#and again this plays into the themes of denji obscuring his desire for genuine human connection with things that seem achievable to him

[greywarned]

i think it's interesting that both asa and yoshida expect denji to have some sort of basic self preservation instinct when it comes to his secret identity because it's what you do, right? decades of superhero literature have fostered the idea that heroes need to hide their identities to protect the people they care about but that doesn't really apply to denji since everyone he cares about is already dead. what is he still fighting for if everyone that mattered to him is gone? love, fame, respect - none of which he will receive if he isn't acknowledged as chainsaw man in the first place. his approach to being chainsaw man is fundamentally incompatible to how asa and yoshida view chainsaw man because they see chainsaw man as a bona fide superhero (even if they may not agree with his methods or what he stands for) whereas denji treats chainsaw man as a mask for being able to form genuine relationships with people where he isn't despised or manipulated