Quick TakeArticle at a glance
- Pochita, the Chainsaw Devil, is the only being ever shown permanently erasing another Devil by eating it — the single feat that still puts him at the top, even after Part 2’s ending complicated what that victory means.
- Makima’s Control Devil contract let her casually command Japan’s entire Devil Hunter apparatus, but Part 2 showed her power has a hard ceiling: a weaker-but-smarter Denji beat her anyway.
- Chainsaw Man Part 2 ended with Chapter 232 on March 24, 2026, closing Tatsuki Fujimoto’s seven-year, 232-chapter run — this ranking is built from feats shown across the full series, not just the finale.
The strongest Chainsaw Man characters are led by Pochita, the Chainsaw Devil, whose unique ability to permanently erase other Devils by devouring them has never been matched, followed by the Four Horsemen — Makima, Yoru the War Devil, Famine, and Death — whose Primal Fear status puts them above every ordinary Devil Denji has ever fought.
Last updated: October 19, 2026
How Chainsaw Man Actually Measures Strength
Tatsuki Fujimoto never gave Chainsaw Man a tidy power system. Devils get stronger the more humans fear the concept they embody, which is why a Primal Fear like Darkness or Death can shrug off things that would kill Makima, and why Denji — one of the physically weakest Devils in the cast — keeps winning anyway through sheer unpredictability.
This ranking sticks to what the manga actually showed on the page across both Part 1 and Part 2, rather than theorizing about raw numbers, a design philosophy documented across Chainsaw Man’s full publication history. For the full viewing order, see our Chainsaw Man watch guide, and for how another modern Shonen Jump cast stacks up by feats rather than vibes, see our strongest Kaiju No. 8 characters ranking.
The Strongest Chainsaw Man Characters, Ranked
1. Pochita (the Chainsaw Devil)
Pochita’s defining feat is unique in the entire series: he’s the only Devil ever shown permanently erasing another Devil from existence by eating it, rather than just defeating it. That ability made him public enemy number one for every other Devil in the story, and it’s the entire reason Denji merged with him in the first place. Part 2’s ending complicates the picture — Pochita tears out his own heart and erases himself to rewrite the world into a gentler one for Denji — but that’s a choice, not a defeat, and nothing in the series ever showed anything strong enough to beat him outright.
2. Yoru (the War Devil)
Yoru is one of the Four Horsemen, the small group of Primal Fear Devils tied to concepts humanity has feared for all of recorded history, which puts her in a different weight class from Devils tied to narrower fears like guns or spiders. Possessing Asa Mitaka’s body for most of Part 2, Yoru spends the back half of the series trying to recruit or destroy the other Horsemen before they can move against Chainsaw Man, and her war-based abilities scale with how much conflict is happening nearby.
3. Makima (the Control Devil)
Makima is the clearest demonstration of how far political and social power goes in this series: as a Control Devil, she commanded Japan’s entire public safety Devil Hunter structure and could issue orders that subordinates were physically incapable of disobeying. Her defeat in Part 1 is the series’ sharpest thesis statement — Denji, armed with nothing but Devil Contracts and a willingness to literally eat her, wins specifically because her fear-based power can’t account for an opponent who finds her more annoying than terrifying.
4. Famine (the Famine Devil)
Famine is the second of the Four Horsemen introduced in Part 2, embodying humanity’s fear of starvation — a concept with millennia of recorded history behind it, which is exactly the kind of fear base that makes Primal Fears so dangerous. She operates with a small cult of human devotees and spends much of her arc maneuvering other Horsemen and Devil Hunters against each other rather than fighting directly, a pattern Fujimoto uses across the Horsemen to keep their true combat strength deliberately vague.
5. Denji (Chainsaw Man)
Denji’s raw physical stats are unremarkable by this list’s standards — he loses plenty of individual fights. What puts him here is a win-loss record against enemies who objectively outclass him on paper, achieved through regeneration fast enough to fight through fatal wounds and a willingness to escalate violence past the point his opponents expect. Beating Makima with nothing but contracts and nerve is the single biggest data point for why “strongest” in this series isn’t just about power ceilings.
6. Darkness Devil
Darkness is another Primal Fear Devil, introduced as one of the forces powerful enough to make even Makima cautious. Her reality-warping presence and the dread she generates just by being nearby place her well above standard Devils like Katana or Eternity, even though Fujimoto keeps her direct combat feats intentionally sparse — consistent with how the manga treats nearly every Primal Fear as a threat defined more by implication than demonstration.
7. Power (the Blood Fiend)
Power is a Fiend, not a full Devil — the reanimated corpse of a human controlled by the Blood Devil — which caps her ceiling below the Horsemen on this list. Within that tier, though, she’s consistently dangerous: able to manipulate blood into weapons and barriers, and durable enough to regenerate from injuries that would end most human-aligned characters outright.
8. Quanxi
Quanxi leads a squad of Fiends in Part 1 and returns with an expanded role in Part 2, wielding four simultaneous Fiend contracts that let her fight as a one-woman army. Her combat experience and tactical range make her one of the few human-aligned characters who can threaten Devil-tier opponents without a Horseman-level contract behind her.
| Rank | Character | Type | Signature Trait |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Pochita (Chainsaw Devil) | Devil | Only being shown permanently erasing another Devil |
| 2 | Yoru (War Devil) | Primal Fear / Four Horsemen | Power scales with nearby conflict |
| 3 | Makima (Control Devil) | Devil | Commanded Japan’s entire Devil Hunter structure |
| 4 | Famine Devil | Primal Fear / Four Horsemen | Embodies a fear with millennia of history |
| 5 | Denji (Chainsaw Man) | Human/Devil hybrid | Beat Makima through nerve, not raw power |
| 6 | Darkness Devil | Primal Fear | Reality-warping presence, feared by Makima |
| 7 | Power (Blood Fiend) | Fiend | Blood manipulation and heavy regeneration |
| 8 | Quanxi | Human (multi-Fiend contractor) | Fights with four Fiend contracts at once |
Part 2 Ended, But the Story Isn’t Over
Chainsaw Man Part 2 concluded with Chapter 232, “Thank You, Chainsaw Man,” on March 24, 2026, closing out Tatsuki Fujimoto’s story after seven years and 232 chapters, as reported by Siliconera. The finale’s biggest twist directly affects a ranking like this one: Pochita erases himself and rewrites events so Denji, Power, and Asa all get a gentler ending.
That means the version of Pochita at rank one is being judged on what he did across the whole series, not on the version of the world that exists after the last page. The franchise isn’t slowing down commercially either: the Reze Arc movie adaptation crossed $173 million worldwide after opening in US theaters in late October 2025, one of the highest-grossing anime films ever released domestically. For where the franchise’s biggest villain-turned-hero stands next to other breakout 2026 anime leads, see our strongest Dandadan characters ranking.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who is the strongest character in Chainsaw Man?
Pochita, the Chainsaw Devil, based on his unique and unmatched ability to permanently erase other Devils by eating them rather than simply defeating them. Among the Four Horsemen, Yoru the War Devil and Makima the Control Devil are the next-clearest threats shown on the page.
How did Denji beat Makima if she’s stronger than him?
Makima’s Control Devil power is built around fear and hierarchy, and Denji doesn’t experience her the way everyone else does — he finds her annoying rather than terrifying, which blunts the exact mechanism her power relies on. Combined with his regeneration and a willingness to eat her, that gap let him win a fight he should have lost on paper.
Is Chainsaw Man Part 2 the ending of the whole series?
Part 2 ended with Chapter 232 on March 24, 2026, closing Tatsuki Fujimoto’s original run. It’s a finale for this story, not necessarily the last Chainsaw Man material ever, but no new chapters have followed it as of this writing.
What are Primal Fear Devils?
Primal Fears are Devils tied to fears humanity has held since before recorded history — concepts like darkness, death, war, and famine. Because Devil strength scales with how widely and deeply a fear is held, Primal Fears are categorically stronger than Devils tied to newer or narrower fears, like guns or spiders.
