Sometimes when a story ends, you’re left with a sense of closure, while other stories end with you having more questions than answers. Chainsaw Man falls in the latter category with its final two chapters.
Chapter 231 of the hit manga shocked readers when Pochita the Chainsaw Devil decided to erase himself from existence to give Denji a normal life. The final chapter ever of Chainsaw Man saw Denji relive certain moments of his previous life but with different, more positive outcomes for him and the people around him. Also, Power and Nayuta are both alive in this timeline so Denji isn’t alone thankfully.
Even though Pochita is supposedly gone, chainsaws still exist in the new world. So is it possible that he still exists in some capacity? Or is the truth more complicated than Pochita being alive or not?
Understanding Pochita’s Erasure Abilities
To make sense of Pochita’s fate, it helps to understand what makes him unique among other devils. As the Chainsaw Devil, Pochita possesses a unique ability to erase concepts from existence entirely. When he consumes a devil, everything that devil represents is wiped from humanity’s collective memory. One notorious example is when Pochita devoured the Nuclear Weapons Devil and the World War II Devil. These actions caused the world to forget that World War II even happened along with the existence of nuclear weaponry. This power is why other devils fear him so much. Being killed by a devil is one thing, but being consumed by Chainsaw Man means you never existed at all.
Pochita didn’t simply die or disappear in chapter 231. He turned his own power on himself by eating his own heart, erasing his existence from the new world he gave Denji. In doing so, he ensured that Denji’s new life wouldn’t be haunted by the weight of their shared past.
However, there are some cases where the concepts Pochita devours weren’t gone forever. Devils that Pochita has consumed have returned when he’s forced to vomit them up. And there are some concepts that can be recreated, particularly if they’re human made. Near the end of Part 2, the United States reinvented nuclear weapons, probably due to human innovation being powerful enough to bring a “new” version of the concept into the world.
That doesn’t explain why chainsaws are still around in the new timeline, though.
“Erased” Doesn’t Mean “Destroyed”
If Pochita is the Chainsaw Devil, and he erased himself, why do chainsaws still exist? Shouldn’t the concept be gone?
The answer comes down to what Pochita’s power actually does. When he erased the devil representing mouths, people literally lost their mouths because they’re part of the human body. When he erased the Nuclear Weapons Devil, nuclear weapons vanished from history because that technology only exists due to humans building them around a specific fear.
But a chainsaw is just a tool. It can still exist even if people no longer fear it or forget the devil tied to it. Erasing the fear or history around something is not the same as removing every physical object that looks like it. Pochita didn’t erase the literal chainsaw from existence. He got rid of Chainsaw Man, the identity and legend that had grown around him and Denji.
Pochita Is Still There
When Asa Mitaka calls Denji “Chainsaw Man” after he saves her from falling, he feels a thump in his chest. Then the manga shows us an image of Pochita inside of Denji’s heart.
Pochita was always the Chainsaw Devil, the entity born from humanity’s fear of chainsaws. Chainsaw Man was the result of Pochita merging with Denji and the fear the world felt towards them. What Pochita erased was the legend. Since the legend surrounding the Chainsaw Man was invented by humans, Asa calling Denji that phrase brought that concept into the new reality.
We still don’t have a clear answer on whether Pochita will return and reunite with Denji like Power and Nayuta did. But then again, chapter 232 isn’t Pochita’s story. The whole point of his sacrifice was to give Denji a chance for a happier life because Pochita’s presence was ruining the boy’s life.
While it’s sad to think these two will never be together again in the traditional sense, it’s comforting to know that a part of Pochita will always remain with Denji, no matter the timeline.
