Alternative Character Interpretation / Chainsaw Man

• There are many implications as to Quanxi's history depending if you read her title as "the first Devil Hunter", or as "the first Devil Hunter."
• The last we see of the youngest American assassin brother is him seemingly being infected by the Cosmos Devil and chanting "Halloween!" It's entirely possible that she infected him off-page, but given how he's also visibly sweating, many viewers have taken the interpretation that he's actually faking it in order to get the hell out of Tokyo.
• While her final thoughts (before her temporary death) confirmed that she empathized with Denji's plight, there's still room to interpret Reze's true intentions throughout the arc. Were her feelings for Denji genuine or part of an act that only became true when she died? If they were indeed genuine, were they as romantic as she made them out to be, or was it ultimately platonic? She claims to have no joy in killing, but there are instances where she does so without hesitation and seems to have some degree of fun being manipulative. In that regard, was her spending time with Denji her stalling so she could be with him before having to kill him, or her sadistically savoring the moment before striking? Was her fight with Denji her saying "fuck it" and deciding to forgo pretense to retrieve her objective, or a Roaring Rampage of Revenge after feeling heartbroken by Denji's rejection of her in favor of Makima? When she goes to the cafe one last time, was she intending to take up Denji's offer and run away with him, or making a final attempt at claiming his heart to win back the favor of her superiors?
• While Pochita is undeniably on the side of good by Chapter 90, his "Hero of Hell" days raises many questions about his character. Due to the Blue-and-Orange Morality of most Devils, accounts of his actions are ultimately unreliable and it's not clear if the "Hero" title meant he was a hero by Devil standards, or if his rescues of Devils had sincere altruistic connotations. His subsequent murder of the Devils that call for his help would mark him as a Sociopath Hero, but considering that Devils reincarnate on Earth after death in Hell, it's not unwarranted to question if the Chainsaw Man had ulterior motives about transporting them to another realm after dealing with whatever had threatened them. Pochita revealed his killing the devils that asked for help was entirely by accident. Pochita asked only for a hug in return for saving them but he was too strong and his hugs always killed the devil he saved.
• Is Makima truly a Tautological Templar? Or is she secretly all too aware of how abominable her actions are, saddened at the loss of any chance at truly fulfilling her dreams of having a family, and hoping that the Chainsaw Man would put her out of her misery? Consider how either conclusion to her Xanatos Gambit will result in a spiteful middle finger to the bureaucratic evils that took her dream from her, as her control over the Chainsaw Man will allow her to erase whatever she wants, and her erasure at his hands will result in all forms of government losing their power.
• The question of whether or not Pochita is conscious the whole time he's been merged with Denji is acknowledged and briefly discussed In-Universe. Since Denji is unable to talk directly to him, it's assumed that Pochita had disappeared for good and had surrendered his body and powers to Denji to bring him back to life. When he reappears in later chapters however, it's strongly implied that Pochita has some knowledge of what Denji has been going through but simply hasn't been able to do anything to communicate with him other than through vaguely appearing in his dreams. Their reunion in Denji's subconscious in Chapter 97 itself can be up for debate for whether it's truly Pochita talking with Denji or just Denji figuring out that he needs to raise Nayuta with kindness through a metaphorical encounter with his best friend. The fact that the first direct mention of Pochita in Part 2 has Denji engaged in yet another seemingly one-sided conversation maintains the question.
• How much of the attack on Public Safety Division 4 did Makima directly mastermind? While it's heavily implied later on that Makima hired Akane Sawatari and Katana Man to wipe out most of Divison 4, was Makima herself also being shot down on the train part of the plan all along to cover her tracks, or did Sawatari not properly communicate to her men that Makima wasn't to be targeted? Or did Sawatari even intentionally tell her men to shoot Makima too to cover her tracks? While it's possible that she was just pretending to be upset, the panel where Makima stands up covered in her own blood and faces the assassins on the train not with her trademark calm smile but with what certainly looks like coldly furious rage suggests that at the very least, getting shot in the head wasn't part of her plan.
• How much of Denji's love for Makima was real? Was it subliminal brainwashing via her Control Devil powers, or was Denji immune due to having merged with a being she considered her equal thus unable to control, and fell for her of his own free will?
• Similarly, Makima crying when she goes to the movies with Denji and sees a scene of two characters hugging, especially since it's one of the only moments in the whole series where she doesn't have a calm smile on her face. Was it all just another part of her "sweet, supportive girlfriend" act to make him fall in love with her by making him think she had a sensitive side? Or was it a genuine moment of vulnerability where she didn't realize she was being observed and let the mask slip, if only for a moment, because she saw two humans who loved each other as equals, and cried because she was reminded of something she knows she'll never have?
• Makima giving Denji a Cooldown Hug after their first meeting. Just more manipulation by giving him the affection he craved? Or was she genuinely overcome with emotion at reuniting with the man she loves - not Denji, but the Chainsaw Devil?
• Denji rather comedically quickly got over Reze once Makima announced her vacation following the Bomb Devil arc. Considering he doesn't acknowledge her for the rest of Part 1, one has to wonder if he genuinely forgot about her in accordance to his remaining crush on Makima or, considering his comedically exaggerated jump in the air, he was overcompensating in his joy to drown out his heartbreak over Reze's apparent abandonment of him.
• During her corruption of Denji and takeover of Public Safety, why doesn't Makima target Kishibe? Did she, in her arrogance, simply not perceive him as a significant threat even though he was openly plotting against her? Did she leave him alive to watch her kill his friends? Or, given that her powers only work on those she perceives herself to be superior to, and that Kishibe is one of the few people who not only doesn't show her the slightest bit of deference but is outright rude to her and even tells her to shut up, is she actually unable to brainwash him because she actually respects his refusal to bow to her and even calling her a liar to her face, not unlike her love for Chainsaw Man?
• The manga is ultimately fairly vague about whether or not Himeno has romantic feelings for Aki. On the one hand, the two are very obviously close and there's... something going on between them. Himeno has even gone on several tangents gushing about Aki's inherent kindness. On the other hand, the manga also gives off the impression that she's merely had enough of losing Devil Hunting partners and has resolved to save Aki from the lifestyle no matter what it takes. And her deal with Denji just before her death suggests she's fully willing to seduce Aki if it means getting him to quit Public Safety. While ambiguous in the manga, the anime trailer outright implies that the two sleep together.
  • Going along with the above, is the reason Aki doesn't reciprocate her feelings because he's too blinded by his quest for revenge to notice how much she cares about him, he's an idiot and doesn't notice, or he's actually incapable because he's been brainwashed by Makima to be attracted to her instead?
• Similarly, while Denji notes in narration several times that he doesn't feel any attraction to Power (even in situations of extreme intimacy, like sleeping, bathing and showering together) it's never made clear precisely how Power feels about him, and there are several hints that she might have a crush on Denji: after the confrontation with the Darkness Devil she becomes a traumatized Nervous Wreck constantly clinging to him for comfort, she seems to actually enjoy having Denji drink her blood after making a nervous request for it which is drawn to look like they're making love, and she uncharacteristically blushes when she barges into the diner, right after the bartender mentions that Denji’s true love will one day walk into his life, and sees Denji holding a large bouquet of flowers that she thinks are for her.^noteHe actually bought them for Reze. It is also worth mentioning that Denji likely never realised she held these feelings due to his then obsession with Makima. Ultimately, her death in Chapter 91 means the truth will likely remain a mystery.
• There's some debate about what happened when the Ghost Devil suddenly lets Aki go after strangling him almost to death. Was it because the memory of Himeno, aided by her spirit handing him a cigarette, allowed Aki to conquer his fears and make it invisible to the Ghost Devil, or did enough of Himeno's spirit survive inside it that she actually forcibly wrested control of the Ghost Devil away from Sawatari and ordered it to passively stand still so Aki could kill it?
• In Denji and Nayuta's home, there are two pot plants that the two take care of. The one belonging to Denji is flourishing, whilst the one belonging to Nayuta is struggling. Is this a sign that Nayuta is as uncaring as her prior incarnation? Or is she just trying her best to care for the plant in order to become a better person? Or perhaps she's only able to care for the plant as well as any other kid her age. It's also worth pointing out that the plants grown are likely aloe vera plants, which die out from overwatering, so perhaps it's a hint towards Nayuta having an overbearing and overprotective side to her.
• Is Famine really as bad as Yoru says? While she's much more aggressive and overtly sinister about her goals than Makima was, that could in some ways be considered an improvement since she's not even pretending to be harmless. Some of her actions do come across like genuine attempts to help Asa out in her quest to kill Chainsaw Man, albeit in a rather twisted manner, but given that she's a Devil and a Horseman, it's possible that the morality of these actions may be lost on her. Yoru is outright terrified of her and even calls her "crazy", but then again Yoru as the WAR Devil is not exactly the most unbiased source of information. Furthermore, when she reveals her goals to stop the end of the world to her "sister" Nayuta the question drifts away from if she has a more sinister goal in mind and more if whether what she's doing crosses the line of morality or not.
• Is Falling Devil actually a good chef? Whilst she does talk about having her dishes needing to be perfect and that they require the best ingredients, when we actually see the food she prepares, it's... haphazard to say the least. When we're finally shown one of her dishes, most of the elements of the dish are strewn across the plate with no preparation (such as the apples which are left whole), with the exception of a poorly made sauce drizzle to the side. It's entirely possible that instead of being the best chef in Hell, she just got obsessed with cooking and began to force-feed other devils her terrible food. This could also be supported by how she kills those who don't finish her meals, with the rest of Hell only finishing her meals out of fear due to her being a primal devil. As devils fear other devils, then that would only make her stronger.
• Some schoolgirls favorably observed that Sword Man looks like Denji crossed with the school council president. Some readers have to taken to interpreting this as sign that Denji has some admirers in his class, but there's also the possibility that the girls just think that Sword Man has some similarities to Denji but is leagues more attractive.
• Upon the release of Chapter 142, many fans began to see Fumiko and Barem as more than just simple characters, but exaggerated representations of the fandom itself, with Fumiko representing the fans who want to see more of Denji's personal life and his developing friendships and romances, whilst Barem represents the fans who want to see more violence and action in the story.
• Is the Death Devil really as evil or destructive as she's made out to be? While any actual analysis will have to wait until she shows up in-person, there is reason to believe otherwise. For one, the only two sources of information regarding her are Nayuta and Fami, who are are both shown to hate and fear her, meaning they're hardly going to be the most objective sources of info regarding Death.
• Does Yoshida actually care about Denji? Is he 100% loyal to Public Safety? The amount of beat panels he has in conversations surrounding his work and the nature of living a normal life implies hesitance. Him warning Asa to stay away from Denji also worked against Public Safety's interests, since they wanted her to turn him into a weapon. While it is clear that, for one reason or another, Yoshida agrees with Public Safety's goal of stopping Denji from turning into Chainsaw Man, one does get the impression that he genuinely wants to stop Denji from getting unnecessarily hurt. In chapter 156, Yoshida seems to flat-out give up on Denji entirely. Yoshida spells it out to Denji that he had done every single thing he could have done for Denji within reason, but the reality is that there's nothing Yoshida can do for him if he refuses to change.
• Does Fumiko care about Denji? Following chapter 154, there have been a lot of different interpretations of Fumiko's character. Was Fumiko being genuine when she told Denji that she's a fan of him? Many people have interpreted her bailing on Denji in chapter 154 as proof she never cared about him from the get-go, with the implication being that she completely made up the backstory she told to him in chapter 142. On the other hand, Fumiko's actions in the Church arc after everything went to shit were... oddly reasonable. Despite how chaotic and out-of-control the situation was, Fumiko kept a level head and acted appropriately. Notably, the advice she gives to Denji and Nayuta in chapter 149 (that returning to their apartment is dangerous and that Denji shouldn't turn into Chainsaw Man right now) turned out to be completely correct and, furthermore, the situation only got as bad as it did because they ignored her advice. Even then, Fumiko still returned with backup when they disregarded her advice and went to their apartment, and later tried to reason with the mob that was attacking Denji after he (again) disregarded her advice. All that is to say that Fumiko did everything she could have done within reason to help Denji and Nayuta, and didn't give up on them until they made the situation worse to the point where she would be endangering her own life by continuing to help them. So with that in mind, was she telling the truth about being a fan of Denji, but is just self-aware enough to acknowledge their relationship is rather shallow, and as such isn't going to throw her life away to save him from his own self-destructive behavior? The following chapter makes it a bit more ambiguous, with it strongly being indicated that Fumiko has some creepy fixation on him, but which is preceded by a beat panel which could be interpreted in a lot of different ways. Alternatively, did Fumiko care about Denji at first due to sharing in a traumatic experience with him, only for her to watch Denji take immense glee in fighting the hybrids, making her realize that she was merely projecting her emotions onto him? Did she just decide that Denji was a lost cause at that point despite her efforts, and simply didn't care what happened to him after that? Regardless of which way one chooses to interpret her character, neither of them are 100% confirmed or deconfirmed.