#csm 168

[sibblank]

[jaruis]

Her headslam lunch special.

Burning bridges with Barem's balls.

[possiblylando]

Chainsaw Man 168 Early Analysis

Okay so- I'm going to start with something pretty important translation wise. Viz as usual did not translate things very well.

Keep this in mind because it changes this whole scene's meaning. [Edit Start] Bit of a further correction since the phrasing is further complicated.

Some important updated context that fleshes out Asa's mental state further. [Edit End]

This whole fucking section is sickening not just because this is Denji again being sexually abused and then tossed aside as he has been since chapter 1, but because this is a near exact parallel to Makima and her treatment of Denji. Denji and Asa don't even seem able to process the handjob and instead go to the kiss. Remember Denji's first 'kiss' was from Makima. She framed it as an act of love and then ripped all that away by the end of part 1. Yet again Denji is kissed and his reaction is to want to know if she actually loves him or is just using him like Makima did. I doubt he's specifically thinking about Makima in this scene but you can see how deep the scars have been ingrained in his psyche. Similarly fucked is Asa's reaction to this because she's just as much a victim in all of his as Denji is.

Asa is able to control her body just enough to start beating the shit out of Yoru. It's a pretty fucked parallel to self harm inflicted by victims of sexual assault. Asa obviously has a lot of mental issues and in this moment she's unable to fully process the fact she's also a victim in this situation. She instead pivots to the idea that she's just as much of a perpetrator as Yoru is.

The thousand yard stare kinda has two different meanings in this end bit as well. For Denji its showing his inability to fully process things. We've seen before he goes straight to self harm to get his mind of things but since he can't turn into chainsaw man in this instance he has nothing. So he resorts to his other terrible coping mechanism; He freezes. Whenever something traumatic happens to him he near completely freezes up until someone snaps him out of it. As for Asa it seems to be because she's stuck in her own head spiraling. I doubt she'll be able to recognize the fucked up complexities of the situation anytime soon, so her mental state is just going to continue to get worse.

[swaggy-kat-me0wy-meow]

Yoru commits awful acts based on some faint feelings, and needs, like a soldier drunk on power leaving a trail of destruction and pain behind forever scarring the ones still alive

Denji is completely broken down, Yoru won't be the one piecing all the broken parts together, no, Denji is the one who will have to deal with that, same with Asa

Asa not only completely hates Yoru, and rightfully so, but she is also grieving a thing that could have been so good, so peaceful, and Asa now is destroyed, hating herself, and mourning, angry, she is aware that she will be the one dealing with the consequences

she is and will be the one suffering, and the only way she can hurt Yoru back is through hurting herself even more

[poop-benedict]

CSM #168 SPOILERS

Denji getting the sexual gratification that he thought he wanted, being denied the love that he desperately needed and subsequently feeling broken and used for the gazillionth time.

[heart4dinner]

oh.

[hoteldetectiveclem]

[numbmontezuma]

THAT'S MY GIRL