Chainsaw Man Characters: A Guide to the Main Cast

Chainsaw Man's cast reads like a support group nobody survives: a boy who dreams of toast with jam, a fiend who lies as a hobby, a handler whose kindness is the scariest thing in the series. This guide covers every major character in Chainsaw Man's first part — who they are, their devil or contract, and what they actually want (the question the story weaponises) — plus a spoiler-light look at the Reze Arc movie's namesake and Part 2's new lead.

The main cast at a glance

Character	Role	Devil / power	What they want
Denji	Protagonist	Chainsaw Devil (Pochita) hybrid	An ordinary life — bread, a girlfriend, sleep
Makima	Handler / ???	Spoiler-grade	The series' central mystery
Power	Deuteragonist	Blood Fiend	Glory, snacks, her cat Meowy
Aki Hayakawa	Team senior	Contracts: Curse, later Future Devil	Revenge on the Gun Devil
Pochita	The heart	Chainsaw Devil	To be hugged — really
Kishibe	Mentor	Claw, Knife and Needle contracts	To train "crazy" hunters who survive
Kobeni Higashiyama	Reluctant hunter	Contract undisclosed	To quit, please, immediately
Himeno	Aki's partner	Ghost Devil contract	Something to live for besides work
Reze	Movie lead	Bomb Devil hybrid	Spoiler — the Reze Arc's whole heart
Asa Mitaka	Part 2 protagonist	War Devil (Yoru)	To survive her own head

Denji — the hero whose dreams fit on a napkin

Shonen protagonists want to be Hokage or Pirate King; Denji wants jam on his bread. Orphaned into yakuza debt, he hunted devils with his chainsaw-dog Pochita until a betrayal left him dying in a dumpster — where Pochita merged with his heart, making him a devil-human hybrid who starts his engine with a chest cord. Denji's arc is the series' thesis: what happens to a boy who achieves every tiny dream he was starved of, one at a time, and discovers each one was a leash someone else was holding. Fujimoto writes him crass, honest and heartbreaking — often in the same panel.

Makima — the kindest voice in the room

Makima recruits Denji out of the dumpster with food, warmth and the series' most quietly threatening job offer ("die as a devil, or live as my dog"). She runs Public Safety's Special Division 4 with total calm, never raises her voice, and knows things she shouldn't. Saying more would rob first-timers of Part 1's engine — Makima's true nature and goal are the mystery the whole story detonates. She's routinely ranked among modern anime's greatest antagonists-slash-question-marks, and our greatest villains list explains the tier she plays in.

Power and Aki — the found family that makes it hurt

Power is a Blood Fiend (a devil possessing a human corpse) and the show's chaos engine: pathological liar, credit-thief, screams first and always — and, across shared bathtubs and vegetable-eating lessons, the closest thing Denji has to a sibling. Her character arc is Fujimoto's proof that comedy relief can carry the series' heaviest emotional payload. Aki is the human core: a Gun Devil massacre survivor running on cigarettes and revenge, whose Curse Devil contract spends his lifespan like currency. The apartment where these three play house is Part 1's real setting — everything the story does later, it does to that home.

Kishibe, Kobeni, Himeno — Division 4's survivors and casualties

Kishibe is the strongest Devil Hunter in Public Safety and the series' bluntest mentor: his training method is attempted murder on a schedule, his philosophy — hunters need a screw loose to survive — is the setting's job description. Kobeni is the fandom's protected fan-favourite: visibly unqualified for the horror around her, permanently one panic attack from quitting, yet blessed with reflexes that make her accidentally one of the deadliest people in any room. Himeno, Aki's chain-smoking partner with the Ghost Devil contract, carries the early series' adult loneliness — and her arc defines what Chainsaw Man does to characters you've just learned to love.

Reze and the movie — plus Part 2's new face

Reze, the girl Denji meets in a rainstorm café, is the lead of the Reze Arc film — the "Bomb Girl" storyline widely held as Part 1's best arc, a romance and a horror story occupying the same body. Anything more is spoiler territory; watch Season 1 first (our Chainsaw Man watch order sequences it). Asa Mitaka, Part 2's protagonist, is a friendless schoolgirl sharing her body with Yoru, the War Devil — a new host-and-passenger dynamic that mirrors Denji and Pochita from a colder angle. The devils behind all of them — fear hierarchy, contracts, the Gun Devil — are covered in our devils and powers explainer.

Frequently Asked Questions

Who are the main characters in Chainsaw Man?

Denji, Makima, Power and Aki Hayakawa form the core, with Pochita as the story's beating (literal) heart and Kishibe, Kobeni and Himeno rounding out Division 4.

Is Makima a villain?

That's the Part 1 question, and the story answers it properly — spoiling it here would ruin the series' best reveal. What's safe to say: she is never just what she appears.

What devil is Power?

Power is the Blood Fiend — the Blood Devil possessing a human corpse, which is why she has horns and a personality unburdened by shame.

Who is Reze in Chainsaw Man?

The café girl at the centre of the Bomb Girl arc — adapted as the Reze Arc movie. Watch Season 1 first; her story lands hardest unspoiled.

Who is the strongest Chainsaw Man character?

Among humans, Kishibe; the true top tier involves spoilers — our strongest Chainsaw Man characters ranking handles them with warnings.