Fujimoto is dangling Asa's life on Denji's choice, and Chainsaw Man couldn't make it clearer

With chapter 205 of the Chainsaw Man manga becoming a pivotal chapter in the series, the fans were introduced to several key moments of the series. While the introduction of the Fire Devil and the identity reveal of the Fakesaw Man were the main highlights of the chapter, there was also one question left by the mangaka that begs interpretation.

The discussion sparked by Fujimoto at the end of the chapter was regarding Denji's choice to save Asa. While it may seem straightforward with Denji agreeing to save Asa, his history of past bad decisions in the Chainsaw Man series, recently brought up, has opened the outcome of the sequence to interpretation.

Disclaimer: This article contains speculative theory and contains potential spoilers from the Chainsaw Man manga.

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Denji's past in Chainsaw Man might influence his actions in saving Asa's life

In the recent few chapters of the Chainsaw Man manga, Denji and Asa were attacked by the Falling Devil after the big revelation of the Death Devil's identity back in chapter 198. During Denji's fight with Fakesaw Man, he was tossed into a building where Asa came to lend him a hand.

However, as the two of them were talking, the Falling Devil collapsed the building to kill both of them. As the building collapsed, both Denji and Asa made it out, while Asa conjured a "Building Sword". After that, Asa rushed off to fight against the Falling Devil, leaving Denji to face off against the Fakesaw Man. This was the time when the Fakesaw Man's identity was revealed.

However, as Denji and the Fire Devil were talking about the past, specifically about how Chainsaw Man chose to abandon saving a human for a cat, during his fight with the Cockroach Devil, Asa was fighting against the Falling Devil off-screen. While the Fire Devil and the Fakesw Man sequence was the main highlight of the latest chapter, there was also another event happening in the background.

Asa asks for Denji's help in chapter 205 of the manga (Image via Shueisha)

By the end of Chapter 205, while the entire Fire Devil and Chainsaw Man sequence took place, Asa was seen trapped under some rubble, indicating her loss against the Falling Devil. Asa exclaimed that she hadn't lost yet and asked Denji to help her. While Denji agreed to do so, speculations can be made that this is where Denji's history comes into play.

Tatsuki Fujimoto, the mangaka, has often portrayed Denji's character as someone prone to making bad choices in his life, which later come back to bite him. Several of Denji's wrong decisions, from trusting Makima to not running away with Reze, have landed him in problems from the very beginning of the series, with the latest revelation being connected to the concept of Fakesaw Man.

With all those past choices in mind, while it might be a straightforward choice of whether to save Asa or not, it might bring new repercussions for him in the future. If it were someone else, it would be a normal decision, but with Denji, everything seems to fall apart in the future with every decision he makes.

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Final thoughts

Given Denji's past choices in Chainsaw Man and the impact they have on the story later on, saving Asa might not be as simple as it seems. It is also worth noting that during Asa's asking for help, Denji shows a slight bit of reluctance, as seen by his inability to hear what she was saying at first.

Whether that was intentional or a genuine reaction from Denji is very unclear in the series. Nevertheless, the release of future chapters in the manga would likely clear up the small bit of details, as Denji is about to face the Falling Devil in the upcoming Chainsaw Man manga chapter 206.

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