Chainsaw Man Part 2 continues to be a captivating read with every chapter. Tatsuki Fujimoto has focused on Asa and Yuko over the past several chapters. While it certainly has been enjoyable, I do hope that Fujimoto begins to weave Denji back into the story with Chainsaw Man Chapter 109. With that in mind, let’s hit this review!
Creative Team
Writer & Artist: Tatsuki Fujimoto
Synopsis
We begin with Yuko in her Justice Devil form destroying the high school and happy over killing Asa’s bullies. Suddenly, two Devil Hunters show up and attack Yuko. Yuko calls the Devil Hunters “bullies” and quickly kills them.
Yuko sees Asa injured and unconscious. Yuko gets angry and picks up a girl and blames her for Asa being hurt. Yuko is about to kill the girl when Denji suddenly appears and tells Yuko to release the girl. Denji then transforms into Chainsaw Man and attacks Yuko.
Yuko freaks out and tells Chainsaw Man to stay away. Yuko’s Justice Devil powers of being able to read people’s minds in order to know what attack they are going to do next is suddenly useless. Denji just rips through Yuko. Yuko realizes that the problem is that Chainsaw Man is not thinking about the fight at all. That Chainsaw Man is only thinking about how to expose his secret identity while making it seem natural.
Asa regains consciousness. Yoru (War Devil) then gains control of Asa’s body and calls out to Chainsaw Man. Chainsaw Man stands on top of Yuko’s bloody corpse and stares at the War Devil.
Review
The Good
Fujimoto rolls out another exciting read with Chainsaw Man Chapter 109. The highlight of Chapter 109 is the battle between Yuko in her Justice Devil form and Chainsaw Man. However, before Fujimoto delivered that fight he did a fine job continuing to build up Yuko’s character ahead of this inevitable conflict.
Yuko is flat-out unlikeable. Fujimoto smartly shows Yuko killing two professional Devil Hunters to emphasize that she is not simply seeking revenge against bullies and is now a full-blown villain. Yuko, in the Justice Devil form, now sees literally any person who does not agree with her as a bully. And all bullies need to die. With this final shift in personality, Fujimoto has made Yuko a monstrous villain that the reader wants to see destroyed.
This leads to the best part of Chainsaw Man Chapter 109 which is the brawl between Chainsaw Man and Yuko. Now, is this Fujimoto’s best fight scene? Of course not. The battle is actually rather short and one-sided. But, I am completely fine with that fact. The battle between Chainsaw Man and Yuko is simply a vehicle to further pull Denji back into the main story and to push Chainsaw Man and the War Devil further down their seemingly inevitable collision course.
The best part of the Chainsaw Man and Yuko fight is the excellent psychology that Fujimoto brings to this battle. This should be no surprise since Fujimoto always delivers strong fight psychology. What is so cool is how effectively Chainsaw Man is able to sidestep the Justice Devil’s seemingly invincible power of knowing what attack its opponent is going to take before it happens in the fight. Fujimoto has Denji focused solely on how he can expose his secret identity in a natural fashion during the fight. Therefore, Yuko is unable to use her Justice Devil power to know what Chainsaw Man was going to do next in the fight. This was a creative way to get around the Justice Devil’s power and also further Denji’s character at the same time. Again, Fujimoto impresses with his ability to use fight scenes to further plot lines and character work.
Chainsaw Man only thinking about his own desires during a battle is so consistent with Denji’s character since we first met his character in Chapter 1. Denji has always been driven by basic needs such as food and shelter. Denji has always always been driven by his id with his desire for a girlfriend and sex. Denji’s new desire to have his secret identity exposed plays perfectly into his always being controlled by his id. Denji wants fame so he can get the girls and the sex that comes with fame.
That is what makes how Chainsaw Man gets past the Justice Devil’s powers so fantastic. It is so consistent with Denji’s character. Denji really is the perfect opponent to defeat the Justice Devil. This also plays into Chainsaw Man’s style of fighting. Some fighters are brilliant tacticians and strategists. Some fighters are brawlers. Some fighters are berserkers. Denji falls more on the mindless berserker style of fighting. This battle just continues to emphasize Chainsaw Man’s unique fighting style. And it is also consistent with Denji’s personality since he is not a character given to much thinking and introspection. Being ruled by his id, Denji is all impulse and his fighting style mimics that personality trait.
I was thrilled to see Denji appear in Chapter 109. We had not seen Denji since Chapter 104. We had not seen Chainsaw Man since Chapter 102. That is way too long for the titular hero to be missing. I have been fine with Fujimoto mostly focusing on the Asa/Yoru internal conflict ever since Chainsaw Man Part 2 began in Chapter 98. However, it is time to start shifting the spotlight back to Denji and Chainsaw Man. Fujimoto needed several chapters to build up Asa’s character and her struggle with Yoru the War Devil. However, I think ten chapters is enough for that task. Denji is the straw that stirs the drink and I am looking forward to seeing more of Denji and Chainsaw Man going forward.
Fujimoto ends Chainsaw Man Chapter 109 with an excellent hook ending with the War Devil finally squaring off in front of Chainsaw Man. I do not expect a fight at all since the War Devil has mentioned that it is not powerful enough at this point to defeat Chainsaw Man. And it is too early for this big battle between Chainsaw Man and War Devil. However, this should provide some quality drama and help add some more layers to this simmering feud.
As always, Fujimoto delivers plenty of good artwork in Chapter 109. While the action is not as wild as we have seen in the past, it is still well done and entertaining. I love that Fujimoto continues to allow the artwork to carry the story at certain points in the chapter instead of flooding the reader with pointless dialogue.
The Bad
I have no complaints with Chainsaw Man Chapter 109. Some readers may be disappointed with the fight between Chainsaw Man and Justice Devil. It is rather short and one-sided. It is not nearly as violent or entertaining as fights that we have gotten in prior chapters.
Some readers may also be disappointed that we do not get any real big plot developments in Chapter 109. This chapter is definitely continuing Fujimoto’s slow-burn approach to this story.
Final Thoughts
Chainsaw Man Chapter 109 is another strong read. Fujimoto keeps delivering compelling reads each and every week. It is going to be interesting to see how Fujimoto handles the face-to-face meeting of Chainsaw Man and the War Devil in the next chapter.
