Chainsaw Man: Things About The Anime That Make No Sense

Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man has become a cultural phenomenon in the world of anime thanks to its unconventional narrative that mixes constant, high-pressure fight scenes with horror and gore. The anime’s first season introduces complex and compelling characters that find themselves living in a supernatural world full of Devils and other terrifying threats. Although Chainsaw Man brings energy and action at every turn, underneath the story’s surface there lies complexities that often just don’t make any sense.

Diving deeper into Chainsaw Man‘s world of the supernatural leaves some questions that the anime hasn’t answered, especially in regard to the laws that govern the show’s numerous Devils and Devil Hunters. It’s easy to enjoy watching Chainsaw Man and its violent action without giving it much thought. However, a more critical look at the anime reveals some inconsistencies that are hard to ignore. Chainsaw Man‘s first season is only twelve episodes and it currently remains to be seen whether any of these mysteries will be solved when the anime returns.

10 Denji’s Different Levels Of Transformations

As a human Devil hybrid, Denji is unique in the world of shonen heroes. He’s able to pull a cord from his chest and transform into the Chainsaw Devil, which greatly augments his power. The anime usually cuts away after Denji pulls the cord, while the next scene shows him fully transformed. However, there are still inconsistencies in his transformation that make no sense.

Denji appears to have different levels to his transformation. His most powerful state replaces his entire head with the Chainsaw Devil. A lesser transformation keeps Denji’s face intact, but still sees the blade of a chainsaw protrude from it. How or why Denji chooses which transformation to assume — or if he even has the power to choose at all — is not given much explanation in the anime.

9 Denji’s Chainsaw Devil Character Design

Chainsaw Man also defies logic with Denji’s Chainsaw Devil transformation character design. Denji doesn’t appear to suffer any loss in power or bodily function from having a chainsaw blade spin through his head and arms.

Denji remains a skilled hand-to-hand combatant, despite this cumbersome obstacle. He doesn’t have any of the side effects that one assumes would come with a chainsaw blade that makes high-speed rotations through the inside of someone’s brain. Denji’s Chainsaw Devil transformation may lack some logic, but there’s no denying that he looks extremely cool whether he’s in his hybrid form or his full transformation.

8 Pochita’s Near-Death Dog-Like Form

Chainsaw Man‘s Denji becomes the series’ titular character thanks to a Devil Contract that he makes with the original Chainsaw Devil, Pochita. When Denji and Pochita first meet, Pochita is in a weakened state and takes on the form of an orange dog-like creature who has a chainsaw blade coming out of his head.

Chainsaw Man does a great job exploring Denji and Pochita’s heartwarming relationship, but it doesn’t delve too deeply into Pochita’s reasoning for taking on such a cute form near the end of his life. Pochita is the manifestation of the fear of chainsaws, and his original Devil form is terrifying. This makes it even more puzzling as to why he takes on a form that’ so cute and cuddly before he merges with Denji.

7 Chainsaw Man’s Supernatural Power Hierarchy

Chainsaw Man‘s world is full of beings with seemingly different levels of power. Devils appear to be the most powerful of these creatures, since they feed upon and manifest from humanity’s fears. The line gets increasingly blurred with the difference between Fiends and Hybrids. Fiends are Devils that have taken over a person’s corpse, while Hybrids, like Denji, are Devils who have merged with a person while they are still alive. These three different levels of supernatural beings coexist in Chainsaw Man. Their levels of power appear to be arbitrary, despite there being a marked difference in how they come to exist.

Denji, as a Hybrid, never seems to be held back by what’s left of his humanity. This remains true even when he takes on much more powerful beings than himself without any assistance. Chainsaw Man is full of action and each episode introduces new Devils and other enemies into the mix. It often doesn’t make any sense when it comes to which villains are real threats and which ones are just there to be swiftly dealt with through nothing more than an entertaining animated bloodbath.

6 The Nature Of Devil Contracts

Chainsaw Man introduces the concept of Devil Contracts, which are agreements between Devils and Humans. These contracts are crucial in understanding the relationship between the series’ two opposing forces. Devil Contracts require sacrifice, but they allow humans to use supernatural powers from the respective Devil with whom they’ve made their deal.

The length and nature of these contracts and their corresponding sacrifices can wildly vary without much reasoning being offered to explain how they work. There’s also the matter of how the Devil Contracts seem to be more of a boon for humans. Chainsaw Man has some wildly powerful Devils. One must wonder why a Devil would want to enter a contract with a human in the first place when it’s likely that they could easily take anything that a human offers them without needing to lend their power in return.

5 Denji’s Motivations & Moral Compass

Chainsaw Man often makes no sense when it comes to Denji’s motivations and the morals that guide him. Denji is a hormonal teenager, so it makes sense that he’s easily swayed by women and sexuality. However, Chainsaw Man often exaggerates this beyond reason. Denji finds the time to let his hormones take over, even in life or death situations where the average person would be fueled on pure adrenaline, like when Power uses her body to trick Denji into saving her cat, Meowy.

Denji, like many of Chainsaw Man‘s characters, also has a questionable moral compass that frequently changes direction and doesn’t always make sense. Denji often acts heroically and with empathy, but at other times he is chaotic and vicious with little regard for those around him. The line is often blurred between good and evil, while Denji’s motivations can be unpredictable and mercurial. Denji’s murder sprees get quite frenzied, but he still seems to care about innocent people. The excitement that Denji gets from killing appears to only be from the slaughter of evil individuals…even if there is still some occasional collateral damage.

4 The Rules Of Regeneration & Resurrection

Chainsaw Man‘s characters can take quite a beating. They often survive battle and eventually return to normal, even after the loss of multiple limbs or being sawed in half. The anime’s rules for the regeneration and resurrection of characters can be difficult to grasp, especially as it introduces more ways for its characters to defy death. Devil Contracts seem to offer some protection against total death, as do the suits that the Devil Hunters wear, despite how these suits appear to otherwise be normal clothing.

Denji appears to be entirely impervious to death, yet some of the more powerful Devils that he’s come across seem to be susceptible to it. Even the Devil Hunter Corps suffers losses, despite their preventative efforts. However, Chainsaw Man is never afraid to be unconventional when it comes to the resurrection of an important character. Blood is the key ingredient that repairs and sustains life, no matter how destroyed their body may be.

3 Chainsaw Man’s Comedic Lesser Devils

Chainsaw Man uses lesser Devils as a reprieve from its dark and serious nature. This introduces some welcome comedy into the mix, all while Chainsaw Man continues to deliver constant action. These lesser monsters are far from Chainsaw Man‘s most terrifying Devils, but they do serve as a good reminder that humans can be afraid of just about anything and everything.

Chainsaw Man‘s Devils manifest from humanity’s fear, yet some of the anime’s more comical Devils make little sense when compared to larger entities like the Gun Devil or the Ghost Devil. Chainsaw Man‘s more ridiculous lesser Devils include the Sea Cucumber Devil and Tomato Devil. It’s rare for humans to actually fear sea cucumbers and tomatoes, so it’s no wonder that the Chainsaw Devil is able to make quick work of them.

2 The Door in Denji’s Dreams

Chainsaw Man‘s season finale leaves fans with many questions, most of which surround the meaning behind the door in Denji’s dream, which is also present in the anime’s premiere. Pochita asks Denji to never open the door. This leaves anime fans to wonder what the door signifies and why it’s so important.

The inclusion of the door is highly symbolic. It likely serves as a barrier to a traumatic incident that Denji has closed off from his conscious mind. Chainsaw Man is far from a mystery or thriller series, so the decision to end the season with this cryptic door scene doesn’t make much sense other than to serve as a broad cliffhanger.

1 Devils & Fiends Working As Devil Hunters

It’s pretty puzzling to consider why Chainsaw Man‘s Public Safety Devil Hunters have Fiends and Devils as employees on the team. There are plenty of Devils who fight for good, but it still seems like a risky endeavor for humans and Devils alike to work together in Public Safety.

It makes sense why humans would want to work for Public Safety, since many of their families have been killed by Devils. However, it’s less clear why Devils and Fiends would take it upon themselves to fight against their own kind. Chainsaw Man doesn’t provide much rationale as to why Fiends or Devils join the Devil Hunters, most likely because the choice doesn’t make any sense. This becomes especially suspicious when the Devil Hunters treat their Fiend and Devil members as dispensable and take away the possibility of these supernatural beings joining the Devil Hunters as a means of self-preservation.