It’s the end of the world as we know it, and Denji probably feels fine.
The kid is seriously unflappable. He once fell asleep INSIDE A DEVIL. (The Eternity Devil, to be precise.) I don’t think he’s gonna be too worried about these “Four Horsemen” types. But then again, the kid doesn’t really worry about anything except whether or not he’s gonna be able to touch a boob in the near future.
But for those who are worried about the future, particularly the future that the Chainsaw Man manga has foretold, you might be especially worried about the Four Horsemen. After all, they are a MAJOR plot point in the story. But who are the Four Horseman? What makes them so powerful? Do they have boobs? Will Denji attempt to touch these aforementioned boobs? Is there a GIF of said scene that you can put in your filthy little anime spank-bank in the “hidden photos” section of your phone? All these questions shall be answered, and more.
Okay before we get into The Horsemen, we gotta explain devils
I’ve written about devils before. Particularly the devils of Chainsaw Man. In fact, I feel like I’ve gotta come up with a new definition EVERY DAY because YOU PEOPLE have so many questions about them. So here it is, simply put: The devils of Chainsaw Man are NOT like the devils (or more specifically demons) of Christianity and other Abrahamic religions. THOSE demons were once angels that rebelled against God when Lucifer (a.k.a. Satan) was sick of how The Big Guy was running things in the kingdom of heaven. Those angels ended up getting sent down to Hell and transformed into hideous creatures who want nothing more than to do harm to humanity.
Chainsaw Man‘s devils share this charming personality trait with their demonic Judeo-Christian counterparts, but that is where the similarities end. THESE devils are born of human fears. In fact, they are the PHYSICAL MANIFESTATION of a particular human fear. The more powerful, ancient, and universal the fear, the more powerful the devil. For instance, there IS a Tomato Devil because SOMEBODY saw their grandmother choke on a cherry tomato or whatever, but this devil is REALLY WEAK—so weak that Denji is able to merc it in episode 1 without his Chainsaw Man powers. However, other devils are ORDERS OF MAGNITUDE stronger. For example, the aforementioned Eternity Devil is powerful enough to trap people in an infinite pocket dimension inside itself and then DEVOUR THEM. The Darkness Devil is EVEN WORSE. Why? BECAUSE EVERYONE SINCE THE BEGINNING OF TIME HAS BEEN AFRAID OF THE DARK. SO DON’T SCREW AROUND WITH THAT GUY. PLEASE.
Okay, devils make sense now. So, what are The Four Horsemen in Chainsaw Man?
More Judeo-Christian shit incoming! Apparently my Catholic school education was good for something besides deeply ingrained religious trauma. So, once upon a time, there was this guy named John of Patmos. He wrote a lil book called the Book of Revelation about the FIERY END OF THE WORLD. Apparently, the people in whatever fan fic forums he was posting it in liked it SO MUCH that they decided to tack it on to the end of the BIBLE.
There’s all sorts of charming things that happen in the Book of Revelation. The sun turns black as sackcloth. The moon turns red as blood. A star called Wormwood falls from the sky and poisons the waters of the world. Oh yeah, and then there are these four horsemen dudes who come out of NOWHERE with some kind of VENDETTA against humanity. Their names are War, Hunger (a.k.a. Famine), Conquest, and Death. They each ride an unnaturally colored horse, carry spooky religious artifacts like swords and scales, and they kill A LOT of people due to the problems they bring (and are also named after). The spiritual nature of these horsemen is debatable. To some, they are a boy band made up of destroying angels. To others, they are a group of demons. Others believe they are metaphorical in nature, and embody what humanity will do to EACH OTHER after they are abandoned by God. But unlike Revelations (and the Bible in general), which leaves us with a lot of unanswered questions, the good writers of Chainsaw Man decide to ACTUALLY TELL US who these beings are (suck on that, John of Patmos).
The Four Horsemen of Chainsaw Man are a group of enormously powerful devils. Powerful enough to rival the strength of Primal Fear devils such as the Darkness Devil itself. While called the Four Horsemen, they actually manifest themselves as young women with golden eyes. Sound like a character you know? I bet it does.
So, who are the Four Horsemen in Chainsaw Man?
At this point, we’ve only been introduced to three of the Four Horsemen. We met one of those Horsemen in the very beginning of the series. Spoiler alert: it’s the golden-eyed Makima herself. Makima is the Control Devil, also known as the Conquest Devil, and embodies the fear of being ruled or subjugated (two things that she happens to be very good at).
Meanwhile, the Famine Devil (or “Fami” for short) has taken the form of a tall high school-aged girl with some sweet earrings that look like scales. Why? Because in the Bible, the Famine is depicted as carrying scales. (I guess to balance out who gets to eat and who doesn’t? Because spoiler alert: nobody does.) Fami actually possesses some helpful abilities, as well. She can heal people, which allows them to gain strength and size. She can also trap people in an inescapable void where their only course of action is to starve to death. Yikes.
And don’t even get me STARTED on the War Devil. The War Devil, named Yoru, is currently in possession of the body of Asa Mitaka, a high school student. This means that the War Devil is technically a fiend because it currently lives in a human host. However, it is the only known fiend where the human host is STILL ALIVE. Most of the time, the host is already dead, and the devil is simply reanimating a corpse.
The Death Devil, meanwhile, has not yet been seen. This is probably a good thing, as the fear of Death is without a doubt the most powerful fear in existence. But something tells me she’s gonna show up soon. And when she does, things are gonna get real ugly.
As for whether or not these Horsemen have boobs … they do. Denji has even touched one! Makima’s! I’m sure there’s a GIF online, but then again, I’m sure you’ve already found it. You little nasty.
(featured image: Crunchyroll)
