 |
This Article Contains Spoilers -
WARNING: This article contains major spoilers. If you do not wish to know vital information on plot / character elements in a story, you may not wish to read beyond this warning: We hold no responsibility for any negative effects these facts may have on your enjoyment of said media should you continue. That is all. |
- Note: For all anime-onlies. Heed the spoiler template as this is gonna spoil huge events that happen later down the line that MAPPA is yet to adapt for the anime so proceed at your own risk
"He's slowed down by age" they said. "he's nothign special" they said "No more parts to make contracts with devils" they said. Our Kishibe truly is that insane, and we love him for it.
| “ | Most hunters, including you, are out to put the Gun Devil down. They're earnest. Honest. Straightforward. And that means the devils know how exactly to fuck with them. But there's no telling a crazy person's thinking. And even devils are afraid of what they don't understand. | „ |
| ~ No wonder dude survived part 1. Literal embodiment of Crazy is Cool and is ironically one of the most held together and focused guys in the series. |
So... I have reserved Part 2 of the series, and for now Fami is on my watchlist and I'm waiting for when it really seems all dust is settled from the Falling Devil to formally propose so holding her off for a while. But frankly, there was this one discussion from Part 1 I really wanted to make. Is it a Makima reeval? No, I have made my opinion clear on her not being that bad a candidate, and my revisitation I am gonna double down on that opinion, but she is clearly not worth discussing again for the shitstorm that will cause so she will most definitely be out of the question. There was another potential qualifier I had been waiting for a long, and I mean long, time to happen. Decided enough waiting and say "I'll do it myself". So let's just let the trial commence.
What is the Work?[]
Chainsaw Man is an awesome 2018 manga series by Tatsuki Fujimoto, which is also having an ongoing anime adaptation by MAPPA since 2022. It follows our man Dennis... I mean Denji, an impoverished teenage boy crippled by debt from his deceased parents, who upon seemingly being killed, forms a contract with his pet dog/devil, Pochita (woof woof) in order to become the Chainsaw Man in hopes of living his life to the fullest.
Part One: Public Safety follows Denji after becoming Chainsaw Man, is contacted by Makima to join the Public Safety Bureau... lest he be killed due to the policy on devils, they either join or die. As he becomes partnered with Aki "Topknot" Hayekawa and our favourite Lebanon of the LG TV+ community, Power, as he goes on a hunt for the Gun Devil and kill it to earn Makima's approval. But as he later learns (and the audience had predicted for a long time), Makima was the true enemy all along. One of the first to figure out Makima's nefarious nature? Denji's mentor Kishibe, our candidate today.
Who is Kishibe? What Has He Done?[]
Kishibe is one of the greatest Devil Hunters in the Japanese Public Safety organization, although, from what all is judged from Quanxi's remarks, hadn't started out that way (that and how the dude repeatedly asks Quanxi out before being hit and then having to wallow on her being a lesbian lol). But Kishibe ended up noticing a pattern. The more straightforward, saner guys are always the most prone to kill as a Devil can learnt heir fear, take advantage over it and outplay them, leading to their deaths. Learning that devils truly fears a mind they can't predict, which is in general guys who are generally insane, Kishibe "loosens his bolts" through drinking to be a cynical broken ace. But don't worry, Kishibe is also crafty enough to ensure they don't become weaknesses as well and keep a balance, using this to be one of the most skilled Devil Hunters there is while making contracts with the Claw, Knife & Needle devils.
Introduced as a flashback character straying Himeno to not be too burdened by the loss of her partners and help her train Aki to survive through the Devil Hunting career, Kishibe makes his proper debut being introduced by Makima to Denji and Power as their new mentor, showcasing how much of a badass he is by legit telling Makima of all people to "shut it". As Makima leaves, he then politely asks Denji and Power questions, satisfied with their answers as he then goes on to outright snap their necks while announcing to them on how "I'll turn you into the baddest of the badasses". Since Denji is a hybrid, and Power is a fiend, this can't kill them and heal with some blood. With this, it is the beginning of "Kishibe Everywhere" time as he is gonna attack them multiple times and they must fight him until they take the lessons he teaches them through it to finally defeat them, until then, complete life ruination for them both.
Despite both of them being much more powerful devils, Kishibe owns them repeatedly, and with just the most straightest face you can find as if this is nothing, through his craftiness as he randomly ambushes them, in which their defeats teach them valuable lessons... while also driving them paranoid. The best showcase? When Denji and Power decide to ambush him, in which the ambush was incredibly well planned and yet, Kishibe manages to dodge Power's blood booby traps and while initially caught off-guard, manages to lay a surprise hit on Denji. The ambush legitimately impresses him and sees they are improving and he has proven his philosophy over devil hunting, he reduces training from daily to weekly... before going and tossing a knife at Denji's head and teaching him how "a beast should never trust the hunter" lol. This... was helpful advice as this helps Denji defeat the... far away from this trope Samurai Sword (e, Katana man is far cooler) in their climactic fight.
Now... having actually grown attached to them, he goes into a meeting with Makima, deducing the shadiness on her handling over Sawatari's attack on Division 4, and that he is only gonna brush them off if Makima is serving mankind's best interest. There we learn Kishibe has figured out Makima's true nefarious nature and her devastating plans for control over humanity all with a simple "You liar" line. While simply then just being there to reveal the Bomb Girl's backstory, he returns to full-force in the International Assassins arc, anticipating that Quanxi too will come soon for Denji's heart. And she faces her cute harem who all dismiss him as "nothing special" and that tey can take him out. And then the next panel we see of him, dude through his craftiness whooped their asses as he goes on conversing with Quanxi about retirement, while using writing boards on how "Makima is listening" and to cryptically offer her a chance to join his scheme against Makima. However one of the American brother assassin (whose name I forgot) goes on shooting up and causing a fight, leading to Kishibe being beaten down but escapes through mysterious means to then learn Quanxi has no actual interest and is forced to blindfold while Makima puts Quanxi down to claim her as a puppet. He then shows up as a side character now and then.
And then we get to the final arc of Part 1 where it is revealed Makima is not only the Control Devil, but the true Big Bad of Part 1 the whole time (not that it was a major shock really considering... she was always creepy), and we see how tight a planner Makima is. Which we get to Kishibe at his most impressive as he forms the "Anti-Makima Squad" out to take down the most powerful devil that is on Earth. Having analyzed all her powers that give Makima invulnerability, Kishibe has an entire section of the building Makima is in to blown up. Knowing Makima's greatest advantage is she can transfer any hit to any random Japanese citizen to which as a failsafe, Kishibe, through a pinch of human sacrifices, unleashes the Hell Devil to pull Makima into Hell. It nearly works. Unfortunately, Makima had an advantage unexpected to him using Chainsaw Devil to thwart his failsafe. Continuing his stand-off against Makima, he then finds Denji on a dumpster, taking him to safety on a warehouse, in which Kishibe helps Denji finally get back on his feet as he calls him the most worthy being to be a Devi Hunter, culminating in Denji able to defeat, and I mean straight up eat, Makima for good lol.
In the final chapter of Part 1, we see Kishibe's philosophy on devi hunting really is true as other than Denji & Kobeni, he is the only main character to survive the tragic events. Knowing that the Control Devil will reincarnate into a different being, Kishibe tracks her down in China and manages to sneak her into safety into Japan. Deducing Makima's reason for being as vile as she was due to being lovelessly raised as a weapon by the government, Kishibe hands her over to Denji, feeling he is the best person to take care of her at the moment to ensure the world never has a second Makima as he heads of to deal with some other errand. And so he is Put on a Bus... for 2 whole years in real time so that's it for now for Kishibe.
Is He Magnificent?[]
Absolutely. Despite an exterior of an alcoholic, cynical Broken Ace, Kishibe is an incredibly effective mastermind with hardly any slip-ups or prone to breakdowns. He's smart enough to deal with devils to be one of the Public Safety's greatest Devil Hunters, which is through "keeping his screws loose" to make even the devils be unable to understand him and thus fear him, using this to outsmart much powerful foes and defeat them like Chainsaw Man or Quabxi's harem, and also deduce Makima is not what she seems and is a threat to humanity and forms a rebellion against her. Makima may not be deemed an MB here, but she makes good use of her resources to be the tightest plotter in the series. So Kishibe's rather effective plan to take her down nearly succeeding is impressive on its own right, nearly trapping her in Hell had it not been for Makima unexpectedly using Chainsaw Man. He comes closer than anyone in defeating the more powerful Big Bad that I will give some leeway, and regardless when Makima wins round one, he helps Denji get back up on his feet to defeat Makima for good so he bounces back. The overall embodiment of Crazy is Cool.
Is He a Baddie?[]
By virtue of being a Chainsaw Man character due to its Crapsack World setting, he has very shady traits. And out of the cast of heroes, he def is the shadiest of the lot even if irrefutably one of the good guys. While genuinely wanting them to be better hunters, he has a bit... too much fun "killing" Denji and Power on his strenuous trainings that screws over their lives and making them paranoid in the process of training them.
The bigger pusher, in his quest to stop Makima, he is very much risking innocent lives to attack Makima, opening the attack by straight up blowing up a chunk of the building she is in that had others in. He knows countless others will take the blow for anything launched at Makima as well so is risking more lives, he does have a failsafe to unleash the Hell Devil. In order to do so, he had to consciously go for the means that require human sacrifices to power it up, leading to many of his men voluntarily sacrificing themselves to unleash the Hell Devil. Kishibe is a firm hero, he's easily one of the most admirable in the series and had everyone's interest at heart, but the dude's a clear follower of the "kill one to save many", willing to endanger multiple innocents to save the world. It's the type of anti-heroism required for an MB.
Other Mitigating Factors[]
Only actual issue he could have is... dude's arc isn't really complete. But frankly, dude last appeared 2 years ago when Part 1 ended. We are now nearly 40 chapters into Part 2 and dude shows no signs of reappearing. So basically, dude's put on a bus for a long time, a clear halt on his arc is present and I doubt he will return soon, and we can always update the situation when he finally does.
Final Verdict[]
He has been kept off for far too long. Bigggg yes.