Summary
Devils (悪魔／デビル Akuma/Debiru) are creatures born in Hell, out of concepts stemming from humanity, within the universe of Chainsaw Man. Generally devils have an instinctive desire to despise humans[1][2][3], enjoy killing[4], and blood-thirsty[5]; as blood is a source of power and nutrition for them. However, they are rare expectations to this such as the Fox Devil[6] and those with a more human-like appearance tend to be more docile & benevolent towards humans[7], e.g. the Angel Devil. Moreover, devils that can properly speak are considered "pretty strong" to Civilian Devil Hunters[8].
A special class of devils known as the Primal Fears (根源的恐怖 Kongen-teki Kyōfu) are devils that have likely existed when humans first came to be, embodying the most instinctual fears ingrained within the human psyche. These devils have been described as "transcendent" compared to normal devils and have never experienced death before due to their immerse power[9].
Abilities
Innate Abilities
While the physiology and abilities of devils vary from one to another, typically linked to the concept they embody, devils have been shown or stated to innately possess these fundamental abilities:
- Abstract Existence (Type 2; All devils are born from a "name" - concepts derived from humanity fears that the devil embodies[10]. These concepts can range anywhere from highly tangible such as guns & spiders to highly abstract such as control & violence)
- Immortality (Types 1, 3, 4, 6 & 8; As devils are the conceptual embodiment of humanity's fears, they will continue to persist after death as long as the concept they embody continues to be feared by humans. Whenever they do get killed within the human world; they will resurrect in Hell[11] under a completely new form[12], and vice versa. Devils are also able of possessing human corpses when threatened with death[13])
- Empowerment (Devils can gain strength and boosts in the effectiveness of their abilities through the below)
- Through Fear (One core trait of devils that has been repeatedly stated throughout the series is that; the more feared the concept that the devil embodies, the more powerful they become[14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][10]. This doesn't just mean fearing the concept itself, fearing mental imagery related to the concept also counts[10]. For example, a person may not fear a car by itself but fearing being run over and dying by a car would still count, and hence empower the Car Devil)
- Through Devil Consumption (Devils can also enhance their power, regardless of what type of devil they are by consuming pieces of flesh from strong devils who are feared[14][22][20]. For example, the various weaker devils that had consumed small pieces of the Gun Devil had grown to be considered "too strong" for their caliber[14])
- Limited Power Modification (Aside from boosting physical abilities through both methods of empowerment, the effectiveness of the devil's abilities can also be boosted. For example, the War Devil no longer needed to touch objects in order to change them into weapons after an increased in fear for wars[23][21])
- Limited Transformation (Fiends can revive as devils after eating pieces of strong devils as shown by Power's transformation into the Blood Devil after consuming a part of the Chainsaw Devil while she was in Denji's bloodstream[22])
- Regeneration via Limited Blood Manipulation (Varies from Low to Low-Mid normally; Devils can recover by drinking blood[24]. However, their regeneration is entirely dependent on the amount of blood they consume. It has been shown that blood has helped devils regenerate from snapped necks[24] all the way to entire lost limbs from relative low amounts of blood; less than what a human needs in themselves to stay conscious[10]. Up to High-Mid; Stronger devils such as the Chainsaw Devil have been shown to regenerate from just their hearts without external blood consumption[25])
- Enhanced Senses (Stated to possess keener noses than humans[26]. Have also been shown to be able to distinguish the scent of Hell from the human world and sense when a powerful devil such as the Darkness Devil is watching them when in Hell[9])
- Physical Possession (Devils can possess human corpses as a mean to survive[13]), Those who have are called:
- A Fiend (魔人 Majin) are devils who takes over a human corpses, distinguished by their distinct head shapes[27]. Very few fiends can repress their homicidal urges[28], most likely due to most of them lacking most of the human brain of the person they possess, those who don't can recall memories from the person they took over[29]. Fiends are much weaker in both power and the effectiveness of their abilities[7] however possess all the same innate abilities of devils expect for the ability to create contracts with devils[30] and further possession.
Contract Creation
Contracts (契約 Keiyaku) are a form of verbal binding vow between a devil and a human which cannot be broken without the death of the party that breaks the contract[30]. These contracts can take place in the physical world or the mental space of the human that's being contracted[13] (Limited Selective Telepathy). Interestingly, those that possess authority have been shown to be able to make contracts using the humans they have authority over, even when they haven't voiced consent or knowledge into the matter[31]. As contracts will be carried out regardless of volition depending on the nature of the contract, they fall under Law Manipulation.
General abilities that have been shown to come out of contracts include:
- Power Bestowal (Devil can lend their power to humans; whether it be in part or in whole[9][32])
- Summoning (Humans can make contracts with devils to summon parts of them when in battle[33])
- Transformation (Humans can transform into "devils" themselves through contracts[34][21])
- Fusionism & Resurrection (Devils can fuse with humans, turning them into hybrids and resurrecting them from death[13][18])
Resistances
Devils and fiends have also shown to possess innate resistances to the effects of other devils due to their general physiology, these resistances include:
- Zombification & Corruption (Type 1; Devils are able to resist the effects of the Zombie Devil and its zombies which will turn any human that they bite into more zombies[35] due to being non-human[22])
- Dollification (Similarly, devils are able to resist the effects of the Doll Devil which can turn any human that it touches into dolls, even if touches just their clothes due to being non-human[36])
Weaknesses
When a devil dies, their power becomes undone[15] unless it's transforming others into devils[13]. Moreover, as devils primarily use blood as a source of fuel, they can lose their ability to regenerate should they run out of blood. Also, they can be debilitated when humanity begins to lose their fear of them[37] or the respective concepts which they embody[38]. The Japanese government even has a system that has people report anyone inciting fear after large attacks to prevent the strengthening of devils[39].
References
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 5
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 11
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 41
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 149
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 14
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 20
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Chainsaw Man Chapter 34
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 45
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Chainsaw Man Chapter 64
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 10.2 10.3 Chainsaw Man Chapter 6
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 53
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 91
- ↑ 13.0 13.1 13.2 13.3 13.4 Chainsaw Man Chapter 1
- ↑ 14.0 14.1 14.2 Chainsaw Man Chapter 13
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Chainsaw Man Chapter 15
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 19
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 73
- ↑ 18.0 18.1 Chainsaw Man Chapter 98
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 99
- ↑ 20.0 20.1 Chainsaw Man Chapter 135
- ↑ 21.0 21.1 21.2 Chainsaw Man Chapter 146
- ↑ 22.0 22.1 22.2 Chainsaw Man Chapter 90
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 148
- ↑ 24.0 24.1 Chainsaw Man Chapter 30
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 88
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 55
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 4
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 21
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 56
- ↑ 30.0 30.1 Chainsaw Man Chapter 17
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 75
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 25
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 10
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 144
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 32
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 59
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 89
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 104
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 132
Summary
Hybrids, also referred to as a Devil-Human (悪魔人間 Akuma-ningen), are a special type of species within the universe of Chainsaw Man, being neither human or devil[1] but rather a fusion of them both which can occur through either a contract between the two parties[2] or physical surgery; replacing a human's organ with the devil in question[3]. Their real name is unknown as the concept of it was erased from existence by the Chainsaw Devil however their physical presence still remains[4]. While Hybrids keep their human consciousness and control of their original human bodies normally, the consciousness of the devil still remains deep within.
Abilities
As hybrids are part devil, they possess all innate abilities that devils possess except for Possession and Contract Creation. They also innately possess a unique of set of new abilities which include:
- Transformation (Hybrids are capable of transforming from their humans form to their hybrid form through activating their trigger. All triggers vary between hybrids and can range from pulling a chainsaw cord on the chest[5] to pulling an arrow out of the right eye socket[6])
- Regeneration (Up to High-Mid; Aside from drinking blood, by activating their triggers, hybrids have been shown to be able to reprocess the blood already in themselves to regenerate from wounds, this can range from a broken neck[7] all the way to being reduced to just a head[8])
- Resurrection (High-Mid; Similarly, hybrids can come back to life after death. Such as from events like drowning[7], being cursed to die by the Curse Devil or being reduced to just a head for a long while[6] as long as someone activates their activation source[9])
- Immortality (Types 2 & Possibly 7; Hybrids have been shown to be able to function temporarily from injuries such as decapitation[8][10] as well as from both horizontal and vertical bisection[11][12] however this is dependent on how much blood they have left in their bodies. Also, after Reze had transformed, Kato & Tanabe didn't consider their ability to be able to work on her as they considered her non-living[8])
- Multiple Selves (Types 1 & 3; Hybrids are the fusions between devil and human with both of their consciousnesses remaining within the same body however typically the devil doesn't communicate with the human often if at all. There are some exceptions to this though[13])
Resistances
Possess all resistances that devils possess alongside:
- Conceptual Manipulation & Existence Erasure (Type 2; Hybrids continued to persist even after their concept was erased from existence by the Chainsaw Devil who erases concepts from the past, the present and even from individuals' memories[4][14])
Weaknesses
Possesses all weaknesses that devils possess. Requires enough blood in their body in order to fully transform[15]. Likewise, requires their activation source to remain intact and them being able to physically activate it in order to achieve regeneration & self-resurrection[16].
References
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 23
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 1
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 36
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Chainsaw Man Chapter 87
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 7
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Chainsaw Man Chapter 67
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 Chainsaw Man Chapter 51
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 Chainsaw Man Chapter 46
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 24
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 128
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 37
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 152
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 150
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 84
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 9
- ↑ Chainsaw Man Chapter 52
Discussions
| Discussion threads involving Devil Physiology (Chainsaw Man) |