⚠️ HEAVY SPOILERS: This article fully explains Makima’s identity, goals, and the ending of Chainsaw Man Part 1. Read only if you’ve completed the manga or don’t mind major revelations.
From her first appearance, Makima commanded attention. The composed, beautiful woman who offered Denji a simple deal—”Be my dog, and I’ll take care of you”—seemed like a mysterious benefactor. Maybe a love interest. Perhaps a mentor.
She was none of those things.
Makima was the architect of nearly every tragedy in Chainsaw Man, a manipulator who viewed humans as tools and Denji as her ultimate weapon. Her plan spans the entire first part of the manga, and understanding it reveals just how terrifying the Control Devil truly was.
Who Is Makima? The Control Devil Revealed
Her True Nature
Makima is not human. She is the Control Devil—the devil born from humanity’s fear of control and subjugation. This makes her one of the most powerful devils in existence because:
- Control is a primal fear that has existed throughout human history
- Every human fears losing autonomy to governments, relationships, circumstances
- The more people fear something, the stronger its devil becomes
- Control affects every society, every culture, every individual
What Makes the Control Devil Special
Unlike most devils who simply embody a fear, Makima can weaponize hers:
The Control Ability: Makima can control any being she perceives as inferior to herself. This includes:
- Humans who submit to her or view her as superior
- Devils weaker than the Control Devil
- Even other devil hunters under contract
The Chain of Control: Her control can extend through layers. If she controls someone who controls someone else, she indirectly controls the entire chain.
Memory and Perception Manipulation: Those under her control often don’t realize it. They believe their actions and feelings are genuine.
Her Position in the Government
Makima holds the position of Public Safety Devil Hunter at the highest level. She reports directly to the Prime Minister of Japan and holds authority over all devil hunter operations.
But this position itself is part of her plan. The Japanese government didn’t hire Makima—they’re under her control. She effectively is the Japanese government’s devil policy, shaping it to serve her purposes for years.
The Plan: What Did Makima Actually Want?
The Surface Goal: A “Better World”
Makima’s stated ambition sounds almost noble:
> “I want to use Chainsaw Man’s power to create a better world… A world without death, war, or hunger.”
She claims to desire a utopia—a world freed from the fears that create devils. On the surface, this seems benevolent.
But the method reveals the madness.
The True Goal: Absolute Control Through Chainsaw Man
Chainsaw Man—specifically Pochita, the Chainsaw Devil—possesses a unique ability: Devils eaten by Chainsaw Man are erased from existence. Not killed, not sent to Hell, but completely removed from reality. The concept they represented is also deleted from human memory.
Makima wanted to control this power. Her plan:
- Acquire Chainsaw Man: Get Pochita under her control
- Weaponize the erasure: Have him eat specific devils
- Erase “bad” concepts: Death, war, hunger, and other sources of suffering would cease to exist
- Rule the resulting world: As the only being who remembers what was erased, Makima would be the supreme authority
The Problem With Her “Utopia”
Makima’s plan is fundamentally tyrannical:
- She decides what’s “bad”: War and death are obvious, but she also mentioned nuclear weapons, Nazis, and other specific elements
- No consent involved: Humanity wouldn’t choose this—they’d lose free will entirely
- History erasure: People who died in wars wouldn’t just be dead—they’d never have existed
- Perfect control: A world remade by the Control Devil would be one under absolute control
Her “better world” is a world where Makima controls everything because only she knows what reality was before she changed it.
Denji’s Role: Why She Chose Him
The Perfect Vessel
Makima needed someone specific to awaken Chainsaw Man’s full power. Denji was ideal because:
He was desperate: Living in poverty, selling organs, crushing his own dreams—Denji would accept any offer for a better life.
He had simple desires: Food, shelter, a girlfriend. Someone with complex ambitions would be harder to manipulate.
Pochita chose him: The Chainsaw Devil had already bonded with Denji, making him the only access point.
He was controllable: Makima could easily make herself appear as his savior, his love interest, his purpose.
The Cruel Setup
Every positive experience Denji had in Public Safety was orchestrated:
The job offer: Makima didn’t rescue Denji out of kindness—she acquired an asset.
The found family: Division 4’s members were chosen to give Denji attachments. Attachments Makima could threaten or destroy.
The romantic hints: Makima deliberately cultivated Denji’s crush on her, giving him just enough hope to remain controllable.
The dates and promises: Every “reward” for good behavior was manipulation, training Denji like the dog she literally called him.
The Assassination Arc: Breaking Denji
Why She Killed Everyone
The International Assassins Arc—where multiple countries send killers after Denji—seems like enemies attacking. But Makima orchestrated much of it.
Her goal: Break Denji’s heart so completely that he would stop being himself.
The contract between Denji and Pochita required Denji to “live a normal life.” If Denji gave up on life, Pochita would fully take over, and Chainsaw Man would emerge in his true, powerful form.
The Deaths Makima Caused or Allowed
Aki Hayakawa: Makima deliberately set up Aki’s devil contract to doom him, then used him as the Gun Fiend to force Denji to kill his own friend.
Power: Makima killed Power in front of Denji after everything they’d been through—but not before Power became Denji’s genuine friend first.
Division 4: The various team members who died? Many were placed there knowing they would die, creating trauma for Denji.
The Cruelty Was the Point
Makima didn’t just want Denji broken—she wanted him destroyed specifically through losing everyone he loved. Every relationship was a future wound waiting to be inflicted.
This level of calculated cruelty reveals the Control Devil’s true nature. Humans aren’t people to her—they’re pieces on a board.
Makima’s Powers: How Control Works
Direct Control Abilities
Domination: Any being viewing her as inferior can be controlled. Given her power level, this includes most humans and many devils.
Force Transmission: She can transmit attacks through chains of controlled individuals. The manga shows her killing through people who died for her, channeling attacks across vast distances.
Contract Power: Her contract with the Japanese government lets her transfer any killing blow against her to a random Japanese citizen. She essentially has billions of lives as shields.
Combat Abilities
Despite being a manipulator, Makima demonstrated terrifying combat power:
- Crushing attacks that squash targets like insects
- Finger-pointing attacks that obliterate opponents
- The ability to use any devil power of those she controls
- Near-perfect regeneration through her contract
Weaknesses
The Control Limitation: She can only control those who view her as superior. Beings of equal or greater power resist.
Her Own Pride: Makima’s greatest weakness is her inability to understand love and genuine connection. She mistakes control for relationship.
Chainsaw Man Himself: Pochita in his true form doesn’t view Makima as superior—he views her as a fan girl, one among many, which infuriates her.
The Ending Explained: Denji’s Victory
How Denji Beat The Unbeatable
Makima seemed invincible. Her contract made her unkillable. Her power crushed all opposition. She controlled nations.
Denji won through a technicality of her own obsession: She didn’t want to control Denji. She wanted to control Chainsaw Man.
When Denji separated himself from Pochita—fighting as a human with Power’s chainsaw, not as Chainsaw Man—Makima didn’t perceive him as the threat.
The Final Strike
Denji’s solution was both clever and horrifying:
- He attacked Makima with a chainsaw made from Power’s blood (not Pochita)
- This wasn’t “Chainsaw Man” killing her—it was just Denji
- Her damage transfer didn’t protect against attacks “out of love” rather than attempts to kill
- He then ate her—processing her body so she couldn’t regenerate
Why This Worked
The attack worked because:
- Makima’s contract specified attacks intended to kill
- Denji’s consumption was an act of “love” (twisted as that sounds)
- He literally ate her remains, preventing devil regeneration
- The Control Devil was reborn as a new entity (Nayuta) without Makima’s memories
Nayuta: Makima’s Reincarnation
The manga ends with Denji receiving Nayuta—the Control Devil reborn as a child with no memories of being Makima. He’s given a chance to raise her differently, potentially preventing another Makima from emerging.
This mirrors Pochita’s words about devils being reborn in Hell and returning different. Makima is gone; Nayuta is a new being.
What Makima Represents
Control as Love’s Counterfeit
Makima’s tragic flaw—if a monster can have one—is that she mistakes control for genuine connection.
She says she wanted “the family Chainsaw Man had.” She wanted to be close to him. But her only tool for closeness is domination. She literally cannot relate to others as equals.
The Fear Made Manifest
Tatsuki Fujimoto created Makima as the embodiment of society’s fear of control:
- Governments that manipulate citizens
- Relationships where one partner dominates another
- Corporations that control workers
- The feeling that your choices aren’t your own
Makima is terrifying because her control is so complete that victims don’t know they’re victims.
A Commentary on Manipulation
In a world full of devils representing physical fears (guns, sharks, darkness), the Control Devil is uniquely psychological. She represents the horror of being used without knowing it, of your feelings being manufactured, of your “choices” being predetermined.
Reading Chainsaw Man
Manga: Chainsaw Man Part 1 on Amazon covers Makima’s complete story. Part 2 continues with Denji and Nayuta.
Anime: Chainsaw Man Season 1 on Crunchyroll adapts the first few arcs, with the Makima reveals coming in future seasons.
Conclusion
Makima’s plan was never about creating a better world—it was about creating a world that obeyed her. Every act of apparent kindness was manipulation. Every relationship was a tool. Every death was calculated.
Understanding Makima’s full scheme transforms a re-read of Chainsaw Man. Scenes that seemed wholesome reveal their cruelty. Her smiles become sinister. Her “guidance” becomes grooming.
She remains one of manga’s greatest antagonists precisely because she seemed so trustworthy. The Control Devil didn’t announce herself—she embedded herself so deeply that even the readers were fooled.
That’s what makes her terrifying. And that’s why her defeat—through love she couldn’t understand—feels so earned.
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