Chainsaw Man 205 Officially Confirms a Ridiculous Fan Theory That Further Proves The Manga’s Greatness

The following contains spoilers for Chainsaw Man Chapter 205, “Who?”

Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man has been steadily ramping up the stakes as the biggest plot threads since the debut of CSM‘s Part 2 all come together for what could be its final arc. Fami’s unveiling as the Death Devil was easily the most surprising twist yet, but upon looking back through Chainsaw Man Part 2, fans have found that Death’s real identity was in the cards from the start. Chainsaw Man Chapter 205, “Who?” shows yet again how the second act of the manga has played the long game with another big reveal that ties into the installment’s earliest moments.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 205 picks up following Denji’s decisive victory over Fakesaw Man in the previous chapter. After beheading the villain, the Fire Devil emerges from Fakesaw’s body, compelling Denji to look at the face of the man he just killed. The newest chapter answers one of Chainsaw Man Part 2’s biggest mysteries, the identity of Fakesaw Man, by confirming a surprising fan theory that shows how Fujimoto has really been playing the long game with Chainsaw Man’s second half.

Chainsaw Man 205's Fakesaw Man Identity Reveal is Absolutely Genius

Fakesaw Man Was Actually The Boy Denji Should’ve Saved

In Chainsaw Man Chapter 205, the Fire Devil finally reveals the true identity of Fakesaw Man, a character who has remained one of CSM Part 2’s greatest enigmas. As it turns out, one of the most unbelievable fan theories about Fakesaw Man’s identity after his face reveal in Chainsaw Man Chapter 204 is that he’s the boy Denji didn’t save from the Cockroach Devil, and it’s actually proven true. When Denji first sees the severed head of the boy in CSM 205, he doesn’t recognize who he is — much to the Fire Devil’s frustration. As the Fire Devil reveals, Denji had the chance to save this boy’s twin brother long ago, but chose to rescue a cat instead.

This is a callback to Chainsaw Man Chapter 102, “Save The Cat,” when Denji rescued a cat at the climax of his fight with the Cockroach Devil. Perhaps even more important in CSM 102 was Asa’s backstory, which showed the tragedy caused by her history of tripping and falling at the worst possible moments. In Asa’s flashbacks, fans see Asa and her mother caught in the middle of an attack by the Typhoon Devil when she was younger. Seeing a cat on the ground, Asa tried to pick it up to rescue it, but tripped in the process. Asa’s mother then gave her life to help Asa up and push her out of the way just before a car hit her.

This man idolized you, and you betrayed him. He lived for revenge on you, and you can’t even remember his face.

— The Fire Devil

This was a definitive moment for Asa, because her choice to save the cat sadly led to her mother’s death. Importantly, though, Asa realizes that her heart was in the right place in deciding to save the cat, which inspires her to try to rescue Yuko from the Bat Devil. Later in CSM 102, Denji is faced with a moral conundrum raised by the Cockroach Devil. The Cockroach Devil lifts a car full of elderly people in one hand and a young student in the other, and drops them both at the same time, forcing Denji to choose who to save. In a very on-brand move for Denji, he chooses neither, and instead reaches a cat who was falling off a nearby building. This questionable moral action was well-received by the public, because it seemed to show that Chainsaw Man was a caring Devil who even saves cats, but it would ultimately lead to the end of the world.

Denji’s questionable moral choices may seem to make him silly and somewhat endearing at the time, but he inevitably has to face the consequences of his decisions down the road, even if it’s only at the hands of a single angry fan. In hindsight, this reveal also says a lot about Fakesaw Man as a character. He rescued Chainsaw Man multiple times in the name of justice, but that’s because he always secretly held out hope that he could’ve been wrong about the person he most admired. At the same time, he harbored great anger and disdain for Chainsaw Man, which could also explain why his appearance strayed further and further away from Chainsaw Man’s by the time he appeared to confront the Famine Devil.

Chainsaw Man’s Fire Punch Reference Comes to Light in Chainsaw Man Chapter 205

Another interesting aspect of Fakesaw Man as the Fire Devil’s most beloved contractee was his nature as a twin. The Fire Devil has already garnered a lot of comparisons to Fujimoto’s other great manga series before CSM, Fire Punch, due to its appearance alone. Now, the reference to Agni from Fire Punch is even clearer, as Agni was himself driven strongly by undying love for his sister, which led to untold tragedy and catastrophe.

Both Agni and Fakesaw Man used the power of fire to seek revenge for the death of their siblings. These kinds of Easter Eggs are fun for longtime fans of the series, though they also provide some insight into the themes present in both series. Fire Punch itself focuses on the misery of Agni, and how he is worshipped as a God despite him acting purely for selfish reasons. The same could be said for Denji, especially as the series moves beyond the Chainsaw Man Church Arc. Fujimoto’s foresight with this reveal is top-notch, providing yet another argument as to why Chainsaw Man Part 2 deserves way more credit than it gets for its impeccable writing alone.

What Will Denji’s Next Big Decision Be in Chainsaw Man?

The Fire Devil's Warning to Denji is Loud & Clear

After Denji learns of Fakesaw’s identity in Chainsaw Man 205, he asks the Fire Devil, “You here to tell me to apologize?” The Fire Devil assures him that’s not its mission. Instead, it’s to warn Denji that he’ll soon have to make another choice between two options just as he did with the twin of Fakesaw Man and the elderly people in the car, and this time he can’t “make the same mistake.” It’s a powerful message whose point of reference is clear: Denji will have to choose between his Devil girlfriend, Yoru, and saving the world.

Importantly, as it stands, Denji still does not see the error of saving a random cat instead of human beings. When Fire tells Denji not to “make the same mistake,” Denji innocently asks, “For real, what mistake?” Denji has never actually valued humans over other forms of life, because Pochita, a Devil, was his only friend when the rest of humanity shunned him. In a way, this gives a kind of purity to Denji, as a person who values all forms of life equally. The Fire Devil’s story is extremely similar to Pochita’s, in that both were injured Devils who were taken in by humans, helping them to build a bond. However, whereas the twins convinced the Fire Devil to use its power to serve “justice,” Pochita gave Denji his power to seek a better life for his friend.

After this… you’re going to choose between two options again. This time, don’t make the same mistake. — The Fire Devil

Despite the moral high ground Fakesaw and Fire attempt to take over Denji, the hypocrisy of “justice” has always been a major theme of this arc, which this entire sequence only further expounds on. Even though Denji made a complete mockery of the trolley car problem (a popular philosophical exercise that asks whether it’s better to save a single person or a group of people) in CSM 102, he at least tried to rescue the very same people Fakesaw Man used as weapons to kill him.

Chainsaw Man, through Denji, is offering a very sensible response to these moral issues: it’s all about the intention behind a person’s decision, and not the decision in and of itself. The ends don’t justify the means, and the means don’t justify the ends, either. There’s something else between the means and the ends that’s perhaps even more important, and that’s the middle ground that Denji occupies as a half-human, half-Devil hybrid. Fujimoto even employs a bit of irony in Chainsaw Man Chapter 205 when he has the Fire Devil tell Denji: “It is what it is. You’re a Devil, after all.”

In terms of unfortunate decisions, Denji has already inadvertently chosen Yoru over Asa, leading to potential calamity in the long run. Notably, Yoru’s request for Denji to rescue her parallels Makima’s own request for Chainsaw Man to save her at the climax of CSM Part 1; and the implications are obvious. If there’s one thing about Denji that makes him special, though, it’s that Denji never makes the predictable choice. Denji may not be traditionally smart, but he has a lifetime of experience that makes him distinctly equipped to handle situations which no one else could see a way out of. Whereas the Fire Devil only sees two options, Denji has already proven that a person can always find a third, even if it means saving a cat instead of a human being.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 205 Sets Up Denji’s Rematch With the Falling Devil

Denji May Have to Make His Big Decision Between War and Death Sooner Than He Thought

Immediately after Fire delivers its haunting premonition to Denji, an entire building is tossed behind Denji, cutting him off mid-sentence. Fujimoto uses a full-page spread to convey the massive scale of this attack, breaking up the slow-moving conversation that makes up the rest of the chapter quite well. It serves as a bit of a jolt back to reality, which also serves as an indicator of the result of Yoru’s big fight against the Falling Devil. Yoru is a character fans love to hate, and her personality continues to shine through even on her brief appearance at the end of Chainsaw Man Chapter 205.

When Yoru first marched off to fight the Falling Devil in the prior chapter, her confidence seemed to suggest that she had truly become powerful enough to even defeat a Primal Devil like Falling. Unfortunately for her, Yoru is left in the rubble of Falling’s attack, utterly beaten. Yoru’s initial confidence is what makes her begging for Denji’s help in Chapter 205 that much funnier. Yoru’s relationship with Denji is a great source of continued humor for the series, even while simultaneously being its greatest source of conflict.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 205, “Who?” is yet another major unveil for this climactic moment in the manga’s already impressive history. Fujimoto continues to mostly do the bare minimum in terms of actual art, but the story continues to reach impressive new highs as Denji is forced to confront his past actions. As Denji is met once again by the Falling Devil at the end of the chapter, it’s clear he’ll have to make another huge decision that could lead to more terror for humanity. Picking between War and Death isn’t quite the best set of options, but both Asa and Denji know that there can always be a third option as long as their heart is in the right place.

Chainsaw Man is currently available to read via Viz Media.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 205

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The Fire Devil forces Denji to look at the face of Fakesaw Man, only to learn that — despite meeting him before — it’s someone he doesn’t quite recognize.

• Art is mostly simplistic

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