Tatsuki Fujimoto's irreverent tale of a teenager and devils has ended, and we don't know how to feel about it.
Chainsaw Man has released its final chapter, Chapter 232, and it looks like the manga has officially come to an end… for good. Shonen Jump and Tatsuki Fujimoto has thus far not revealed a Part 3 in the works, and the official reading app has also seemingly confirmed that no new parts or chapters will be released to continue Denji's story. This is the end of the road for Chainsaw Man, and it's turned into a massive topic for debate, despair, and discussion amongst Fujimoto's dedicated fans.
So, what happened to Denji and Asa? What is the world like after Pochita ate himself? Here's everything you need to know.
Warning: major spoilers ahead
Chainsaw Man manga
Final chapter release date: 25 March, 2026
Where to read it: Viz, Shonen Jump
Author: Tatsuki Fujimoto
Publisher: Shueisha
What happens in Chainsaw Man Chapter 232?
Chainsaw Man Chapter 232 brings us back to the beginning–literally. Denji awakens in his rundown shack with blood coming out of his mouth. He's back to his previous state before forming a contract with Pochita; he's missing his eye, likely running on only one kidney, and is miserably down on his luck, dying from a suspected heart condition he has inherited from his deceased mother.
Denji feels like he had both a good and bad dream, and laments that he just wants to have good dreams (like eating with a girl, playing video games, or owning a dog). The rest of the chapter plays out much like the earlier chapters of Chainsaw Man, only with a few jarring differences: Denji still ends up encountering the Zombie Devil, but instead of being dismembered by the gang members as a ritualistic sacrifice and being revived VIA contract by Pochita, Power–yes, THE Power– steps in to save him from dying. Power forms a contract with Denji where he must belong to her in exchange for his survival.
And instead of Makima appearing to recruit Denji to the Public Safety Devil Hunter Association, Nayuta appears as its figurehead. She recruits (or more accurately, stakes a claim on) both Denji and Power. Nayuta is also revealed to have control over the Gun Devil, whose power she uses to subdue Power to do her bidding.
The manga then cuts to Power and Denji living the Devil Hunter life, as they are tasked by Nayuta to decimate a rampant devil in a high school. Nayuta seemingly doesn't care much about her position in the Public Safety Devil Hunter Association, opting instead to stay in her office and play video games rather than do official work. It also seems like Denji and Power are the only members of Special Division 4 in this alternate timeline… which means they likely never meet Aki Hayakawa, Kishibe, Himeno, Kobeni Higashiyama, or any of the others unseen in this chapter. It's likely that Special Division 4 never existed in the first place.
Denji and Power face off against a crab-looking devil, and unlike before where Denji could transform into Chainsaw Man thanks to Pochita, he instead uses weapons made from Power's blood instead. He requests a chainsaw to use, as he already fought using an axe, and defeats the crab devil (with one visible casualty who looks to be Mr. Tanaka, Asa's teacher who turned out to be a predator).
Denji then spots the chicken devil, Bucky, whom he attempts to attack. However, he hesitates as he sees Bucky being carried by Asa, who is about to trip and fall. He steps in to save her, ultimately changing the previous timeline of events that led to Asa being taken over by the war devil, Yoru. Bucky also doesn't get crushed by Asa.
Asa thanks Denji for helping her, calling him “Chainsaw Man” because of his weapon of choice, and joins her classmates in having fun. They don't know each other in this universe, and it's likely that their paths will never cross again.
Denji takes a moment to watch Asa play football with her classmates, before leaving with Power. The manga ends.
Where are Makima, Aki, Reze, and the rest of Tokyo Special Division 4 at the end of Chainsaw Man?
Although the alternate timeline Pochita has established by eating himself appears to be an attempt to provide Denji with a modicum of happiness, the finale leaves a lot of questions that are ultimately left unanswered. Many key characters do not return for the finale, which leads to a lot of speculation.
Just exactly what happened to them? Here are our theories:
Makima
The new timeline asserts the fact that the control devil is Nayuta, so it's likely that Makima has already passed away before the beginning of Denji's Public Safety Devil Hunter Association life. It's been established before that Makima's sole purpose in life is to be together forever with the Chainsaw Devil, as she yearned for a happy life that she believed that she, as the control devil, was only capable of achieving with the devil she deemed as being “equal” to her.
It's likely that since Makima lost that purpose with the erasure of the Chainsaw Devil, she chose to die instead, as her dreams will never come true.
Aki Hayakawa
Aki initially joined the Public Safety Devil Hunter Association with the sole purpose of eradicating the remaining pieces of the Gun Devil. However, as it seems that the Gun Devil is fully under Nayuta's control in this timeline, it's likely that Aki didn't find a reason to become a Devil Hunter. We'd like to think that he's out there somewhere, living a normal life as best as he can.
Reze
Reze and Aki's fates seem more intertwined than what is led to be believed, and it all boils down to World War 2, Nazis, Nuclear warfare and the Soviet Union.
Yep, it might sound like a crack theory, but let us explain:
In the original timeline, Pochita ate the World War 2 Devil, the Nazi Devil, and the Nuclear War Devil. Without these events and concepts, The Soviet Union never dissolved because a) The Cold War as we historically know it did not happen, and b) the various political issues that led to the collapse of The Soviet Union in 1991 never occurred, because it never dealt with the aftereffects of war.
Because Pochita never existed to eat these devils, Reze would not have been kidnapped by the Soviet Union and forcibly turned into the hybrid Bomb Devil. It's highly likely that Reze is still alive somewhere in Russia, and is just a normal teenager. Here's to hoping she's finally going to school, like she wanted.
Tokyo Special Division 4
Because Makima is no longer there to bring the members of Tokyo Special Division 4, it's likely that the members do not cross paths at all. Here's what we think happened to them:
- Kishibe: Remains as part of Tokyo Special Division 1, as the Public Safety Saga never occurs in this universe.
- Himeno: Because Makima and Aki are not part of the Public Safety Devil Hunter Association, it's likely that she is still a Devil Hunter, but in a different division. And since Himeno never meets Aki, it's likely that she never passes away by offering herself completely to the Ghost Devil.
- Kobeni Higashiyama: Since Makima is not there to recruit Kobeni into her Special Squad, it's likely that Kobeni never became a Devil Hunter. She's probably slaving away at a job somewhere to earn for her family.
- Kobeni's car: fortunately, since Kobeni and Power never meet, Kobeni's car most likely survives.
- Hirokazu Arai: Similar to Kobeni, it's likely that Arai did not join the Public Safety Devil Hunter Association because Makima is not there to recruit him. He also likely does not die due to Katana Man.
- Angel: Since Makima does not recruit Angel, it's possible that he remains socially withdrawn and living in relative peace somewhere. It's likely that Angel also never meets Aki, but we'd like to think that they somehow do…
- The rest of the fiends: Beam, Galgali, and Princi, like Angel and the rest, are likely living their own lives without Makima to bring them into Special Division 4. Beam specifically, will possibly not be like the lovable fiend we know, as Pochita does not exist as a receiver of his admiration and respect.
The remaining four horsemen
Because Pochita never existed, the four horsemen devils, Death, War, Famine, and Control, never engaged in a brutal battle with him in hell. Here's what might have happened to them:
- Yoru (War): Since Pochita never existed to eat parts of Yoru, she is not lacking in influence and power. As such, she never goes on her revenge plot to slay Chainsaw Man, and is likely still in Hell. And since the unfortunate string of events that happens to Asa in the original timeline never occurs, paired with Yoru never losing her power, the two will likely never meet on that fateful street.
- Li'l D (Death): Since Li'l D is prophesised by Nostradamus to cause the end of the world, and without Chainsaw Man to act as a pawn in her attempts to prevent her descent…well…it's possible that the world does end in 1999. Sorry Denji.
- Fami (Famine): It's likely that Fami's agenda of saving the world through death may still be in effect, however, it's also possible that Fami may have never been forced into Li'l D's influence, so the world may not plunge into an abyss of terror as it is about to end.
There's also a possibility that Nayuta, who is the current Control devil, under duress from the government, may at some point fight her sisters to prevent the prophesised apocalypse, but that's all in the realm of speculation and theory.
What kind of devil was Pochita in Chainsaw Man?
The mystery of what exactly Chainsaw Devil is is up in the air. Since Denji wielded a chainsaw in the alternate timeline, it basically confirms that Pochita does not embody a fear of chainsaws, why? Because if he ate himself, why would the concept of a chainsaw still exist?
Fans have been speculating for years about Pochita's real identity, and it's now an established fact by Fujimoto that Pochita is not the devil we thought him to be. So what is he, exactly?
Is Pochita really the Existence Devil?
The power to erase a feared concept by consuming it has led many to speculate that Pochita himself is the “Existence Devil.” It’s a compelling theory; much of the world’s altered history stems from him erasing devils, and with them, the very concepts they represent.
However, the theory runs into a major problem: the timeline reset. If Pochita truly embodies existence, then consuming himself shouldn’t rewrite reality: it should erase it entirely.
Clinging to the idea that Pochita is purely the “Existence Devil” begins to fall apart here. Instead, it may be more fitting to view him as embodying not just existence, but its inverse: oblivion–non-existence.
Existence and non-existence can be understood as two sides of the same coin. If devils are born from fear, then it’s possible that Pochita represents something far more fundamental: not existence alone, but the boundary between being and being erased. After all, what would primal fears like war, death, famine, and control fear, if not the loss of existence itself?
The final chapter offers a subtle clue that this theory is way more viable than it seems. When Asa calls Denji “Chainsaw Man,” his heart is shown beating in Pochita’s form, the same form it took when their contract was first made. Even after everything, that core remains.
This opens up another possibility: Pochita may not have fully erased himself at all. Instead, he may have consumed the aspect of himself tied to oblivion, while leaving his existence intact within Denji.
When you think about it, chainsaws similarly occupy a paradoxical state of existence.
Before we knew them as the tool that could be used to fell trees, chainsaws were originally invented with a more medical purpose in mind; specifically, the chainsaw was used as a medical tool in the 18th century to aid in child birth. The purpose of this machine, which widens the birth canal by cutting through flesh, solidified its purpose as both a tool in the process of life, and its violent usage as a possible means for death.
However, in the modern day, chainsaws are commonly known as a handy tool for loggers and woodworkers. The chainsaw, as we historically knew it, no longer exists with its initial intention. But it still exists. It's still being used to this day worldwide.
In that sense, Pochita still exists, but not as a singular embodiment of existence. Pochita becomes paradoxical: a being that governs both existence and erasure, yet chooses not to fully disappear. His last words to Denji in Chapter 231, which urges him to “keep on dreaming”, may confirm his intention. He still wants Denji to fulfil his dream of a normal life, and this new alternate timeline is where Denji may finally be able to do it.
Perhaps that’s the real answer. Only Tatsuki Fujimoto knows the truth, and we're likely never going to know for sure.