Pochita looks like a small orange dog with a chainsaw sticking out of his head. His tail is shaped like a chainsaw’s pull chord. He’s adorable and is the most feared being in the Chainsaw Man universe. And if you don’t fear him, he’s the source of your biggest obsession.
So what makes Pochita, also known as the Chainsaw Devil, so impossible to ignore?
The Power of Erasure
In Chainsaw Man, devils are born from human fear. Fear of fire creates the Fire Devil. Fear of darkness creates the Darkness Devil. And because fear never truly disappears, most devils can’t truly die. When a devil is killed, it simply reincarnates in Hell, waiting to return.
Pochita breaks that rule.
When the Chainsaw Devil eats another devil, that devil and the fear that created it’s wiped from human memory. The devil is erased from existence, permanently. No reincarnation, it’s just gone.
For a devil, erasure is the only thing that truly counts as death.
That single fact explains almost everything that happens in the story. If you’re a devil, Pochita is the only being in the world who can permanently destroy you. He also has the power to reshape reality itself. Nuclear weapons, the HIV virus, World War II don’t exist in the world of Chainsaw Man, because the Chainsaw Devil consumed those concepts ages ago. That kind of power is as close you can get to being a god.
The Strange Hero of Hell
Before Pochita became Denji’s heart, he roamed Hell as the Chainsaw Man, a massive, muscular creature moving at terrifying speed. He became a legend there, though not for the reasons you might expect.
Other devils called him “The Hero of Hell,” or “the Devil that Devils fear the most.” The story behind that title is both frightening and oddly touching. When a devil cried out for help, Pochita would arrive and destroy the attacker. But because his true form is enormous with chainsaws protruding from his forearms, he would accidentally kill the devil he rescued when he tried to give them a hug.
Pochita doesn’t mean to cause chaos. He’s a being of immense destructive power who is, at his core, looking for connection. That combination of devastating strength and innocence is what makes him so magnetic to so many characters in the story.
What the Devils Want From Him
To most devils, especially the Four Horsemen (Death, Famine, War, and Control), Pochita is an existential threat or a means to achieving their goals. Some want his power while others simply want him gone.
Makima the Control Devil is completely obsessed with him. She believes controlling Pochita would allow her to create a world free from pain. But her feelings toward him blur the line between worship and desire. If she can’t control him, she’d rather be consumed by him and live inside him forever. Her obsession comes from frustration since Pochita is the only being she can’t dominate.
Yoru the War Devil, however, wants revenge. Pochita erased parts of her body, including the Nuclear Weapons Devil. She wants to force him to spit out those devils so she can reclaim her power.
Other devils fear Pochita more than anything else. He represents the ultimate end due to his ability to erase them from existence. Most would destroy or control him if they could, but few have that kind of strength. Some devils keep their distance, treating him like a natural disaster you should avoid at all costs.
What Denji See in Him
Very few know Pochita’s origins or what happened to him before and after he crossed paths with Denji.
In a brutal battle against the Four Horsemen and the Weapon Devils, Pochita was gravely injured. According to Makima, he was reduced to a nearly dead, weakened form which is the small orange dog we’re so familiar with. At the height of that fight, he disappeared from the battlefield and somehow wound up on Earth.
Pochita first met Denji when he was at his father’s grave. Initially hostile towards the boy, the wounded devil quickly collapsed from his injuries. Instead of running, Denji shared his blood with Pochita on the condition the two would become friends.
This act of kindness formed a bond that defined both of their lives. From then on, they lived and worked together whether they were hunting devils, clearing wood, and scraping by with whatever food Denji could afford.
Later in the manga, Denji was betrayed by the Yakuza and brutally killed by the Zombie Devil’s horde. Some of his spilled blood reached Pochita, reviving him. In an act of pure selflessness, Pochita sacrifices himself by becoming Denji’s heart. This transforms Denji into a Devil-Human hybrid, making him the new Chainsaw Man. In exchange, Pochita only wanted to see more of Denji’s dreams through his eyes.
To Denji, Pochita isn’t just the Chainsaw Devil. He’s a reminder that loyalty and kindness can come from an unlikely place when you least expect it.
The Mystery Surrounding Pochita
Another reason people and devils are drawn to Pochita is that no one really understands what he is.
How can a chainsaw, a tool for cutting wood, have the power to erase concepts from reality? It doesn’t make any sense. Fear of chainsaws doesn’t produce a devil capable of erasing something out of existence.
Pochita is an anomaly, an exception to the rules that govern his world. For many, he’s both a puzzle and an opportunity to seize power.
Pochita is feared by most devils, worshiped by those who want to use him, and loved by those who know of his loyal and selfless nature. It’s one of the reasons why so many characters in Chainsaw Man can’t help the small dog with a chainsaw on its head out of their minds. And honestly, neither can we.
