Kishibe

"I'll turn you into the baddest of the badasses."

Kishibe is a Public Safety Devil Hunter from Tokyo Special Division 1, but after the assault on the Special Divisions, he became captain of the Tokyo Special Division 4.

Appearance
Kishibe is a grizzled man with scraggly facial hair and a stitched scar running across his left cheek from his mouth. As a young adult his hair was black, but has since then become grey in the manga. In the anime he has more of a yellow hair color which could be dyed. With two piercings on his left ear and one on his right ear, Kishibe normally wears the standard Public Safety Devil Hunter uniform with a large overcoat.

He is often seen with a silver hip flask which he frequently drinks from.

Personality
Kishibe is a stoic, straightforward individual. Due to his immense strength and skill, he often undertakes his work with a calm formality, displaying little emotion as he does so. Though he tends to speak in a relaxed, polite manner, his actions often showcase an immense brutality garnered through many years of Devil Hunting. Though he sometimes expresses emotions such as surprise and sadness at certain events, his face and voice remain entirely neutral.

Despite this stoicism, Kishibe has proven on numerous occasions to be something of a sentimental and emotional individual. During his training of Denji and Power, despite his stated hatred of Fiends and Devils, he grows affectionate towards the pair, telling Makima of his concerns for their safety. He later takes care of Meowy for them as a favor when they go on a trip. Similarly, he refuses to look at the corpse of Quanxi upon her death due to their implied past-friendship, despite the two's attempts to kill one another earlier in the day.

Kishibe has been hunting devils for a long time, making him somewhat insane. He espouses a belief that the most fearsome devil hunters to devils isn't the brave or the strong, but the craziest as they are the ones without fear.

Kishibe told Denji and Power that he prefers to be called 'Master' while training them. He admits that he enjoys booze, women and killing devils.

History
Kishibe met with Quanxi while he was young. During their first meeting, Kishibe asked Quanxi to become his woman and he was rejected by her immediately while taking a punch from her. This occurrence has been repeated several times until nine years later after their first encounter, she declared that she is interested in girls.

Kishibe met with Himeno as she visited her old buddy's graves in a cemetery. He explains to her that the type of devil hunters that devils fear the most isn't the strongest or the bravest but the craziest, which is why all of her former partners, who were too sane, are dead. He asks about Aki and talks about the Gun Devil which all hunters dream of capturing. His words have a profound effect on her as she realizes that Aki may make it to the Gun Devil but he isn't crazy enough to survive.

Eternity Devil arc
Himeno recalled Kishibe's words to her in the cemetery as she watched Denji battle the Eternity Devil.

Katana Man arc
Makima leads Denji and Power into a cemetery to meet the man who will train them. Before she can introduce him he tells her to be quiet and asks Denji and Power some questions in order to ascertain what type of people they are. He rates their answers with a perfect score and tells Makima that she can go as training will begin immediately. He introduces himself to Denji and Power by wrapping his arms around their necks and snapping them.

He explains to them that their muscle and skeletal structures are the same as humans and that they can be incapacitated the same way as any humans - the main difference between them and humans is that they can recover by drinking blood, and he provides a bloodpack to heal both of them. He explains that his training regimen for them will be totally new since his only experience is in training humans. He declares that there will be nonstop battle until they succeed in taking him down; as any who takes down a powerhouse like him must be a powerhouse themselves. Kishibe easily evades Denji's attack and counters with brutal efficiency, taking down Denji and Power.

After a full day of 'training' he decides to head home for some sleep and leaves Denji and Power to try and plan their next plan of attack.

The next day Kishibe climbs the stairs to their apartment, complaining that they were skipping his lessons. As he approaches their front door Power launches the planned surprise attack; throwing a blood spear through the door which he deftly avoids and breaks. She follows it up by forcing blood spears to emerge from the ceiling out of bottles of blood she had stashed on the floor above. As he evades the attacks Denji drops down from behind and attempts to cut him with an axe but Kishibe swiftly kicks Denji in the head and incapacitates him. He compliments them on their performance and pretends to leave before throwing his knife into Denji's head and warns them that they shouldn't trust a word he says.

Days later Kishibe declares that their training will be switched from daily to weekly after they manage to land a shallow cut on his cheek. He gives them some parting advice and informs them that the operation to take down the Katana Man and Akane Sawatari will commence tomorrow. He later has a drink with Makima and accuses her of knowing about the ambush that got most of the Special Division killed. Makima halfheartedly denies it by stating that she came under gunfire too. Kishibe declares that he doesn't care what she does so long as she remains on humanity's side. Makima claims that she only wants to save as many people as possible from devils. Kishibe calls her a liar and Makima enigmatically smiles in response.

Outside of the terrorist's base, Kishibe declares that there will be no plan of attack; they will simply throw every Special Division member into the building to defeat the enemy. He remains outside to coordinate with local devil hunters and the police and gives them the rundown on the Special Division's nonhuman members.

Bomb Girl arc
Kishibe visits the aftermath of the Special Division's battle against Reze and the Typhoon Devil. He explains to Aki about a fairy tale in the Soviet Union about children who are kidnapped by the army and trained to be soldiers from a young age, and Reze is one of those children.

International Assassins arc
Kishibe meets with Makima to discuss the various threats that will be coming after Denji now that his identity has been released on the news. Makima comments that Quanxi is apparently coming to Japan which Kishibe isn't keen about as he considers her to be one of the strongest fighters on the planet and that she'll be tricky to handle. Makima comments that the one they'll really need to watch out for is Germany's Santa Claus. Kishibe asks her if she really thinks he'll come and she acknowledges that there is a rumor that he died of old age which Kishibe prays is true.

Kishibe appears outside of the mall where several assassins are attacking Denji's group, with Kobeni Higashiyama and the Violence Fiend behind him. He instructs the two of them to clean up the dolls in the area while he handles Quanxi's harem of fiends who are also outside. The fiends dismiss him as nobody special, commenting that he barely has any body parts left to sacrifice for contracts.

Kishibe easily subdues two of the fiends while the other two escape. He takes them into the mall as hostages to convince Quanxi to stop fighting and the two of them sit at a table together. As they speak with each other Kishibe shows Quanxi written messages on a notepad, informing her that he plans to kill Makima and that if Quanxi cooperates with him he will release her and her fiends, and guarantee their safety. Quanxi seemingly rejects his offer as another Public Safety Devil Hunter appears. Kishibe kicks Denji into the man, who is actually Aldo, throwing off the devil hunter's aim and Quanxi uses the fight as an opportunity to land a punch on Kishibe's face.

Quanxi follows up her attack with a knee to Kishibe's face. Kishibe tries to stab her with a knifee but she catches it between her fingers, and then catches his follow-up kick. She picks him up by his leg and throws him out of a nearby window. Kishibe slows his fall by stabbing a knife into the wall and falls the rest of the way before landing on the roof of Kobeni's car. Kishibe later notices Aldo being thrown out of a window and landing on the same car.

Kishibe, Hirofumi Yoshida and Aldo all see the enormous hand of the Hell Devil descend from the sky to transport everyone inside the department store to Hell, leaving them behind.

Kishibe and Hirofumi later share a drink together, sitting on top of one of the Octopus Devil's tentacles as it kills nearby dolls for them. They discuss Makima and Santa Claus and how both of them are working towards objectives that they don't know about though Hirofumi doesn't care so long as he gets paid. Kishibe double-checks with him that Makima isn't listening to their conversation and Hirofumi confirms that the Octopus Devil has checked that there are no small creatures in the vicinity. Kishibe warns him not to stick his head into places where he shouldn't but Hirofumi counters that he doesn't have time for that since final exams are coming up.

After the battle against Santa Claus is complete, Kishibe and Hirofumi approach Quanxi who prepares to fight them but both of them don blindfolds on and stand back as Makima arrives and instantly decapitates Quanxi and her two surviving subordinates. Kishibe feels Quanxi's blood splatter on his cheek, and after Hirofumi asks him if he's going to take off the blindfold, Kishibe tells him he doesn't want to see a thing.

Gun Devil arc
When Aki, Power and Denji go on a trip to Hokkaido for a couple of days, Aki takes Meowy to Kishibe to look after. He asks if Kishibe would like a souvenir to which Kishibe simply responds with "Alcohol."

After the trip Aki collects Meowy from Kishibe and he asks him if Division 4 can withdraw from the mission to capture the Gun Devil. Kishibe obliges after informing him that Aki won't get the chance to acquire any information on the Gun Devil if the operation procedes without him which Aki accepts. When Kishibe asks Aki why he had a change of heart, Aki tells him that he got cold feet while thinking of Power and Denji.

Control Devil arc
After Makima's murder of Power, Kishibe is seen leading a special task force to kill Makima, incapacitating her and summoning the Hell Devil under his direction to kill Makima and condemn her to hell. Makima orders Denji to save her, transforming him into the Chainsaw Devil.

In the ensuing battle, Kishibe holds the revived Makima at gunpoint, and the two engage in a short conversation. Makima explains that, due to her contract with the Prime Minister of Japan, any misfortune that would come upon her is bestowed upon a random Japanese citizen instead. When Kishibe questions her nature and unwavering confidence, she expresses that she is a "fan" of the Chainsaw Devil and has complete faith in him. Makima further reveals to Kishibe what the Chainsaw Devil is - the "devil that devils fear most," tenacious and powerful to the point of absurdity, and able to cause the name of any devil it eats to disappear, erasing them from human conscience. Kishibe expresses doubt that such a power exists, at which point Makima starts to give examples of devils/fears that have had their names erased ranging from historical events to bizarre, abstract entities, none of which Kishibe (or humanity) can remember.

When Kishibe asks what Makima plans to do, she reveals that she wants to use her power of control to use the Chainsaw Devil in order to make the world a better place, consuming the names of devils/fears that cause great misfortune to the world. However, Makima clarifies that she can only control those who perceive themselves as below her - she must defeat the Chainsaw Devil to control him. Kishibe asks her what she plans to do if she loses, and she answers that, as a fan, being killed and eaten by the Chainsaw Devil would be a great honor. Kishibe watches as the Chainsaw Devil returns from Hell and swiftly kills Makima in front of him.

Kishibe returns after Power sacrifices herself to save Denji from Makima, sitting up next to the dumpster that Denji emerges from. He asks Denji whether he is Denji or the Chainsaw Devil, and Denji answers with a peace sign. Kishibe takes Denji and Kobeni to a safe and secluded area, giving them food and informing them of their current circumstances and how they are being hunted by Makima. He watches as Denji voices his dreams and how he wants to remain Chainsaw Man, and Kishibe warns Denji that the next time he transforms, Makima is certain to get him.

After Denji defeats Makima, Kishibe returns home with Denji. He warns Denji that his plan of eating Makima to prevent her revival probably won't work, and before he leaves, he confides that of everyone he's met, Denji is the most suited to being a devil hunter.

The next day, Denji and Kishibe meet at a park bench with Makima's dogs. He asks Denji how he managed to kill Makima due to her contract with the Japanese Prime Minister but ultimately chalks it up to luck. Kishibe then asks how Denji managed to attack Makima without her noticing him, and Denji answers that he made a bet that Makima, who used scent to remember people, only ever paid attention to the Chainsaw Devil and never bothered to memorize Denji's scent, which let him sneak up on her.

During their conversation, a young girl comes up to Denji and bites his finger in the same way as Makima. Kishibe explains that the girl, found in China and brought to Japan, is the resurrected form of Control Devil, and though the girl is not Makima, she would become akin to her predecessor if raised by the government. As such, Kishibe tells Denji that he is leaving her to him, and with that, he disappears.

Abilities
Kishibe is the strongest member of Tokyo Special Division 4 according to Makima, followed by the Angel Devil. Kishibe has described himself as being the strongest devil hunter.

Kishibe has contracts with at least three devils which have described as being "fairly dangerous".

Though he was initially dismissed by them as being no one special, Kishibe proved strong enough to easily subdue two of the fiends who work for Quanxi singlehandedly.

Physical Prowess

 * Enhanced Strength: Kishibe is extremely strong for a human; he was able to pick Denji and Power up off the ground with one arm each and snap their necks with neither of them being able to stop him. With simple punches he could break weapons formed out of Power's hardened blood.
 * Enhanced Speed: Kishibe is an extremely quick fighter; able to dodge Denji's slash and counter-attack by stabbing him several times before Denji could react, and slash Power's throat before she could start her own attack.
 * Enhanced Reflexes: Kishibe has superhuman reflexes, being able to dodge a spear at point-blank range which was thrust through the door in front of him by surprise and react to incoming attacks from directly above him.
 * Enhanced Durability: Kishibe could survive being thrown out of a window and falling hard enough to crush the roof of a car, though he did slow his descent by stabbing a knife into the side of the building.

Devil Contracts

 * Claw Devil Contract: Kishibe has a contract with the Claw Devil for an unknown price.
 * Knife Devil Contract: Kishibe has a contract with the Knife Devil for an unknown price.
 * Needle Devil Contract: Kishibe has a contract with the Needle Devil for an unknown price.

Skillset

 * Knifemanship: Kishibe is very proficient at using knives in combat; after evading Denji's strike he repeatedly stabbed Denji in the back before driving the knife up through his jaw and into his brain, before slashing Power's throat. He also have great marksmanship, as he was able to throw his knife accurately down a hallway to hit Denji in the head.
 * Hand-to-Hand Combat: Kishibe is skilled in hand-to-hand combat. When Denji attempted to attack him from behind Kishibe could spin and kick in a single fluid motion to strike Denji's head and leave him incapacitated.

Etymology

 * The surname Kishibe means "shore, bank, coast" (岸辺).