Chainsaw Man: What's behind the door in Denji's dream, explained

Chainsaw Man - Young Denji
Denji as seen in the anime (Image via MAPPA)

With the Chainsaw Man anime ending with episode 12, fans have a lot to look forward to in its sequel season. To note, the season finale left fans with many questions, one of which was related to Denji's dream. While nothing is revealed, the season finale saw Pochita's voice asking Denji never to open that door.

While Tatsuki Fujimoto's Chainsaw Man really isn't a mystery series, the Mangaka has made it pretty evident that he does not want fans to learn about the door in Denji's dream anytime soon. While manga fans already know the secret behind the door, anime fans are yet to learn the same.

Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers from the Chainsaw Man manga.


Chainsaw Man: What does the door in Denji's dream signify?

The door in Denji's dream (Image via MAPPA)
The door in Denji's dream (Image via MAPPA)

The door in Denji's dream is a manifestation of his subconscious mind to close-off his biggest traumatic incident from his conscious mind. At the beginning of Chainsaw Man, it was revealed that Denji was forced to pay his father's debts to the Yakuza after he died by suicide. However, that was far from the truth.

The truth is that Denji killed his father in self-defense when one day his father, after getting drunk, was about to murder him. As the Yakuza would not have been able to recover his father's debts if it was revealed that he was murdered, they hid the fact. Thus, it was officially stated that Denji's father had died by suicide, forcing his son to pay back his debts.

Denji as seen in the anime (Image via MAPPA)
Denji as seen in the anime (Image via MAPPA)

This is why Pochita, Denji's friend, asked him never to open the door. The Chainsaw Devil wanted his friend to live a good life, thus, he wanted to protect his friend from his past traumas.


Does Denji ever open the door in the alleyway?

Later in the series, upon Makima's persuasion, Denji opens the door in his mind to reveal his biggest traumatic incident. Makima, later to be revealed as the series' antagonist and one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, Control Devil, already knew of Denji's past.

Makima as seen in the anime (Image via MAPPA)
Makima as seen in the anime (Image via MAPPA)

As a fan of Chainsaw Man, she wanted to take control over it, and thus wanted to weaken Denji's will by making him miserable. As that was the only way she could make Chainsaw Devil feel inferior to the Control Devil.

As part of her plan, the Control Devil first made Denji's life happy by giving him two sibling figures - Power as a younger sister and Aki as an elder brother. She made sure he had a good life, with a good-paying job and regular healthy meals. After a happy life became the norm for him, Makima started executing the final part of her plan.

Power and Denji as seen in the anime (Image via MAPPA)
Power and Denji as seen in the anime (Image via MAPPA)

The Control Devil created a situation where Denji was forced to kill Aki after he became the Gun Fiend. Later, she had Denji play a part in Power's death as he was the one who opened the door for Makima to kill her on his birthday.

Thus, Makima was successful in making Denji feel miserable after he realized that he was a sinful person for having been responsible for the deaths of his father, Aki, and Power.

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