Chainsaw Man and Knowledge: A thread on the theme of information, knowledge, and intellect in CSM.

(spoilers)

Chainsaw Man’s first arc in Jump was a really bizarre ride. There are a lotta abstract panels and even chapters that can only make sense with context. Sometimes, the actions that happen can almost just seem like a chain of events that just occurs rather than a progressive and

cohesive story. But there’s an interconnecting thread that I think can tie up everything in csm and make sense of some of its absurdity. The concept of knowledge is very prevalent and i think it would be the manga’s main theme. Denji’s biggest flaw is his ignorance and his

choice to deny obtaining knowledge in exchange for happiness. Makima, the antagonist, takes advantage of this ignorance and repeatedly demonstrates how she uses denji’s lack of knowledge to take away his happiness. A huge reveal near the end of the arc is that Denji actually

killed his father, but repressed the memory so he didn’t have to experience the psychological effects it would cause. He uses this ignorance to escape pain and suffering. When he kills his friend aki, denji goes to makima and wishes to become her dog, not having to think

about anything. What Denji needs to learn is that he needs to be able to think for himself to continue through life. We also see how chainsaw man actually erases knowledge. makima says that csm can erase the names of devils from existence. There was a sixth sense, another

outcome at the end of life besides death, etc etc before csm destroyed all of it. This helps reinforce the fact that Denji wants to protect himself with ignorance, as csm is just another part of Denji. And it’s not just denji which is affected by this theme. Power, too,

near the beginning is interested in being smart and outsmarting her opponent when her and denji are being hunted for training. During the night of drinking, power compares her IQ to those of others, wishing to be smarter.
Even the girl who just says halloween is touched

by intellect. in fact, she’s a result of the other side of the spectrum where too much knowledge can drive someone mad, causing her to only say and think ‘halloween’

i especially hope this theme will continue to be explored as it’s been said that csm part 2 will be

Denji in a school (an institution devoted to knowledge and learning)

anyways, i hope you gained something out of reading this. i think csm is a very fascinating manga and i’d like to see more like it from SJ.

CSM: 8.5-9/10