Makima

 Warning: This page contains major spoilers for the Chainsaw Man series. Please read at your own risk.

Makima (マキマ) is a Public Safety Devil Hunter, who took Denji as her human pet. She is later revealed to be the Control Devil (の) which embodies the fear of control. She serves as the overall main antagonist of the Public Safety Saga.

Appearance
Makima is a beautiful woman who appears to be in her twenties. Her hair colour is light red, usually kept in a loose braid with eye length bangs and two longer side bangs that frame her face. Her eyes are yellow with multiple black coloured rings within them.

Personality
Makima is extremely cunning and manipulative. She controls Denji with promises of a romantic and sexual relationship while threatening him with extermination if he disobeys her.

She is ruthless and willing to sacrifice the lives of others and harm innocent people if it benefits her objective, that is supporting the Chainsaw Devil to the fullest.

Makima is an extreme fan of Chainsaw Man, the "Hero of Hell". Fascinated by its ability to wipe out the embodied concept of a devil when eating them, her stated goal is bringing Chainsaw Man under her control, using its power to create an "ideal" world without fears and if she fails to do so, to be eaten by Chainsaw Man, which she says would be an honor to be a part of him.

Makima's true, unstated goal, however, was to be together forever with Pochita and lead a happy life with him as she always yearned for something like a family, due to her being incapable of forming equal relationships with others as the control devil.

Intro arc
Makima went to exterminate the Zombie Devil but saw someone beat her to it. She then saw Denji as Chainsaw Man and told him he had a smell neither human or devil and asked him who he was, but he only told her to hug him. As she did, Denji turned back into human. Makima then told him that she is a Devil Hunter and that Denji has two options: be killed by her or kept as her pet, upon hearing he will be fed, he agreed.

While travelling in the car, Denji's stomach growled and Makima told him she will buy him some food. When they reached the store and ordered food, a man rushed in and asked for help. Hearing the situation and that her food is ready, she sends out Denji to deal with the situation, since he was her pet. After Denji returned, she complimented him for being a good pet. She explains that there are a few precedents like his, but there is still no name for his situation, she also states that since she had a good nose she could sense that Pochita was still alive in him. She then fed him the soggy udon, as he couldn't himself. Denji then asked her what was her type, to which she responded it's him.

Makima introduces Denji to the other members of Division 4 that he will be living with, Aki Hayakawa and the Blood Fiend Power.

Bat Devil arc
After the three defeat the Bat and Leech Devils, she motivates Denji to hunt the Gun Devil by promising to grant him any wish. She then commands Division 4 to kill the Eternity Devil and retrieve the piece of the Gun Devil's flesh in its possession.

Eternity Devil arc
She then goes out drinking with the team in celebration of their victory. Makima is on her way to meet with members of the Special Division 1 when her fellow Devil Hunters are attacked by followers of the Gun Devil.

Katana Man arc
She survives getting shot in the head thanks to an unknown ability or contract and then kills some of the assailants thanks to a different ability that requires her to sacrifice criminals condemned to life in prison.

After the attack, Makima introduces Denji and Power to the strongest Devil Hunter in the Special Division 1, known only as Master. After they complete their training, Master and Makima have dinner where he accuses her of using Denji and Power as pawns in her schemes and questions her allegiance to humanity.

Later, Makima meets with members of the Yakuza and forces them to disclose the names of the people who attacked Division 4 by presenting them with a bag filled with the eyeballs of their loved ones and refuses to return them to a healthy state if they do not cooperate.

After successfully infiltrating the hideout and capturing the Katana Man Makima is seen reporting to a superior. She reported that Sawatari who was a former Private Devil Hunter contracted with the Gun Devil and passed guns to the Yakuza, in exchange for which she wanted the Chainsaw Devil's heart. She also reports that Sawatari committed suicide before they could interrogate her and that they obtained 1.4 Kg of Gun Devil fragments. Which when combined with their already obtained 5 Kg was moving towards the main body.

She later examines Power and says that her blood must be drained to keep her in check. She assigns Beam as Denji's partner until the blood draining is complete. Makima then invites Denji on a date, they watch movies together and are mostly unmoved with them. In the final movie both her and Denji are moved to tears. After that movie, Denji asks Makima if she thinks that he has a heart to which she responds by placing her head on his chest and saying that he does.

Bomb Girl arc
Makima is seen partnering Aki with the Angel Devil stating that he is the most powerful member of the 4th excluding Kishibe. She also tells Aki that the Angel Devil is lazy and that he doesn't have to be friendly with him, only to use him well as he could be a valuable asset.

She intercepts Reze when she is going to meet Denji at the Café using her ability to travel as a mischief of rats. She tells Reze that she too likes the country mouse and talks about going to help a friend who lives in the country, stating that catching the mice which ruin the fields gives her peace of mind. She disarms Reze with the help of the Angel Devil who is waiting on the rooftop above the alleyway. She is standing in a pool of Reze's blood when she tells the Angel Devil that she told him to bring Aki with him. She sees it as considerate that he didn't bring Aki along as he wouldn't have wanted to kill a woman.

International Assassins arc
Makima visits Denji's apartment and invites him, Aki and Power on a vacation to Enoshima. Denji and Aki readily agree and Power tries to worm her way out of it to no success. A group of Public Safety devil hunters enter the apartment and inform Makima of a development; Denji in his Chainsaw Devil form has become public knowledge due to Reze's efforts which Makima is angry at.

She comments that America and China will both be after Denji due to his rarity as someone who is neither devil nor fiend and that the Soviet Union likely did this so that no matter who captured Denji he would be away from Makima. Makima postpones the trip to Enoshima, informing Denji that he will be without freedom for the foreseeable future. She gives orders to the other devil hunters for Kusakabe and Tamaoki from Miyagi Public Safety Devil Extermination Division 2 and Subaru from Kyoto Public Safety Devil Extermination Division 1 be brought in, and that Hirofumi Yoshida is to be hired from the civilian sector in order to protect Denji.

On her way out, she informs Aki that the operation to kill the Gun Devil will commence next year and that he should try not to die in the meantime since they will need everybody for that operation.

Makima speaks with Kishibe about the potential threats that will be coming their way, including a rumor than Quanxi is coming which Kishibe is unhappy with. She states that it is no use taking precautions against her and that the one they really need to be worrying about is Germany's Santa Claus who is rumored to have died of old age, but is still the biggest threat out there.

Makima, alongside Beam and Prinz, take care of a large number of Santa Claus' puppet dolls in a ruined building. She orders Beam to go assist Denji and tells Prinz to make sure to save Denji no matter what, and to recover the bodies of any devil hunters who perish.

Later Makima sits atop a pile of puppet corpses and shows an awareness that Denji and several other devil hunters are under assault from the Darkness Devil in Hell. She states that the Darkness Devil is intentionally bidding her to come and try to save them. Prinz, who has been defeated already by the Darkness Devil begs Makima not to come but after Makima gives the order, Prinz dutifully summons her by unzipping her upper body open and allowing Makima to emerge in Hell. Makima and the Darkness Devil point at each other, exchanging attacks, causing Makima's finger to break and the Darkness Devil to begin bleeding profusely.

Makima makes her way over to Tolka's corpse and exchanges another round of attacks with the Darkness Devil which causes Makima's entire right arm to contort and break. She touches Tolka's body and forces him to speak to the Hell Devil; making an offer to exchange everything in order to be returned to Earth. The Darkness Devil summons a black blade which pierces Makima's chest just as the Hell Devil's hand sweeps through and returns all of the survival devil hunters and bodies to the top of the department store on Earth.

Makima cradles Denji as the real Santa Claus - now transformed into a monstrous doll form - jumps up to the roof and faces her. Makima greets Santa Claus and pulls Denji's chainsaw cord, triggering his transformation. She advises him that since the enemy has ingested a piece of the Darkness Devil's flesh that no attacks in the darkness will work, and then bids him to defend her. Denji loyally responds with a "Woof!" and jumps into combat against Santa Claus.

Once Denji manages to defeat Santa Claus, he is approached by Quanxi and her fiends. They instantly surrender upon Makima's arrival, with Quanxi begging that her harem be spared. Makima decapitates them without hesitation.

Gun Devil arc
With much of the squad still reeling from their encounter with the Darkness Devil, Makima reveals that the Gun Devil has been located and in fact has been largely divided up between the world's most powerful nations to be used as a weapon. The President of the United States, under contract with the Gun Devil, sacrifices one year of every citizen's lifespan in order to issue a command: attack Japan and kill Makima, who is viewed as a serious threat. Shortly before the attack, Makima uses her powers to compel Aki and the Angel Devil to serve as her pawns. In addition, she summons several deceased devil hunters and is able to use their devil contracts by proxy. The Gun Devil appears in Japan and unleashes a devastating attack causing many casualties and large scale damage. Although the ensuing battle is not shown, it is implied that Makima is able to weaken the Gun Devil enough for it to possess Aki's corpse and turn him into a fiend.

Control Devil arc
After Denji is forced to kill Aki in order to defeat the Gun Fiend, he goes to Makima seeking comfort and direction, stating that he is too depressed and detached to make his own decisions anymore and would prefer to be told what to do like a pet. At her residence, Makima is shown to be the owner of many energetic and affectionate dogs. She tells Denji matter-of-factly that she has invited Power over as well, and when Denji opens the door, Makima will kill her. True to her word, as Power arrives, Makima instantly blasts her apart, leaving only her head and legs. She explains to Denji that she deliberately planned to provide him with a family unit and various sources of happiness, only to rip them away in order to break him. Ultimately, her goal is to allow the dormant Chainsaw Devil to take over completely.

Meanwhile, Kishibe and his team are plotting to attack Makima, who is revealed to be the Control Devil. Makima states that she is a Chainsaw Devil fanatic, and would either like to control him or be consumed by him. At Makima's command, Denji, having apparently lost himself, transforms into the fully-powered Chainsaw Devil. Kishibe's men summon the Hell Devil by sacrificing their lives, but the Chainsaw Devil's strength is overwhelming.

In an effort to subjugate the Chainsaw Devil, who has gone berserk, Makima calls upon a group of weapon hybrids, several of whom were former enemies presumed deceased (including Reze, Quanxi, and Katana Man) but who now serve her with adoration. Once again, the Chainsaw Devil largely overwhelms his attackers, though he is weakened when Makima points out the general public's fear that powers him is waning, as they now view him as a hero. She uses the Angel Devil to create a powerful spear and launches it at the Chainsaw Devil, impaling him.

However, the Chainsaw Devil is revived after Pochita has an inner conversation with the remnants of Power, whose existence persists in Denji due to him having consumed her blood prior. Pochita grants her the ability to emerge as the fully-powered Blood Devil, but she is no match for Makima. Power is able to hide Denji in a dumpster before dying.

After being recovered by Kishibe, Denji battles Makima and her minions for the final time at a mass gravesite. Makima is perplexed and disappointed that Denji's personality has seemingly resurfaced. She is able to defeat him and rip out his heart. Having achieved her goal, she rests for a moment, but is attacked by Denji who appears from a pile of corpses, wielding a chainsaw imbued with Power's blood. After dealing Makima a fatal blow, he tells her that she had been battling Pochita, while he hid and waited for an opportunity to strike.

Following Makima's defeat, Denji reveals that his plan to circumvent her regenerative powers is to consume her, making various meals from her remains. Conversing with Kishibe after the fact, Denji claims this is an act of love rather than revenge. Furthermore, Denji explains his theory that Makima only perceived people by scent, and he believed she was so indifferent towards him that she never remembered his, thus allowing him to ambush her. Kishibe tells Denji that a new Control Devil, already reincarnated, has been brought over from China. The Control Devil has taken the form of a young black-haired girl called Nayuta. Kishibe goes on to say that Makima is effectively gone, and this new Control Devil must not be allowed to go down a similar path. He leaves Nayuta in Denji's care.

Physical Abilities
Immense Strength: Makima possesses a great deal of physical strength allowing her to fight effectively in hand-to-hand combat without relying on any of her subordinates. Her strength was great enough to overwhelm Pochita and shatter his chainsaws with her physical strikes.

Enhanced Smell: According to Denji, Makima differentiates others through smell primarily. In their first encounter, she was able to detect through scent that Pochita still existed within Denji.

Supernatural Abilities
Control Devil Abilities: The extent of Makima's abilities are mostly unknown. She has shown variety of abilities which can be her default ability as a Control Devil or an ability of another devil she controls. The list of her shown abilities:


 * Makima has shown to control any being who she believes is inferior to her, even being able to force them into making contracts with her or another devil. It seems as though once placed under her control, the victim subsequently loses their memory. This ability works on humans, devils, fiends and hybrids. She can channel the power of her victims by summoning them through a chain connected to her body. It has been shown that she can use the abilities of Angel Devil, Future Devil, Snake Devil, Punishment Devil and Zombie Devil. Even deceased individuals can be controlled in this manner. Makima was able to form a squad of weapon hybrids, three of which (Reze, Quanxi, and Katana Man) were former enemies who now behaved affectionately towards her. This suggests Makima can control individuals outright as well as changing their personalities in subtle ways.


 * Makima has shown to cause her target to be crushed by an invisible force. In order to use this technique, Makima appears to require a higher place, the name of a target and a human sacrifice. Makima forms a symbol with her hands and instructs the sacrifice to utter the name of the target. The sacrifice then dies and the target subsequently is crushed, leaving only a splatter of blood behind and their clothes. While she is using this ability, the people around herself close their eyes with a black cloth.


 * Makima has shown to kill her targets if she looks at a person, seemingly being crushed from the inside. She has also shown to inflict damage to targets she points at with her index finger which is strong enough to kill Power in instant and send empowered Chainsaw Man to outer space. She has also shown to remove the heads of her targets in vicinity from a short-to-mid range by using a sword; similar to her crushing ability, the people around herself close their eyes with a block cloth. These abilities are similar to the Darkness Devil's and Gun Devil's, though it's unknown if Makima gained them.


 * Makima has shown to transmit her voice into in others by placing her hand on his or her head even if the person is dead. She uses this to command the devils that the person is currently contracted with.


 * Makima has been shown to control a large number of rats which allow her to travel around using them. These rats can then cluster together to form the shape of a human and thus allow for Makima to be transported to that location instantly.


 * Makima borrows the hearing of rats, birds, and other lower life forms to hear conversations remotely, seemingly anywhere on the planet and possibly extending into Hell itself. She was able to spy on Denji's and Reze's conversation and was listening in on Kishibe's conversation with Quanxi. This ability can be circumvented by communicating nonverbally such as writing on a piece of paper.

Contract Creation: As a devil, the Control Devil can bestow contracts upon humans for a price. Thanks to her ability to control humans, she can force them to make a contract with herself. The Control Devil has a contract with the Prime Minister of Japan in exchange of working for Japan.
 * As a result of her contract with the Prime Minister, any fatal damage inflicted to Makima is transferred to random citizen of Japan. She was shown to have been shot in the back of the head and seemingly killed, only to stand up later with no visible wounds. She stated that she was merely grazed by a bullet, however, this is unlikely given the placement of the gun when it was fired, as well as the location of the blood from the exit wound. Later, she has been killed by Gun Devil after it fires a gunshot through her head. It is confirmed that she has been killed twenty-six times up until the attack of Gun Devil.

Blood Consumption: As a devil, the Control Devil should be able to restore its health by consuming blood. She has shown to regenerate her arm that has been damaged by Darkness Devil, however it is unknown that whether this ability is derived from her regeneration ability or her contract with the Prime Minister.

Revival: As a devil, the Control Devil should revive in Hell after being killed effectively making it immortal.

Other Abilities
High Alcohol Tolerance: Makima has an exceedingly high tolerance for drinking alcohol; able to out-drink both Aki and Himeno without showing any signs of being debilitated by the vast quantities of drink.

Trivia

 * Makima's ranking in the Popularity Polls are as follows;
 * Makima ranked 2nd in the First Popularity Poll, with 27,224 votes.


 * Makima smokes "hi-fight"s, likely a reference to the Japanese tobacco brand "hi-lite."
 * Makima was the first character Fujimoto had a solid image of as she is a character in "Breath of The Stars", one of the serialised works in Fujimoto's head, out of many fantasy stories he imagined in Junior High.
 * Makima was partially based on "Benten", a character in "The Eccentric Family" that Fujimoto liked, for she is an unfathomable higher being, with her own sadness we lowly humans can't comprehend. Something Fujimoto wanted to convey in Makima.
 * Fujimoto has mentioned FLCL as a source of inspiration for the girls of Chainsaw Man and Makima is likely based on Haruko from FLCL who is a manipulative, unpredictable being.
 * According to Fujimoto, if you remove the -ki- from Ma-ki-ma's name, you're left with Mama. Which ties in with Denji, who has always been pursuing Maternal things since the death of his mother at a young age.
 * Makima's final battle at the end with Chainsaw Man was inspired by the Shinobu vs Araragi fight in the Kizumonogatri III movie according to a tweet by Fujimoto.