Tatsuki Fujimoto’s manga series, Chainsaw Man, has recently begun its anime adaptation. And I must say, the anime has done a good job of enhancing the manga experience so far. It is gaining significant popularity among the fans, hence many fans have joined regular manga readers in exploring further what the story has to offer.
And these fans have all been wondering the same thing. Why is Makima so obsessed with Chainsaw Man? Is it really Denji that she’s been obsessed with? Or does she have an ulterior motive behind everything?
Well, Makima is a fan of Pochita, the chainsaw devil, for being able to erase the devil’s that he eats from existence. So in reality, she is obsessed with Pochita rather than Denji. Denji is just her means to get to Pochita.
I know, I know. That information was a little too much to comprehend in one go. But bear with me, I will help you understand the reason behind Makima’s obsession with Chainsaw Man in this article. I will explain the reason in more depth.
So hang on, as you find out the true complexity of this situation. Enjoy reading!
Why is Makima Obsessed With the Chainsaw Man?
When Makima first finds Denji, she immediately takes him in and makes him her pet. Of course, that doesn’t sound much like the behavior of someone who’s “obsessed” with a person. But we have to remember the situation from Denji’s point of view as well.
Denji was someone who was in some insane amount of debt left behind by his father. He struggled to make ends meet as it is, and the loan upon that wasn’t helping. Even a spread of jam on his bread was a dream to him. So when Makima offers Denji a choice, he grabs it.
But Makima’s behavior after that is pretty complicated to understand. She treats Denji like a literal pet at times, but then she lures him with the supposed promise of a relationship. She wanted to keep him close to her but then she'd treat him like trash.
Pochita appears in Denji's mind after sacrificing his heart.
But there's a solid reason why she behaves like that. It's because Makima is a devil. That's right. So if we are to see things from that perspective, it makes more sense to say that Makima is more obsessed with the devil side of Denji. Meaning, she wanted something to do with Pochita inside of Denji. More on that further in the article.
Makima is a Devil
As I have revealed earlier, Makima is actually a devil. A control Devil at that. By her nature itself, she likes to take control and dominate everything and everyone. That explains her behavior towards Denji.
Makima Using Her Ability
But even after that, why do you think that she is keeping Denji close to her? Surely, he’s not the only human-devil hybrid they must have come across. But why keep him so close? I have a theory for that.
Being a control Devil, Makima was never able to form any meaningful relationships. She would always be on top and treat other people as lower than herself. Because of this trait of hers, she ended up alone and always craved a meaningful relationship.
Maybe she kept Denji close to her for that very reason. But then, she was always dominating him and treating him like her pet. Her personality and desires keep contradicting her actions. To clear this contradiction, let me remind you of what I said earlier in this article.
It was never Makima’s intention to get close to Denji. It was Pochita she wanted. But the chainsaw devil’s heart was in Denji. That was why she would keep him close but also treat him like a pet. She had no empathy for Denji but she couldn’t treat him worse than now because of Pochita. I will talk more about their connection further in the article.
Makima's Connection to Pochita
We have already established that Makima is really after Pochita, the chainsaw devil, instead of Denji. It turns out that Makima is a fan of Chainsaw devil. And her dream was to have an equal relationship with Chainsawman.
Makima's dream was to "build an equal relationship with someone," and she had always longed for something like a family. Since Makima is a "demon of domination," she cannot form equal relationships with others. When forming a relationship with someone, Makima is above and the other person is below.
The chainsaw man is the "demon who hunts demons," so he is a symbol of fear that can take hold of their lives from the demons. Makima stuck with the chainsaw man in the hope that he could have an equal relationship with someone who, like her, is above the devil.
Pochita, the Chainsaw Devil
Pochita, the chainsaw devil, may seem so small, but he is in fact a legendary devil. Pochita can erase any devil he eats from existence. Meaning, if a devil gets eaten by Pochita, no one will be able to remember its existence. This is why devils either hated and avoided him or feared and worshipped him in hopes of getting spared.
But for some unknown reason, Makima didn’t forget anything. She was able to remember the events that Pochita had conveniently erased. And that’s precisely why Makima wants Pochita. She’s one of those devils that worshipped him. But mind you, it was not out of fear that she liked him. It was pure awe and admiration for his ability.
Is Makima Evil?
The answer is complicated. Are her methods not good? Yes. But does she have bad intentions? No. So Makima may be twisted, but she isn’t all bad. She lies more in the grey area of good and evil.
Makima
She wanted to use the Chainsaw Man, and by extension Pochita, to create a better world devoid of corruption, war, and crime. She wanted everyone to forget those evils and live in a peaceful world that she could bring about with Pochita.
I admit that her methods weren’t exactly pretty, but we can see that she merely wishes for a peaceful world. And she is willing to attain with whatever means necessary. In the end, she just wants to lead a peaceful life with her idol Pochita. At the end of the day, she is not evil, she is just alone.
Let me know what you think in the comments below! Thank you for reading!
