The following contains spoilers from Chainsaw Man Chapter 77, "Ring Ring Ring," by Tatsuki Fujimoto, available now in English through Viz Media.

Chainsaw Man features some absurd concepts for the audience to wrap their heads around, so it makes sense that the series' main character is also a little wacky. Denji is someone who has a slightly disconnected sense of empathy, only helping those who help him. This mindset has sprung from an upbringing where he was distant from humanity and sympathy, as opposed to being a true reflection of Denji's character.

However, this same mindset and approach to life are exactly what makes him such a good devil hunter. Public Safety Devil Hunters tackle the CSM universe's main threat: Devils. These monstrous figures, born from the fears of humanity, prey on the characters, and only the "craziest" people have it in them to face off with devils. Devils don't scare Denji, and this abnormal fearlessness has always suggested he would be the perfect devil hunter to take down the Gun Devil. RELATED: Chainsaw Man’s Denji and Jujutsu Kaisen’s Gojo Share One Unique Similarity

Kishibe Believes Devil Hunters Shouldn't Be Sane

A closeup of Kishibe lamenting in Chainsaw Man.

The Gun Devil is portrayed as a big, world-threatening evil that the characters of Chainsaw Man need to defeat. Most of the story builds up the tension toward this eventual confrontation, and it's what drives many of the hunters forward. Since this devil's so dangerous, it is suggested that it can't be defeated through normal means. This is illustrated during a flashback that Himeno has, where she is talking with Kishibe about Aki Hayakawa and the Gun Devil. According to Kishibe, the reason why people die fighting devils is that they are too sane. In the context of the franchise, sanity is used as an umbrella term that means all sorts of elements that one could consider normal, like mourning one's dead friend in a line of work that almost guarantees death.

In Kishibe's eyes, it is because of this human capacity that people end up being afraid of devils and dying while fighting them. The devils understand the fears and apprehension of regular people and use this against them to make them afraid, thus feeding their power. Because of this, Himeno is worried about Aki's eventual brawl with the Gun Devil. He seeks revenge for his family who was killed by the devil and will stop at nothing to get retribution. However, Himeno believed that it wouldn't be due to Aki's lack of strength that he would perish in a battle against the Gun Devil -- rather, it's because he is normal and "sane" like everyone else. Therefore, only a devil hunter who has a few screws loose is the perfect fighter to battle the Gun Devil. RELATED: Chainsaw Man Theory: Arai Is the Violence Fiend

Denji Has a Reputation for Being Slightly Deranged

Denji and Power finish training with Kishibe in Chainsaw Man

From the very beginning, Denji is portrayed as someone not quite normal. This stems from his unfortunate and desolate childhood. The boy was never shown empathy or even basic human decency growing up, and so he has never known how to apply this when the time may be right. Rather than becoming a devil hunter to do what's right, Denji did so to achieve his shallow dreams. When he and the rest of Special Division 4 were trapped by the Eternity Devil, Denji attacked because he was promised a kiss by Himeno. Seeing him cut the devil into infinite pieces led Himeno to conclude that Denji might be the right kind of "crazy" to kill the Gun Devil.

This is also clear when Denji and Power first met Kishibe. Before becoming their mentor, the experienced devil hunter asked the pair three questions to test them, and their answers proved they were both insane enough for the role. Their warped sense of empathy or "crazy" approach to killing makes these devil hunters unpredictable, and devils fear what they cannot understand. Thus, according to Kishibe, being warped in some way helps a hunter attain a chaotic, unpredictable way of approaching and thinking.

From the beginning of the series, Denji has been established as a chaotic and "insane" character, lacking the human attachments that stop a person from going full force in battle. While Denji has proved himself to be highly empathetic -- he just shows this in unconventional ways -- his background and subsequent personality have always foreshadowed him to be the devil hunter destined to defeat the Gun Devil.