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In chapter 139 of the Chainsaw Man manga, Denji was invited by a stranger known as Sword Man to join a cult-like organization called the Chainsaw Man Church. After some convincing, Denji decided that he wants a life free from oppression, where he can make his own decisions and no longer be used by the government on a whim as a defensive weapon. In chapter 140 of the Chainsaw Man manga, Denji comes to realize that this “church” isn’t everything he hoped it would be, nor everything the marketing suggests.
Editor’s Note: There will be spoilers for chapter 140 of the Chainsaw Man manga below.
In the opening panel, we see Denji and Sword Man, whose real name is Miri Sugo, staring up at the Chainsaw Man Church. It fittingly pays homage to Chainsaw Man with a giant sculpture of his head infused with the skyscraper. Sugo explains that the building initially belonged to a cult. Denji, already over the tour, asks where the girls are. Sugo says they’ll get to that, though not before “Short Stuff” gives Denji the whole spiel.
“Short Stuff” turns out to be Nobana Higashi-yama, who seems overly anxious in Denji’s presence. While inside, Denji notes how the inhabitants are almost all students. Nobana nervously responds that the Chainsaw Man Church is run by a body of students, rather than adults. He goes on a rant about how the adult’s mental faculties have been taunted by American war weapons disintegrating in Japan’s airspace. And yes, that’s as ridiculous as it sounds. He then says, “America’s the freaking worst.” Denji doesn’t seem overly impressed.
Nobana further articulates that Chainsaw Man’s devil powers give him super vision, so that’s how he discovered the “American ultraviolet ray weapon” polluting Japan’s air. Denji unknowingly walks by the Chainsaw Man wedding chapel, which is when Nobana explains that Denji will marry a girl and produce children. Nobana adds that this is sort of an initiation process for Denji and the method, during which he’ll officially join the ranks of the Chainsaw Man Church.
According to Nobana, the current system of marrying after one becomes an adult was conceived and carried over from America as a means to control Japanese people as slaves. He says that marrying in the Chainsaw Man Church and bearing children is the most “natural” way. Denji looks nothing if not horrified. Sugo remarks again that “America is the freakin’ worst.”
Denji, tired of the lies, suddenly lashes out. He says he doesn’t want to get married and that he never discovered any ultraviolet weapon. Sugo keeps hammering home how the Chainsaw Man Church helped people, but Denji counters by asking if that’s enough of an excuse to force students into marriage and adulthood. Sugo turns the tables on Denji, calling him a child and reminding him that he voluntarily came along without a second thought.
Nobana interrupts the arguing to remind them that he can’t guide them efficiently when they’re bickering. Just as Nobana begins to introduce the next attraction, the Chainsaw Man bathroom, he is silenced by a taller, older male. He sends Nobana away and Sugo asks the newcomer to “talk some sense” into Denji. The stranger introduces himself as Barem, a human-devil hybrid who faced Chainsaw Man as the Flamethrower Devil in the Control Devil arc.
When he offers out a handshake, Denji doesn’t bite. Instead, Barem takes two fingers and violently shoves them inside Denji’s nostrils. Denji angrily retaliates, and Barem eagerly accepts the challenge. He then taunts Denji, saying that if he did attack, Chainsaw Man might come and save him. Barem mentions how odd it is that Chainsaw Man hasn’t been fighting devils lately, then asks Denji what it would take to bring him back.
Barem asks if Chainsaw Man would come back if a “big bad devil” tore up Tokyo, but Denji said Japan would be safe under the watchful eye of the devil hunters and Asa. When asked if Denji and Asa are friends, Denji tells Barem to shut it. Barem remarks that Asa would be a good catch, then senses a shift in Denji’s demeanor upon saying so. He threateningly asks if killing Asa would bring back Chainsaw Man and Denji seems visibly shaken by the prospect.
Then, Barem asks Denji to picture a scale. On one side, his peaceful everyday life, friends, family, and his pet cat and dogs. On the other side, the starter that transforms him into Chainsaw Man. He then asks which side is heaviest, meaning which side means more to him. Denji bolts backwards, out of Barem’s reach, then flees. Barem says he’ll be seeing Chainsaw Man soon.
The Chainsaw Man manga is available on MangaPlus and Viz Media, with Viz handling physical copies outside Japan. The anime is streaming on Crunchyroll.
