The Moral of Chainsaw Man

So I was told to do an analysis for a class about a work I am a fan of. With that in mind, I decided to do an analysis of Chainsaw Man. Let’s get into it, shall we?

Chainsaw Man is a manga by written and illustrated by Fujimoto Tatsuki. Fujimoto Tatsuki is also the mangaka (creator) of another popular manga, Fire Punch. But the work being analyzed isn’t Fire Punch but Chainsaw Man.

The story of Chainsaw Man revolves around Denji, an unfortunate orphan who is burdened with a large debt and has to take up the occupation of Demon Hunter in order to get by. In his loneliness, his only friend is a demon chainsaw dog he calls Pochita. One day, Denji and Pochita are betrayed and killed by the yakuza gang he owes a large debt to. In their dying moments, Pochita takes over Denji’s heart in order to resurrect Denji. And thus, Chainsaw Man is born. With the newly acquired power, Denji kills the yakuza and is found and recruited by the Public Safety Devil Hunters. That’s just chapter 1.

‘Now what part of this story has a moral worth analyzing?’ is what I’d imagine many would ask. The moral I believe to be worth analyzing would be ‘A little bit of kindness can go a long way’. But how is this moral evident anywhere in the story?

At around pages 11-14, there is a flashback of Denji’s first meeting with Pochita. At pages 29-31, there is another flashback of Denji telling Pochita to take over his body when he dies. At pages 32-63, Pochita repeats the words Denji said to Pochita in his dreams. Those are the key moments for the story’s moral. To see the moments, they are available for free at this Viz Media page.

               If examined, the weight of such actions is pretty much on a life and death scale for the former duo. Denji saves Pochita’s life in order to work with a ‘contract’ as a premise for their connection and at the second listed moment Denji gives up on life and a future and tells Pochita to take over his body and fulfill them for him in his stead. At the third and final moment, Pochita returns the favor to Denji by repairing his body and fusing with Denji to save his life.

               The most important part is the third listed moment. Pochita sacrifices himself to save Denji completely to give him a second chance at life which he takes. But the story’s moral doesn’t end there.

After the fight with the yakuza, Denji gets recruited into a bureau for demon hunting. From there, Denji’s life is filled with more opportunities for both good and bad experiences. He makes friends, he gets a fancy breakfast, he meets a girl. All of these are dreams and fantasies that Denji would tell Pochita that he would dream about. Thanks to Pochita sacrificing himself, Denji gets the chance to make those dreams a reality. But if it weren’t for Denji’s kindness towards Pochita from healing him to offering up his life, he would have just died long before the yakuza fight.

So that is how the moral of ‘a little but of kindness can go a long way’ is evident in Chainsaw Man.