#if Fujimoto had ended the chapter with calmness it’d be a different story

[pockethep]

Okay…now that I’ve calmed down…

This chapter was undeniably one of my favorites in the manga. It also feels like one of those moments where part 1 and 2 really run in parallel.

Just a few of my rambles on this chapter...

Happiness and Makima

As much as I hate him Barem is easily one of the most interesting characters in part 2.

Barem has an intense loyalty, and honestly somewhat of an obsession, with Makima and by extension her legacy. Even after Makima's death and being freed from her control, Barem continues with her goal of using Chainsawman to defeat the Death Devil. When Nayuta tried to use her control devil abilities on him, he resisted and admitted that his heart still belongs to Makima.

It's because of this that he's "honoring" her will and following the same guidelines Makima did. (She wrote the rulebook on torturing Denji) He's destroying Denji's happiness. He is taking EVERYTHING from Denji.

(Heck if you wanna go a step forward, he's taking that peace sign)

Of course we know that Makima's true goal was to create a better world so that she could stand equal with others and form relationships. Making an ideal world was her attempt to realize her own dream.

Barem doesn't understand Makima and his devotion is a misunderstanding about her beliefs, which is a great foil to Denji.

Throughout part 1, Denji was devoted to Makima despite not knowing her true goals until the end. Barem is devoted to Makima because he's deluded himself into believing that he understood her and did so enough to be able to follow through with what he thinks she wants.

Nayuta and Makima

Although I'm praying this is a fakeout or a body double or just some kind of ruse to get Denji to snap there are a lot of interesting differences between the Makima and Nayuta eating scenes.

When Denji eats Makima there is an entire dedicated set up. He chops ingredients and makes a home cooked meal, taking care to set up his dishes and table.

He actively takes time to savor the meal. He doesn't scarf down the food, the waits...lets the flavor sink into him...and continues eating relatively peacefully despite what's really going on. It was something deeply personal and he ate in an empty house.

But with Nayuta...

It's rushed, messy, and ugly. There's none of the previous tranquility. It tracks, Denji was in the safety of his home. But in Chapter 170 he's at a conveyor belt sushi restaurant. A buffet style restaurant thats filled with people while being antagonized by Barem (He even goes as far to say "Good Boy" to Denji) and having just come off of what happened in 168 and 169.

And this is all without him even knowing what he's eating.

Everyone in chainsaw man is hungry. They are starving for way more than they could ever stomach, and not always in the literal sense. They are hungry for revenge, money, comfort, love, whatever the opposite of being alone is to them, or whatever else. It is because of this yearning and hunger that so many of the characters end up exploited or worse.

If that head truly is Nayuta...now Denji is way past the point of no return.

There are very few stories currently running that can even begin to make me feel what Fujimoto can. He is a wonderful writer even if I wanna burn his pen sometimes.