Tatsuki Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man has a complex history with its application of sexuality. Some of the manga’s most infamous chapters, such as Denji’s run in with Yoru in the alleyway, or Denji being brought back to Himeno’s apartment in drunken stupor, focus on the problematic facets of sexual relationships and encounters. Never has that theme been more directly addressed than in Chainsaw Man Chapter 212, “Really Good Girl.”

After learning the truth of Lil D’s true identity, Denji was left at a standstill in terms of who he should fight for. That decision became much less difficult when Lil D lifted her skirt. As if deciding between Lil D or Yoru wasn’t enough of a challenge, Chainsaw Man Chapter 212 presents Denji with yet another object of desire to further confuse both him and fans. CSM 212 is yet another thirst trap on the surface, but when looking deeper, it’s the perfect set-up for Denji’s forced contention with both he and humanity at large’s greatest weakness.

Fumiko Mifune Confirms Her Contract With the STD Devil in Chainsaw Man 212, and It Makes Perfect Sense

Chainsaw Man fans have a love-hate relationship with Fumiko Mifune. While some enjoy her sadistic and wild personality, many CSM fans tend to consider her one of the single worst people in the Chainsaw Man universe due to how she has treated Denji. Fumiko’s decision to turn tail and run away when Denji and Nayuta needed help in Chainsaw Man Chapter 154 is generally a meme used to highlight Fumiko’s most deplorable personality traits. Nevertheless, Fumiko has remained a staple of the cast who only became more mysterious the more the series has gone on.

As of the Aging Devil Arc, Fumiko became a major point of intrigue when she was killed by the Aging Devil, only to then somehow have come back to life in the matter of an instant. This raised innumerable questions as to the true nature of Devil Contract: a question which has officially been answered as of Chainsaw Man Chapter 212. As Fumiko explains to Denji, she made a contract with the STD Devil when she was only 14 years old. According to Fumiko, anyone she has sex with becomes of a shared body and mind with Fumiko herself. Fumiko tells Denji she has slept with people all over the world, meaning there are innumerable versions of Fumiko scattered throughout the planet.

Fumiko having a contract with the STD Devil makes an incredible amount of sense when looking at her portrayal throughout CSM Part 2. The moment Fumiko met Denji, she greeted him by touching his private parts, and offered to have sex with him in exchange for his doing a series of embarrassing acts. Fumiko’s willingness to use her sexuality to manipulate Denji was always a bit devilish anyway, now there is just an actual concrete explanation for that character trait.

Chainsaw Man’s recent chapters have been nonstop fan service, which the greater fandom has certainly appreciated. First, it was Lil D’s skirt lift unveil in Chapter 199, which was revisited in Chapter , and then again to an even greater degree in Chapter 211. Chainsaw Man 212 takes it to the next level when Fumiko gives Denji a “nude” picture of herself, which is certain to keep the online fandom occupied with discussion for years to come. That’s what makes Fumiko’s contract in Chainsaw Man 212 particularly genius, though.

Fujimoto’s Continued Indulgence in Chainsaw Man’s Waifu Thirst Traps is Becoming Something Deeper

Introducing Fumiko as the STD Devil’s contractee on the tail-end of a series of particularly explicit chapters is a game-changer for Chainsaw Man. Denji’s greatest weakness continues to be the potential promise of intercourse, even over 200 chapters into his story. This has always been one of Denji’s biggest character flaws, which played a major part in Makima’s ability to manipulate him in Part 1. One of Chainsaw Man‘s most crucial themes is about how there is good in the bad, and the bad in the good. There are few greater expressions of that dichotomy between good and bad than with the concept of STDs.

A major theme of Chainsaw Man is that the grass is always greener on the other side. When Denji receives the object of his desire, it’s often a disappointing experience in comparison to the high ideal he held of it in his mind. There’s little better way to highlight the potential bad side of sexuality than with with the STD Devil. Matters of the heart are already confusing and difficult to navigate as a teen boy, but it gets even worse when all Denji’s love interests are powerful Devils using any means available to them to sway his opinion.

The current arc of Chainsaw Man began with Yoru offering to have sex with Denji if he defeats the Death Devil – a decision which was easy for him to make. However, Denji quickly went back on that deal when Lil D lifted her skirt for him in Chapter 211. With all these women throwing themselves at Denji, it would be easy for Chainsaw Man fans to write this entire arc off as being for “gooners”, as many online have already argued. But the more Fujimoto indulges in these apparently shameless pieces of imagery, the more a powerful allegory emerges that ties it all into what is arguably the most important social issue of today.

While it may not seem like it given how terrible his decision-making has proven to be in the current arc, Denji has reached his greatest character turning point in Chainsaw Man 212. At this point, his thirsty lust for women has reached a new pinnacle, and is being exploited at absolutely every angle by every single villain in the series. Denji now has the absolute hardest decision to make in the series’ history – and it’s further complicated by his personal feelings on the matter. While this could all be seen as a surface-level sexual fantasy for Denji, it seems to be much more than that.

Tatsuki Fujimoto has woven a complex conflict with no clear means of discerning who to trust. Even as Chainsaw Man Part 2 continues to reveal more and more about the main players in its major conflict, fans are no closer to getting a clear answer as to who is truly right or wrong. Within that context, there’s an interesting and relatable parallel that has emerged between Chainsaw Man Part 2 and the current cultural situation in the real world.

Misinformation runs rampant in the internet age, as sources of false information gain popularity over the truth, leading to increasing levels of confusion over what to believe. In this way, Chainsaw Man’s current arc is a direct correlate to the current political landscape. Just as no one knows what to believe in real life, Fujimoto has applied the same principle to the story of Chainsaw Man Part 2. In modern society, one media outlet can present the news only for another to claim it as “lies”, and the public is then left to decide which to believe entirely based on emotional response and their personal feelings, rather than on the hard facts.

Denji is thrust knee-deep into this exact kind of situation in his own way, making Chainsaw Man’s current arc a truly prescient and necessary commentary that’s especially relevant today. For Denji, every time someone tells him the “truth” about what’s going on, another person shows up to assure him that the previous individual was only lying. Each side frames Denji’s conflict differently, and each provides compelling arguments of their own. Fumiko’s insistance that Yoru loves Denji certainly has weight, but the fact they can live happily ever after definitely seems to bend the truth a bit. This is terrifyingly close to the current social conditions in real life, though, as each side of the political isle skews the truth so much that no one – Denji included – can decipher what’s real anymore.

Chainsaw Man Has Been Steadily Subverting Manga’s Worst “Fan Service” Tropes Beneath Fan’s Noses

Fujimoto continues to employ a powerful narrative device amid each of his apparent “fan service” chapters. Each time a female character reveals her physical body to the audience, she also just-so-happens to reveal a vital secret about herself as an individual. In short, Chainsaw Man‘s most important female characters continue to both literally and figuratively bear-all to the reader. In a way, fully revealing the bodies of these characters is antithetical to what fan service generally is in anime.

Normally, anime fan service forces female characters out of their clothes against their will, or places them in questionable positions in which they didn’t intend to be seen in that light. In contrast, Chainsaw Man‘s female characters in the manga’s current arc have been intentionally revealing themselves, which at least retains their autonomy as individuals. This helps further highlight the fact that they are truly laying it all out on the table for Denji, doing anything they possibly can to get him on their team in the inevitable final battle.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 212, “Really Good Girl” helps highlight the underlying meaning of all Fujimoto’s most shameless thirst traps in recent chapters. Depending on the perspective, all humanity’s absolute worst sources of apocalypse can look extremely attractive depending on how they’re presented. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse are undeniably horrible monstrosities, but on the surface, they all have the capacity to look quite beautiful to Denji.

The Chainsaw Man manga is currently available to read via Viz Media, Manga Plus, and the Shonen Jump app.