this post was submitted on 10 Mar 2026
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[–] Arahnya@hexbear.net 1 points 22 hours ago

twin peaks + csm spoilers

now that I have had some time to think and read the reviews of people's analysis, I think if it truly ends here, it reminds me of the ending of The Return.

The Return technically had two endings : one was a cartoonish brawl between Cooper and BOB. And then the real ending : Cooper will never be able to save Laura.

Many people are dissatisfied with The Return, in similar ways I can see they are dissatisfied with CSM.

I understand wanting a happy ending, but I don't think that is the story being told here.

In a way, he might even be pointing to our own selfish desires.

More to come when the last chapter (maybe?) comes out!

[–] LadyCajAsca@hexbear.net 2 points 1 day ago

From Chapter 231 spoilers

OKAY WHAT THE FUCK FUJIMOTO

maybe because every week (almost) chainsaw man chapter is actually the worst way to write, draw and publish stuff but WHAT?!

Are you telling me, after all that Asa/Yoru and Denji discussion, after the events leading up to a somewhat good ending where the two are going to do something (not particularly sex but..) and fix the world going into chaos or whatever (yeah isn't that still happening??), fumiko stuff, Chainsaw Man, ends with Chainsaw (Pochita) eating themselves because of Denji not enjoying life because he's being targeted by everyone and like, not enjoying life, not processing trauma, hiding behind the Chainsaw Man identity, etc. It's somewhat like, thematic or something but jeez, I hate that it ends with Denji likely having a worse time without a devil, and basically being de-powered while probably having nothing to his name...

God if that Part 3 theory on the r/Chainsawfolk was right... But, still... I LOVE PART 2 but it definitely has many many problems. More than Part 1, I'd say. One of the few writing choices is this one. Maybe it'd end somewhere hopeful or I dunno, satisfying?? Like, Asa/Yoru..? Where's the two? What are they going to do? They remember Denji, and Yoru might remember Chainsaw Man (Because Makima vaguely remembers eaten stuff right?) and like, where's it leading up to? It's not like without Chainsaw Man, or Chainsaw Devil even that things'll improve.. How can you make the characters end their arcs in a satisfying way in one ending chapter?

This just encourages me to keep writing my Chainsaw Man fanfic, to understand all of the themes, and what I think, are mistakes due to external pressures and fix them in my own way It's not a fix-it fic, it's just me inserting Asa/Yoru into Part 1 and working off of that. I don't think I'm better than Fujimoto though, we'll see if Part 3 even will exist (hopefully) but if it's like in the future..? I just hope the ending chapter gives a satisfying ending to it's themes, doesn't have to be happy really either.

[–] Arahnya@hexbear.net 5 points 1 day ago

spoiler

all these theories on what kind of devil potchita actually is, I wonder what kind of evidence this adds to his function.

Also might be a bleak ending, but i'm waiting for the end to hear what everyone thinks.

[–] Moss@hexbear.net 8 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Fujimoto what the fuck is this

He just stopped the story. He just said "no more Asa, no more Yoru, no more horsemen and Fumiko and Public Safety. Pochita has decided to end the story."

Asa is my favorite character in fiction, chainsaw man is my favorite fiction. But this is just batshit and not in his usual good way. If Asa just gets flushed down the drain it will be the biggest pants-shitting I've ever seen. It would make me look favourably on Attack on Titan. The next chapter better be a fucking divine masterpiece and part 3 better be shoveled into my mouth

[–] CriticalOtaku@hexbear.net 5 points 1 day ago

I trust Fujimoto. Part 3 incoming.

biaoqing-copium

[–] thethirdgracchi@hexbear.net 5 points 1 day ago

spoilerLike on the one hand, I get that thematically Denji is indeed trapped on a hedonic treadmill, and he was very explicitly given the choice of having a "normal life" and he didn't want to do that, instead he wanted to be Chainsaw Man, and now basically the world is ending, so resetting it all and removing his ability to "be" Chainsaw Man would potentially allow him to get off that treadmill, and therefore an ending like this would make sense for Denji and his role in the series.

But like, what the fuck do we do with Asa then??? She's been totally discarded, subsumed under the tyranny of Yoru for like 30 chapters or whatever. She hasn't come to terms with her own guilt over the death she thinks she's caused, there hasn't been any sort of arc payoff or anything, and she was our main character for a good length of time. I just don't understand how this thing ends in one chapter that is at all reasonable for Asa. I'm totally with you on this one.

[–] JoeByeThen@hexbear.net 3 points 1 day ago (2 children)

I mean, one of the things that I've long felt is on brand for Chainsaw Man is that non-Denji characters are disposable. Expecting closure might be futile.

[–] thethirdgracchi@hexbear.net 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I feel like it's not unfair to expect some kind of closure for the one character that was the main character of the book for dozens of chapters.

[–] JoeByeThen@hexbear.net 3 points 1 day ago

You might think that, yeah. lol.

[–] Moss@hexbear.net 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Asa is at least as important as Makima or Aki. Its extremely reasonable to expect closure. She literally started as the protagonist, and the story just ended without any input from her

[–] purpleworm@hexbear.net 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Would you describe Aki as having gotten closure?

[–] Moss@hexbear.net 4 points 1 day ago

Yeah, because his character arc actually end, in a tragedy. Asa's just vanished

[–] Vostok_@hexbear.net 6 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago)

I read this on the commute and almost started laughing hysterically, I don't care if part 3 will happen or not, the jump from the last chapter to this is something I will remember for a good while.

But I will say that this twist gives part 3 incredible potential:

spoiler for everythingThink about it, Denji lives his life a second time without Pochita, gets to actually learn something and put it to practice in a world where all the horrible things Pochita erased before are all present.

Then Pochita gets to come back with some incredible twist like Denji reinventing the chainsaw. Then part 4 would be the duo going through what would essentially be part 1 again but with enough knowledge to avoid all the tragedy and earn a happy conclusion with all their friends alive.

But here's the kicker, Fujimoto probably already knows that I am making this theory right now, his whole writing style is "now what's the best way to destroy the reader's expectations". Which makes him actually ending the whole series in the next chapter all that more likely.


[–] purpleworm@hexbear.net 4 points 1 day ago

spoilerI guess that tree stump was probably cut by an ax.

I hope that some of the deliberately inexplicable stuff that Makima hinted at the chainsaw man having eaten make an appearance. Not the devils, but the corresponding phenomena.

[–] Blep@hexbear.net 4 points 1 day ago

Bro really said its done the moment it touched the burner

[–] LeeeroooyJeeenkiiins@hexbear.net 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I wonder when we're getting more of the anime

I wonder if it's delayed so they don't have it and jujutsu kaisen airing together

[–] thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Mappa said there were working on the International assasins arc last year, so maybe it will come out in 2027

[–] LeeeroooyJeeenkiiins@hexbear.net 3 points 1 day ago (2 children)

oh it's the same studio doing it so yea i guess they're busy

I guess they're also doing hell's paradise which I'm very surprised got a second season

[–] purpleworm@hexbear.net 4 points 1 day ago

I guess I am a little surprised too, but the manga is only long enough for like 3 seasons of anime so it looks like there's a good chance it'll actually be finished

[–] JoeByeThen@hexbear.net 3 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

called it!

Hope Denji finds peace, at least.🤞

Article seems very full of cope about a part 3. Did part 1 and 2 have a definitive beginning and ending to publication?

[–] thelastaxolotl@hexbear.net 7 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (1 children)

The penultimate chapter of part 1 also ended with "final chapter coming" so thats were most of the cope comes from

[–] JoeByeThen@hexbear.net 4 points 1 day ago

Ah, gotcha.

[–] hello_hello@hexbear.net 5 points 1 day ago (2 children)

chapter 231I'm a little scared for what's cooking after pocitas suicide. Is this really the end of chainsaw man or a soft reboot into part 3?

Part 2 has felt all over the place and I think fujimoto wants to end it.

I think the cliffhanger here has decent potential as a part 3 premise but it could also easily be finished in one long chapter

[–] JoeByeThen@hexbear.net 3 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Lol, I shoulda taken your spoiler seriously. I just went and read it. Ya, that was wild. Feels like the mangaka is done. We'll see what happen next chapter, I guess.

[–] hello_hello@hexbear.net 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

I'd be fine if this is a "fuck it" I'm done situation. Weekly serialization is a capitalist death cult and fujimoto shouldn't shave decades of his lifespan for shueishas next earnings report.

I hope then it means fujimoto can move to other stories like the fujimoto before CSM anthology.

Waiter, waiter! More Look Back please!

[–] JoeByeThen@hexbear.net 5 points 1 day ago

I totally forgot Look Back was Fujimoto. catgirl-heart