Chainsaw Man How Nayuta’s affection for Denji is harming him like Makima did, explained

Fans have been discussing Nayuta’s resemblance to Makima since her appearance in the second installment of author and artist Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man manga series. Despite just arriving for a few pages in the dying moments of Chapter 119, fans are already finding a slew of parallels between her and her former Control Devil incarnation.

One such resemblance that Chainsaw Man fans are particularly worried about is Nayuta’s apparent possessiveness over Denji, as seen by her dubbing Yoru the War Devil a “thief.” This is particularly troubling since Nayuta stated this after seeing Yoru getting up up and personal with Denji, meaning that she regards Denji as hers.

While this may seem to be harmless enough, with Nayuta simply refusing to let go of her brother figure, it now raises Makima-esque red lights in her relationship with Denji.

 

Nayuta’s possessiveness may be harming Denji in a way similar to how Chainsaw Man’s Makima once did

One of the most important lessons and themes for Denji’s character to emerge from the finish of Chainsaw Man’s first installment was a desire to live for and make choices for himself. This is highlighted again in the second installment of the series, more especially and powerfully in the just ended Eternity Devil Return Arc.

Fans witnessed Denji decide to make his own choices as Asa Mitaka continued to take control of their date arrangements while rejecting his demands. Even though Asa was coaching him on how to escape the aquarium that the Eternity Devil had locked them in, Denji expressed a desire to make his own life choices.

While listening to Asa work out for Denji, the message remains that the Denji saw in Chainsaw Man 2 wants to live for himself and be happy. This is in sharp contrast to his thinking in the earlier half of the series, when he let Makima and others control his life rather than making his own decisions.

Despite his active desire to live for himself and make his own choices, Denji seems to be subject to Nayuta’s home regulations as well. This implies that, to some extent, the former is still allowing others to make choices for him, which seems to extend into his personal home life as well.

That is not to argue that Nayuta is as bad as Makima and is willfully attempting to manipulate him in the same manner that Makima did in the first half of Chainsaw Man. In reality, given Denji’s obvious affection for Nayuta, her possessiveness of him is most likely an expression of her affection for him as a brother figure. Because she is the Control Devil, it just presents itself in this, for want of a better description, controlling manner.

In truth, her labeling Yoru as a thief reflects her affection for Denji as a buddy and brother figure. While Makima just intended to use him for the Chainsaw Devil and let him hang out with Reze and Himeno, Nayuta really cares about Denji and doesn’t want to lose him.

In this sense, even from the few pages of screen time Nayuta receives in Chainsaw Man’s second installment, it’s evident that she adores Denji. However, just because her intentions are good does not guarantee that the outcomes will be helpful. While Denji has not spoken it, he is undoubtedly disturbed by how controlling Nayuta seems to be of his personal life, both inside and outside of their home.

Denji is unlikely to ever publicly acknowledge to Nayuta since he plainly loves her as well, despite her naturally caring and domineering tendencies. Even if that love is returned, it seems to be causing Denji severe emotional and psychological pain.