Shifting gears from the upbeat action of the Tokyo Devil Detention Center Arc, Tatsuki Fujimoto's Chainsaw Man has only gotten more emotional following Denji's reawakening. As Denji struggles to come to terms with the new world he woke up to, and the fact that Nayuta may be gone forever, Asa and her unlikely group of Public Safety usurpers have come together to try to lift Denji's spirits. Chainsaw Man Chapter 166, "Rain, Brothel, Removal", invites fans to laugh at Denji's pain, and gives the term "slice-of-life" a sadistic undertone as only Chainsaw Man could.
Denji's ignorance is on full display in Chapter 166, being a source of silliness and sorrow, sometimes simultaneously. Denji comes to question himself in the deepest fundamental ways possible, and it leads to some of the most hilarious, heart-wrenching, and horrifying scenes in CSM Part 2. Above all, Chapter 166 gives Denji a difficult decision to make, and it might be one he can never come back from.
Denji is Genuinely Hilarious Because He's Hilariously Genuine
Denji Using Science to Appeal to Asa is On-brand for Both Characters
Ever since Denji was captured by Public Safety, most of his scenes have been full of drama and sadness, which largely carries over into Chapter 166. However, Denji reminds readers why he's such a beloved protagonist, as he is the butt of the joke and extremely easy to laugh at. In the midst of his struggle to find Nayuta, Denji begins to wonder if maybe his depression isn't just because he's sad or hungry: maybe it's because he hasn't "masturbated at all lately."
Denji's subsequent interaction with Asa is everything fans would expect from the two, and goes to show just how strong they both are as characters. The height of the hilarity arises when Denji tries to rationalize his conclusion to go to the brothel because "scientifically speaking… it's the same thing as getting hungry or sleepy!" At this ridiculousness, all one can do is respond "What the hell?", and that pretty much sums up how anyone might feel after talking to Denji for five minutes.
Aside from Denji and Asa's dialogue, a big part of what makes Chapter 166's humor work so well are the facial expressions Denji makes. The anticipation has been killing fans to see whether Denji would actually agree to go to the brothel after Katana Man suggested it in Chapter 165, and Denji gives fans the answer in one of the funniest scenes of Part 2 by far.
An entire two pages is spent just showing Denji's internal conflict through facial expressions, as he recognizes the fact that he truly wants to go to the brothel, but that it's also "wrong" by everyone but Katana Man's standards. Anime and manga have always emphasized facial expressions as an important part of storytelling, but Chainsaw Man is taking it to a new, more realistic level. Unlike the classic caricatures used in other series to exaggerate emotions, Chainsaw Man takes a subtle, reserved approach that's far more effective in its realism.
Where is Kobeni in Part 2 of Chainsaw Man?
Fan Theories That Kobeni Has Become a Sex Worker Were Burned to Ashes in Chapter 166
Following Katana Man's suggestion that Denji go to a brothel at the end of Chapter 165, fans began to theorize what Denji might find there. A theory that came to prominence was that Kobeni had become a sex worker following the events of Part 1, and that Denji will find her working at Katana Man's brothel. This isn't the first time this has been suggested, nor is it without reason. During Part 1 while the group was trapped in the Eternity Devil’s hotel, Kobeni explained that the only reason she became a Devil Hunter was because her parents forced her to work to help pay for her brother's schooling. According to her, "my only options were to be a sex worker or a Devil Hunter!"
This led some fans to conclude that, after she quit becoming a Devil Hunter at the end of Part 1, she may have become a sex worker. With the suggestion by Katana Man that they attend a brothel, this theory once again arose among the fandom, with many believing that Denji and the others might inadvertently run into Kobeni at the brothel, working her new job. Fortunately for Kobeni, that theory is completely disproved when the group finally made it to Katana's brothel in Chapter 166, just to find it burnt down and destroyed. Kobeni's whereabouts are still a mystery in Part 2, but that may be for the best, as she’s much better off lying-low and avoiding her toxic parents and starting a life of her own.
Denji's Mental Breakdown May Push Him to Make Dramatic Decisions
CSM Chapter 166 Deals Directly With Issues of Identity and How a Person's Body Defines Them
While the brothel being burnt down was a positive prospect for Kobeni fans, it spells utter disaster for Denji. Upon seeing the brothel in shambles, Denji has an outburst as though his own world crumbled down along with the brothel. As post-brothel clarity hits for Denji, he starts to question everything he ever believed in about himself. Most of all, he questions why he would even want to come to a brothel to begin with when Nayuta was missing and people are dying all around him. This scene has all the makings of an emotionally powerful moment, but it's completely subverted by the subject-matter. As the rain begins to fall and Denji drops to his knees, banging his fist on the ground, the tragedy of the scene is turned to comedy when he cries out "the truth is, all I really wanted was for ladies to be all over me… so I could have tons and tons of sex!!"
In the context of Denji as a character, it is genuinely sad, but the dialogue and nonsensical nature of what Denji is saying makes it pure comedy. Even Nobana can't help but laugh, and readers can practically hear Denji scream "it's not funny!" as the rain mixes with his tears.
As rain pours down and Denji muses "it's all my dick's fault! I can't fight it! It ruins everything around me!" The humorous tone quickly turns depressing. At this point, Denji is just looking for something to blame, even if it means dissociating with a part of his own body to rationalize his feelings. In his mental breakdown, Denji faces the very notion of identity head-on, as he presupposes that who he is as a person has nothing to do with his body; they're two separate things. This is a question which gets to the very heart of relevant social issues regarding gender, identity, and what makes a person who they are. Fans could never hope that Chainsaw Man would give a definitive answer to such important questions, but Fujimoto does seem to take a stance in at least one way when examining the shift of tone.
Things take a sadistic twist when Yoru takes over Asa's body, making Denji's pain turn from dark humor to a frightening reality. Fujimoto invites readers to ask themselves just why this situation can be viewed as sadistic at all, and why this should not be a decision Denji is being forced to make right now. Whether it's bad or good that Yoru is telling Denji to "cut it off" right at this moment is up to readers to decide, but Fujimoto makes it clear what he thinks by having Yoru take over at this moment. It isn't Asa making this suggestion, politely and with Denji's best interests at heart. Instead, it's Yoru, the War Devil. Whenever Yoru comes out of Asa, the tone automatically changes, and that's no different in this instance.
What's dark about this scene is that Denji is being forced to make this decision in a state of mental duress. He has lost everything, and is understandably confused by his own decisions as a person with no understanding of physiology, psychology, or science in general. This highlights one of Denji's most tragic truths: that he never had anyone to guide him. Denji had no parental guidance, and the closest thing to a guardian he had, Aki, was taken from him prematurely. This left Denji to grapple with important life decisions on his own, as no young person his age should ever have to.
Whether fans agree or disagree with Fujimoto's sentiment, there's no denying that he raises a powerful, common sense argument that serves as a clear allegory for a prescient and divisive social issue. It doesn't take hard stances, but it does at least suggest that the mental state of a young person is important in making any kind of life decision. This is a powerful move for Chainsaw Man to make, as it cuts through the fluff of the everyday, mindless entertainment of many modern shonen battle manga to address socially relevant issues that its audience is faced with. Mindless entertainment is important in some cases, but using art with intention, to convey a message that makes audiences rethink their opinions about relevant issues is even more important.
Chainsaw Man Chapter 166 Runs Through the Gamut of Human Emotion in 16 Pages
Denji and the group go through every single emotion possible in Chapter 166, from shock, to disgust, to laughter, to sadness, and even anger. For Denji to handle all that in so short a time frame can't be easy, and it's left him in as distressed a mental state as he's ever been. If there's anything fans know about Denji based on history, it's that he tends to shut down and become more impressionable when his mental health was at its worst, and that can lead to utter disaster (as it did with Makima).
Chainsaw Man has never been a series that took a firm stance on right or wrong. Denji constantly makes the right decisions for all the wrong reasons, and Chapter 166 grapples with that reality head-on. As Denji beats himself up over his motivations for being Chainsaw Man, he'll have to decide for himself whether what he is doing is truly right. What he's likely to discover in the end is that it never really mattered why Denji was being Chainsaw Man to begin with, all that mattered is that when he pulled the engine on his chest, he became a hero.
