There are plenty of anime protagonists who start their journey as runts. They are not particularly strong, but have the cleverness and cunning to lead them to victory. Ultimately, many of these merry shonen-esque protagonists grow stronger over time. However, chainsaw man decided to flip the script on the traditional anime protagonist.
Denji is a bit of an outcast who gave his powerful diabolical skills very early on, and instead of his journey being fueled by righteous things like fighting for the greater good or becoming a world-famous hero, he relies on his girl-crazy attitude to keep him the strength needed to achieve its goals. Denji has not received any form of formal education due to his difficult childhood, so in the end he tends to make some rather foolish decisions. Here are some of the dumbest decisions Denji has made over time chainsaw man series so far.
Warning: This list contains major spoilers for Chainsaw Man
8 Making a deal with a devil
Of course, for the whole plot to happen, Denji would need a way to become the chainsaw devil. But in hindsight, what he did was incredibly dangerous and could have easily killed him. Making a contract with a devil, wounded or not, can cost a person his life, or worse, his soul.
Yes, Denji made a great companion after rescuing Pochita and eventually befriending, but it could have easily gone in a different direction. If he had wanted, Pochita could have easily killed Denji for his naive act of kindness after initially approaching him. Fortunately for Denji, the little chainsaw devil decided to befriend him and remain faithful until the end of the contract.
7 Believing Power’s Nyako/Meowy Story
At this point in the story, Power and Denji aren’t exactly best friends. Aki, Power and Denji eventually get along and start to care about each other, but they definitely had their bumps in the road at first.
When Power Denji told her sobbing story about Nyako (Meowy in the English translation), many readers were immediately suspicious. However, Denji, the determined protagonist that he is, went with Power to help her without thinking twice, not even once stopping to consider it might be some kind of trap. He was lucky, but Power and the Bat demon could have caused very easily chainsaw man end early!
6 Don’t run away with Reze
It was clear that keeping his job with Makima as a public safety Devil Hunter would get Denji in a lot of trouble or even get him killed. Makima may be his love interest, but she had made it clear from the start that Denji was nothing more than one of her dogs.
Makima made it clear that she was comfortable killing Denji and Power under the right circumstances. If they disobeyed any of her orders, they were as good as dead. While Reze did indeed prove to be a villain to the heart of the infamous Chainsaw Man, at that particular moment just about anyone in Denji’s shoes would have chosen a life away from devil hunters.
5 Eating a cigarette for 100 yen
Denji lived a long life of debt and, when it comes down to it, despair sets in, and just about everyone would resort to things they wouldn’t normally do if they didn’t need the money to live. However, not many people have the kind of determination that Denji has.
Denji may be a bit of a lazy and irresponsible protagonist, but no one can say that he is not willing to risk his health or well-being for something he really wants to work towards. However, for a measly 100 yen (about a US dollar), Denji might well have refused to eat a cigarette. Money is no good when someone’s health is at risk!
4 Promise his body to a devil
Again, this is one of Denji’s decisions that only seems ridiculous without knowing the outcome. Devils take their contracts seriously and pawning his body to a devil immediately sounds like a problem.
Fortunately, Pochita was nice to Denji in the end and sincerely wanted his friend to just live and pursue all his once unattainable dreams, such as having a girlfriend and eating all the food he wants. But if this had been another evil devil who had simply befriended Denji to manipulate him in the future, Denji’s corpse could have turned into nothing but a dangerous puppet.
3 Don’t listen to his dreams
Denji is haunted by the same dream (or rather nightmare) throughout the series. While he’s initially curious about what’s behind the door, thinking it’s Pochita, he then becomes a little more cautious. At some point, Denji decides to listen alone to the ominous voice in his dream and says he never wants to see what was on the other side of the door. While it may seem like a mysterious metaphor at first, a literal ominous door that Denji hesitates to open actually appears about twice in the series.
Denji had little choice but to open these doors he was reluctant to open, and finally he allowed himself to give in to fear and flip the lever only to witness something hugely tragic waiting on the other side. . Who knows how the series would have turned out had he found an alternate way to reveal what each harrowing door that appeared before him had in store?
2 Trusting Makima
Makima may be a pretty face and even seem kindhearted to Denji and the others at times, but behind those hypnotic eyes is something much more sinister. From the moment she first appeared, there was something suspicious about Makima, and while it may have been a little more obvious to the public (and even certain members of her own team), Denji didn’t seem to pick up on all the flags that so were red like Makima’s crimson hair.
Whether he trusted Makima out of his own naivety or perhaps because he willingly ignored all warnings to her because of her beauty and his infatuation with her, Denji seemed really wary when it came to Makima. He’s made a lot of bad choices over the years, but this is easily one of Denji’s dumbest decisions yet.
1 Still love Makima & Reze after their betrayal
Just about any normal person would want to cut ties with someone after a physical fight, let alone an assassination attempt! Even after discovering Reze and Makima’s true intentions for him and learning that all their kind words and flirtatious behavior were always an act, Denji says he still has feelings for them.
Perhaps if Denji didn’t have such strong regenerative abilities as a human-devil hybrid, he wouldn’t have been so forgiving after all the damage Reze and Makima did. While it may seem a little silly or silly to many people, it also says volumes about how lonely Denji was, and how much of his life the one true friend he could rely on was little Pochita.
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