Not every anime protagonist needs to be a cool, tough hero that everyone looks up to; sometimes the main character can be a goofball that ends up as the butt of every joke. Chainsaw Man isn't shy to make paint protagonist Denji as a bit of a fool and has no problem putting him in strange or embarrassing situations.
Often time, anime series will try to keep their protagonist's reputation nice and clean and even painting them as a ladies' man/dream woman, but Denji doesn't get that privilege and is constantly portrayed in a light that makes him look like nothing but a clumsy, skirt-chasing fool that fails every attempt to woo a woman he's interested in. But of course, being the hilarious and charismatic guy he is, fans still love the foolish protagonist no matter what. Here are some of the most embarrassing moments Chainsaw Man's Denji has experienced so far.
Major Spoilers Ahead!
8 Saving Power After Her Blatant Betrayal
Power and Denji eventually do begin to bond and become great friends, but during Denji's fight with the bat devil, they were far from being on good terms with one another. In the early stage of their friendship, Power lied to Denji, sacrificing him to the bat devil in order to save her feline companion, Meowy (Nyako in the Japanese dub), just to have the bat devil attack Denji and eat Meowy in the end.
Perhaps Denji had a change of heart and decided to take the moral high ground and forgave Power out of the kindness of his heart, but of course things aren't that simple considering how Denji is. It was simply Denji's signature skirt-chasing attitude that pushed Denji to brush off Power's shameless betrayal in the end.
7 Falling In Love So Easily
Maybe poking fun at Denji's ability to (seemingly) fall in love in the blink of an eye is a bit mean-spirited considering how lonely he had been for most of his life, but of course what makes each lightning-fast infatuation of his hilarious is how each one is fueled by nothing but simple lust.
Makima, Power, Reze, and even Himeno all had Denji's heart at one point, without putting in that much effort to say the least. His loneliness is one thing, but Denji's pervy attitude seems to land him into a lot of trouble, falling for girls left and right, just because their beauty and nothing else!
6 Having Aki Throw Up His Cooking
One night, Denji and Power put their two brain cells together to cook up a lovely dinner for Aki as a way of showing their gratitude. It was a sweet gesture and really solidified the friendship they had built after all the initial bumps in the road.
Aki would perhaps have refused to eat Denji's cooking on any other occasion, but that particular night, Aki was feeling rather sentimental and decided to take a bite. However, to his dismay, he couldn't stomach it even for a second, and ended up barfing it all out.
Denji should really think about taking a few cooking classes before offering his homemade dishes to others!
5 Having Every Woman He's Known Try To Kill Him
From the standpoint of the viewer, Denji constantly being in harms way makes complete sense; his power as the chainsaw devil is highly sought-after, so it's no wonder there would be people from high places sending assassins after him one after the other.
However, in Denji's eyes, he can't help but notice a very specific pattern: many of his assailants were women. At one point in the series, Denji even stops to point out that every woman he had ever known tried to kill him one way or another.
Denji, being as girl-crazy he is, of course would feel a bit embarrassed to realize that every girl he had ever come into contact with wanted to take him out (and not on a date).
4 Barking & Woofing When He's Told To
There's a big difference between being attentive to one's partner and doing what they want to keep them happy and the mesmerizing spell Makima has on Denji. Makima has made it clear from day one that she sees Denji as nothing but one of her dogs, however, it seems as if Denji decided to go above and beyond the job requirements and took the request literally.
Forget even being told to bark or woof, Denji barks for Makima even in instances where he's not even asked! At this point, Makima might as well get Denji a collar and a leash considering how much of a hold she's got on the poor guy.
3 Getting Caught Kissing Another Girl In Front Of His Crush
Around Denji's age, it's already embarrassing enough to have everyone know all one's privates affairs (like whose crushing on whom), but to be caught by a crush while flirting with another woman is a nightmare! Denji may have said Makima already had his heart, but just one little flirty look from Himeno made him fold like a chair.
During the scene in the restaurant, Denji is put in an embarrassing (and confusing) situation: does he get the kiss from Himeno that he worked so hard for or does he refrain from it for the sake of appearing loyal to Makima? It wouldn't be a surprise that there were a few snickers coming from the table at this point. Who wouldn't laugh at Denji for finally having his lovesick attitude get into a sticky situation!
2 Forgiving Himeno So Quickly
Not many people would be able to forgive even their closest friends after an assassination attempt. However, Denji once again proves that he's simply built different. After having almost everyone on Himeno's team try to sacrifice Denji to get the eternity devil to spare them, Himeno asks for Denji's forgiveness in the most unceremonious way, offering a simple kiss as somewhat of a consolation prize.
Surprisingly absolutely no one (viewers included), Denji agreed and accepted. A kiss from a cute girl is a great reward for hard work, but Denji could at the very least seem a bit more upset over the whole escapade to save even a bit of his dignity!
1 Swallowing Himeno's Puke
Among all the embarrassing moments Denji had to live through, his kiss with Himeno is by far the worst one of all. Having his first real kiss be in public, around all his friends (including his first crush, Makima), is already embarrassing enough to most people. However, Himeno decided to make the situation a hundred times worse by drunkenly vomiting into Denji's mouth!
Power then mentions that Denji (due to his struggle with scavening for food in the past) has a habit of swallowing anything that has "nutritional value". Fans hope that poor Denji will be able to move on, but just like Makima said, Denji will probably remember that taste for the rest of his life.
Chainsaw Man is set to premiere in October 2022