AUGHHH NO WAY HE’S SO FINE IN THE FINAL COVER!!! Look at the complimentary colors, the lighting on his hair, THE BLOOD EVERYWHERE!! Ain’t nothing hotter than a man in uniform covered in blood <3 Denji’s stupidass expeession too it’s just so very him
The fandom divide between 'the ending was good' or 'the ending was bad'
Spoilers for CSM ch232!!
Everyone's got conflicting opinions about the ending. A lot of people say it was rushed, had plot holes and missed a lot of potential while others say it was a good ending for Denji all things considered. After skimming through various platforms, talking to other fans and gauging everyone's reaction, I think I'm starting to see a pattern in what type of fans fall into which reception.
As a recent reader (D1 larper yes I know), I had the privilege of reading part two as one continuous story instead of a serialized work where you wait week after week for the next chapters. Since I wasn't there to experience the way the story dragged on in real time, the themes, events and narrative are all fresh in my mind like the way people hold onto the details of a movie. It's all concentrated in a short period of time so when the happy ending came in abruptly like that, I was more concerned about the missed potential of the story rather than emotional impact on me. The fact that CSM didn't end with Denji hanging himself was good!! He doesn't have to live with the trauma of part one or two plus he secured a more "stable" quality of life as a public safety devil hunter with some companions. But at the same time this didn't feel like the right ending for the story itself after all the build up and story progression we got. For example, there was no payoff for Asa's whole conflict with Yoru and the battle for her own autonomy throughout part two which hurts the thematic significance of her struggle. And sure I acknowledge that for the characters this was the best ending they could have been given considering the old world was riddled with man eating bugs and war but to me, the lack of payoff for certain plot points that have developing over dozens of chapters is a disservice to the story's true potential.
Now that's just my experience with CSM; obviously not all unhappy fans are new ones but I just wanted to give some perspective to talk about my next point. To contrast, it seems like many fans who are satisfied with the ending are long time readers who have stuck around from chapter 98 to 232 while they were releasing. My theory is that since these fans have experienced the manga drag on in real time, they've already accepted the story was losing momentum a while ago and therefore had a easier reception to the ending because at least the story could end on its own terms. There didn't need to be a cathartic conclusion to certain plot points because the fact that it was ending at all was cathartic. It wasn't that the ending felt good because it made complete sense, the ending felt good because it felt like letting go. The same lesson Denji failed to learn was being taught to us, the audience, through the abrupt ending: don't hold onto your obsessions, learn to accept them, let go and be happy with what you have. This is not to say that all long time fans are satisfied with the ending but rather the people who are satisfied with the ending are usually longtime fans. Of course this is just all from my observation as a new fan so take it with a grain of salt.
The discussion on fandom reception and reasoning behind it is way more nuanced than I can ever articulate but I hope this can make sense of it. Please let me know your thoughts!!
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