Probably, he needs urgent support.
Chainsaw Man manga spoilers ahead!
Summary:
- Denji is a quite unique representation of trauma in anime.
- We meet Denji at the most difficult moment — he has to work for mobsters.
- Even in Public Safety, Denji does not become happy.
There are a lot of traumatized characters in anime. Eren Yeager in Attack on Titan (Shingeki no Kyojin), Guts in Berserk (Kenpuu Denki Berserk), Shinji in Neon Genesis Evangelion (Shinseiki Evangelion). Perhaps that is the value of these titles.
Many viewers recognize themselves in the characters and thus heal their own traumas. But there seems to be no character more damaged than Denji from Chainsaw Man. Although he remains a cheerful person for a long time, Denji is a quite unique representation of trauma in anime.
Complicated past
According to his character development, we meet Denji at the most difficult moment. He has to work for mobsters to pay off his father's debts. Denji lives in a dirty closet and almost eats waste.
Pay attention to the design of his appearance. Denji is painfully thin, with prominent ribs. In his gaze viewers can discern the fever of madness and despair. Not to mention that he was missing an eye and several organs before the transformation.
Remember that in the first episode Denji even agrees to eat a cigarette butt for money. This scene of unbelievable humiliation simply cannot leave you indifferent. This character's state is largely explained by his past. Denji's mother died early, and his father tried to kill him. It's hard to maintain a healthy mind under such circumstances, don't you agree?
Add to this the fact that Denji has no education, which means he cannot get a decent job. It was not without reason that Fujimoto said that Chainsaw Man is a story about a lost generation. Denji, although exaggerated, is still a fairly accurate expression of the crisis in which young Japanese find themselves.
Improvised family and new difficulties
Everything changes when Denji meets Makima. In Public Safety, he finds a new family — Aki, Himeno and Power. At this point, we see Denji as a carefree guy who pursues the simple pleasures of life — like delicious food.
It is not surprising that after such difficulties he just wants to relax. He does not make his experiences public and remains a teenager, unlike the deliberately depressed Shinji. This is how Fujimoto qualitatively changes the image of a traumatized character.
But even in Public Safety, Denji is not happy, since new problems quickly befall him once again. It's not only about Himeno dying, but mainly about Aki and Makima. Aki falls victim to the main villain, and Makima turns out to be not the girl she pretends to be. Thus, Denji’s apparent happiness turns into another big misfortune.
It may seem that Denji is cursed to suffer forever. However, his contagious optimism gives hope that everything turns out all right. Isn't hope the main strength of shonen anime?