One of the things that make Tatsuki Fujimoto so brilliant is the amount of detail and meaning that he puts into every work. Chainsaw Man alone is packed with literary, historical, and pop culture references. If you’re an avid reader of Fujimoto, you’re probably aware that even minute things such as names mean something to the story.
In another article, we talked about the meaning behind Denji’s name and how it corresponds to his role as the protagonist. This time, let’s take a look into the meaning behind the name of another significant character in Chainsaw Man: Makima a.k.a. the Control Devil. She played a huge role in the first part of the series and ranked second in Shueisha’s Character Popularity Poll.
What Does Makima Mean?
Makima’s name is deeply tied to her relationship with Denji. In an interview with Shueisha, Fujimoto explained that a chainsaw is generally used to cut wood, and “ki” means wood/tree in Japanese. So if you cut the “ki” out of Makima, you’ll get the word “Mama”.
It makes so much sense considering that Makima was initially portrayed as a maternal figure to Denji. His inclination towards Makima is often mistaken as mere sexual attraction, but the truth is that Denji is simply yearning for motherly love and care that he never experienced due to his rough upbringing.
Throughout the series, Fujimoto has also shown maternal imagery for Makima’s character. The most obvious one is the scene from Chapter 89 where Makima controlled the corpses of several devil hunters using chains attached to her belly. The chains strongly resembled that of an umbilical cord that connects a mother and an infant; a symbolism thematic to Makima’s role in the story.
Makima’s maternal and religious imagery is more openly conveyed in the anime. One mind-blowing reference that Twitter fans noticed just recently is the uncanny resemblance between Makima and the image of the Virgin Mary.
The meaning behind Makima’s name gets more interesting if we relate it to the ending of Chainsaw Man’s first part. In Chapter 96, Makima meets her end when Denji cuts her in half using a blood chainsaw. If you think about it, the meaning of Makima’s name was actually a foreshadowing of her death. She was struck down like a tree, similar to what Fujimoto mentioned about the chainsaw and how if you cut out the “ki” (wood/tree) in Makima, it would leave you with the word “Mama”.
What Does Makima Mean in Japanese?
Aside from the explanation provided by the author himself, there are many other meanings that we could also relate to Makima’s character.
- One of them is the connection between Makima’s name and the Japanese company Makita, which is a well-known manufacturer of chainsaws in Japan. In fact, Pochita’s design seems to be heavily based on a certain Makita chainsaw model. (Coincidence?)
- In Kanji, the most common spelling of Makima is 牧間 which can be regarded as a wordplay on 人間, meaning “human shepherd”; a fitting name for the Control Devil.
- The Kanji for Makima’s Devil name, Shihai (支配), is similar to the one used for the Japanese translation of the word “conquest”, one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Hence, Makima’s name can also be interpreted as the “Conquest Devil”.
Is Makima a Girl or Boy Name?
Just like Denji, the name “Makima” is quite rare as well. If you look up the name on Google, all the results will be about Makima from Chainsaw Man. That’s why it is difficult to determine whether it is a name for a girl or a boy, since there are hardly any people named Makima even in Japan.