Why Denji Works - A Chainsaw Man Video Essay 

Denji Is Him.

I feel like all the people who simplify Denji as a horndog are missing the point that he is a CHILD being manipulated physically, psychologically, and sexually by all of the ADULTS in his life. Even Aki, his closest friend, is complicit in this. The only equal relationship he has throughout Part 1 is with Power, and only because she's in the same situation. His whole life is heartbreaking.

I liked that moment in pt 2 when denji was mentally assaulted by the falling devil with everyone he lost, and he’s so skilled at repression that he regularly lobotomizes himself to prevent such a thing.

God I wish this can be seen by more people I’m tired of the denji slander

And now, with today's new chapter, it's even sadder to see him losing on fame against Asa. One of the few things he still has and keeps him driving is slowly getting away from him. Please, Fujimoto, let my boy be happy for once.

My favorite part about Denji is when he realizes that there might be more to life than we he initially thought and have bigger dreams as the story progresses. That's so relatable. And, to those people who say, “He’s just like me fr”, I get you.

Incredibly beautiful video! People think Denji is such a one dimensional character but that’s so far from the truth. He’s so complex on an unbelievable level, and I think just because Fujimoto is an author that likes to lean delivering his information more implicitly rather than spoon feeding his audience is why people think that Denji has no substance. Finally we have someone that recognizes this character. Great vid!

Denji is my boi. Hes just a sad kid who needs a legitimately loving relationship

I like to think Denji is so complex that some people go back to thinking he’s only one dimensional. He’s far from generic and speaks volumes for a lot of people who were or still are in similar situations. That’s why he’s truly one of the greatest MCs of this generation.

As a homeschooled kid who didn't get interaction from the outside world for basically ten years, who's dad joined the navy thereby having to leaving my siblings and I alone due to deployments with a physically abusive, controlling, and semi-neglectful parent. Who has fallen head over heels with basically any female around my age and been rejected by each and every one. Denji as character hits home for me. Like, aside from devil bounty hunting for basic needs; I can see myself as this character. I don't say any of these things for sympathy merely to show how well this character was created and written; furthermore, how relatable he is for so many of us.

One thing I feel that is way missed by many is how makima and Denjis relationship shifts. As Denji has no actual way of telling the difference between platonic and romantic feelings and how in the manga this is even shown to us in how he stops feeling romantically towards makima. Which is contrasted by how he feels towards Reze. As from that point it’s him battling with his ideals of what he first wanted from makima vs how he actually feels. I’d view them in a weird and twisted motherly dynamic and him losing his mother really driving the dynamic.

You know I've been thinking about Denji first kiss in part 1 and noticed a few things, Himeno was forced to throw up in his mouth. In part 2 Nayuta sees Denji as her property and gets extremely jealous if someone touches him in a sexual manner (Asa/War kiss) in front of her, we also know that during the fight with the worm devil Nayuta was able to manipulate the worm devil's taste bud which caused it to vomit out Denji and Asa. Now back in part 1 right before Denji got kissed, Makima kept asking Denji repeatedly "what's this about a kiss". And then once Himeno kissed him, Makima was staring dead at them, she was seeing someone touching her dog, her property in a sexual manner and next thing you know bang, Himeno throws up in his mouth. Coincidence my ass, that was all Makima doing.

Talking about the Realism in CSM, the part about Denji trauma is one of the most realistic thing in fiction. i realized this when my sister just casually told me that back then i got into problem because i locked one of my friend in the school bathroom at evening, the crazy thing is, i don't remember at all about this experience, except this weird dream i sometimes had where i'm just standing in the school bathroom, looking at the door as if there's something inside, but for some reason there's no one or sounds at all. it is crazy what the mind of a child can do to avoid their trauma.

Had a blast watching this. I'm glad to see that someone else is also working on csm vids to give CSM a proper credit it deserves instead of just mindlessly shilling the story just because it's popular, like so many others do. good editing, and narration skills, simple yet effective. you got yourself a new sub!

18:10 also unlike many horny anime characters, Denji never touched a single woman without their consent, despite him being raised with a proper education and relationship This a very well done analysis of his character and the series itself, i hope the algorithm helps you dude

As someone who literally gets insulted and bullied because my favorite character is Denji, thank you for this video. This explained literally everything I was feeling. 🙂

This might be bc I'm asexual, so I can't relate to the experience of being a horny teen, but I've never seen this aspect of Denji's character/motivations as just that and nothing more. The way I interpret it, at least part of the reason why he's so fixated on sex and things related to it is that he craves inimacy, but isn't mature enough to understand that it's not really (just) physical intimacy he wants, but emotional. The first chapter of Chainsawman feels just so gutwrenchingly lonely, you know. Pochita is an important companion to Denji, but he's still a pet. The moment Denji's curled up in his dirty claustrophobic home and talks about wanting to have a girlfrient, I just couldn't help but feel that it's about a need for a human connection. And from then on this theme of physical vs emtional ntimacy unfolds throughout the whole manga and anime; i.e. how at first Power is a sexual object to him, but then becomes like a little sister, Makima's grooming and dangling sexual favors over his head while not caring about him as a person at all....

"Why Denji Works?" To earn money.

Honestly Denji is more of a 3 dimensional character than Yuji Itadori. I mean Yuji is alright protagonist and I respect him but Denji just feels way more interesting and entertaining to watch. Same with the cast of Chainsaw Man

Holy fuck finally a Chainsaw Man video essay by someone that knows what they're talking about The mischaracterization that Denji gets is actually insane, I'm glad you get it and I hope more people see this video

The newest chapters destroying the "Denji isn't a hornball" argument is CRAZYYYY

I feel like the hot takes of there being something wrong with Denji being horny and the take that Denji and Powers relationship is sexual is very telling of people's mind set. For starters Denji is a boy, a literal child hitting puberty. For 2 it's obvious that he's not just a hornball, he wants connection, that's why he clings to Pochita so much. Let the boy be horny, unlike most protagonists atleast he has a valid reason to be like that lol. It's not like he doesn't get more mature as the story goes on, but in the beginning of the story he's embracing being in a semi safe space and getting a change to even think about potential dreams.

THIS!!! As someone who was a victim of manipulation and abuse as a teenager, i cant put into words just how relatable denji is. Every piece of his character works because it perfectly reflects what he didn't have in his life. Im sick of people portraying him as someone who only gives a shit about sex. thank you for your service, great video

Thank you for this in-depth video about this character! I've found chainsawman back when it's not as popular as to now where fan edits of the manga mostly can only be seen in RU-vid but right now since the anime is released people easily slander Denji and not talk about how much of a well written character he really is. I enjoy and can easily watch this kind of videos where people points and highlights the beauty and dept within he's character. Specially now in part 2 where things isn't getting better with he's mental state I really wish he could have a break, I genuinely really wish the best for him.

Im so glad your taking part 2 into account even tho its not done yet. I feel like almost no one is taking it into consideration in these types of videos even after it was ongoing for a while.

I’m reminded of Al Ewing’s Immortal Hulk and it’s focus on how the trauma has built up Bruce banner over time and how each personality has formed in response to something. Like how the Devil Hulk, the personality that he believed was unbridled evil, turned out to be his benevolence. It was based on his belief of what a father *should be*: a force that is meant to protect you from the horrors of the world. Bruce’s father was an abusive monster, though, so he could only view the personality as a reptilian monster until the day he learned that he couldn’t die, and took a chance to confront that aspect of himself. This version of Bruce was utterly broken and was trying to build himself up into a complete human like denji is.

The first thing I thought of during the first two episodes was Maslow's Hierarchy of needs. Through that lens a lot of his monologues and actions make sense. Doesn't cover the whole story but when combined with his trauma conditioning his character becomes a lot more understandable. Good video!

Great video. Denji has to be one of the most mischaracterized characters I've ever seen, so seeing people giving him the exploration and time his character deserves is incredibly satisfing! I'm holding out hope that the manga ends with the theme coming back to Pochita's desire to see Denji's dreams come to fruition. May this troubled traumatized guy finally find himself in an environment of genuine care and independence... (fingers crossed!)

Ah, It's always such a pleasure to see people praise a piece of media I love, sadly I haven't caught up with part 2 so I won't risk getting more spoiled than I already have.

Thank you for this vid, you have masterfully changed my perspective on denji's character.

Not finished watching but I love this essay a lot. I love denji a lot and his character and csm itself means a lot to me, I have trouble listening and focusing on essays while I do other stuff and typically have them for background noise but this one keeps me intertwined and keeps my focus on it, good video keep up the good work!❤

Whenever someone talk bad about our boy, we step up🗣🗣🗣

Great video Charlie! I’m really excited to see the channel grow and receive love and support

Absurdly well made, absolutely banger points. To find those video examples for the script must have taken ages. I applaud your dedication 🎉

great video man as always excited to see more!

thank you thankk youuuu so much for making this video finally a video that explains denji well enough dude 😭

Really enjoyed your video! Holy crap keep up the work man

Theres a great moment in the school arc when he offered sexual favor for the safety of his sister and people thought it was some random goofy thing for the sake of randomness and im like…No it’s indicative of his past where he had to sell his body to people in power to get what he wanted. Denji has had to struggle and those ripples are still prevalent in his present. That offer came off smoothly for him because its all he knows even if he’s in a better situation. Great video ❤️‍🔥

Great editing, great script great work!

Finally found a very good essay video RU-vid big W

great video man. You must have loved the most recent chapter, denji is only getting more complex over time

Great editing charlie and common W charlie.

the dynamic between the characters is proven to be so good that it's spawned its own genre of voiceover comedy skits

With voice acting and animation. Makimas laughing at denji near the end of part one is going to be haunting

Great video Charlie

Good video charcoal, big ups

This is a fantastic video and it floors me that it doesn't have more likes

Literally sobbing I just want him to be happy 😭😭😭

This video is so fucking good you deserve so many more subs just subscribed

This video was a banger

27:55 I think there's lots to take note of when reading csm so thinking of Reze as just another makima type woman and the pacing of csm does demand a reread if u wanna understand thing's better . But that opinion may change when u think of makima having control of Reze

I appreciate that the Yakuza is the enforcer of this debt. So much media makes the Yakuza the cool guys. When in reality they are brutal

It's been a minute since your last video lol good job on this one!

the fact that Power died on his birthday means for every birthday, he will be reminded of the ones he lost

A really great video on one of my favorite manga ! Great job I loved it 🤩🤗

Hopefully the algorithm blows this video up, fantastic essay

as a person who read the manga it just pissed me off so much when people started to slander him and never tried to actually understand his character and some people never take into account of the age of main characters like how some people call re zero a male power fantasy overall chainsaw man is really good and I cant wait for part 2 to be animated

THE GOAT IS BACK ❤

Great Video! CSM made me watch anime again after not watching a single one for approx. 5 years.

And the mangá is even better. Also "chainsaw man" IS a ironic reference to superheroes, the series is a "superheroes story" but by the sick and twisted Fujimoto eyes

underrated

Good vídeo bro

Ive felt the same way with a lot of new stuff coming out, i mainly went for jjk, csm, and dandadan when it comes to modern releases

Long story short. Denji is a child who has been betrayed by literally everyone and everything’s he’s ever encountered and just needs a freind

I really enjoyed this video! The editing is amazing and you really fleshed out Denji and left pretty much nothing unsaid. I’m really looking forward to your future work!

FINALLY, ITS FINALLY OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Chainsaw man has the best writing for females in shounen Power is peak female anime girl

New Charlie Vid?? Today is a good day

excellent content

Small spoiler for Chainsaw-I think what charlie was feeling before he watched the Chainsaw man anime was the same as the event in chapter 32. When Makima and Denji went on a date that chapter, they watched multiple movies that date. They both talked about how the movies were just okay or bad. Then makima said that she's the type of person that out of 10 movies she watched there's only 1 that she enjoyed and changed her life. I think the same thing is happening to Charlie but with new anime series. I can't say whether it's life changing for Charlie or not but it's clear that he likes Chainsaw man a lot judging by the 45 minutes long CSM video

W CHARLIE VID

Denji is “give an inch I take a mile” personified Makima though she could closely build him up but then he became HIM!

Denji our boy needs a break

I was like mmhhmms, it's DENJI MANS, mhmmms

"into the meat and potatoes" lmfaoooo

Awesome video and I hope people realize the points you made when the rest of part 1 gets animated. (Spoilers) A part of Denji’s character I always loved that people don’t seem to mention often was when he turned into the chainsaw man HoH. While many view the chainsaw man in a league of his own seperate from Denji’s character, which would make sense given he was around before becoming part of Denji, I always thought it was interesting how he connected to Denji. I’m order for it to be awakened, Denji had to give up on his dreams. Without drive to do anything, instead of making him empty, it unleashed a being that acts purely off of instincts and only does anything specific when given commands, just like how Denji was at the beginning of the story. It’s also made clear that the Chainsaw Man didn’t make sense to those who knew of him, just like how most people don’t understand Denji. Near the end of Part 1 when Makima was talking about how Denji wasn’t worthy of Chainsaw Man, she said “every action he takes should be chaotic.” Denji turned back into himself because of the contract with Power he made. He stopped being the chainsaw man because he regained a solid goal that he wanted to strive for. This was cemented during his he tv scene when Denji showed desire to being chainsaw man when seeing how much people loved him. Makima didn’t want someone who had ambition, because that would go against her ability to control that person. She wanted someone like the chainsaw man, which was why she was such a big fan of him, because he applied to her dream. I can’t wait to start read part 2 when the physical volumes get released as well as anything else Fujimoto makes.

Power and Denji are def soul mates… just look at the dumpster scene… it parallels him and pochita. Not just the contract but there’s much more. He saves her the same way makima hugged and was the first thing denji saw after becoming chainsaw devil for the first time. They have so many parallels between them, too many to list in a comment. But they are def gonna be the end game ship. It’s actual love vs the lust and manipulation he gets from every other women. It’s also who powers boob scene was faked with pads. Faked lust for actual love.

Common Charlie W

I indentify a lot with what u said on the intodruction, that's why I think u should watch Heavenly Delusion, it is legit good af. Only other anime I've liked in the last years together with Chainsaw Man. The rest I liked are just old ones that I hadn't watched before.

Denji is a tragic character...if you know J. Peterson wrote in his book that people sometimes don't value themselves as much and thus treat their pets better than they treat themselves. They get used

this just reminds me of the meme of "me whenever someone mischaracterizes denji again"

Very well put together video, I'm honestly surprised by some of the opinions about the anime. Even as just an anime watcher I could understand that Denji has just started to learn how to be a normal human being and how to interact with others. Yet those that judge him treat him like a normally raised kid that is just a perverted piece of garbage and nothing else. Im glad this vid exists and I hope more people will see it

Soi brought me here. Nice video

Denji is the type of protagonist to make me say “Touching boobs is crucial to the plot” and be 100% serious.

Ahhh yes another video about Fujimotos chadmenship * exquisite, divine, spit your shit indeed 🙏🏿

Chainsawman literally is an ironic comicbook hero title lmfao

Has to be the cutest little devil

You are underrated asf

Not sure I agree with all your opinions on modern shounen, but this video is solid. Guy needs more honest hugs.

Im here after chapter 165 lmao curious to see if you have any thoughts to expand on this with the recent "trending" topic

Denji is the best anime/manga protagonist is my opinion, i couldn't see a more relatable but also likeble Protagonist

I once saw a csm manga hatung video and the denji slander i saw in the comments traumatized me. Mf was spitting bs in the vid. Thank go there were these legends in the comments defending csm

🔥

Denji is HIM. But he's also us. As well as that which we could've become. That which we did, as well as that which we didn't.

35:13 pause

One of the main reason people undervalue Denji’s situation at the start of the anime is is that most anime have children in tough situations at a young age. It’s pretty much expected in shounen at this point. Thing is, this isn’t a shounen anime at all. Denji isn’t Naruto. This isn’t a magical world. But people will measure him up to those iconic characters and go “meh, this is mid”

Great video but when was the last time you showered?

Denji will more than likely, be the only character to get a happy ending in Chainsaw Man.

Denji Woo

bro, to be honest, at this point I've heard more people say "People misunderstand Denji and say that he only cares about boobs" than I've actually heard people saying they think he only cares about boobs.