There are plenty of anime protagonists that start their journey as runts. They’re not particularly strong but have the smarts and cunning to lead them to victory. Eventually, many of these happy-go-lucky shonen-type protagonists become stronger over time. However,Chainsaw Mandecided to flip the script on the traditional anime protagonist.
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Denji isa bit of a misfit that’s given his powerful devil abilitiesvery early on, and, rather than having his journey fueled by righteous things like fighting for the greater good or becoming a world-renowned hero, he relies on his girl-crazy attitude to give him the strength needed to fulfill his goals. Denji didn’t get any kind of formal education due to his rough childhood, so, in the end, he tends to make rather foolish decisions. Here are some of the dumbest decisions Denji has madethroughout theChainsaw Manseries so far.
Warning: This list contains major spoilers for Chainsaw Man
8Making A Deal With A Devil
Of course, in order for the entire plot to happen, Denji would need a way to become the chainsaw devil. In hindsight, though, what he did was incredibly dangerous and could have easily gotten him killed. Making a contract with a devil, injured or not, can cost someone their life, or, worse still, their soul.
Yes, Denji ended up with a great companion after saving and eventually befriending Pochita, but it could have easily gone in a different direction. Had he wished, Pochita could have easily killed Denji for his naive act of kindness after he had initially approached him. Luckily for Denji, thelittle chainsaw devildecided to befriend him and stay loyal to the end of the contract.
7Believing Power’s Nyako/Meowy Story
At thispoint in the story, Power and Denji aren’t exactly the best of friends. Aki, Power, and Denji do eventually get along and begin to care about one another, but they definitely had their bumps in the road to deal with in the beginning.
When Power told Denji her sob story about Nyako (Meowy in the English translation), many readers were immediately suspicious. However, Denji, being the single-minded protagonist that he is, went along with Power to help her out without a second thought, not even once stopping himself to consider that it may be a kind of trap. He got lucky, but Power and the Bat demon could very easily have causedChainsaw Manto come to an untimely end!
6Not Running Away With Reze
It was clear that sticking with his job with Makima as a Public Safety Devil Hunter was going to land Denji in a lot of trouble or even get him killed.Makima may be his love interest, but she had made it clear from the beginning that Denji was nothing more than one of her dogs.
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Makima made it perfectly clear that she was comfortable killing Denji and Power under the right circumstances. If they disobeyed any of her orders, they were as good as dead. While Reze did indeed turn out to be a villain out for the infamous Chainsaw Man’s heart, in that particular moment, just about anyone in Denji’s shoes would have opted for a life away from devil hunters.
5Eating A Cigarette For 100 Yen
Denji lived a long life of debt and, when it comes down to it, desperation begins to creep in, and just about anybody would resort to things they wouldn’t normally do if they didn’t need the funds to live. However, not many people have the kind of resolve that Denji has.
Denji may bea bit of a lazy and irresponsibleprotagonist, but no one can say that he isn’t willing to put his health or well-being on the line for something he really wants to work toward. However, for a measly 100 Yen (roughly one American dollar) Denji could have maybe been okay refusing to eat a cigarette. Money’s no good when one’s health is at risk!
4Pledging His Body To A Devil
Once again, this is one of Denji’s decisions that only seems ridiculous without knowing the outcome. Devils take their contracts seriously and pledging his body to a devil sounds like trouble right off the bat.
Luckily,Pochita ended up being kindto Denji and genuinely wanted his friend to simply continue living and seeking out all his once unattainable dreams, like having a girlfriend and eating all the food he wants. But had this been any other malicious devil that simply befriended Denji in order to manipulate him in the future, Denji’s corpse could have been turned into nothing but a dangerous puppet.
3Not Listening To His Dreams
Denji is haunted by the same dream (or nightmare, rather) throughout the series. While he is initially curious about what’s behind the door,thinking it’s Pochita, he then becomes a bit more wary. At one point, Denji does decide on his own to listen to the ominous voice in his dream and says he doesn’t ever wish to see what was on the other side of the door. While it may seem like a mysterious metaphor at the beginning, a literal ominous door that Denji hesitates to open does in fact appear about twice throughout the series.
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Denji didn’t have much choice other than to open these doors he was reluctant to open, and eventually allowed himself to give into fear and turn the handle to then witness something immensely tragic waiting on the other side. Who knows how the series would have gone had he found an alternative way out of revealing what each harrowing door that appeared before him had in store?
2Trusting Makima
Makima may be a pretty face and may even seem kind-hearted towards Denji and the others every once in a while, but behind those hypnotic eyes hides something much more sinister. Right from the moment she had first appeared, there was something suspicious about Makima, and while it may have been a bit more obvious to the audience (and evencertain members of her own team), Denji didn’t seem to pick up on all the flags that were as red as Makima’s crimson hair.
Whether he trusted Makima out of his own naivety or perhaps because he willingly ignored all the warnings in favor of her because of her beauty and his crush on her, Denji seemed to have truly put his guard down when it came to Makima. He’s made a lot of bad choices over the years, but this is easily one of Denji’s dumbest decisions to date.
1Still Liking Makima & Reze After Their Betrayals
Just about any normal person would want to cut ties with someone after a physical fight, let alone an assassination attempt! Even after discovering Reze and Makima’s true intentions with him and learning that all of their kind words and flirtatious behavior were an act all along, Denji states that he still has feelings for them.
Perhaps if Denji didn’t have such strong regenerative abilities as a human-devil hybrid, he wouldn’t have been so forgiving after all the damage Reze and Makima had done. While to many people it may be a bit silly or stupid, it also speaks volumes about how lonely Denji was, and how for so much of his life, the only real friend he had torely on was little Pochita.
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