Devils vs. Fiends vs. Hybrids in Chainsaw Man (Explained)
The world of Fujimoto’s Chainsaw Man is filled with various creatures alongside your regular old-fashioned humans. These creatures are divided into three groups – the Devils, the Fiends, and the Hybrids. All of these three types of creatures are connected to Devils in one way or another, but there is a difference between them, usually significant, which is what inspired this article. In it, we are going tell you everything about the differences between the Devils, the Fiends, and the Hybrids in the world of Chainsaw Man.
What are Devils in Chainsaw Man?
Devils are a race of supernatural creatures that appear all over the world. Devils are born in hell and each of them is born with a name that correlates with something that exists and is feared; they manifest according to the collective consciousness that surrounds their names. Devils that die in Hell reappear in the human world, and vice versa, Devils that die in the human world reappear in Hell, effectively making them immortal.
However, they cannot remember anything from their previous lives. According to the Angel Devil, the only thing he and the other Devils from Special Division 4 remember is the sound of the Chainsaw Devil’s engine roaring before he died in Hell, which still gives them the creeps. The main source of food for the Devils is the blood of humans as well as other Devils, and the series has repeatedly replied that Devils become much stronger by consuming blood, especially that of another Devil.
Naturally, most are extremely hostile towards both humans and Devils, however, some are relatively friendly and feed by alternative means; like the Fox Devil, which feeds on parts of its user through its contract. A variant of the normal Devils are the Primal Devils and they are those that have names that embody the fears that are found naturally within the human psyche.
They are shown to be immensely powerful and frighten Devils and Fiends, including those previously unaware of their existence. Devils are known for having supernatural abilities that are closely tied to their respective names and the more fear one associates with their name, the more powerful that Devil becomes. Every such ability is completely unique to a respective Devil. Using these abilities seems to take away some of their blood, thus weakening them.
Each Devil is able to consume the blood of other beings, which serves different purposes. They do it primarily to heal their wounds, but when a Devil consumes the flesh or blood of another Devil, it makes them much more powerful and even gives them the abilities of the Devil they have eaten. But, there is a catch; namely, this effect is evident only when the Devil that as been eaten was still alive at the time. This was evidenced when Denji did not become more powerful or gain the abilities of the Control Devil after consuming Makima’s entire body.
Reincarnation is also one of the abilities shared by absolutely all Devils. Namely, when a Devil dies, it reincarnates in Hell and if it dies in Hell, it reincarnates in the world of the living. This makes them practically immortal, but there is a catch: every time they come back to live, their memories and personalities are completely erased, meaning they have no awareness of their former incarnations, although this seems to be something that could change in the future based on Power’s last words. Devils can make contracts with humans, allowing them to borrow some of their power in exchange for a sacrifice. However, Fiends cannot make contracts.
Known Devils include: Angel Devil, Chicken Devil, Claw Devil, Cockroach Devil, Curse Devil, Doll Devil, Eternity Devil, Fish Devil, Bat Devil, Typhoon Devil, Fox Devil, Future Devil, Ghost Devil, Grape Devil, Gun Devil, Hell Devil, Justice Devil, Knife Devil, Leech Devil, Mantis Devil, Control Devil, Mold Devil, Marshmallow Devil, Muscle Devil, Needle Devil, Octopus Devil, Pig Devil, Chainsaw Devil, Blood Devil, Spider Devil, Punishment Devil, Sea Cucumber Devil, Skin Devil, Snake Devil, Stone Devil, Tomato Devil, War Devil, Zombie Devil, Huge Devil
What are Fiends in Chainsaw Man?
Fiends are Devils that have possessed a person’s corpse as a last resort to survive. After becoming a Fiend, a Devil loses a significant portion of their supernatural powers as well as the ability to make contracts with humans. Fiends are easily recognizable because their heads have different shapes, as shown via Power’s horns, Beam’s shark head, or Pingtsi’s hair.
Fiends have the personality of the Devils that took over their corpses, however, some Devils retain more of the original corpse’s brain than others, leading to their personalities blending. The only known case of this is the Violence Fiend, who should be inclined toward violence but prefers peace. Fiends possess the supernatural abilities of their respective Devils, but to a lesser degree and some of them can temporarily transform into their original Devil forms. They can also restore their health by consuming blood, however they cannot make contracts with Devils or humans either. They are a curious lot but seem to be the least powerful among the three groups we have analyzed and presented in this article.
Known Fiends include: Aki Hayakawa, Asa Mitaka, Beam, Cosmo, Galgali, Long, Pingtsi, Power, Tsugihagi
What are Hybrids in Chainsaw Man?
Hybrids (real name unknown) are humans who have the ability to take the form of a Devil and it happens very rarely that a human can merge with a Devil. Furthermore, the only known method of becoming a hybrid is through of a contract. Hybrids have human appearance and consciousness, but can transform into human-Devil hybrids and manifest the supernatural abilities of their respective fused Devils; they are indistinguishable from normal humans as opposed to Fiends, as long as they don’t transform into Devils.
The official name of the hybrids was erased by the Chainsaw Devil, however, the hybrids continue to exist despite being erased for unknown reasons. Hybrids generally remain in their human form when not transformed, but can also revert to their Devil form under special conditions, as seen when Denji fully transforms into the Chainsaw Devil, though the condition for this to happen is still unclear.
A hybrid’s main ability is the transformation into their respective Devil forms fused with their human form and certain actions act as triggers for the hybrid transformation, with each action usually referencing a part of the Devil a human is fused with (e.g. example, Devil transforms by pulling Pochita’s tail like a chainsaw starter rope, Reze pulls a pin out of his neck like a pin in a grenade, etc.).
Their strength, speed, and durability increase dramatically after the transformation and they also gain their respective Devil’s ability, furthermore, their transformation usually affects their heads and arms, but skilled hybrids can also transform their legs into weapons. They are capable of restoring their health by consuming blood, much like Devils and Fiends, however, their regenerative abilities are nearly limitless and they can revive if there is an adequate amount of blood to consume, even if their heads are cut off or their hearts removed from their bodies.
If there is not enough blood, the transformation will stop in the way even if they try to transform again, the armament will not appear even if you perform certain actions, or only the damage will recover and return to human form. Upon transformation or disassembly, the changed parts melt like mud. Like normal humans, and unlike Fiends, hybrids can make contracts with Devils, as it is shown that despite having a contract with Pochita, Devil can also contract with the Blood Devil. However, it is unknown if this was actually a contract or just a verbal agreement between friends, as Power was a Fiend.
Known Hybrids include: Bomb Devil, Chainsaw Devil, Crossbow Devil, Katana Devil, Longsword Devil, Flamethrower Devil, Spear Devil, Whip Devil.
