Summary
- The scariest devils in Chainsaw Man tap into common fears within humanity, such as the fear of knowing the future or the fear of guns.
- The Gun Devil is particularly terrifying due to its ability to kill millions of people a day and its unique ability to affect situations even when not physically present.
- The War Devil's absolute disdain for convention and her ability to cause chaos and destruction make her one of the scariest devils in the Chainsaw Man universe.
There is no shortage of scary devils in Chainsaw Man, with the scariest being reality-warping threats. From the grotesque to the bizarre, the shocking to the macabre, Chainsaw Man is full of the most horrific devils in anime history.
The key to a higher fear factor in the devils of Chainsaw Man is not simply their appearance alone - though looks can play a role in how scary a devil is to a human. The real metric of devil scariness is how deep and broad it taps into a common fear within humanity. While millions of people may fear guns, hundreds of millions more fear abstract concepts like punishment. The scariest devils in Chainsaw Man tap into these deep-seated fears in surprising and horrific ways.
10 Future Devil
Manga Debut: Chapter #31
While knowing one’s future before it happens might seem a benefit worthy of any sacrifice, it proves a double-edged sword when provided by the Future Devil. His horrific appearance should be a clear enough signal that knowing someone's future does not mean that all’s well that ends well. Based on the “in real life” phobia known as anticipatory fear, the Future Devil promises to divulge a person's future if it's horrible enough to pique the Future Devil's interest. As Aki Hayakawa learned knowing how someone will die doesn’t mean they can change their fate.
9 Gun Devil
Manga Debut: Chapter #75
It’s safe to say that few people are immune to the fear of guns, giving the Gun Devil an enormous pool of negative energy to thrive off of. When in his full form, with a body made up mostly of guns, the Gun Devil easily ranks among the scariest devils just on a visual level. But, even if his visage is not enough to scare the living daylights out of a person, his abilities certainly will.
In his peak form, the Gun Devil can kill millions of people a day without breaking a sweat. It also has the unique ability to affect a situation even when not physically present - as his bullet casing-like skin continuously sheds in his work. These cases are continuously attracted to one another and serve as a form of Gun Devil regeneration.
8 War Devil
Manga Debut: Chapter #98
In a time when nations go to war for almost any reason, the War Devil reigns supreme. As one of the oldest fears known to humankind, the War Devil is an ancient force that knows how to survive. A member of Chainsaw Man's mysterious Four Horsemen sisterhood who seeks to sideline the Chainsaw Devil, the War Devil is also one of the few who can kill him. Currently, possessing Asa Mitaka, she is still frightening despite not being at her full strength.
What makes the War Devil so scary is her absolute disdain for convention. No rule, agreement, or custom controls the War Devil, especially if it tries to keep her from the killing, destruction, and pain he sadistically thrives on. She is the true unknown factor in the world of devils – and the chaos she wrought is one of the scariest endings a devil can facilitate.
7 Curse Devil
Manga Debut: Chapter #24
The Curse Devil, which as the name suggests gets its strength from the widespread fear of curses, is one of the more quietly scary devils. Invoking a supernatural power against another at first glance seems to be quite a powerful ability. However, the devil is literally in the details. First, in order to manifest the Curse Devil, a must stab the target three times with a nail-like instrument. Secondly, while success in the first step might result in the summoning of the Curse Devil, payment for summoning is always years off the life of the . The fact that it has one of the most hideous physical appearances only adds to making it one of Chainsaw Man's scariest devils.
6 Falling Devil
Manga Debut: Chapter #122
While the Four Horsemen might be the most powerful devils, Chainsaw Man's Primal Fear Devils – or devils who are powered by inherent fears hardwired into every human, such as the fear of falling – don’t even need to leave hell to strike fear in the hearts of humankind. Even fiends and lesser devils also fear them. The Falling Devil is included in this group and, since the fear of falling is so prevalent, she is considered immortal. What makes the Falling Devil so scary, however, is its mental effect on people. At any given moment, the Falling Devil can make an opponent relive or “fall back into” a previous sad, depressing, or traumatic event. This leads the person to lose their focus or become so sad as to give up all hope. When this happens, the victim is put at the Falling Devil's mercy.
5 Chainsaw Devil
Manga Debut: Chapter #1
The Chainsaw Devil is not something most humans think or even know about at the start of the series. Accordingly, his scariness factor should, intuitively, be on the lower end of the spectrum. However, the fear that the Chainsaw Devil engenders is mostly within the devil community itself. As such, being the greatest fear of some of the universe’s most evil and hated spawn means he has a significant scariness factor even if he’s a non-factor to humans. The fear that Chainsaw Man produces in devils is his ability to literally erase them from existence. So long as devils exist, the Chainsaw Man is a threat to their ranks.
4 Famine Devil
Manga Debut: Chapter #81
Though a recent addition to Chainsaw Man's cast, the Famine Devil is quite powerful. As one of the Four Horsemen sisterhood, the Famine Devil’s presence guarantees that a maximum level of pain and despair will be felt by all those concerned. Her power to control the hunger of all, including devils, and her manipulation of everyone’s innate fear of being without enough sustenance to survive is horrifying. Few can resist her abilities, which give her God-like influence within the Chainsaw Man universe. The Famine Devil is one of the few devils who is not afraid of the Chainsaw Man. In fact, she’d like to challenge him for the chance to eat his heart.
3 Ghost Devil
Manga Debut: Chapter #25
One of the scariest elements of any horror story is the smiling, seemingly benevolent monster. They draw people in and make them think they are safe until they realize the monster is evil incarnate. The Ghost Devil raised this phenomenon to the ultimate degree by presenting herself in the form of a smiling mother-like figure, causing its victims to temporarily let their guards down just enough for it to devour its prey. Moreover, just like ghosts, drawing on the fear of a victim, the Ghost Devil tends to appear suddenly when and where least expected – to scare people into submission.
2 Darkness Devil
Manga Debut: Chapter #64
Like its colleague – the Falling Devil, the Darkness Devil is a Primal Devil. Its power is based on the common human fear of the dark which gives it God-like abilities. What makes the Darkness Devil so scary is his ability to control darkness. At a moment’s notice, it can make any lighted area instantly dark. Just that ability will raise the fear level of anyone experiencing it. Moreover, once covered by the darkness, the Darkness Devil has complete reign over the vicinity. Using its force abilities, it can attack a target with ferocious intensity.
1 Control Devil
Manga Debut: Chapter #1
As depicted by Makima in Chainsaw Man: Part 1, the Control Devil is arguably the most famous devil in the saga aside from Chainsaw Man himself. Another member of Chainsaw Man's Four Horsemen sisterhood, the Control Devil’s high power levels are beyond dispute. She single-handedly almost brought about the capture and control of the Chainsaw Devil.
Outside of her powers of control, what makes the Control Devil so scary is her stare and her mindset. As shown with the demise of Power, the Control Devil can literally kill targets with nothing more than a stare and a pointed finger. Not much defense against that. Secondly, her Palpatine-link ability to think long-term is chillingly creepy in that no matter what someone does, Makima’s likely already thinking of an effective counter-move that will end in the defeat of her enemies.
All devils are scary in Chainsaw Man. As long as humans have fears, the series' devils will have power and reign supreme. Nevertheless, based on the fear that spawns them, Chainsaw Man proves some devils are scarier than others, and with good reason. The scariest devils in Chainsaw Man are so horrific that even the prospect of facing one is a pure nightmare.
Chainsaw Man is now available from Manga Plus.
