Chainsaw Man Just Became an Isekai Series in Chapter 180

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The following contains spoilers from Chainsaw Man Chapter 180, "Aging's World." It also contains discussion of sensitive topics.

Chainsaw Man is anything but predictable. The series is known for doing the unexpected at every turn, whether that's introducing shocking storyline developments, killing off major characters or just following the whims of its colorful creator, Tatsuki Fujimoto. In true Fujimoto form, Chainsaw Man Chapter 180, “Aging’s World,” does a 180 in terms of tone and could end up turning the War Devil’s entire universe upside down.

CSM Chapter 179 left off with Yoru having taken full control over the fight with Black Chainsaw Man – much to both Asa and the Aging Devil’s dismay. Whereas Asa willingly differed to Yoru out of trust for her friend, the Aging Devil had no such ties to War. After easily blocking Yoru’s strongest attack, Aging resolved to teach her to “grow up.” Chapter 180 sees Yoru confronted with the otherworldly powers of Aging, thrusting her and Denji into an unlikely adventure that could very well bring their worst nightmares to life.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 180 Credits

Art and Story

Tatsuki Fujimoto

Translation

Amanda Haley

Lettering

Sabrina Heep

The Aging Devil's strength was apparent since its introduction in Chainsaw Man Chapter 173, “Hard of Hearing," but that’s not what made it so horrifying. The Aging Devil was a terrifying villain because of what humanity stood to lose if the concept of aging was erased by Pochita’s Devil Erasure ability. Chapter 179, "Vamvagah," rose the stakes by showing that not only was the Aging Devil a threat if it were defeated, but it was also overwhelmingly powerful in comparison to two of the series’ strongest Devils: Chainsaw Man and the War Devil.

This has successfully given it a Lovecraftian quality that has only really been matched by other major Devils like the Darkness Devil and Death Devil – and the latter hasn’t even been shown yet in the series. The true extent of that power is revealed in CSM 180, when Aging uses its power to isekai Yoru to an alternate dimension. Initially, Yoru thinks the Aging Devil has sent her into a dream. This is a callback to Chapter 167, “Super Smooch”, as the entire situation between Yoru and Denji seemed to be a strange, shared dream sequence between Asa and Denji that made very little sense. When the Aging Devil uses its power on Yoru, she even sees the same alleyway where her and Denji’s infamous love scene took place. As controversial as that scene was at the time for the entirety of the manga fandom, it all seemed to be retconned in Chapter 168, “Kiss, Love, Sperm."

Resident: Welcome. This is the world the Aging Devil created.

Denji and Asa both seemingly woke up from a dream at the same time, placing them right back on the train on their way to a sushi restaurant. This raised innumerable questions -- and fans didn’t have much time to consider them as the story continued to push forward at a breakneck pace that has hardly slowed down since. Chapter 180 finally reveals that the “dream” that Asa and Denji had on the train was actually not a dream at all. Instead, the pair were placed under the strange hypnotic trance of the Aging Devil.

As intriguing as this entire plot thread is, it still doesn’t quite answer everything. It’s impossible to tell whether the Aging Devil is actually sending Yoru into an entirely separate dimension... or whether it’s all just an elaborately crafted dream. This allows CSM to explore the dichotomy between dreams and reality, in order to question just how different they are. Even if Yoru and Denji’s moment in Chapter 167 was all a dream, it still had a very real impact on Yoru that hasn’t left her. In this way, Chapter 180 opens the door for some fascinating developments -- if they're treated with care in subsequent chapters.

On the other hand, it could all end up being a disappointingly short detour that leaves much to be desired. This wouldn’t be the first time Fujimoto introduced a potentially world-altering event -- only for it to be completely walked back in the next chapter. That was largely the case when the Ear Devil was first eaten by Pochita in Chapter 173. The notion that the concept of hearing could be completely gone forever had potentially groundbreaking implications for the series, but those possibilities were all swiftly done away with when Pochita was forced to vomit up the Ear Devil in the final panel of that very same chapter.

The seemingly unstoppable Chainsaw Man has finally met his match in the manga's latest chapter.

While the isekai trend in anime has been killed, revived in another world and killed again, that doesn't mean it'll automatically end poorly for CSM. Trapping Yoru and Denji in a horrific dreamscape without their powers could end up being a major moment that brings them together. While the seeds of a relationship were already planted, they may finally sprout amid the characters' struggle for survival in a strange, Hell’s Paradise-like world.

Unlike some of the more elaborately designed Devils in Chainsaw Man who use blood, gore and body horror to give readers goosebumps, the Aging Devil’s world instills a much more subtle form of fear. As soon as Yoru gazes out onto the beautiful landscape of the Aging Devil’s world, it’s already apparent she has definitively lost the battle. Things get even worse when, upon testing out her powers on Denji, she is unable to use any of her abilities. These are set-ups to show the War Devil’s powerlessness in her new nightmare. The horror is realized when she meets a fellow resident of the Aging Devil’s World. He has been driven to the edge of insanity, as the promise of death is so distant that he is unable to grasp it. Even more alarming is that he’s not in this world alone -- and the other inhabitants are apparently even more deranged than he is. It’s a jarring change of pace with exciting potential.

Resident: It's been 82 years since I arrived. I'm the youngest one here.

Throughout the chapter, Fujimoto utilizes Yoru's unique relationship with Asa to showcase the pair's emotions as they navigate this shocking set of circumstances. For example, in a beautiful spread-piece on pages four and five, Asa looks out into the Aging Devil's world in utter disbelief. Asa taking the reins over Yoru in this situation displays how she has calmed down from the initial fight, and almost feels at peace in the pristine wilderness landscape of Aging's world. When she finds Denji lying on the floor, though, Yoru quickly takes over -- as if immediately entering battle mode. But after realizing she has no power, her fear causes Asa to once again come to the forefront.

There are many similarities between Chainsaw Man's main protagonist Denji and the latest addition to the shonen, Asa Mitaka.

This back-and-forth shows the potential of Asa and Yoru. Fujimoto has essentially combined two characters into one with Asa, and their personalities compliment each other perfectly to keep the story interesting -- even in the absence of Chainsaw Man himself. Combined with the conflicting emotions they each have for Denji, trapping them in an alternate reality where they have no special abilities can make way for a compelling character study.

The concept of sleeping and dreaming has been a recurring theme in CSM chapters ever since Denji fell into a coma following the climax of the Chainsaw Man Church arc. Denji has been falling asleep, waking up, and falling asleep again throughout the current saga. Chapter 180 marks the first time readers have seen Denji since he turned into the Hero of Hell, and he is once again lying fast asleep on the grass in the Aging Devil's world. Dreams have always played an important part in Denji's story, even as far back as Part 1, so Fujimoto revisiting this theme in such an overt way could lead to new breakthroughs for Denji, too.

It’s still unclear whether Aging’s power is a sort of Genjutsu-style hallucination, or whether it’s a full-blown isekai world. That makes it harder to evaluate Chapter 180, which could either be a truly legendary and memorable one or utterly forgettable, depending on where the story goes from here. In a vacuum, this new dream-like sequence would seem like a way for Fujimoto to subvert expectations purely for subversion’s sake. This survival horror story might be a fun development, but it’s still ultimately a roundabout side quest that only serves to show off the Aging Devil’s power.

But by calling back to CSM’s most controversial chapter and finally explaining a weird problem fans forgot they had, Chapter 180

feels like a 180-degree turnaround in the best way. While the chapter is a slower one, it introduces an intriguing mystery that has a lot of potential if the manga can follow through. Dream sequences are the oldest trick in the book when it comes to fiction, but inside the Aging Devil’s dream world, nothing ever gets old... literally. And Chainsaw Man can have a lot of fun, and do a lot of character development, with that.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 180 is available in English via Viz Media.

Yoru is isekai'd to another world by the overwhelming power of the Aging Devil, and it's a nightmare that no one can seem to wake up from.

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