Woah! That was some chapter, wasn’t it? Chainsaw Man chapter 176 took a sharp turn from the usual bizarre and plunged us into some serious, high-stakes territory.
As many fans predicted, we finally got a flashback centered around Yoru.
While most of us were expecting a Pochita vs. Weapons flashback, I did speculate in my last review that we might instead get a hint of Yoru’s ultimate plan to defeat Chainsaw Man.
And guess what? That’s exactly what we got!
It turns out that Yoru has always had an ace up her sleeve—a strategy to create two weapons more powerful than anything Asa could ever produce.
But the downside was that if Yoru decided to go down this path, it would contradict her original mission.
Yoru & her children:
Remember when the War Devil was first introduced in Part 2? Yoru’s primary goal was to force Chainsaw Man to spit out the Nuclear Weapons Devil.
And in this chapter’s flashback, we even see a different side of Yoru—one that seemed to care about her comrades, which is a surprising trait for a devil.
However, when it came to defeating Chainsaw Man, she’s willing to go to the extreme, even sacrificing her own “children” for the cause.
This evolution in Yoru’s motives is made clear when, in a moment of desperation in the latest chapter, she summons the Gun and Tank Devils to use as her weapons against Chainsaw Man.
So, has Yoru’s goal shifted? It seems like defeating Chainsaw Man has become her top priority, with proving herself as the stronger devil taking precedence over everything else.
And the Nuclear Weapons Devil? Merely an afterthought I suppose.
When Yoru refers to Tank and Gun as her “children,” it’s not in the literal sense. Instead, it’s more about the concept of war itself being the progenitor of these weapons.
War, as one of the most ancient and terrifying aspects of human history, has given rise to weapons like guns and tanks—tools of destruction that are directly linked to the fear and devastation war brings.
And since, in the Chainsaw Man universe, a devil’s existence is tied to a concept and the fear that concept evokes in humanity – it makes perfect sense that Yoru would call these weapons her children.
Speaking of Yoru’s powers, it’s essential to remember how they function: Yoru, and by extension Asa, can turn anything they consider “theirs” into a weapon. The power of these weapons is directly proportional to the guilt they feel about sacrificing whatever it is.
Given this, it’s no wonder Yoru’s new weapons are so powerful—they’re born from the deep guilt of sacrificing her own children.
It’s this potent guilt that enables Yoru’s ‘bang’ to nearly take out Pochita, forcing him to vomit out the Mouth Devil—a minor but crucial detail that once again changes the Chainsaw Man universe.
The Return of the Gun Devil:
Now, we’re in the final stretch of Part 2, and things are starting to echo the events of Part 1. Not only has Pochita taken control of Denji, but now we see the return of the Gun Devil as well.
If you were surprised by the Gun Devil’s reappearance, you probably shouldn’t have been. I always expected it to make a comeback at some point.
However, I didn’t anticipate that Yoru would summon it along with the Tank Devil to create new weapons – the left and right gauntlets. That part was definitely unexpected.
Why was I so sure the Gun Devil would return? Well, if you paid close attention to Part 1, you’d know that the Gun Devil wasn’t entirely defeated. Makima did kill it, but that was only the part controlled by the United States.
A significant chunk of the Gun Devil was still with the USSR, and it’s this part that Yoru summoned in this chapter.
Another detail that’s particularly interesting is how Yoru’s “bang” attack mirrors Makima’s signature move. It’s likely that Makima’s attack was tied to a contract with the Gun Devil.
I mean we did see her subdue the Gun Devil, atleast a part of it, in the first place. So she might have been able to form a contract with it in the past.
This connection might also be why we haven’t seen Nayuta use the “bang” in Part 2 – because she never had a chance to take down the Gun Devil!
As we look ahead to the final arc of Part 2, with Pochita back in control and the Gun Devil’s return, it’s impossible not to notice the eerie parallels to Part 1.
But now that it has been turned into a weapon by Yoru, is the Gun Devil gone for good now? It’s hard to say for sure, but it seems likely. Still, we’ll have to wait and see how things play out.
The stakes are higher than ever, and Fujimoto is clearly pulling out all the stops. We are definitely headed for climactic showdown that could rival the one we saw in Part 1!!!