Back in 2021, Chainsaw Man author Fujimoto Tatsuki said he wanted to make the manga ending "pretty meaningless" – and judging by the fan reaction to the recent last chapter, he may have succeeded.
On March 24, the series wrapped with an issue that imagined what Denji's life would've been like had he never merged himself with Pochita. As Pochita realizes the suffering he's caused Denji, the creature eats his own heart and erases himself from existence, resetting the universe and resulting in his human pal being saved by Power and Nayuta from his fatal encounter with the Yakuza in the past.
"Do I think Chainsaw Man was pointless? No, not at all, but it did start leaving a sour taste in my mouth past a certain point in Part 2," wrote one reader on Twitter. "My initial read of the last chapter left me feeling complete indifference, the only other recent Shonen ending to do so was Dr. Stone so uh."
"Have a lot mixed feelings about the Chainsaw Man ending but ultimately the last few chapters felt like they were building to something and then it all just fizzled out. A lot of good ideas that just weren't executed very well and led to a very disappointing end," tweeted another.
"I can't believe Fujimoto did BOTH 'it was all a dream' and 'the real Chainsaw Man was the friends we made along the way' in one ending LMFAOOOOO. Funniest ending possible," a third joked.
"It feels like Fujimoto got bored with writing and just skipped to the planned ending in the middle of an arc. So instead of a super satisfying ending, it feels out of nowhere," a fourth added on Reddit.
When discussing possible ways to end Chainsaw Man five years ago, Fujimoto told Da Vinci Magazine: "Do you know of the movie The Big Lebowski? That movie really made me think, 'what even was that?' when I was done watching it. Nothing was resolved, wasn't everything pretty meaningless! But still, the protagonist had development, and the story progressed; there was this sublime absurdity that I loved. I want Chainsaw Man to give the reader that kind of aftertaste, too."
With that, it seems that Fujimoto was going for more of a moral tale; focusing more heavily on the journey and the emotional lessons his characters learned than exciting, satisfying subplots. And there do seem to be some people out there who didn't mind how Chainsaw Man concluded.
"I won't deny the amount of plot holes was disappointing but I don't think everything needs to be filled in. Yeah maybe that's not good writing but I really couldn't care, I liked the ending of JJK, and I like the ending of Chainsaw Man," tweeted one loyal reader.
"The last two Chainsaw Man chapters have made me realise how utterly miserable some people are. I get the ending was far from perfect, but the way some of you refuse to engage with just the ideas of the ending itself and get stuck on the most bullish surface level reading of events in a way to give a ridiculous sounding analysis of Pochita's decision, Denji's new status quo and the constant criticism of his mindset throughout Part 2 is a little ridiculous," said another in a passionate thread. "Like, these characters are a vehicle for the story, at least try to understand them and meet 'em where they are."
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