Chainsaw Man 167 Gives Denji an Anticlimactic Climax With the One Person Fans Wouldn’t Expect (2024)

Tatsuki Fujimoto's Chainsaw Man has gotten progressively dark for Denji throughout Part 2. Denji has lost everything: his sister, his pets, his home, and now he's even begun to question whether he should even be Chainsaw Man anymore. CSM Chapter 167, "Super Smooch", shows the end result of Denji's breakdown, and it's simultaneously painful and satisfying to witness.

CSM Chapter 166, "Rain, Brothel, Removal", ended with Yoru infamously offering to "cut it off" for Denji, a suggestion which understandably led to a number of memes and predictions in the two-week break between chapters. Not only does Yoru not "cut it off" in Chapter 167, she gives Asa-Denji shippers the thing they've been waiting for, but in the one way they would've never wanted it to happen. As Asa snaps back into her body and is forced to contend with the reality of what Yoru has done, it's a conflicting result for everyone involved, and fans will undoubtedly have a number of questions to contend with in the series going forward -- as will Asa herself.

Denji's First Sexual Experience is Hard to Watch

Denji Has Conflated Pain With Pleasure Due to His Past Traumas

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The moment Denji woke up in Fami's hideout back in CSM Chapter 163, "Dream Balls", he was met with trauma and pain. The one person who treated him kindly was Asa, as she was shown having a normal conversation with him. Shortly afterward, he was beaten down by Yoru in Asa's body, whom Denji still hasn't realized isn't the same person. This mirrors the abusive relationship Denji had with Makima, as she showed him exactly the kind of affection he needed at the time, only to torture and traumatize him using all she had given him.

That confused relationship with abuse may be what caused him to want to go to Katana Man's brothel in the first place in Chapter 166, even when Asa and the rest of the group were giving him attention and affection. For Denji, close human connection has only led directly to pain; even his own father abused him as a child. Unlike at the start of the series when Denji was outcast from society against his will, in Part 2, Denji seems to be purposely separating himself emotionally.

In Chapter 166, Denji was even shown biting down on his own finger, reenacting the very thing he came to know Makima by. When Denji first met Nayuta, he recognized she was the Control Devil by how she bit on his finger. Denji biting on his own finger was likely a source of comfort for him, because things had literally collapsed all around him. From the buildings, to his personal relationships, Denji has literally lost all control of his life. The only time he seemed to have some semblance of control was when the Control Devil was around, and now that she's gone, he doesn't know how to process his pain. Even though the brothel being burnt down seemed like a trivial thing to everyone else, it was the last means of escape from the problems Denji had left, and he was forced to face it all head-on at the moment when he saw Katana's business burnt to the ground.

It's in this context of trauma, pain and confusion that Denji's first real sexual experience takes place in Chapter 167. After Yoru offered to castrate Denji in chapter 166, the two went together into an alleyway to do the deed. However, Denji's conflation of passion with pain is never more apparent than on page 5 of Chapter 167, when he tells Yoru "you legit want to see my- to cut off my dick?!" This Freudian slip shows how Denji is both happy to have any kind of close contact with a woman, and also terrified of what might happen to him. Denji is so used to the same people who care about him also hurting him that even the notion of getting hurt is simultaneously arousing for him.

In the end, the non-consensual nature of Denji and Yoru's interaction is hard to watch. Denji refuses Yoru at first, but at a certain point, he gives in to his sexual urges, and the two share a passionate kiss. The entire sequence is, at once, painful, traumatic and gross, and it should ideally have been an emotional and heartwarming moment for Denji. The one thing Denji was always hoping to get -- sex, and by extension, love -- was essentially taken from him, leaving him and Asa conflicted and confused at the chapter's conclusion.

Chapter 167 Gives Chainsaw Man Fans the Most Tatsukian Sex Scene Possible

Fujimoto Makes Fans Sweat

In the midst of Denji and Yoru's dark and confusing sexual romp, Fujimoto takes an interesting approach to the art of Chapter 167 that serves its purpose all-too-well. One of the most obvious stars of the show ends up being the excessive amount of sweat on both Denji and Yoru during their romantic scene. Fujimoto has employed this kind of excessive sweat in CSM before, particularly on both Denji and Asa to show how embarrassed and awkward they get in certain situations.

The sweat takes on new meaning in a scene like this, especially because it's not Asa that Denji is getting "intimate" with, but Yoru herself. The excessive sweat shows just how embarrassing and disgusting this scene is meant to be, taking a good amount of the sexuality out of it. This isn’t a "hot" sex scene by any means, but an embarrassing moment for Denji and Yoru both, for different reasons.

For Denji, the embarrassment stems from the fact that he still believes he’s talking to Asa, a girl he has gone on dates with and even had a romantic attraction to. Nevertheless, he has never actually been that close and intimate with a woman before, at least not enough to pull down his pants in front of her. Unfortunately, it's not in the way he ever wanted it to happen, and he is entirely forced into a situation that he doesn't feel comfortable with at all.

For Yoru, her own feelings have slowly been becoming more and more deeply intertwined with Asa because they share the same brain. Every time Asa felt affection for Denji, Yoru was forced to feel it too, and that’s what likely makes it confusing for her when she kisses Denji in the alleyway. Even though Asa was the one with feelings for Denji initially, it's clear by this scene that despite Yoru denying her feelings and claiming she only wants to fight Chainsaw Man, her choice to kiss Denji instead of cutting him is telling another story.

At the end of the scene, Yoru reverts to Asa, leaving her in utter shock and disgust at what she finds. This was ultimately a masterful way for Fujimoto to use Asa and Yoru as characters, as it places them in an exceedingly difficult situation that's just as confusing for them as it is for fans. Does Yoru actually care about Denji, or is she simply messing with Asa? And where does this leave Asa's relationship with Denji going forward? These are just a few of the myriad of questions fans are certain to have after what happened between Yoru and Denji, and the most troubling thing of all is that Denji is entirely unaware of any of it.

Chapter 167 May Have Revealed a Bad Omen For Nayuta

Yoru Remembering Her Kiss With Denji May Prove That Nayuta is Actually Dead or in Bad Shape

When Yoru grabs Denji in the alleyway, she inadvertently has a memory of kissing Denji. The two kissed during Asa and Denji's second date, because Yoru intended on turning Denji into a weapon. However, Nayuta erased all of Asa's memories of Denji in order to prevent her from liking him, causing Asa to believe Denji stood her up.

The fact Yoru remembered Denji after touching his member could hint at a few possibilities. It either means that Yoru has some kind of power to tap into another person's memories when she touches them – which would mean that her remembering how she kissed Denji was actually her seeing Denji's memories instead of her own – or it could be a much darker omen for Nayuta.

Because Nayuta used her powers of control on Yoru to make her and Asa forget their date with Denji, now that Nayuta's powers wore off, it could possibly indicate that Nayuta is actually dead. There may also just be some limit to Nayuta's powers as the Control Devil is not as strong as she once was as Makima. Considering how dire things looked for Nayuta, as well as the fact that she’s still missing, this could have been Fujimoto's subtle way of hinting at the fact that Nayuta's fate was just as terrible as Fami and the others thought.

Too Much Subversion Becomes Predictability, Which is What Makes Chapter 167 Great

Fujimoto's "Cliffhangers" Have Become a Meme in the Fandom Lately

Fujimoto is a master of subverting expectations. From Chainsaw Man to his most obscure one-shot series, Fujimoto's storylines are all about coming completely out of left field, doing something readers would never expect, but still having it make sense in the context of the story. However, in the chapters leading up to CSM Chapter 167, it became a bit of a meme in the CSM fandom that Fujimoto likes to present a cliffhanger that subverts expectations in the next chapter. That's what makes Chapter 167 particularly interesting, because no matter how much fans would have expected something different to happen than what the cliffhanger suggests, no one could have ever expected the events to unfold how they did.

When Denji reaches his climax, the chapter ends on a sobering note. Asa's hand is covered in sem*n, and neither Denji nor Asa's face is shown. This final page highlights how embarrassing this entire chapter was for both characters, as Fujimoto can't even show their faces, yet their feelings are clear in their body language alone. There is no cliffhanger at the end of Chapter 167, just the most unexpected climax of all.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 167, “Super Smooch”

8/ 10

Denji agrees to go into the alleyway with Yoru, but things don't go as planned for either of them. As Asa snaps back to reality, the dark truth of what Yoru did with Denji is sure to lead to drama between a newly formed love triangle.

Author

Tatsuki Fujimoto

Artist

Tatsuki Fujimoto

Release Date

December 3, 2018

Genre

Action , Comedy , Horror , Fantasy

Adaptation

Chainsaw Man

Publisher

Shueisha, Viz Media

Pros

• Fujimoto somehow manages to subvert expectations despite fans expecting him to do just that.
• Denji finally has his first sexual experience and it?s just as conflicting as CSM fans would expect from the series.
• A new complicated love triangle seems to have emerged between Asa, Yoru and Denji which could make things even more interesting going forward

Cons

• This chapter has scenes and subject-matter that may be difficult for some fans to witness.
• Fujimoto doesn?t do anything groundbreaking with the art though it serves its intended purpose.