A Fun Day At The Aquarium From H#ll! Chainsaw Man Chapter 116 BREAKDOWN

Unbenounced to you guys: I actually had to write the first 3 portions of this post- the opening paragraphs, the recap, and the actual review- at separate times. I’m actually re-writing this opener while I’m in the middle of the 116 portion. I didn’t really like the way this post was coming together, and every subsequent do-over just showed where the the earlier part lacked. So I did them over again each time. I don’t want to give you guys sh!tty content. It wouldn’t be fair to you or me. 

Hi. Everything else is on break this week, and I’m working on another separate Discussion post, so that’ll be a minute. In the meantime, I figured I’d talk a little about “Chainsaw Man!” Due to the usual circumstances, I was unable to watch the anime as it was airing; I’m gonna have to play “catch up(like with everything else).” But I kept up with Fan reception, and………. Ouch. Fans didn’t really react to it the best- to the point where they’re now Petitioning for a remake. A little much, but the more manga I read compared to anime I watch; I find myself jeering at things like “Choices Of Voices(unintended rhyme),” changes to the material, and such. I’ve become more of a “Manga Reader” in the past few years. 

Whenever I can get to anime- like Edens Zero– I find that it fails to capture what I like about the manga. Even the “One Piece” anime seems to kind of fall short- in terms of quality and pacing; Wano has been F*CKIN’ BEAUTIFUL. And now that manga’s becoming more accessible, and anime has been getting more and more “corporate,” getting monopolized and put behind all these “Walls;” it’s no wonder more and more people are starting to get into manga. Or they’ll raise their proverbial Flags and “set sail” across the digital sea. Sh!t, that’s what WE do. But in any case, the poor reception to the anime + the Lukewarm reception to the opening of Part 2……… the series kind of needs the support right now. Then again, it recently got to 23,000,000 copies in circulation with only 13 volumes, so……… clearly something is still being done “right.” 

In any case; let’s get into the chapter, huh? Even though I’m already “There.” Chainsaw Man Chapter 116: “Taste of Starfish.” Let’s begin……. 

REVIEW

Chapters 114 and 115: Asa, Denji, and the Devil Hunters Club realize that they’ve been trapped in the Aquarium. They try a few ideas, but they can’t seem to find an exit. They rest after a minute in an Employee break room, where they find enough water to keep them alive for some time. And they can just catch the fish outside to eat. Though Asa won’t eat fish because it reminds her of “Dead Animals.” Meanwhile; Denji loots the Aquarium, much to Asa’s disgust. Not wanting to be lumped in with Denji; Asa tries to contribute something to the group, and remembers that she has her mom’s cell phone! But she breaks it trying to get a signal. 

After a few days in the “Aquarium From H#ll,” she final confronts Iseumi about him being Chainsaw Man. But he’s not- He’s Just A HUGE Fan. President of the “Chainsaw Man Society’s” high school chapter; Runner up in the Quiz Show; owns all the merch; even had the starter surgically implanted, becoming “The One Closest To Chainsaw Man.” He calls for the Real Chainsaw Man to save them, but Denji’s hands are tied- he can’t find the Eternity Devil. And Yoshida can’t call for help with the weak signal he has. They’re gonna die if they don’t do something soon. 

Denji goes over to see how Asa is doing, and she apologizes for getting him wrapped up in this sh!t. She reveals that she can’t turn Denji into a Weapon due to the simple fact that she has no idea what’s “Right” or “Wrong.” She’s just been trying to avoid making a mistake along the way, making her the “Bore” that asked him out. He gets in the tank with her, and tries to console her a little by asking if Starfish is okay to eat. 

Chapter 116: The girl who was freaking out last time is licking the glass tank in desperation. They ignore. Asa says that some of these are inedible, but some of them are. But they need to cook it before they eat it; they’re still pretty toxic. So Deni finds a Pot lid and steals a lighter off the glass licker. As they cook, Asa notes Denji’s collection of School hats. He replies that he’s been collecting them to sell them- for his “Little Sister’s” college fund. He may have had a cr@ppy life, but he wants her to have a normal one. Asa is speechless…….

The Starfish finishes cooking, and they dig in. It is NOT Very Good. But Asa’s so hungry that she gives in to eating some of the fish that Denji had dried up prior, so it must taste like a Gourmet Meal. Though she gags every time she bites. Seeing her reactions, Denji actually says she’s “Fun-” she talks about boring sh!t, but she’s interesting to watch tick. The compliment goes RIGHT TO HER HEAD, and she starts yelling about how “Denji Has A Good Eye!!” and “She’s Charming!!” Denji says her attitude right now reminds her of an old friend of his, and she calms down. She looks over at the hats again, and gets an idea.

With the help of Denji; the pair loot what they can from the Aquarium. In total; they wind up with a million yen. She then commands Denji to give her ALL the money, to which Denji’s like “H@YL NAW!!”  Then she says she’ll “Grant Denji one request” if they get out of here, so he just gives up the bag like THAT. She has him close his eyes, cover his ears, and go stand in a corner. Her idea: if she can convince herself that the Aquarium is “hers,” then she can make it into a weapon. To do this, she uses the money they just rounded up to “buy” the building, and tries to make it a Spear. Chainsaw Man Chapter 116 END!! Quick thinking, Asa- Very Well Done!!

Analysis 

Yoru’s power is to turn what is “hers” into weapons- from random sh!t she picks up off the ground to people. Asa has that same power. But HER concept of “ownership” is somewhat different from Yoru’s. Like……….. she could have said “The Aquarium Is Mine” from the get-go, but it wouldn’t have have held the same “Weight,” ya know what I mean? Like- I can claim that my Grandmother’s house where I’m living his “Mine,” but I’ll know that that’s not true- whereas The War Devil would just kill us all and claim the house as its territory, letting her use it as she sees fit. For me to say “This House Is Mine,” I would have to pay for it- to buy it for myself. And that’s what Asa did. Looking it up; I’m realizing what’s going on in this scene better. 

What Asa is doing is not turning the Aquarium itself into a weapon- just one of the tanks(worth rough’y $7000) that she “bought” with the million yen($7,632.19 In US currency), and she’s turning it into a spear. That’s what’s going on. But as we learned a few chapters ago; it takes “Powerful Guilt” to make a strong weapon. After learning what Denji plans to do with the money he’s collecting; she now knows what the money is worth to him- and used his simple mindedness to steal the money right out from under him. She must feel……. kinda cr@ppy about doing that, right? He was gonna use that money to pay for Nayuta’s college fund, and she just stole it from him by- unknowingly– promising to be his girlfriend(presumably)!!

But the point is that she was able to make a weapon- a somewhat strong one. She can do it now. And now that she’s admitted the truth to herself- and to Denji, who she feels guilty for bringing into this mess- she can now properly prepare herself to make Denji into a Weapon! Don’t know what weapon- that’s not really the “point.” The question at hand now is: What’s About To Happen? 

She doesn’t know that Denji is Chainsaw Man. And Denji doesn’t know about the War Devil. On the one hand; we could see the Chainsaw Devil resist the War Devil, thus preventing Denji from becoming a weapon and exposing the both of them to the other’s secret. And that would lead into the Theory I proposed a few posts ago- about Yoshida’s employers might deem Asa a threat and have her marked for execution. Thus ruining her life and leaving Denji to blame and all that good sh!t. ALTERNATIVELY: The Official Site has relegated Denji to the position of Side Character. That, and as I was looking through Twitter to find the image that says as much; I saw an interesting post on my Timeline………

Denji………. Is Happy Right Now. He’s got some side jobs to support Nayuta and the Huskies he’s in charge of; he’s Chainsaw Man, the biggest Hero on the Planet; and now, because of this chapter- he and Asa are “Friends” that could evolve into something more if things were to go right. He’s in a good place right now. Meaning……. it’s only a matter of time……. before Fujimoto…….. takes it all away all over again. He doesn’t have the “Main Character Shield” anymore, so the NEXT time that Denji “loses everything-” may end up being his LAST. Which is going to suck. Although……… Chainsaw Man will still exist……… Wait a minute………. Denji’s not just a “Fiend-” he’s a Hybrid. When Pochita sacrificed himself to become Denji’s heart; He BECAME Denji. Denji IS Chainsaw Man. And as Makima told us in chapter 84: “Because Of What He Does; He Is Marked An Killed By Many Devils. But He Revs His Engine And Arises Again And Again.” The Chainsaw CAN’T Die!!

Whereas other Devils- once they are Eaten by the Chainsaw- are gone. Chainsaw Man didn’t finish the War Devil the first time; he just ate the part about Nuclear Weapons. And there may be a reason for that, if you follow the line of thought detailed in Beyond Animation’s video about the “Irony Of Makima And Nayuta.” He said that the Chainsaw won’t eat certain Devils- such as Control and Darkness. Due to the nature of their existence; they act as some sort of “balance” for all the Good in the Universe. “Without Darkness, there would be no light;” “Without the Fear of ‘Control,’ there would be no Free Will.” War might serve a similar purpose; without “War,” “Peace” cannot be a achieved……… probably. It’s because of “conflict” that we seek “peace-” that we fight means that there’s the possibility for understand and friendship…….. or something to that effect. For that reason: Denji and Asa are unable to kill each other. 

I don’t know how the 3 or 4 of them(Pochita may or may not pop in to give Denji advice- I don’t know if he can do that or not) are going to resolve this situation- the world is better off without Nuclear weapons, so Pochita ain’t libel to barf it back up. But Yoru’s getting weaker the longer there’s no war. If they take to long, then War will be forgotten altogether. Or something. I don’t even know if Nuclear Weapons is an ability that was eaten, or a Devil all on its own. But clearly Yoru wants it back- probably planning to attack the World and make them fear “War.” And if Asa goes through on Helping, then every death will be on Her hands. Which might be what Yoru is trying to hide from Asa- if for nothing more than the simple……… fact…….. that………….. Yoru needs someone to become the “Nuclear Weapon.” She’s trying to care about Asa, isn’t she? And when she’s fulfilled her end of the bargain and given Asa her body back, then……………. she’ll turn Asa into the Strongest Nuclear Weapon and attack the world. Ooh, that’s GOOD. 

But she can’t get rid of Chainsaw Man- the only thing that would be able to stop her. Thus the necessity of getting rid of him, if only for a minute. I don’t know how long it takes for the Chainsaw to “respawn” when he dies, but it can’t be too long. Maybe it’s instant? Eh, it’s whatever. Chainsaw Man will stop the plan regardless! 

Other, smaller notes: Denji makes a direct reference to both Power and Nayuta- he’s contracted with Power to find the Blood Devil and turn it into Power, but I don’t know where the Blood Devil is. And I kind of doubt that Denji is looking all that intently. Probably doesn’t even know where to start, honestly. And he’s doing everything he can to scrounge up money for Nayuta’s education- as opposed to Kobeni who was forced to make money for her siblings education. Nice little parallel. I don’t know what kind of life Nayuta will lead- especially if Denji dies here- but the whole point of Denji raising Nayuta is to avoid Makima altogether. If Asa kills Denji, then no one will be there to make sure that doesn’t happen. Heck, depending on their relationship- she might end up worse without his influence. 

Conclusion

Yeah, that’s it. I’ve talked about everything that I wanted to, so I’ll end it here. Fujimoto begins the year on a High Note! Let’s hope it STAYS up here and doesn’t “peter out” somewhere. I don’t know much of the series is left; he’s expressed in the past that he doesn’t like long series. So he may be trying to wrap this up before it reaches 200 chapters. Or maybe he’s got more planned that I may be thinking. I’ve really got nothing left to say. Let me know your own thoughts in the comments, everyone, and until the next post- Have A Great Day Guys. By~~~e!!!