Chainsaw Man Chapter 141, Normal Life Plus Review:
Chapter 141 of Chainsaw Man, “Normal Life Plus,” feels like the shortest chapter we have had in a while, not that it’s a bad thing. The chapter begins by showing that, despite Denji trying to live an everyday life, he will never be able to escape reminders of Chainsaw Man.
We see this in the Chainsaw Man Curry Buns he buys while shopping with Nayuta and even with the Asa posters they pass while walking home. Also, on their way home, they encounter a Devil, which Denji and Nayuta look pretty happy about.
Denji is about to transform but hesitates, and, at that moment, a bunch of Chainsaw Man Church members show up and kill the Devil for him. As Denji and Nayuta depart, a store named after Fujimoto can be seen behind them.
This doesn’t have anything to do with Denji’s predicament. I find it a fun easter egg, like when Fujimoto named the karaoke place Denji and Fumiko visited after himself. Fujimoto then presents us with more panels of Denji living his depressing everyday life with Nayuta until the two eventually go to bed with their dogs and Meowy.
Denji, however, cannot sleep, and when he wonders if he will eventually get happy in this everyday life, Nayuta attempts to console him by saying she will stay with him forever. This does seem to comfort him somewhat, as Denji goes to sleep hugging his little sister.
However, this is Chainsaw Man, so trouble is inevitably on the horizon, as we see the Weapons of the Chainsaw Man Church meeting up at Family Burger to discuss their plans. Barem is leading the discussion, with Sugo and the Whip and Spear Hybrids also in attendance. Just like many of us thought, Barem is up to no good, as he plans to launch an attack with the other Weapons.
Since tomorrow is the Chainsaw Man Church’s day of worship, the Church’s followers will not stop any Devil attacks. This will cause the Public Safety Devil Hunters to emerge, who the Weapons then plan to kill to draw Chainsaw Man out. Out of all the Weapons, Sugo seems to be the only one reluctant about enacting this plan, as he demands to know why they are going so far to make Denji transform into Chainsaw Man again.
It would seem that Sugo is being kept out of the loop. In response to his demands, the Whip Hybrid tells him that they will be Weapons tomorrow, so he should remove all of his thoughts. This, again, causes Sugo to reassert his humanity, telling her to let him think for himself.
Sugo is similar to Denji in a lot of ways, and this only reinforces my belief that he will eventually betray the Weapons to help him. As for Barem, he agrees with Sugo that they are human but also acknowledges that they are weapons, asking the group what they have in common.
The Whip Hybrid guesses that they are hard to spell. She is not the sharpest weapon in the shed. With a creepy face, Barem states that the thing humans and weapons have in common is that they are both born to kill, so god will forgive them, no matter how many people they kill. On this ominous note, the chapter concludes, promising that Denji’s everyday life is about to come to a violent end.
I could not say why the Weapons want to draw Denji out at this point, but there is one thing they still need to account for, Asa. Just like Denji, I doubt she is going to stay out of the fray, which will likely lead to a second team-up between her and Chainsaw Man against the Weapons this time.
“Normal Life Plus” is a solid Chainsaw Man chapter, which I think signifies the end of Denji’s attempt at everyday life.
Final thoughts:
Chainsaw Man chapter 141 showed a lot of Fujimoto’s greatest strengths as a mangaka, although that was already stating the obvious. The mangaka has been in the industry for quite some time, churning out many great series, and now this manga has propelled him to the mega-star position he has earned through hard work and consistency.
Read also: Typically the Lyrics and the Music.
