From Rookie to Apex Predator: Chainsaw Man’s Devil Hunters Ranked by Power

Chainsaw Man does not hand out participation trophies. Devil Hunters put their lives on the line every day, usually powered up by contracts with the very monsters they fight. Their skill sets are all over the place, which makes ranking them a fun little headache. So here’s my no-spoilers (well, light spoilers) tour through the major Devil Hunters from Part 1, from least to most terrifying. Criteria-wise, I looked at combat ability, contracts, and how their powers actually play out in the story.

How I’m judging this

Quick ground rules: Fiends are devils living in human corpses, Hybrids are humans fused with devils (think Denji), and Public Safety’s Division 4 is where the weirdos and heavy hitters go. I’m sticking to the big players from Part 1 and avoiding the really ruinous spoilers. Ready? Let’s go.

14. Hirokazu Arai

Arai is the earnest newbie under Makima’s oversight. Not the most naturally gifted, but he works like he’s trying to make up for it. Contract: Fox Devil, which lets him summon parts of the Fox in battle in exchange for feeding it bits of himself. Moderately capable, more heart than heat.

13. Kobeni Higashiyama

Kobeni is a bundle of nerves who occasionally explodes into a one-woman wrecking crew when cornered. She’s secretly very talented but held back by her own fear. At her peak, she single-handedly dropped Katana Man and forced Akane to retreat. She’s fast, deceptively strong, freakishly agile, an expert with knives and guns, and has a contract with an unnamed Devil she refuses to discuss.

12. Galgali

The Violence Fiend… who hates violence. He’s polite, blunt, and has actually said he loves peace and love, which is pretty funny considering, y’know, his whole deal. He wears a mask that dispenses poison to keep his strength in check, is resistant to toxins, and can morph parts of his body. He’s a key player in the Katana Man, Bomb Girl, and International Assassins arcs.

11. Beam

The Shark Fiend and Division 4’s resident chaos torpedo. Beam can literally swim through solid surfaces like floors and walls, though he can’t bring anyone or anything big with him. He can turn his head into a massive shark maw, or go full Shark Devil form. Durable enough to survive Reze’s point-blank blasts and still slip away. His sharky sense of smell is sharp enough that he figures out Reze’s identity before anyone else.

10. Hirofumi Yoshida

A prodigy with a smile that says he’s already three moves ahead. Contract: Octopus Devil (price unknown). He summons huge tentacles out of inky smokescreens, uses them to grab, block, and even swallow opponents, and can vanish into cover he creates. Add slick hand-to-hand work, smart tactics, and solid swordsmanship, and he’s a problem for anyone unprepared.

9. Himeno

A battle-hardened Devil Hunter whose soft spot is her undoing. Contract: Ghost Devil. She traded her right eye to control the Ghost’s invisible, intangible right arm, strong enough to injure the Eternity Devil. In a desperate moment, she offered her whole body to fully summon the Ghost Devil. She’s seen too much, numbed by loss, and fiercely protective of Aki.

8. Reze

The Bomb Devil hybrid sent from the Soviet Union with one job: steal Chainsaw Man’s heart. She pulls the pin in her neck like a grenade to detonate herself, can blow off her head as a decoy, and selectively detonate body parts as needed. She’s nearly immortal by hybrid standards, regenerates with blood, and can survive beheading or being cut in half. If she dies, pulling the pin can bring her back. Her one big weakness: if she’s wet, the detonation power doesn’t trigger. Main antagonist of her own arc, for good reason.

7. Aki Hayakawa

All dedication, no shortcuts. Aki’s contracts are a journey: former Fox Devil pact for that giant chomping head, Curse Devil for a nasty nail-sword finisher, and the Future Devil for limited foresight. Eventually, he becomes the Gun Fiend. He’s a skilled swordsman who never lets go of his goal: kill the Gun Devil, whatever it costs.

6. Angel

The Angel Devil, a Division 4 member who looks approachable and is absolutely not. Touch him and he drains your lifespan; let him hold contact long enough and you die painlessly. He can convert stolen years into weapons, and the more time he spends, the nastier they get. He also has wings and can fly. The power-to-risk ratio here is off the charts.

5. Kishibe

Makima herself calls Kishibe the strongest human in Tokyo’s Special Division 4, with Angel right behind him. He has contracts with at least three devils (Claw, Knife, and Needle), which is the kind of reckless that only works if you’re very, very good. He’s absurdly strong and fast, breaks Power’s blood weapons with one punch, and casually snaps both Denji and Power’s arms and necks during training. A knife master, ruthless brawler, and somehow still breathing after all of it.

4. Power

The Blood Fiend and chaos incarnate. In her original Devil form, she was feared for a reason. Even in Fiend form, she’s stronger than most humans and can build an arsenal from her own blood: hammers, spears, scythes, you name it. She’s quick, brutal, and keeps going as long as there’s even a little blood to sip for regeneration.

3. Quanxi

China’s legendary first Devil Hunter, a Bow Devil hybrid who treats carnage like cardio. With blades in hand she can mow down crowds without slowing, and her speed and reflexes are superhuman. In hybrid form she sprouts crossbows and, like other hybrids, regenerates by drinking blood—up to rebuilding a full body from just her head. Elite at archery, swordsmanship, and hand-to-hand. Calling her an "agent" undersells it.

2. Makima

The Control Devil and one of the Four Horsemen. On paper she’s a Devil Hunter; in practice, she’s one of the strongest devils on Earth. Several countries basically decided fighting her is a waste of time. She can dominate people and devils, forcing contracts and obedience. Thanks to her layered schemes, fatal damage redirected at her manifests as random illnesses or deaths among Japanese citizens. Between functional immortality and weaponized strategy, she’s an endgame threat disguised as a boss.

"Kishibe is the strongest member of the Tokyo Special Division 4."

1. Denji

Our messy, lovable protagonist. After fusing with Pochita, the Chainsaw Devil, he joined Public Safety’s Tokyo Special Division and became the most chainsaw-forward hero in anime. He doesn’t even need to be fully transformed to feel the boost, but when he pulls the cord, it’s go time—chainsaws burst from his head and arms, and his strength, durability, and stamina spike hard. He needs blood to keep the engines running, but his trump card is wild: as Chainsaw Man, he can erase devils from existence. That’s not just power—that’s changing the rules of the world.

Who’s contracted with what

If you want the quick who’s-with-which-devil cheat sheet, here you go:

• Makima — Control Devil
• Quanxi — Bow Devil
• Denji — Chainsaw Devil
• Power — Blood Fiend
• Kishibe — Claw Devil, Knife Devil, Needle Devil
• Angel — Angel Devil
• Aki Hayakawa — Fox Devil (former), Curse Devil, Future Devil; later becomes the Gun Fiend
• Reze — Bomb Devil
• Beam — Shark Fiend
• Himeno — Ghost Devil
• Kobeni — Unnamed Devil
• Galgali — Violence Devil
• Hirofumi Yoshida — Octopus Devil
• Hirokazu Arai — Fox Devil

Who did I underrate? Who’s missing? Tell me who else deserves a spot. And if you want to revisit the mayhem, the Chainsaw Man anime is streaming on Crunchyroll.