Highlights

  • Denji's upbringing and lack of parental guidance contribute to his struggles with morality and social norms.
  • Despite being kindhearted, Denji's empathy sometimes leads him to prioritize personal goals over what is right.
  • Reentering society with a fresh set of goals, Denji faces moral dilemmas and strives to navigate his traumatic past.

Denji is a misunderstood young teen in the popular series Chainsaw Man who has suffered a traumatic past and complicated future. As a result, Denji often struggles with morality, as opposed to the other characters, often finding motivation in unlikely reasoning or struggling to do what is good.

There’s no doubt that Denji is a kindhearted and empathic teen. He would sacrifice himself to protect others. However, when it comes to societal norms and what is considered normal in a world like Chainsaw Man, Denji is far from normal.

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Denji had Zero Parental Guidance

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One of the many reasons for Denji’s struggle with morality is most likely due to his upbringing. When he was younger, he lived a life of poverty with his alcoholic father. His home life was in a state of disarray, and his father, likely constantly being a drunkard, was not there to teach him social norms.

To make matters worse, to protect himself, Denji kills his father but is stricken with guilt to the point that his mind conceals the event to preserve his sanity. Unfortunately, since then, the Yakuza has taken advantage of him, to whom his father owns a massive debt. However, instead of taking Denji under their wing, they leave him to the dogs and force him to take on various jobs to pay off his father's debt while giving him the bare minimum to survive.

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As young children develop, their sense of consciousness develops with their parents' teachings and their teachers' guidance. Denji was unable to attend school until he met Makima, so all the critical development young children attained during those times was lost to him. Denji also has no shame; we see this when he eats the cigarette butt, kicks Aki in the nuts, and shows no remorse for his perverted thoughts.

He's Emphatic But Lacks Social Awareness

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Morality is understanding what is right, wrong, good, and bad behavior. Denji has shown to be empathetic towards others. However, at times, he falls short. In the world of Chainsaw Man, where Devils run rampant, causing fear to citizens to grow more powerful, Denji is absentminded of them. This could likely be because of his longtime friendship with Pochita. However, he also doesn't wish them any harm because, if possible, he’ll want to be their friend.

This notion completely baffles Aki when he first learns of Denji's feelings because an ordinary person living in modern society would never dare to think of Devils as friends. The only exception to this is during Academy Saga; however, even then, the students were tasked to kill and eat the Chicken Devil named Bucky. However, after three months of the Bucky associating with the class, the harmless devil becomes a mascot. It’s very likely that if it were a Devil with significant power, the class would vehemently want to kill it. However, it shows that harmless devils can induce affection from humans.

Denji Reenters Society With a Fresh Set of Goals

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As Denji reenters society, he most certainly wants to live a normal life after being robbed of the chance when he was younger. To Denji, a normal life is waking up, eating a good breakfast, and fulfilling the dreams of a normal teenage boy. Before joining the Public Safety Devil Hunters Association, Denji aimed to pay off his father's remaining debt. However, as the series progresses, his motivations also shift.

After losing his makeshift family, Aki, and Power, a new contender enters his life in the form of a reincarnated Control Devil named Nayuta. While Denji was empathic before, after being forced to take Nayuta under his wing, he begins to behave much more maturely, to a certain point. Denji cares for Nayuta and even sees a future with her attending university, as she is the Control Devil and is thus also very smart. Though his intentions are superb, to save money up for his goal, he partakes in undermined and somewhat criminal activities by selling used cigarettes to the homeless. Once again, showing that he can do what is right. However, the journey in doing so is less than righteous.

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He Knows What to Do but Struggles with His Own Personal Goals

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Denji has clearly shown he knows what is right and what he should prioritize. However, his personal goals often force him into a dilemma. Right from the start of the series, Denji has shown a great urgency for sexual gratification. While this could be what motivates hormonal teenage boys, this is Denji's driving force.

While Denji is a misunderstood young teen, primarily due to his traumatic past and betrayal by Makima, the first person he thought saw him for who he really is, and living in a society where death is a constant, it's not that strange that Denji seeks to live life by following what's in his pants.

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However, in the Academy Arc of Chainsaw Man, he finally realizes his struggles with morality. After facing the death of his beloved pets and Nayuta going missing, Denji realizes his struggles with his priorities. Nayuta should be Denji's most important priority at the moment, as it's not clear whether she is alive. However, all Denji can think about is relieving some tension in his lower regions. However, it is likely this is a way for Denji to cope with stressful situations; additionally, it could also be his chainsaw heart that forces him to live out his dreams. Either way, with this realization, Denji could be on the correct path and finally figure out how to deal with his morality; however, that has yet to be seen.

Chainsaw Man is available to stream on Prime Video.