Summary

• Denji is shocked by the world's "new normal" of death and destruction, which people—including Asa and Iseumi—now take for granted.
• The state of the world seems to suggest that more time has passed since Denji was captured than fans initially realized.
• Fami reveals how Denji could return to being a normal human, but she may not have all the facts clear about her contract with Pochita.

After Denji finally woke up from his coma at Tatsuki Fujimoto's house Chainsaw man Chapter 163, “Dream Balls”, he was then forced to face the reality of his life without Nayuta in Chapter 164, “Charred Remains”. Against this backdrop, CSM Chapter 165, “Everyday Scenery,” shows Denji acclimating to his new reality, but he’s not the only one who has to deal with a changing world.

When Denji was originally captured, the world was falling apart around him, as riots broke out in the streets. Even Yoru, the Demon of War, said that “the world finally remembers me” upon seeing the state things were in, but fans had no way of knowing just how bad things were getting outside of Denji’s neighborhood. Chapter 165 shows just how bad things really got, as a world of destruction, pain, and loss became the new normal, and even Denji is shocked by just how bad things got.

How long has it been since Denji was captured by public security?

It may have been weeks or even months since Denji was first taken prisoner.

“Everything will go back to the way it was before. I know it.”

Chapter 165 begins with Denji at the train station with Asa, Katana Man, Fami, Iseumi, and Nobana. The group has gone to catch the train to buy Denji some sushi in hopes of cheering him up after his search for Nayuta in the previous chapter failed. While at the station, Denji is surprised to see a dead body lying in the middle of the station, while people continue to go about their business without batting an eyelid. Iseumi assures Denji that “the station attendants will clean it up later,” and Asa adds “That’s to be expected at this point.”

The fact that ordinary people have such an indifferent attitude towards death raises one of the biggest questions of Chapter 165., which is how much time has passed since Denji was put into a coma, cut into pieces, and held at the Tokyo Public Security Devil Detention Center. While there is no direct mention of the exact time period, things seemed to happen quickly. Immediately after Denji was taken to the Tokyo Devil Detention Center and cut into pieces, Asa was shown breaking in with Fami. Then, in the chapter following the escape, Denji was shown waking up, giving the impression that things were happening very quickly. However, fans will now know that a lot must have happened in the time between these events, and things likely took much longer than they seemed.

Looking at the state of the world in Chapter 165, it’s clear that things have changed a bit too much to last just a few days. It’s true that Denji lives in a world of demons that are capable of causing unbelievable amounts of destruction at a rapid pace, but there are still other indications that more time has passed than anyone realized. In addition to people having nonchalantly accepted death and destruction as their “everyday scenery,” there’s also the fact that the girl Nobana was watching on television in Chapter 163 mentioned that “it’s like I’m living in a completely different world from last year.”

However, this is by no means a confirmation that a year has already passed. It could simply mean that things have gotten progressively worse than they were in the previous year. Furthermore, she technically wasn't talking about the world itself, but rather a pop idol, so this could have just been Fujimoto's way of playing with fans' emotions, but knowing Fujimoto, it wouldn't be surprising for readers to learn that both of those things were true at the same time.

Another possible indication that a good deal of time has passed is the fact that Iseumi confirms in Chapter 163 that “there are still people randomly turning into monsters… and several wars have broken out.” This at least seems to indicate that It's been a long time, instead of just a matter of days. After all, it would take some time for multiple wars to break out, and it wouldn't be surprising if people continued to transform into Fake Chainsaw Men for a few days after the initial outbreak.

Denji learns truths about himself while Asa's truth remains hidden.

Fami reveals what she knows about Denji's contract, avoiding talking about Asa and Yoru

As the group boards the train, Fami begins listing all the sushi restaurants in the area, which shouldn't come as a surprise to fans considering she's the Hunger Devil and is constantly eating. Still, it's a new and fitting aspect of her character that fans haven't seen before. Of course, Denji isn't amused by this and gets right to the point, asking Asa "remind me, why are you trying to fight me now?" This is important because Denji still has no idea that Asa is the vessel of Yoru, the War Devil.

When Asa and Denji first met, Yoru took control of Asa's body and tried to turn Denji into a weapon by touching Denji's head and chanting "Denji Spinal Cord Sword!". Luckily for Denji, this attempt failed, and luckily for Asa, Denji had no idea what was going on. Denji thought this was just his strange and peculiar way of saying goodbye, even going so far as to put his hand on Asa's head and shout "Asa Spinal Cord Sword!"

Denji's oblivion continued into the present day, when Yoru once again took control of Asa's body shortly after Denji woke up from his coma. Denji was in the middle of a conversation with Asa when Yoru suddenly took control of his body and kicked Denji in the groin, declaring that she wanted to fight Chainsaw Man. It's a wonder Denji didn't notice the scars on her face, especially since she approached him at that moment.

If anything, Denji realizes that Asa has multiple personalities, but is unaware of the mechanism. behind what is causing his constant change in behavior. This is why Denji was visibly distressed in Chapter 164, telling Asa “first, you randomly kick me in the balls and now you’re being nice to me?! You make no sense!”

While Asa is still unable to reveal the truth about her relationship with Yoru, she at least gives Denji a valid reason that explains the problem in Chapter 165. She simply tells Denji "if I can fight you and win, you will be saved." Fami then explains that the terms of Denji's contract require him to lead a normal life. Theoretically, if they break this contract, Pochita will emerge from Denji's heart, and if they manage to kill Pochita and transplant a human heart into Denji, he will be able to be a normal person again.

Denji may actually want to be “normal”

Denji wanted to be Chainsaw Man throughout Part 2, but he may be changing his mind

“I’ll give you your life back! It’s okay… I’ll save you no matter what!”

One of the biggest conflicts CSM Part 2 is whether Denji can transform into Chainsaw Man again. The powers that be (i.e. Public Security) were adamant in preventing Denji from transforming into Chainsaw Man at all costs, even holding a threat to Nayuta's life over Denji's head in order to give him some "motivation". Yoshida promised Denji that he could live a normal life with Nayuta as long as he never transformed into Chainsaw Man again. However, Chainsaw Man Chirch wanted nothing more than to take Chainsaw Man away from Denji, and they eventually succeeded.

Although Denji was constantly conflicted with himself throughout Part 2 because he wanted to become Chainsaw Man, he ultimately regretted becoming Chainsaw Man again in the end. Back Chapter 164, Denji told Asa that he never wanted to be Chainsaw Man again. because “whenever I become Chainsaw Man, everything around me becomes terrible.” In short, Denji blames himself for Nayuta’s disappearance. Considering how he feels about becoming Chainsaw Man, Denji is probably more open to becoming a normal person in Chapter 165 than he ever was before.

There are a few problems with this, however. For one, Fami’s conception of Denji’s contract with Pochita is a bit off, at least compared to what Pochita actually told Denji his contract was in the first chapter of Chainsaw Man. According to Pochita at the time, his offer to Denji was “I’ll give you my heart. In exchange… show me your dreams.” The reason for Fami stating what the contract was like this could simply be because she didn’t fully understand what Denji and Pochita’s contract actually is. The only people who truly know the truth about Denji’s contract are him and Pochita, and all Fami can do is assume that Denji’s contract was based on how Makima forcibly broke it during Part 1.

At this point, it was assumed that Denji's dream was to live a normal life, and if his chance at a normal life was shattered, then his dream would be destroyed. However, Denji's contract was broken because he gave up on his own dreams and allowed Makima to do his thinking for him. All Pochita ever wanted was for Denji to pursue his own dream, whether that meant living a normal life or doing something else entirely.

Katana Man is the only person who truly understands Denji

Katana Man has empathy for Denji and the two may even emerge as friends in the next chapters

After hearing Fami talk about living a “normal life,” Denji asks what she means by normal. Asa tells Denji that this means going back to his old life of going to school and having a home to go back to, but Denji isn’t so sure. To him, his old life was one of extreme poverty, having to eat toilet paper from a public park bathroom to survive. When he tells Asa this, she doesn’t quite understand, even asking him not to use “vague metaphors.”

It's an indication of how different Asa's upbringing was from Denji's that she can't even fathom the fact that Denji could be telling the truth when he says such a thing. While Asa doesn't seem to understand Denji, the only person who can is Katana Man. When he interjects that "kids these days are cowards." Asa takes this offensively, but in context, Katana has other ideas. It could be that Samurai Sword feels indirectly responsible for Denji's tragic story, since the only reason Denji lived like this was because of Katana Man's grandfather.

In fact, not even Denji would disagree that he's mellowed over the years. The reason Denji told Asa the story about eating toilet paper was to emphasize the fact that he couldn't go back to his old life., because he had too many good things with Nayuta. For him, life with Nayuta was not the only kind of normality he had experienced, and he never wants to go back to the normal he had before. To cheer Denji up, Katana suggests that they take Denji to a brothel, because "nothing makes a man happier than having sex with a woman."

This is an interesting suggestion, especially considering that it was once Denji's dream that guided his life throughout much of Part 1. Denji's dream has changed many times since then, though the desire for affection from the opposite sex has never gone away, even as he's matured. After all, Denji is still a teenager in high school. A big motivating factor for Denji to consider joining the Church of the Chainsaw Man during the Academy Saga was the fact that Miri Sugo promised Denji that women would be all over him there.

This showed that while Denji has changed a lot since the days when his highest goal was to touch Power’s chest, he is still undeniably driven by the desire for love, affection, and interpersonal contact. As he considers whether or not to accept Katana’s offer, Denji will have to decide whether it is true love he desires, which he could certainly share with Asa, who is sitting next to him on the train, or just sex. No matter what he chooses or what his next “normal” will become, as long as Denji has a dream to hold on to, he will never lose his heart.