History Characters / ChainsawManDenji

** Denji is generally a very easygoing guy, rarely losing his temper even when staring down enemies trying to kill him. [[spoiler:He is absolutely livid at Yoshida when the latter tells him that his organization placed Nayuta and their dogs under "protection" and outright threatens to kill him if his organization harms them.]]

* OutOfFocus: He's conspicuously absent at the beginning of Part 2, since the focus has shifted to the new VillainProtagonist Asa Mitaka, and her unwilling partnership with [[spoiler:+the War Devil]]. When he does return, he instead takes on the role of {{deuteragonist}}, his story shown parallel to Asa's and occasionally intersecting, at the cost of the SympatheticPOV shifting to Asa.

* DisappearedDad: Denji's father committed suicide. [[spoiler:Or not.]]

* KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil: [[spoiler:What drives Denji to fully surrender himself to Makima is remembering that he'd killed his father, and doesn't even find doing it in self-defense justifiable in any way.]] Part 2 eventually shows that [[spoiler:though Denji rarely dwells on it, he hasn't forgiven himself for his patricide at all. When he is separated from Nayuta, Denji even has a nightmare where his child self concludes killing his father means he will never have a family.]]

* LoserProtagonist: Albeit a very sympathetic example. Not only was his father an abusive alcoholic, he was previously an orphan living in extreme poverty only barely scraping by due to working for the Yakuza. It's only until he bonds with Pochita that his life starts to get better, and even then it's not a cakewalk.

* OutOfFocus: He's conspicuously absent at the beginning of Part 2, since the focus has shifted to the new VillainProtagonist Asa Mitaka, and her unwilling partnership with [[spoiler:the War Devil]]. When he does return, he instead takes on the role of {{deuteragonist}}, his story shown parallel to Asa's and occasionally intersecting, at the cost of the SympatheticPOV shifting to Asa.

* SelfMadeOrphan: [[spoiler:His father attacked him in a drunken rage, and Denji killed him in self-defense. It was ruled as a suicide so the Yakuza can push his debt onto Denji, and Denji repressed the memory until Makima investigated and revealed the truth to him to make him suffer.]]

* KinslayingIsASpecialKindOfEvil: [[spoiler:What drives him to fully surrender himself to Makima is remembering that he'd killed his father, and doesn't even find doing it in self-defense justifiable in any way.]]

* ChainPain: He can take the chains off his chainsaw arms to tie up his enemies and [[YouWillNotEvadeMe prevent them from escaping]].
* ChainsawGood: Goes without saying. Denji's chainsaws are powerful weapons that he typically swings around and stabs enemies with to shread their flesh, but he can also perform a CleanCut if he puts his mind to it. His main chainsaws are on the [[WeaponizedHeadgear head]] and [[BladeBelowTheShoulder arms]], but he can summons two more [[ArmedLegs in his legs]].

* AddledAddict: Denji's development in the Chainsaw Man Church arc of Part 2 can arguably be read as a hopeless adrenaline addict trying to change for the sake of his loved ones, only for him to relapse due to his lack of a support system. Throughout the arc, both Yoshida and Fumiko make it entirely clear that turning into Chainsaw Man is a '''horrible''' idea which ''will'' result in hurting Denji and those around him. [[spoiler:Although Denji tries to give up Chainsaw Man when Nayuta's life is threatened, ultimately he's too traumatized, broken, and self-loathing to give up the adrenaline rush and attention of Chainsaw Man. Although one could certainly argue that Denji was justified in transforming when he did, given that Barem just murdered all of his pets, it's worth noting that Denji decided that he wanted to be Chainsaw Man ''before'' he arrived at the house. He was going to transform regardless; Barem merely gave him an excuse to do so, an interpretation which is supported by Denji's disturbingly gleeful behavior during the fight.]] Yoshida's dialogue to Denji in chapter 156 seems to support this interpretation somewhat. [[spoiler:Yoshida makes it clear to Denji that he had done everything he could have done for Denji within reason, but at the end of the day, Yoshida can't protect Denji from the consequences of his own self-destructive behavior. It comes across as highly akin to someone trying to help their friend with an addiction, only to give up and leave them to their own destruction after their friend repeatedly refuses to ''be'' helped.]]

* AddledAddict: Denji's development in the Chainsaw Man Church arc of Part 2 can arguably be read as a hopeless adrenaline addict trying to change for the sake of his loved ones, only for him to relapse due to his lack of a support system. Throughout the arc, both Yoshida and Fumiko make it entirely clear that turning into Chainsaw Man is a '''horrible''' idea which ''will'' result in hurting Denji and those around him. [[spoiler:Although Denji tries to being Chainsaw Man when Nayuta's life is threatened, ultimately he's too traumatized, broken, and self-loathing to give up the adrenaline rush and attention of Chainsaw Man. Although one could certainly argue that Denji was justified in transforming when he did, given that Barem just murdered all of his pets, it's worth noting that Denji decided that he wanted to be Chainsaw Man ''before'' he arrived at the house. He was going to transform regardless; Barem merely gave him an excuse to do so, an interpretation which is supported by Denji's disturbingly gleeful behavior during the fight.]] Yoshida's dialogue to Denji in chapter 156 seems to support this interpretation somewhat. [[spoiler:Yoshida makes it clear to Denji that he had done everything he could have done for Denji within reason, but at the end of the day, Yoshida can't protect Denji from the consequences of his own self-destructive behavior. It comes across as highly akin to someone trying to help their friend with an addiction, only to give up and leave them to their own destruction after their friend repeatedly refuses to ''be'' helped.]]

* AddledAddict: Denji's development in the Chainsaw Man Church arc of Part 2 can arguably be read as a hopeless adrenaline addict trying to change for the sake of his loved ones, only for him to relapse due to his lack of a support system. Throughout the arc, both Yoshida and Fumiko make it entirely clear that turning into Chainsaw Man is a '''horrible''' idea which ''will'' result in hurting Denji and those around him. [[spoiler:Although Denji tries to being Chainsaw Man when Nayuta's life is threatened, ultimately he's too traumatized, broken, and self-loathing to give up the adrenaline rush and attention of Chainsaw Man. Although one could certainly argue that Denji was justified in transforming when he did, given that Barem just murdered all of his pets, it's worth noting that Denji decided that he wanted to be Chainsaw Man ''before'' he arrived at the house. He was going to transform regardless; Barem merely gave him an excuse to do so, an interpretation which is supported by Denji's disturbingly gleeful behavior during the fight.]] Yoshida's dialogue to Denji in chapter 156 seems to support this interpretation somewhat. [[spoiler:Yoshida makes it clear to Denji that he had done everything he could have done for Denji within reason, but at the end of the day, Yoshida can't protect Denji from the consequences of his own self-destructive behavior, which definitely seems akin to someone trying to help their friend with an addiction, only to give up after they realize their friend has no intention of helping themself.]]