I think I speak for everyone when I say Makima was courteous with respect to the time she chose to laugh hysterically in front of Denji for the first time. She just executed Power, her servile fiend and Denji’s remaining close friend, horrifying readers everywhere—then again, her fate was already foretold by the Future Devil less than 20 chapters ago so they should’ve seen it coming. Notwithstanding that, she should’ve done better than curtly returning back to her apartment. A short bow before closing the door would’ve sufficed.
If fans incensed by the events from last week’s chapter of Chainsaw Man didn’t expect another bombshell to immediately follow suit, then they had another thing coming this week. In Chapter 82, a distraught Denji was aggravated by Makima through her callous exposition.
With Power’s corpse still fresh outside of Makima’s apartment and her blood marking Denji’s face, Makima led him back inside and blithely offered a refill of his cup, her easily moving on after executing Denji’s roommate and trusted friend. Not surprisingly, Denji wasn’t thinking about enjoying his now lukewarm drink. Instead, he asked Makima to check if what he witnessed was a dream.
Aki’s death was already a petrifying memory for Denji to relive. His mind couldn’t reckon grasping the guilt, disillusion, and regret that stemmed from their battle. In addition, he deeply regretted not doing something else that could’ve prevented the same result from occurring. Maybe he would’ve coped better had he not been as close with Aki. Maybe he would’ve found another way to turn Aki back to normal instead of fighting him.
That is one case, but being responsible for Power’s execution? There’s no way that will ever leave his consciousness. Unlike Aki, had Denji thought more carefully about his wish to Makima, he may have protected Power. These are only hypotheses that Denji won’t ever manage to examine.
Upon hearing Denji inquire the veracity of his perception, Makima burst out laughing. Though observing her crack up was an unsightly scene for readers considering what just happened, with her plan of controlling the Chainsaw Man finally coming into fruition, she felt able to relieve herself.
Makima thoroughly describing her plan prompted Denji to realize his hopeless position and how it was virtually sealed since the beginning. From their first encounter, she had already begun scheming to control him. Despite him being a rare human-devil hybrid, which marred her capacity to possess him, Makima felt she could overcome its difficult nature and take him in—albeit at a breakneck pace.
Assign Denji to Aki and Power as buddies, make them live together, allow their collective bond to take shape, observe him from a distance so he doesn’t get swayed by outside forces, bait him with a meaningless promise, and exploit his weaknesses when he is eventually vulnerable. Every single moment of Denji’s life within Makima’s Public Safety Bureau had been wickedly premeditated to her advantage.
In revealing herself, Denji learned the cold truth about his crush. Makima’s brusque and flirtatious advances was a ruse to galvanize him into doing her dirty work. There were rumblings from people such as Himeno about her vileness, but he foolishly ignored them. He was too immersed with Makima’s exemplary beauty and grace to pay attention to what she did behind the scenes. After hiding behind his own ignorance for so long, it was only appropriate for him to get his just deserts.
Along with holding Denji hostage, Makima delved into his past. Figuratively speaking, she had opened the door that Denji swore to keep shut forever, the one from his intermittent dream. When Denji encountered the mysterious door, it sternly warned him not to open it without saying what would happen if he did. Theories circulated as to the subject it referred to. Some pointed to Pochita considering the significance doors have to the main story. Doors are known as the final barrier that separates devils in their primal form and the outside world, be it Earth or hell. That said, Pochita refrained Denji from opening the door to avoid triggering his untamable beast form.
Ultimately, that theory wasn’t correct, for the door was a cover to Denji’s worst secret. In opening his door, Makima revealed that, when he was a child, it was him who killed his father and not his father killing himself. Since the first chapter of the story, it was implied that his father passed away by way of suicide. When the debt collector summarized his death as a suicide, Denji did nothing in retort.
However, as Makima recounted, the suicide was conceived as a pretense by the mafia to harass Denji into paying off his father’s debt. They tampered his body to look as if he killed himself in his apartment. Denji, sunk down in resignation, only listened and nodded to Makima’s conclusion. The more she spoke of his story—she included his contract with Pochita—the sweatier and more nervous he became. It became evident that she knew him inside and out. Denji found himself to at her mercy and he never noticed until it was too late.
For the last step of her plan, Makima blamed to Denji for the deaths of his loved ones. He killed his father, helped kill Power, and killed Aki out necessity. Denji didn’t deny not one thing of Makima’s scolding. He had no right to defend himself as he had lost the chance with his plaguing negligence.
However, in admonishing Denji for his failures, Makima redacted her involvement with some of their deaths. Her involvement with the Angel Devil? Yeah, it’s best for her to not point it out. Aki’s plead for help for Denji and Power’s sake? Better not include that as well. What about her ability that brought Power over very quickly? It was irrelevant to her point. To entrap him with guilt, she construed her points to look like it was only Denji’s fault. She made it seem like it was morally wrong for him to despite him not being the instigator. Makima never told Denji before he fought Aki that his opponent would be exactly him. If anything, she’s more guilty for deceiving Denji than he is for his own sins.
The next morning, as Makima enjoyed her breakfast, Denji remained on the couch from last night, his left arm dangling by the edge like a dead limb and his face hidden by the blank cushion.
With everyone scrapped out of Makima’s way, she felt relaxed enough to open up in laughter. Now no one can interfere between herself and Denji. Also, with his sense of self destroyed due to his past getting exposed, Denji’s apt for resistance was nullified. The shame and guilt he currently feels for naively deserting his friends for Makima’s protection has rendered him as meaningless as a stained tissue. Denji used to think that being stuck in poverty and earning a pittance for food was a terrible fate to suffer. But within that humble life, Denji had solace in imagining a luxurious life for himself (or a life equitable to the average man).
But with this chapter’s release, it’s not foolish for one to go a step further than his original perception of what a horrid standard of life entails. Maybe the fate of becoming Makima’s official pet is worse in comparison, because as her pet, as she controls his emotions and volition. If he is happy at any point in time, she’ll move to crush it. If he is sad, then she’ll amplify it. If there is something out there that sufficient describes what hell would look like, then this chapter would certainly be it.
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