Chainsaw Man: How Will Nayuta's Death Affect Denji? Explored

As of now, fans of the Chainsaw Man manga have no idea about Nayuta’s whereabouts. But if the girl dies, it would be really detrimental to Denji’s character.

Published on May 02, 2024  |  10:32 PM IST |  190.6K
How Nayuta’s Death Might Change Denji In Chainsaw Man
Denji in Chainsaw Man anime (PC: MAPPA Studios, Crunchyroll)

This article contains spoilers for the Chainsaw Man manga

The latest chapter of the Chainsaw Man manga saw the protagonist Denji finally wake up and realize what his last transformation into Chainsaw Man brought upon him and possibly Nayuta. We also saw him asking the others where the latter was, as he could not find her and was worried about her safety as the last time he saw her, she was surrounded by armed people. 

However, throughout the chapter, Denji tries to find Nayuta through the rubble of his own home, but without any luck. Even when reminded that she might very well be dead, he was not ready to give up.


What happened in chapter 164 of the Chainsaw Man manga?

Chapter 164 of the Chainsaw Man manga began where the last one left off. Denji asked Asa and the gang about the whereabouts of Nayuta even though he was annoyed by Yoru and Katana Man kicking him in the groin. Yoru tries to pull his ripcord to make Denji change into Chainsaw Man but the latter stops her and says that he will fight her as long as he knows Nayuta is safe. Asa then takes control of her body from Yoru and asks him what had happened. The whole group then goes back to Denji’s rubbled home to try and find her and Haruka tells him that if Nayuta is not there then they cannot offer him any more help about her whereabouts. 

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Throughout the rest of the chapter, we see Denji search the charred remains of his own old apartment to find Nayuta, but without any luck. He does not like it when Yoru reminds him that she was surrounded by armed assailants the last time he saw her, there is a good chance that she is not alive anymore. Denji refused to believe it and continued searching, which led Asa to remind him once again that if they fought one time, he would be able to go back to his normal life. However, Denji turns the offer down, telling her that nothing good ever comes out of him turning into Chainsaw Man and that it has only brought him pain and suffering, telling the group that his only goal now is to find Nayuta.


Killing Nayuta might stunt Denji’s growth as a character 

As per the latest chapter of Chainsaw Man, the whereabouts of Nayuta remain a mystery. Denji has not given up on finding her yet and his words in chapter 164 confirm that his main goal is now to find and protect Nayuta instead of becoming Chainsaw Man. 

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Mangaka Tatsuki Fujimoto confirmed in the chapter that Denji has one motivation to be a better person and live a normal life, and the motivation is Nayuta, whom he loves as a little sister. Throughout the first half of the manga series’ second part, we see how hard Denji tried to be a good brother and caretaker for her, and the only reason he transformed is because of the loss of his home and his family, and he thought this was his only way out. 

But ever since waking up after that fight, we have seen that Denji feels tremendously guilty for his transformation. This was once again proved in the latest chapter. It also proves to the readers that currently, Nayuta is Denji’s only motivation to do and be better. This means that if Nayuta dies now, our hero will lose all of his motivation to grow as a character.

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Despite being a shonen manga filled with action scenes, Fujimoto has always emphasized character growth in Chainsaw Man. At times, the manga feels like a character-driven narrative instead of a story-driven one. This has turned fans away from the series when the narrative slowed down in part 2 but has also given the manga a very unique flavor which a lot of fans love. 

Considering that most of the people that Denji cared about are not alive anymore, killing even Nayuta might prove to be extremely detrimental to Denji’s character as it might completely turn him away from his humanity. This will stunt his growth as a character, take away from the uniqueness of the manga, and turn him into a stereotypical vengeance-filled shonen protagonist. Fujimoto seems to know this very well, and even thus will probably not be killing Nayuta off but make her disappearance into a future plot point. However, what happens to Nayuta and Denji after this remains shrouded in mystery.

The spoilers provided here are not official and should be taken with caution. Fans are advised to wait for the official release of canonical content. Keep your eyes on Pinkvilla for more anime and manga-related content.

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About The Author

Gargi has a Masters degree in English Literature from The University of Calcutta. She has been a content writer

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