Chainsaw Man is a series with a lot of bad guys. From Devils who want to cause mass destruction to Yakuza with a vendetta against the main protagonist, Denji, many villains are out there to get after the lovable scamp Denji and his friends and allies. However, only one villain is pulling the strings behind most of these attempts.
The main villain is first established to be the Gun Devil, a powerful monster born from the fear of guns. It committed a massive atrocity against the world, destroying thousands of lives within seconds of its appearance, scoring across the United States, Japan, and even Russia. But despite many enemies claiming to be in service of the Gun Devil, this might not be such a straightforward case.
Disclaimer: This article contains spoilers for Chainsaw Man manga.
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The main villain of Chainsaw Man exposed
Early on in Chainsaw Man, the Gun Devil is built up as a major threat and also the final threat Denji must face. Its original rampage devastated several countries in such a short span of time that it got guns banned in general for fear of a second attack ever happening.
From the moment Denji becomes a Devil hunter, he begins to be hunted for his ‘Chainsaw heart,’ apparently desired by the Gun Devil himself. The Eternity Devil is one such devil who attempts to attain it before being tortured and killed by Denji, and it’s far from the last to claim to be in the Gun Devil’s service.
The next enemies sent by the Gun Devil seem to be the yakuza, who attack Denji and his coworkers in the Public Safety Devil Hunters. This attack kills several supporting characters and is headed by ‘Samurai Sword,’ more well-known by fans as ‘Katana Man.’ Having procured guns from the Gun Devil itself, it seems that this too is the will of the Gun Devil.
But the next threats don’t seem to be very attached to the Gun Devil at all. For one, an assassin from Russia named Reze is said to be in the service of the Gun Devil but likely only has an allegiance with the USSR.
The attention the battle between her and Denji brings sends even countries into a frenzy to attempt to get the heart, as America, Germany, China, and a fourth, unaligned party make their moves to get it. Readers may begin to suspect that the Gun Devil isn’t exactly the chess master it has thus far been set up as.
The manipulator in the shadows
After the International Assassins arc goes awry, including an unexpected trip to hell, readers learn a shocking fact about the Gun Devil. The same day it attacked, it fell to pieces, moving so fast it burnt up. Now, the world is locked into a cold war, where every country attempts to get a percentage of its body. But if the Gun Devil is currently split up, it can’t be the one commanding all these devils around to get it. So, who was causing all this trouble for Denji?
The answer is Makima. Makima’s true nature as the Control devil is revealed shortly after. When the United States attempts to use their percentage of the Gun Devil to kill Makima, she effortlessly destroys it. She then lets the corpse of Denji’s close friend, Aki, be inhabited by the Gun Devil’s dying body, creating the monstrous Gun Fiend.
Makima was behind everything attributed to the Gun Devil the whole time. She let the yakuza attack happen and knew that it would be best to frame Reze’s original attack as a Gun Devil issue. She built up a happy life around Denji just to take it all away, from having him kill the Gun Fiend and then killing his other friend, Power, right in front of him.
However, Denji ultimately takes down Makima, ending her reign of terror, and gains public adoration for killing the Gun Devil, too. While it's not the last of Denji's adventures, or his enemies for that matter, Makima is the true villain of Chainsaw Man Part 1.
Future villains of Chainsaw Man
However, Makima’s death doesn’t signal the end of Chainsaw Man. Manga fans know that Chainsaw Man is still ongoing - focusing on a new cast and new villains to go with it. No true greater-scope villain has dropped quite yet, but several threats have been alluded to. Most importantly, the Death Devil is also referred to as the 'Great King of Terror.’
For now, readers of Chainsaw Man will have to wait and see what author Tatsuki Fujimoto has planned. Be it a villain as sinister and manipulative as Makima or a villain as blunt and ruthless as the Gun Devil.
