Ah, yes, the one question that everyone likes to ask. How strong is Denji? This is a question that is very hard to answer. The only real way this question can be answered is if the author explains it.
Sadly, Tatsuki Fujimoto does not like to disclose information about his characters. We will need to determine Denji’s strength on our own. Denji has seen his fair share of battles in the series. After all, as the titular protagonist, the conflict centers around him.
As part of our dive into the Chainsaw Man anime, we will now talk about Denji’s power. How strong is he, and how does he compare to other characters? There is only one way to find out. There will be major spoilers in this article. If you’re not a fan of those, you’ve been warned!
Who is Denji?
Before we talk about how powerful Denji is, let’s talk about who he is first. After all, it wouldn’t make sense to write a profile for a character if we don’t discuss his background. Denji is a 17-year-old teenager with a tragic past. Left as an orphan after killing his father, he tried to live his life as an amateur Devil Hunter. After saving Pochita from its certain death, Denji formed a contract with the latter. In return for saving its life, Pochita was to help him.
Due to an unfortunate circumstance that left Denji dead, Pochita had to save Denji. The Devil Pet joined with the latter’s heart to stitch him back together. Now living as Devil Hybrid, Denji is thrust into the world of Chainsaw Man living life to the fullest.
How Powerful is Denji?
It is difficult to know Denji’s strength at the moment of this writing. With newer enemies showing up in Part 2 of Chainsaw Man’s story, ranking him now verse-wise wouldn’t work. As Tatsuki Fujimoto continues to write, the more likely information will change.
Even with the information we do have, Denji still sits in a weird position. He has enough strength to compare to Spiderman and Superman, but not enough to beat them. He is strong enough to destroy towns on his own and leave craters in his wake. But it is not enough to instantly kill his opponents. His varying strength throughout the series makes it difficult to measure his strength. We can at least say that Denji is at least stronger than Makima and her group of Devils. Hilariously, even Makima admitted that their first bout was impossible to be won!
Unlike Spiderman, however, Denji has no qualms about killing. He would be even stronger if he chose to abandon his humanity. This is what we see during the Control Devil Arc when Pochita took over.
There’s a lot to uncover to understand how powerful Denji is. So, let’s dive right in!
Denji’s Devil Hybrid Physiology
Denji is a Devil Hybrid which is unique amongst the casts of the Chainsaw Man universe. At the time of this writing, there are only two known Devil Hybrids in the entirety of CSM. This unique nature grants Denji a few superhuman abilities. Of course, this is considering if Denji decided to rev his heart first before going into battle.
Superior Regeneration, Pseudo-Immortality, and Durability
Denji’s nature as a Devil Hybrid gives him the physical capabilities of a Devil. But, he doesn’t receive the ability to reincarnate. By drinking blood, Denji can stitch limbs back together and regenerate wounds. He is pseudo-immortal, capable of living even with half his body torn or a bullet shot through his brain.
It takes a very mean machine to get through Denji. He has shown countless incredible feats when it comes to durability. He was able to fight the Eternity Devil in three days without stopping. This was done by constantly consuming its blood to stay revitalized. With a blast from the Bat Devil, he was able to tank and receive no damage. On the next panel, we see that this destroyed a building behind him. As if that wasn’t enough, he displayed a later feat where he survived Makima’s consecutive “Bang” attack. The very same attack threw him at Mach 100 speeds to space!
Of course, some of the feats that Denji has shown were when Pochita was taking over him. However, Denji wasn’t fully unconscious during that time. He was able to remember ripping his own heart out and still being able to fight. He reused this strategy, later on, to ultimately take down Makima once and for all. Talk about a powerhouse!
Inhuman Strength, Speeds, and Reactions
His incredible body isn’t only enhanced in terms of sturdiness. Pochita’s fusion with him granted him incredible strength, and speed to contend with the strongest Devils. He possesses a strength that is strong enough to cut Makima’s body apart. Denji could rival Typhoon Devil whose destructive power is estimated at 10 kilotons of TNT. He can casually catch cars flung at him like Alex Mercer and even throw them back.
While it has not been proven, Denji can likely become even stronger. It is implied that Pochita, before the events of CSM, has killed the Nuclear Weapons Devil. A quick search places the explosive energy of a nuclear bomb at 20 kilotons of TNT. This means that Denji has the capability of putting out at least 20 kilotons of TNT if he grew strong enough! What an insane lad.
Chainsaw Transformation/Weapon Creation
His primary ability comes in the form of creating chainsaws and chains with his body. By using his blood, Denji can create chainsaws to erupt from his limbs. He can even go full chainsaw and focus on cutting power to slice and dice his enemy.
He is pretty much Alex Mercer, but this comes at a cost. The chainsaws harm him as well, leaving him anemic every time he uses them. He needs to keep a supply of blood to keep his attacks going. If those weren’t available, then the chainsaws would retract into his body.
Possibility to Use Other Devil Abilities
While not explored, his short contract with Power left him with the ability to use other powers. He was able to create a chainsaw with the help of Power’s blood. He could even use it to an extent to stop Makima from regenerating. This very much leaves Denji an opportunity to make contracts with other Devils. Just imagine Denji having a contract with the Blood Devil. That would make him unstoppable!
Knowing the man though, he would probably reject them unless it landed him a girlfriend.
Denji’s Weaknesses
Unfortunately, being strong doesn’t mean you don’t have any weaknesses. Like any good Shonen protagonist, Denji has more than a few on his own.
Pochita as Denji’s Heart
All of Denji’s powers wouldn’t be possible if it weren’t for Pochita. Acting as Denji’s heart, the former is responsible for giving the latter his powers. From pseudo-immortality to his Chainsaws, all of it is powered by Pochita. Without the heart, Denji would be incapable of performing these feats. In one of the chapters, we even see how useless Denji is without his heart. He was incapacitated and killed with ease until Himeno revved his engine.
Unfortunately, Denji doesn’t inherit most of Pochita’s powers. For example, Denji doesn’t inherit Pochita’s ability to erase Devils through eating. This also makes Pochita Denji’s most glaring weakness. If Pochita’s heart was torn from Denji for a long period, the latter would die permanently.
Why is Pochita so Powerful?
There is no explanation yet as to why Pochita is powerful. However, Devils fear Pochita due to its ability to eat Devils and erase them. There are already a few victims of Pochita’s erasure ability. Two examples are the Nuclear Weapons Devil and World War Devil.
Denji’s Overreliance on Blood
Denji needs blood to function, and desperately so. Without enough blood coursing in his body, he wouldn’t be able to perform any of the feats he displayed. If given enough time and Denji loses enough blood, he becomes incredibly useless. He loses most of his powers as he grows further anemic. This can be exploited like how the Katana Devil was able to incapacitate him.
Denji’s Intelligence and Carefree Attitude
While Denji had his bright moments, he is more often than not an idiot. He lacks basic education but enough experience. He is a fighter through and through, and capable enough to outsmart Makima. However, he is not a pure genius. Accompanying his intelligence is the screw-this-attitude that often led him to unfavorable situations. While he was able to outsmart Makima, he had only done so through luck. He was still manipulated very heavily by the Control Devil.
Conclusion
Unlike Makima, Denji is a more straightforward character. An educated guess places Denji on the upper echelon of Devils in the Chainsaw Man universe. He is strong enough to take on most Devils in Chainsaw Man and fight toe-to-toe with a version of the Gun Fiend. He is durable enough to tank the force of the Typhoon Devil. Denji still has room to grow and will likely see a rise in strength in the future. With the newest chapter all but confirming Denji’s future bout with the Horsemen of the Apocalypse, it is exciting to see what new heights he will reach next.