Chainsaw Man Explains Its Supernatural World

By Kofi Outlaw

To say that Chainsaw Man is a unique imagining of supernatural lore would be an understatement. Even in the wild world of anime, Chainsaw Man's mythos about "devils" and "devil-hunters" is one of the more creative spins on that horror staple that we've seen. But three episodes into the Chainsaw Man anime, a lot of fans may still be wondering how it all works. Well, in Chainsaw Man Episode 3 Makima actually breaks down how devils work, and what makes them truly unique as foes (and subsequently entities within Chainsaw Man's mythos). 

WARNING: SPOILERS

In Chainsaw Man Episode 3 "Meowy's Whereabouts" Denji and Power have a falling out over their very public execution of the Sea Cucumber Devil. Makima assigns the pair to find some camaraderie working together (lest they both both be executed for being devils) and lets them pursue a new foe, the Bat Devil, who stole Power's pet cat, Meowy. 

While Denji and Power go hunting the Bat Devil, Makima has a conversation with Aki about whether Denji can hack it as a devil hunter. In rationalizing her logic for bringing Denji in, Makima breaks down the entire process of how devils work:

Chainsaw Man's Devil Forms & Powers Explained

chainsaw-man-bat-devil.jpg
(Photo: MAPPA)

"All devils are born with names. And the more those names are feared, the more powerful the devil is said to become," Makima explains. This is a key point about how the devils' powers – and very existence – work. As Makima goes on to explain, power rankings among devils is just as fickle: 

"Coffee ins't considered very frightening, so a Coffee Devil would probably be weak. But what about a Car Devil? It's easy to imagine being run over and dying, so it would probably be strong. And Denji can turn into a Chainsaw. Seems pretty interesting to me." 

That explanation opens a wide door of possibility for how Chainsaw Man can continue to introduce new and different forms of devils with little restriction on what crazy and/or macabre forms they take. Already we've concepts like the "Zombie Devil" of Episode 1, and the "Sea Cucumber Devil" of Episode 2. Episode 3 certainly ups that ante by introducing the "Bat Devil," who seems to be a level up from the previous devils that Denji fights as the Chainsaw Devil. 

Makima's breakdown also invites an interesting question that the anime has side-stepped: what kind of master Devil will we see revealed as the big bad of the series? And what kind of form does that master Devil take?  

Chainsaw Man is streaming on Crunchyroll and Hulu.

Trending Now: