Chainsaw Man's Primal Fear Devils put other villains to shame

Modified Oct 11, 2024 05:30 GMT

Chainsaw Man's concept of materializing fears into Devils is definitely as unique as it is terrifying. The trepidation felt for a particular idea or thing receiving a physical form and growing stronger the more dread it invokes makes for countless petrifying and interesting interpretations.

As such, the Primal Devils in Chainsaw Man stand on a different level when it comes to villains. Embodying the primal fears of darkness, falling, aging and death, these characters have shown themselves to be as scary as they were built.

So far, we have only seen the Darkness Devil, Falling Devil and Aging Devil, with the coming of the Death Devil slated to be a major point in the story. As for the mentioned three, they proved just why they have been feared so greatly and never experienced the typical cycle of life and death that Devils do.

Primal Devils in Chainsaw Man stand tall among antagonist

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Before delving in, understanding Primal Devils would be beneficial. As mentioned, Primal Devils embody the primal fears of darkness, falling, aging and death which are instinctual fears entrenched within the human spirit. Ancient and powerful, they have been called "transcendent" beings, striking fear into even other Devils and Fiends.

Due to their immense power, they have never experienced the death-and-rebirth cycle that other Devils typically go through. Hence, Primal Devils possess the same identities throughout human history and remain in Hell. As such, Chainsaw Man built up considerable hype around the power and the type of fear these beings come with. Needless to mention, it has not been for naught.

Usually, in a typical series, the antagonist or villain is built up for a brief while before the hype fizzes out. One of two things happens, they are either killed off early or become successively less intimidating with each encounter. This has certainly not been the case with Tatsuki Fujimoto's series, whose Primal Devils seem to be standing tall when it comes to the darker side.

There have been several instances of this throughout the series as well. To begin with, the Darkness Devil was the first to be shown. Debuting in chapter 64, the Darkness displayed its frightening powers through the ease with which it dealt with the Devil Hunters summoned in Hell. Unable to fight back, the only option was to flee.

Next, the Falling Devil (chapter 122) made an appearance with an intriguing design - a chef uniform filled in with a messy compilation of mangled human corpses. Akin to her appearance, she speaks like a chef as well, and her mere presence on Earth caused gravity fluctuations worldwide. Further, she tore through the town whilst pursuing Yoru/Asa and later made Chainsaw Man also a target. This battle itself is a testament to how powerful Primal Devils are, as it took Fami's intervention to stop her rampage.

Finally, the current arc features the Aging Devil (introduced in chapter 173). While it is yet to fully commit to battle, it has already depicted its capacity to stop Yoru finger bullet with ease, turning it to dust, i.e., aging it out of existence. This feat alone speaks volumes of what might come next, given that Yoru was able to heavily dismember Pochita and leave him with just his head, part of his torso and right arm.

Final Thoughts

Through Chainsaw Man, Fujimoto has done the Primal Devils right. They are as horrifying as they were made out to be. Moreover, their unique appearance is more than just clever character design, as each conveys something different. For instance, the Darkness Devil's look embodies the look of darkness and a powerful entity of Hell.

Again, the Aging Devil's design seems to embody gerascophobia (an excessive phobia about one's body changing with time). As such, being closely drawn to mirrors, individuals afflicted with this phobia avoid looking into a mirror. This would explain its contact through mirrors and its odd twisted appearance of withered flesh and a face resembling the split head of an old person encompassing a smoother surface with only a mouth.

Whatever the Death Devil may look like, it is undoubted that Fujimoto will do justice to its reputation as "The Great King of Terror" and its design will have a deeper meaning. This is what separates Chainsaw Man's Primal Devils from other villains, the ability to live up to and possibly exceed the hype generated for them.