#ch 231

I guess one of the things with "you were far happier in that shack" is that back then, despite having a terrible life/knowing other people had it much better, Denji could still kinda live in some sort of 'blissful ignorance' as long as he had Pochita. With him. That happens again in p2: Denji lives in 'ignorance' of the past because he tries his best to forget about the bad things that happened. That makes it worse when he remembers.

Pochita's solution is forgetting everything, which.. I guess would just be blissful ignorance again.. cycle...

what I'm trying to say is this all is like some cycle, as in we're coming back to some themes of p1,, ignorance is bliss and–

–desires unmet. Chasing dreams but feeling unfulfilled after accomplishing them. Denji is someone with a 'survival instinct'; he had to survive for so long, that he's only ever known how to thrive within the suffering to survive. He's happy in the suffering, sorta. He struggles to find himself in happiness. What better way to disconnect from that 'survival' than to disconnect what makes him survive - Pochita?

Yet you need the bad things—there's no existing without suffering, which is clear in p1 and p2—just like the good things. You need the bad movies and bad first experiences and bad things like Death! Hell, Death is a necessity for the cycle of life. Life needs death. And by reseting the world, perhaps it can find a natural balance by giving birth to a new Death and Pochita.

That said, it was sad that Denji didn't even get a say in it. Well, he didn't ever get a say in anything in his entire life lmao. Not in the Yakuza, not in Public Safety, etc. But maybe, starting this all anew, he'll actually have the freedom to decide and think for himself. Honestly reminds me of Asa, wishing him 'happiness' without asking him if it's what he wants, with her wanting him to eat her to kill Yoru ; Asa/Pochita tries to save Denji by getting rid of themselves even though Denji doesn’t want that.

^ Talking about Asa/Yoru, it's interesting to think that just like Asa's human feelings bled through Yoru, Denji's human feelings (in this case, feeling like a burden to everyone in his life) could've bled through Pochita and be one of the reasons he erased himself - Chainsaw Man is the reason Denji was so miserable, the reason everything started, so... mm. Much to think about. Pochita feels guilty since this Chainsaw Man persona brought so much suffering to Denji.

Anyway. Interesting that the supposed end (?) of CSM returns all the way to the start, to what this story has always been:

a boy and his dog.

Perhaps Denji could live peacefully in a world where he's not Chainsaw Man. Even if for that, one would have to rewrite history itself, erase themself, get rid of all those memories? Yes. Yes, because nobody loves Denji like Pochita does. Pochita would and literally does that. Which, in a way, breaks the cycle. Denji's cycle of constant violence and suffering. (And restarts the cycle of Denji and Pochita's life together ever since the beginning...)

Maybe like that, Denji can keep dreaming.

Soo won doesn't care for gods or monsters, but is now interested in yona's supposed supernatural power? He seems almost excited that the castle is burning down, which is affecting her friends, but wants to potentially use her power for his own gain?

If I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt (which I really don't) I would think that his indifference to the castle burning is just a mask and here he is displaying actual concern to yona for discovering a latent power.