Chainsaw Man has one of the best, most beloved casts of characters in recent anime memory. They’re all just so precious!
Whether it’s the totally relatable “I just wanna be loved” series protagonist Denji or the agent of chaos best girl Power, there’s somebody for everyone to love in MAPPA’s smash hit new series. But which characters are the best of the best? Who is truly deserving the title of Best Girl and Best Boy? Who has won over more hearts than another? Some might say that such questions are totally subjective, but I can assure you that my research team and I can answer these theories by using cold, hard scientific facts.
Allow me to demonstrate.
Denji
Denji is perhaps one of the best anime protagonists created in recent memory. He is entirely a send-up of the average shonen protagonist. While most anime protagonists chase after lofty “I wanna slay all the demons” or “I wanna be the strongest” goals, Denji is after the simple things. The kid is happy with nothing more than three hots and a cot and maybe some boobs to touch here and there.
While it’s funny on the surface, Denji’s character is actually totally tragic. The boy has been hard done by and abused, and has been denied love and care from the people that should have been protecting him in his life. His mother is gone. His deadbeat dad died with a debt to the yakuza that Denji was forced to pay back. After living in squalor and selling his organs to get by, the kid is happy to risk life and limb killing devils for comforts that many of us take for granted. Denji’s thirst for love is also his tragic flaw, as it allows manipulators like Makima to, well … manipulate him into doing ANYTHING for love.
Power
Power is a fiend—in the literal and metaphorical senses of the word. A fiend is a devil that is currently possessing the corpse of a human being. Formerly the Blood Devil, the Blood Fiend Power has taken to possessing the corpse of a young woman … to adorable effect. Power is a bouncing ball of chaos made of entirely Id energy. She wants what she wants when she wants it, and no one is going to tell her otherwise.
Power’s selfish antics never fail to delight (we all wish we could be like her sometimes), but the real clincher for her character is her soft heart. Power has a sweet spot for cats, and adopted an adorable cat named Meowy after initially trying to fatten it up to eat it. She didn’t REALLY want to eat Meowy; she just didn’t have anything to love at the time. And now she does.
Kobeni
Reddit will tell you that the “anxious to the point of being willing to commit murder” Kobeni is Best Girl. She’s adorable and sweet, and her panicky disposition causes her to fly off the handle and try to solve her problems with the business end of a kitchen knife. It’s precious to watch.
There’s something about Kobeni’s innocence and violent tendencies that makes it impossible not to love her. She’s like a scared little kitten! If kittens were able to cause lethal harm! There’s also something so relatable about Kobeni, who approaches her life as if anything could fall apart at any moment. She lets us know that it’s okay to always be on the verge of tears as long as you’re doing your best!
Related: Best Anime Soundtracks, Ranked on We Got This Covered
Pochita
Intent to prove once and for all that dogs really are man’s best friend is the adorable Pochita. Appearing to Denji at one of his lowest points, the weakened Pochita was equally hungry and desperate. After feeding the li’l chainsaw-faced boi with some of his blood, Denji becomes inseparable from Pochita. After Denji was hacked apart by zombified members of the yakuza (long story) Pochita spoke to Denji, offering to become his heart in order to help Denji to survive—I don’t mean in an emotional way, either. I mean that Pochita is quite literally Denji’s heart, and lives inside of the boy’s chest in order to keep him alive. Now THAT is love.
Himeno
My personal pick for Best Girl, Himeno is perhaps my favorite character in Chainsaw Man so far. Her time on the show was short but memorable. What’s not to adore about her? She’s upbeat. She’s fun loving. She can’t say no to a good party! While these traits are to die for on their own, Himeno is made doubly die-for-ish when you consider the past that she has had.
Nearly all of her friends and subordinates died in the devil-hunting line of duty, and rather than allowing that to make her bitter, she maintains a positive attitude as a form of survival. Her crowning as Best Girl comes during her battle with Katana Man, where she sacrifices herself to the Ghost Devil in order to ensure the survival or her friends. She is even able to help out her partner Aki from beyond the grave by having her Ghost Devil give him a cigarette with a hint written on it for how to beat a powerful foe. A better Best Girl there never was
Kishibe
Most Public Safety Devil Hunters don’t live past their early twenties, so when a Devil Hunter reaches Kishibe’s age, you know that dude has seen some sh*t. Kishibe takes it upon himself to train Denji and Power to use their devilish abilities effectively … by killing them over and over and over again. Kishibe is basically the Captain Levi of the Chainsaw Man universe; he outclasses his fellow Devil Hunters by many orders of magnitude.
How do you make a character that wins over an audience’s heart instantly? Easy. Make them THE BEST at killing things. It worked for Satoru Gojo. It worked for Captain Levi. It’s working for Kishibe, too.
Makima
Makima may be one of the most interesting anime anti-heroes/antagonists of the modern era. In a medium where villains claim power through the use of their psychical strength, Makima uses nothing more than words to bend people to her whims—that and the bodies of death row prisoners she uses as sacrificial lambs in order to instantly pulverize her enemies. Yeah, I didn’t sleep after watching that episode.
Makima is able to effortlessly manipulate Denji by promising him what he desires most: love. A kind word here, a head scratch there, and Makima is able to control Denji utterly. Her subtle manipulation of the poor boy’s heart almost makes her worse than anime villains who conquer through power alone. At least those guys have the decency to tell you that they’re trying to screw you over.
(featured image: MAPPA)
