In every anime, there’s always that one chaotic, childish, and unhinged character that annoys the hell out of other characters. In Chainsaw Man, Power takes that kind of role. She is a blood fiend who became Denji’s partner not long after he joined the Tokyo Special Division 4.
Although they start off with a rocky relationship, Denji and Power have established mutual trust and friendship throughout the series. In fact, Power has played a vital role in Denji’s character development which we will explore later in this article. So, just continue reading to find out more about Power and what makes her character so important in the story. (Spoilers ahead!)
Who is Power?
Power is a Blood Devil fiend who was first introduced in Chapter 4 as another member of Makima’s Tokyo Special Division 4 unit. In Chainsaw Man, the term fiend refers to a devil who has taken over a human corpse. Fiends are easy to recognize since they possess distinct features such as horns (Power), a shark head (Beam), or a ponytail shaped like a futakuchi-onna (Pingtsi).
Contrary to her comrades Denji and Aki, Power is extremely childish, rude, and selfish. She tends to do whatever she wants without even considering the consequences or how they might affect the people around her. She is highly arrogant and cocky, often claiming that she can do the things that she cannot actually do just to prove her superiority. Moreover, she has an unquenchable thirst for fighting, as she enjoys showing off her strength. However, she quickly retreats from a fight or even abandons her colleagues once she realizes they are on the losing side.
Power is tactless and has no problem gossiping about her friends or divulging their secrets, such as when she told Angel Devil about Aki’s secret of having a shortened lifespan.
She is also a compulsive liar who often tries to avoid the consequences of her actions by lying. Once, Power got into trouble with Makima for killing a devil that she wasn’t supposed to kill, and she immediately blamed Denji and claimed that he told her to kill it. When caught eating the team’s emergency food supply, Power was also quick to blame Denji despite obviously having crumbs on her face. What’s more, when she was accused of being a coward for abandoning a fight, Power claimed that she only ran away because she was hungry, which is clearly a bluff.
Power is lazy and unkempt; she believes other people should clean up after her. She shamelessly admits that she rarely takes a bath or flushes the toilet, claiming that humans are simply too sensitive about their hygiene. Power also believes that meat is meat and that she is willing to eat all of them, whether it’s pork, beef, human meat, or even zombie flesh, as seen in Chapter 36.
Following their encounter with the Darkness Devil, Power began to show a more vulnerable side as she developed severe trauma after witnessing the overwhelming Power of the Primal Fear. She felt terrified of being alone and being swallowed by the Darkness Devil. As a result, she started to rely on Denji and Aki, who helped take care of her and stayed by her side all the time.
Power also reveals a softer, more compassionate side towards her pet cat Meowy. She cared so much about Meowy that she was willing to risk her life when the Bat Devil kidnaped the cat.
At the beginning of the series, Power was merely a childish and greedy fiend who couldn’t care less about another creature, more so a human being. However, as the story progresses, she begins to deeply care about her close friends, such as Denji and Aki. She buys Denji a birthday cake which she would not normally do for others, and even puts herself in danger once to protect Denji. When Aki turned into a Gun Fiend, she was utterly devastated. Most importantly, Power proved that she is capable of putting others before herself when she refused to sacrifice Denji to Makima and chose to die instead to save her dear friend.
Abilities
In her original Blood Devil form, Power claims that she is greatly feared that other devils would flee from her scent alone, though this might be an exaggeration.
- Immense Strength
Power is significantly stronger than the average person. She can wield a massive hammer forged from her own blood, kill a bear effortlessly, and destroy the Sea Cucumber Devil’s body with one strike.
- Immense Speed
Power is a quick fighter, capable of hitting Denji while avoiding Denji’s own swing. She could vanish from the Katana Man’s sight while he shot down the other devil hunters before landing a solid uppercut that he couldn’t possibly avoid.
- Blood Manipulation
Power can manipulate her own blood to create weapons such as the Blood Hammer and the Blood Spear. She can also manipulate other people’s blood through direct interaction and stop them from bleeding out, though she admits it is quite difficult. Power can also corrupt her target’s regeneration abilities by mixing her own blood.
- Blood Amplification
As a fiend, Power can replenish her strength by consuming blood. As the Blood Devil, her regeneration capabilities are greater than those of other devils. When Power consumes too much blood or blood from a stronger devil, her Power increases dramatically. She also grows horns from her head whenever she drinks too much blood. A single blow from Power is enough to launch Denji through the ceiling in this state.
Relationships
Power and Denji
Power and Denji had a rocky relationship at first to the point that Power was willing to sacrifice Denji to the Bat Devil just to save her pet cat Meowy. Although they often bicker and annoy each other, they eventually develop a strong bond that even Makima cannot destroy.
Power considers Denji her very first friend, and before she dies, she contracted with Denji. She would give her blood to Denji, who was fatally wounded, and in exchange, Denji must promise to find the reincarnated Blood Devil and befriend her again so they could be together again.
At that point, Denji consumed Power’s blood and regained strength to face Makima. He finished her off using a blood chainsaw made out of Power’s blood that disrupted Makima’s regeneration. This was a crucial point in Denji’s development as he defeated the biggest threat to humanity at the cost of losing his friend.
Power and Aki Hayakawa
Aki and Power’s relationship can be best described as that of a constantly annoyed older brother and a stubborn younger sister. Aki tends to be annoyed at Power’s rude and childish behavior, while Power enjoys provoking and annoying the hell out of him. Despite this, Power begins to care about Aki as time goes by, and is deeply saddened when he turns into a Gun Fiend.
Power and Meowy
Meowy was the first creature to whom Power had shown concern and compassion, even willing to sacrifice Denji to the Bat Devil just to save the cat. When she thought Meowy died after being eaten by the Bat Devil, Power became so dejected that she could no longer fight back and just simply allowed herself to be devoured by the Bat Devil.
Trivia
- Power is one of the most popular characters in the series. She ranked first in the character popularity poll in 2020, and third in the second popularity poll in 2021.
- Her name is based on an angel from the middle order of the Christian angelic hierarchy named Powers.
- In a 2020 interview for the French magazine ATOM, Tatsuki Fujimoto stated that Power’s character was based on Eric Cartman from the animated sitcom South Park.
- In a Jump Festa 2021 interview, Tatsuki Fujimoto mentioned that Power’s personality is inspired by Walter Sobchack, a deuteragonist from the 1998 film The Big Lebowski.