook goes into a mind prison full of regrets and past traumas. Mmmmmm yes blend them more

[cirrus-grey]

The transcript lists this episode's title as "Locked In", and I can only imagine they changed it last-minute because they realized that was already the title of TMA 185.

[sugar-grigri]

CSM 185 : Denji doesn't have the privilege of growing old

Before, all Denji had to do was pull on the magic cable and he was cured. There he has to do it manually, run to starve himself, manually slaughter his prey, eat it for a long time, pull on the cable, which is more tiring...

Here, he needs to assist its regeneration. So… he doesn't regenerate ? He heals.

He does not regenerate in order to die again, in the service of others. He heals to live, for himself.

survival is what created Chainsaw Man

survival is measured by instinct, by the instant, by the essential

the demon of aging wants to stretch time, close to eternity, to push humanity to its extremes

so the demon of old age wanted Pochita to taste what represented him, that moment for him: children

sacrificing the moment for longevity

Pochita preferred to rely on the present moment, his sensations, not projections, his hunger, his essential, Denji

Pochita and Denji have answered the eternity equation with a hunger pact

You don't need more to go on living

growing up is difficult for Denji who survives

so obviously, not having even reached the age of 20, he won't wait for eternity to become a tree

it will make this existence trying to bring the equation back to its base, survival

reinventing the end of life is not so difficult

it's reaching an old age that is

[autisticaradiamegido]

day 185

VENGEFUL friendly fire for @skitzlee on artfight!

[lowpawly]

I like the reveal that the ageing devil doesn't turn people into trees, humans just do that

[floafl]

asa made a weapon without yoru????! (hatchet)

[blood-orange-juice]

since the ending has been spoiled to me anyway, I WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT

I know everyone is busy discussing who has dunked on who and how

but can we talk about how our boy, this calamity of a person, kiiinda managed to singlehandedly break Fontaine's judicial mechanism by being a proverbial stick in the cogs?

Fontaine generates energy for everyday use by utilizing people's belief in the city's legal system. and people's belief in the legal system is based on the fact that Oratrice and Neuvilette's verdicts never contradict each other

which they now do.

mad respect. if Fatui wanted to destabilize the country, they just did it

I wonder if Childe was aware

(I haven't yet played through the actual trial scene so I can't say anything about his VA or animations, and whether he *sounds* aware)

basically, was it his own plan? that would explain why has he been showing levels of stupidity and entitlement previously uknown to humanity in this patch. in which case, no, it's not abyssal corruption, he was just actively trying to get arrested and sent to trial for something he didn't do. would also explain the vision handover and the sudden infodumping, he was building a safety net.

or was it one of his colleagues? Arle? I wonder who could have predicted this result, he doesn't tell his backstory just to anyone. or maybe the machine malfunctioning has no connection to his backstory and someone from HoH simply sabotaged it.

or someone from the abyss (finally it's not the fatui who are at fault? le gasp). they would at least know whom to nudge to get arrested, they'd recognize one of their own.

if it was pure luck then that's serendipity and bad writing, I don't believe in that, the writing has been excellent this patch.

as for why the machine broke: he is either related to the primordial sea because of that whale (so yes, he is directly related to the case, just not in the way everyone thinks), or the Oratrice just reacts to abyssal taint and would consider him guilty no matter the charges