Chainsaw Man boasts a ton of fascinating and devilish characters with rather mysterious origins, with the infamous Denji taking center stage. Plenty of anime fans have become curious about various aspects of Denji’s life over the years, such as Denji’s romantic interests or what happened to Pochita, Denji’s devil companion. But, the flood of plot twists and theories hasn’t stopped enthusiasts from questioning more mundane factors, leaving many wondering why Denji has shark teeth like fiends in Chainsaw Man.
Many fans have believed that Denji only has sharp, shark-like teeth due to him becoming Chainsaw Man since Pochita has sharp and pointy teeth in his true form. However, Denji has always had jagged and pointy teeth since he was a child (which are not necessarily sharp). As a result, it’s believed that Denji developed these teeth abnormalities due to severe malnutrition, poor dental hygiene, and no access to dental healthcare – all resulting from his rough upbringing and financial situation.
While the reason behind Denji having odd, inhuman, and even shark-like teeth may seem incredibly complex, the cause for his unusually shaped pearly whites may be far more realistic than one might expect. Stick around to find out everything you need to know about Denji’s natural features in Chainsaw Man, why his teeth are so odd, as well as why he has teeth like fiends in Chainsaw Man.
What are Fiends in Chainsaw Man?
Fiends in the Chainsaw Man universe, which are also referred to as Devilman, are devils that choose to take over the corpse of a deceased human. Devils typically only take over human corpses as a last resort for survival, as devils lose a significant portion of their supernatural power as well as the ability to form proper contracts after becoming fiends.
The fiends in Chainsaw Man come in various shapes, forms, and sizes, and they all have numerous appearances based on the specific devil in question. But, they all seem to have significant alterations to their heads – such as various abnormal growths or mutations, stemming from horns to strange hair, exposed brain matter, and even full-blown shark heads.
Do All Fiends Have Sharp Teeth?
When it comes to their teeth, fiends are not all equal, as many of them have fairly average teeth – at least concerning the overall shape. However, there are a couple of fiends that do actually have sharp, pointy, or shark-like teeth, such as Beam (the Shark Devil) and Power (the Blood Devil).
Why Does Denji Have Shark Teeth?
Chainsaw Man shows off all of Denji’s most loveable traits, as well as various aspects of his dark and gloomy past. We have learned quite a few things about this iconic anime character over the years, such as the fact that Denji was not shown much affection as a child, that he longs for love and a family, and that he genuinely shows care and compassion for those around him.
But, there are still tons of questions that fans have about Denji, one of which concerns one of the most trivial aspects any anime character could have, teeth. Denji’s full set of pearly whites has been shown on a handful of occasions throughout the storyline so far, and fans haven’t missed a beat in noticing that Denji’s teeth are similar to Pochita’s teeth and some of the fiends in Chainsaw Man – far too similar for it to simply be a coincidental choice from the creators.
Does Denji Have Sharp Teeth Because of Pochita?
Being the star of the Chainsaw Man anime and manga series, Denji is shown countless times throughout the entire Chainsaw Man storyline. It becomes pretty clear from the very beginning that Denji didn’t have the easiest life and upbringing, a massive contributing factor to him eventually becoming the Chainsaw Man we all know and love.
From what Chainsaw Man fans learn from the beginning, Denji starts off his journey by trying whatever he can to earn money alongside his trusted companion, Pochita, who initially takes the form of a fluffy and adorable orange dog – with the exception of a chainsaw sticking out of his head. Denji and Pochita take on odd jobs hunting down devils in order to make an income, primarily to get by with enough food and shelter, but also to help pay off Denji’s father’s massive debt.
Many Chainsaw Man fans have simply assumed that Denji’s sharp, pointy, and shark-like teeth are a direct result of being transformed into the Chainsaw Man. This is a fair stance considering the fact that Pochita has very sharp and shark-like teeth in his true form.
In cases where fiends have been seen with sharp and pointy teeth throughout the anime and manga story, the respective devil also had sharp teeth as well. Similar to the case with these specific fiends, it could be that Denji has sharp teeth because his devil has sharp teeth.
However, Denji was introduced to Chainsaw Man fans with sharp and crooked teeth as is, well before he turned into Chainsaw Man, meaning that the cause for his teeth being so sharp must stem from something way before the Chainsaw Man storyline takes place. Below is an outline of the main factors believed to have caused Denji’s sharp teeth, with images thanks to the Chainsaw Man Wiki.
Denji’s Childhood
As a result of Denji’s living situation, Denji and Pochita rarely got sufficient food and basic living conditions (at least until Denji meets Makima, Pochita’s number one fan, who provides food, shelter, and an income for Denji). But, they still survived by keeping each other warm on cold nights and sharing whatever meals they could get their hands on.
When Denji is attacked by hordes sent by the Zombie Devil, he succumbs to his wounds and is taken over by Pochita on the brink of death – transforming him into the Chainsaw Man. In his Chainsaw Man form, he flaunts extremely sharp and pointy teeth identical to that of Pochita, along with numerous chainsaw protrusions and some incredibly vicious abilities to match.
The main point of interest here is not so much the fact that he turned into Chainsaw Man, as his human form’s features did not really change after the transformation occurred – other than Denji recovering lost organs and body parts due to his new self-healing ability. Even before becoming Chainsaw Man, Denji was a typical teenage boy with scruffy blonde hair and sunken hazel eyes (one of which was missing before the transformation), which resulted in Denji usually having a dazed and exhausted facial expression.
Denji’s teeth have always been visibly sharp and angular in shape, although they are more jagged and irregular than actually sharp like shark teeth. This is believed to have been caused by his rough upbringing, as Denji was very malnourished for the vast majority of his childhood likely leading to some form of tooth decay and abnormal teeth formations – topped with next to no access to dental healthcare due to his financial situation.
In addition, some fans speculate that Denji’s teeth may have been misinterpreted from the manga and source material, as Denji is reported to have been shown with jagged and crooked teeth in the manga – not necessarily sharp and pointy teeth. It is possible that this feature was dramatized in the anime version of Chainsaw Man, with the cause behind it remaining the same.
Although Denji’s teeth do have a strikingly similar appearance to that of Pochita’s when in his true Chainsaw Devil form, the odds of Denji’s teeth being a direct result of his Chainsaw Man transformation are fairly slim. Since Denji has been portrayed with sharp and jagged teeth from when he was still a purely human kid, chances are that it’s simply a result of his rough childhood and living situation.
