Dark Fantasy Series Finale Outranks Game of Thrones in Disappointing Endings, Fans Say

Once a titan in pop culture, Game of Thrones left fans reeling with its controversial series finale, widely regarded as one of the most disappointing conclusions in television history. Now, seven years on, another beloved dark fantasy saga has wrapped up, leaving audiences equally stunned. The final chapter of this series has been so poorly received that it makes “The Iron Throne” seem like a triumph by comparison.

A standout fantasy series of the 2020s has concluded, much to the dismay of its dedicated fan base. With Chapter 232, aptly titled “Thank You, Chainsaw Man,” Tatsuki Fujimoto brought his acclaimed Shonen manga, Chainsaw Man, to a close after an eight-year journey. Unfortunately, this finale has left many feeling underwhelmed.

During 2025 and the early months of 2026, Chainsaw Man enjoyed a surge in popularity. While the second part of the manga sparked debate among readers, faith in Fujimoto’s storytelling prowess remained strong, as many chapters continued to deliver compelling narratives. Concurrently, the franchise reached new heights with the release of the highly successful animated film, Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc, which was celebrated as one of the top releases of 2025.

Chainsaw Man Destroyed its Story and Its Fandom With Chapter 231

Image via Shonen Jump+

Throughout 2025 and the first couple months of 2026, Chainsaw Man was on the rise. While the Chainsaw Man Part 2 manga has been divisive for several years, most readers had ample faith in Fujimoto to make everything come together, and individual chapters were still often incredibly strong. At the same time, the franchise reached new heights of popularity with the release of one of 2025’s best animated movies: Chainsaw Man – The Movie: Reze Arc.

Unfortunately, nearly all hype for the series was killed two weeks ago with the release of Chapter 231, “Goodbye, Pochita,” and the shocking announcement that the manga would be concluding with Chapter 232. Absolutely no one was predicting that the story would be ending so soon, especially following the prolonged battle between Denjiman and Yoru, but what truly destroyed the fandom and the manga as a whole was the actual content of Chapter 231.

Chainsaw Man Chapter 231 begins by revealing that, between chapters, Denji and Pochita were defeated and eaten by the newly empowered bug devils, which are now in the process of destroying the entire world. Rather than attempt to fix the mistake that caused this mess by vomiting up the Death Devil, Pochita instead decides the best move is to eat himself and, in the process, make it so that he never existed in the first place.

The truly awful part of this chapter isn’t just how out of nowhere it feels, but what Pochita says to Denji. According to the adorable Chainsaw Devil, Denji was never truly happy with Aki and Power, or with Asa, but when he had absolutely nothing, and could at least still dream about his goals. This single exchange made Denji’s entire journey, both his growth in Part 1 and his regression in Part 2, feel like it was a complete waste of time. Even as one of Fujimoto’s most fervent defenders, I was horrified reading this and, much like the rest of the Chainsaw Man fandom, I couldn’t fathom how he could possibly deliver a remotely satisfying ending with only one chapter remaining.

The Final Chapter of Chainsaw Man Makes the Entire Fantasy Manga Feel Pointless

Chainsaw Man Chapter 232, “Thank You, Chainsaw Man” takes readers back to where the manga first began, but with a twist. Denji is back in the shack he grew up in, with a missing eye, missing organs, and no hope for a future, and this time around, he doesn’t even have Pochita to keep him company as his only friend.

Through means that are never explained, Pochita erasing himself from existence reset everything, but also changed many of the important details about Denji’s life. Just as in the original timeline, Denji falls victim to the Zombie Devil. However, this time around, instead of saving himself by becoming Chainsaw Man, and getting forcibly drafted into Public Safety by Makima, he’s rescued by revived fan-favorite Power, and both Denji and the Blood Devil are made into Devil Hunters by the reincarnation of the Control Devil, Nayuta.

As nice as it is to see Power and Nayuta again, both alive and well, the lack of details regarding what’s happened and how they’re in the places they are makes their inclusions feel like a cheap attempt at fan-service. And, if fan-service was the goal, it’s incomplete, as readers aren’t at all clued in to the fates of other beloved, long-dead characters, like Aki Hayakawa, Himeno and, perhaps most importantly to the current fandom, Reze.

In the final scene of Chainsaw Man, Denji rescues Asa Mitaka, the original protagonist of Chainsaw Man Part 2 who was woefully sidelined ever since the Aging Devil Arc, and prevents the death that kickstarted the Academy Saga’s events. Of course, Denji and Asa don’t know who each other are, and neither has undergone any of their character development from the original timeline, so Asa merely thanks him, and they each go off on their own.

It’s difficult to parse what the objective of Chainsaw Man Chapter 232 is, or why it was decided to rush the ending of such a popular series. It doesn’t have enough time to explore this new world to make it feel like a rewarding end destination for these new versions of the characters fans love, but it also doesn’t actually have anything to say. For the last several weeks, “Themes and such” has become a meme among Shonen fans, mocking the idea of an ending that’s poignant, but ultimately unsatisfying on a narrative level; Chainsaw Man couldn’t even manage that in the end.

The opening of Chainsaw Man Chapter 232 frames the entirety of the manga prior to this as, effectively, a bad dream that Denji had. And, while that may not literally be the case, it may as well be, as the timeline in which every event occurred and every character lived in, is now gone. On its own, Chainsaw Man Part 1 was a genuinely profound psychological horror story but, in retrospect, the entire manga has now been rendered meaningless.

What’s fascinating is that Chainsaw Man Chapter 232 isn’t even as horrible as it could have been, as most fans were expecting something needlessly depressing. Instead, Chainsaw Man closes out on what’s one of its happiest and most uplifting chapters ever, but everything about it is so hollow, unearned, and unexplained that it’s now impossible to feel anything but disdain towards what was, not long ago, one of the greatest manga of all time. Like Game of Thrones before it, an abysmal finale has made Chainsaw Man impossible to recommend.

Release Date

2011 – 2019-00-00

Showrunner

David Benioff, D.B. Weiss

Directors

David Nutter, Alan Taylor, D.B. Weiss, David Benioff