In every media, regardless of movies, books, or comics, there is always one character who divides the community. No matter how awful or great the character is, people will always have strong opinions about them. John Kramer from the Saw Series is a brilliant example of this! His philosophies often had the audiences debating the truths behind them. While many disagree with him, some do. Surprisingly, there is one character who garners as much debate: Makima.
Tatsuki Fujimoto is no stranger to writing controversial stories. He is a bit of a savant in it by this point. His previous work “Fire Punch” had all the craziest things in the world compressed in eight volumes. The fact that incest is the least weird thing on it is telling. So, when he got to work on Chainsaw Man, it’s no surprise he was able to divide his fanbase with one character. In this article, we will be talking about why people like Makima.
Why is Makima So Popular? Here are Three Reasons Why.
Makima’s Villainy
Makima’s popularity did not come from any heroic action. Her popularity came from her infamy as one of the evilest villains in recent Shounen history. The things she’s done to Denji couldn’t even be compared to most Shounen villains. Not only did she destroy him physically; she mentally and emotionally ruined his life. Her obsession with Pochita had almost led the world to ruin. If it weren’t for Denji finding a way to kill her, Chainsaw Man would have a bleaker future.
Makima Pre-Heel Turn
Makima’s popularity also comes from the fact that she was well-liked before her heel turn. Many readers liked her charming and mysterious character. There was something about her that drew attention. Many of the manga’s panels emphasized that. In every scene she was in, she completely stole the show. The only one who could beat her was Power. In a previous popularity poll in 2020, we can even see this dynamic.
Makima’s Real-Life Fans and Memes
Finally, Makima’s fans are definitely responsible for making her more popular. The memes of people turning into “dogs” in her presence made Makima more well-known. After all, it’s not every day you see groups of people “bark” for a female character. No other female Shounen character has gathered this much attention and memes. Maybe other than Sakura, but that’s a different story!
Why Do People Like Makima?
Addressing Makima’s Controversial Actions
Not going to lie to you, it is very hard to justify why people like Makima. As a character who has done some atrocious things, it’s hard to let her slide. If what she’s done to Denji happened to me, I will never find it in myself to forgive her. I would be part of the group of people who’d hate her and wish she died. Which she did.
Yet, even after all that, I couldn’t help but find her to be my favorite character in the series. This doesn’t mean that I approve of her actions. People should never forget that despite it all, Makima is evil. She should be judged by what she’s done and not by her intentions. So, with all these said and done, let’s get to explaining why.
Makima’s Intriguing Character and Villainy
Makima’s Complex Character
One of the reasons why people like Makima is because of her complex character. As we get to know her more, we realize that there was more to her than what meets the eye. She carried a painfully innocent yearning in her heart. A wish to have a companion with that she can see eye-to-eye. Yet, her very nature didn’t allow this to happen. She can only establish relationships through fear. We can even see her lament this truth during her date with Denji. As she watched two men embrace, a tear broke from her eye after a long day of cinema.
Makima’s tragic character invokes a lot of sympathy from the readers. It’s what made people feel bad for her and defend her in the first place. It was possible that she never wanted to be as evil as she was. She grew up with the government, which raised her as a tool to protect humanity.
Why Makima is Bad? Her Evil Nature
However, just because she is sympathetic, doesn’t mean that she is absolved from her sins. One other reason why people or at least I, like Makima so much is because she’s unapologetically evil! She never made an excuse for why she was doing what she did. Even when she declared herself as the “Necessary Evil”, it wasn’t an excuse. She was returning the argument the Yakuza threw at her. Never once did she raise this argument again, even in later chapters.
For example, when she was confronted about her plans, she answered frankly. She didn’t gloat or try to elaborate more about why her plans were beneficial to humanity. She believed that her actions were the right course to take. That was it. When Kishibe asked her if she ever considered losing and being eaten, she answered that she did. And to her, it was okay since “there’s no greater honor than being eaten by Chainsaw Man”.
The Control Devil never gloated and did what she had to do. She wasn’t overzealous in her belief. She took everything around her into consideration. Makima was a breath of fresh air compared to modern-day Shounen villains. I don’t know about you, but I’m not about to listen to Jogo from Jujutsu Kaisen rant about how he is the perfect “human”!
The Less than Savory Side
Of course, I should address the elephant in the room. Admittedly, some people like Makima because she is hot and dominating. The anime even knows this and goes the extra mile to make her more attractive. Its animators knew what they were doing when they made the scene between Makima and Denji. There are also memes revolving around Makima. The whole “turning into a dog for Makima” only further establishes this narrative. This starts to paint Makima fans in a negative light.
For the Chainsaw Man community, all her fans are submissive. This summarization can be demeaning, but it wasn’t like the fans were proving them wrong. A good chunk of her fanbase are people who are attracted to her or people who forgave her. Either way wasn’t a good look for the fans. This leads us to the next section.
Why Do People Hate Makima?
All the reasons I’ve said in the previous sections are the same ones as why people don’t like her. And for that, it is very understandable why. Makima isn’t a Saint and has done some unforgivable actions to CSM’s protagonists. We will be discussing these a bit more.
Makima’s Past Does Not Excuse Her Actions
Makima having a tough past and innocent wish does not and will never excuse what she’s done. The point still stands that Makima has ruined the lives of many people. She has gaslit and manipulated Denji to the point the boy lost his will to live. It was because of her that both Aki and Power died without being able to live out their lives. Chainsaw Man as a whole would be living a somewhat better life had Makima been better.
Not to mention, Makima is selfish and arrogant. She never once saw humans as humans. Instead, she saw them as “dogs”, pets that she adored and took care of. If given the chance, she was more than willing to kill millions to save the rest of humanity. There is also the fact that she dabbles in cruelty. For example, she gouged out the eyes of the Yakuza’s relatives to prove a point. Her needless cruelty would’ve eventually turned people away from her.
Makima’s Fans
Her dedicated fanbase doesn’t exactly make the best arguments for her. While it’s mostly a joke for people to “bark” for her, some people take it seriously. This escalates to some of the fans defending the atrocities she’s done as if she never did anything wrong. And you know what’s it like on the Internet. If you have a strong opinion, expect someone to prove you wrong! As a result, people start to hate Makima because of the rather overzealous defense of her fans.
Conclusions On Makima
I both love and hate Makima. She is the perfect villain for the series and I can’t ask for anyone more. However, I hate her for what she did to Denji, Power, and Aki. At the end of the day, liking Makima or not is wholly subjective. We each have our own opinions about the character. We should keep it that way and learn to enjoy it as it is.