Why Kishibe Is the Strongest Devil Hunter in Chainsaw Man (Analysis)

In Attack on Titan, humanity’s strongest soldier is Levi.
In Chainsaw Man, if you had to name the strongest Devil Hunter, it would be Kishibe.

This article analyzes Kishibe’s abilities, devil contracts, personality, and possible real-life inspirations to explore why he can be called the strongest Devil Hunter in the series.

Spoiler warning: This article contains spoilers for Chainsaw Man Part 1.

If you want a full recap of Part 1 first, check out my complete Chainsaw Man Part 1 guide here.

Chainsaw Man Part 1 Recap & Guide – Story, Arcs, Characters and Themes Explained

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Kishibe’s Overwhelming Combat Ability

One-Sided “Training” of Denji and Power

In Volume 4 of Chainsaw Man, Kishibe is assigned to train Denji and Power.

What follows hardly looks like “training” at all — it’s a massacre.

• Kishibe kills both of them instantly with neck snaps
• He does it bare-handed, without any obvious devil powers
• Even when Power forges weapons using her blood, he easily dismantles their attacks
• He fights Denji and Power at the same time and still overwhelms them effortlessly

Denji is a Chainsaw hybrid, and Power is a powerful Blood Fiend. And yet, in front of Kishibe, the two of them look like clumsy beginners. His physical ability and killing technique alone are already on the level of a monster.

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Soloing Quanxi’s Four Fiends and Surviving a Skyscraper Fall

In Volume 7, during the International Assassins arc, the legendary Chinese Devil Hunter Quanxi comes to Japan with four fiends at her side.

In the chaos that follows, Kishibe:

• Single-handedly subdues all four of Quanxi’s fiends
• Neutralizes two of them so completely that he uses them as hostages
• Turns those hostages into bargaining chips during negotiations with Quanxi

This isn’t just physical strength. It shows his:

• Tactical awareness
• Quick thinking
• Ability to turn a desperate situation into leverage

Then in Volume 8, Quanxi throws Kishibe off a high-rise building.

A fall like that should kill any normal human.
Kishibe hits the ground, groans “That hurt,” and walks away almost uninjured.

For a “mere human,” that toughness is completely absurd. It’s one of the strongest pieces of evidence that Kishibe isn’t standing at the top of the Devil Hunters by luck — his body itself is beyond human limits.

Why Kishibe Was Never Controlled by Makima in Chainsaw Man

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Kishibe’s Devil Contracts: Knife, Claw, and Needle

In Volume 7, Quanxi’s fiend partner Pingtsi reveals the devils Kishibe is contracted with:

• Knife Devil
• Claw Devil
• Needle Devil

The manga never clearly shows what each devil’s ability is in battle.
However, through Pingtsi’s ability, we also learn that there is nothing left in Kishibe’s body that can be paid as contract compensation.

From this, we can build two main theories about why he almost never uses devil powers in the story.

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Theory 1: Kishibe Can No Longer Use Devil Powers

This is the “default theory” many Japanese readers seem to accept.

Kishibe fights mainly with:

• Overwhelming martial arts
• Knives that he throws or uses at close range

Most enemies can’t do anything against his raw technique, so we rarely see him unleash any clear devil abilities.

So what if:

• It’s not that he chooses not to use devil powers
• It’s that he can’t use them anymore?

Kishibe mentions he’s in his 50s — already very old for a Devil Hunter. Over decades of combat, he must have used his contracts again and again, paying heavy prices each time.

As a result:

• His body no longer has anything left to offer as payment
• If he uses a devil’s power one more time, the price might be his life itself

That would explain why he currently fights using only his physical skills and experience.
He isn’t “not relying” on devil powers out of pride — he’s avoiding them because triggering a contract now might be his final act.

The next time Kishibe seriously uses a devil’s power, it could very well be the last time we see him alive.

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Theory 2: Kishibe Has Already Paid the Price and Permanently Enhanced His Body

There’s another way to interpret Pingtsi’s line:
If Kishibe has no more contract payment left in his body, maybe it’s because he already paid everything in advance.

Kishibe’s body is clearly not normal:

• His toughness lets him survive a fall from a skyscraper
• His reactions let him dodge Denji’s swing and, in the same moment, stab him multiple times
• His martial arts look almost inhuman

This leads to the idea that Kishibe might have:

• Paid his body as compensation beforehand
• Let the Knife, Claw, and Needle Devils permanently enhance his physical abilities
• Become a human whose body is constantly boosted by devil power

There are some suggestive scenes that support this reading:

• During training and battles, he often pulls out knives from nowhere
  • The blades are long enough that they don’t look like something he simply kept hidden in his coat
  • It feels more natural to assume he’s manifesting them via the Knife Devil’s power
• There’s a scene where Kishibe dodges a single swing from Denji and, in that tiny gap of time, stabs Denji three times
  • That speed doesn’t feel human
  • It fits perfectly with the image of a Needle Devil granting needle-like speed and precision

If this theory is true, then Kishibe is:

• A man who already paid every price his body could offer
• A Devil Hunter whose physique has been pushed to its absolute limit
• Practically a human-shaped devil weapon — a “contract” walking around in human form

In that case, it makes perfect sense to call him the strongest Devil Hunter.

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Why Kishibe Always Carries Alcohol

“The devil hunters that devils fear the most are the ones with a few screws loose.”

This line of Kishibe’s is a perfect summary of his mentality.

In Chainsaw Man, devils become stronger the more humans fear them.
So Devil Hunters who are:

• Unafraid
• Or mentally “broken” in a certain way

are the ones devils truly fear.

Kishibe already doesn’t seem to fear devils at all. On top of that, he’s constantly drinking — during work, during training, even in incredibly dangerous situations.

It’s easy to imagine that Kishibe drinks in order to:

• Numb his fear of devils
• Loosen his self-preservation instinct
• Keep his mind just “unhinged” enough to terrify devils

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A Surprisingly Kind Man Behind the Poker Face

At first glance, Kishibe looks like a cold-blooded killer:
A fixed expression, calm voice, and almost no visible emotion.

But the story shows us he’s actually very emotionally attached to others.

• In Volume 4, he tells Makima that even “toys” can inspire affection
• As he trains Denji and Power, he gradually develops real feelings for them as his students

The world of Devil Hunters is full of death. Comrades die all the time.
If you’re constantly afraid of losing people, you might freeze up at a crucial moment — and get yourself killed.

Kishibe is:

• Emotionally warm and capable of attachment
• But living in a job where attachments are constantly punished by death

That contradiction is exactly why he drinks.

Alcohol helps him:

• Dull the fear of losing people
• Soften the pain of watching comrades die
• Maintain the “few screws loose” mindset that makes him so dangerous to devils

In game terms, you could say:

• Kishibe’s drinking and fearlessness act like a debuff on devils
• The less he fears them, the less power they gain from his fear

That mental state is part of what allows Kishibe to overwhelm devils and stand as the strongest Devil Hunter.

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Who Kishibe Might Be Based On

Kishibe is such a striking character that fans have long speculated about his real-life or pop culture inspirations.
There is no official confirmation from creator Tatsuki Fujimoto, but two candidates are often discussed.

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Masao Kakihara from Ichi the Killer

One possible inspiration is Masao Kakihara from the manga and film Ichi the Killer (Koroshiya 1).

Kakihara is:

• A sadistic and masochistic yakuza enforcer
• Someone who turns pain into pleasure and lives for extreme violence
• Depicted with a grotesque “Glasgow smile” — his cheeks are cut from the corners of his mouth, held together by piercings Wikipedia+1

Kishibe also has:

• A stitched scar running from the corner of his mouth across his cheek Chainsaw Man Wiki

The visual parallel is hard to miss.

On top of that, Kakihara’s trademark weapon in some depictions is long, needle-like implements that he uses for brutal torture and combat. Niche Gamer+1

This matches nicely with the fact that one of Kishibe’s contracts is with the Needle Devil.

So we have several similarities:

• Facial scars around the mouth
• Piercings and a dangerous, unhinged aura
• Association with needle-like weapons
• A sense that they are barely human in their capacity for violence

It’s easy to imagine Fujimoto — a fan of extreme cinema — taking inspiration from Kakihara’s shocking design and mixing it into Kishibe.

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Mads Mikkelsen

Another very popular theory is that Kishibe is modeled after Danish actor Mads Mikkelsen.

Fans and pop culture sites have pointed out that Kishibe and Mikkelsen share:

• Grey (or light-colored) hair styled in a similar way
• Light stubble and a slightly unshaven look
• A sharp, melancholy, handsome face that mixes danger and elegance

Articles and fan discussions often note how similar the two look in side-by-side comparisons, and some even suggest that Fujimoto might have been directly inspired by Mikkelsen’s roles. cbr.com+2FandomWire+2

Kishibe is in his 50s in the story, and Mads Mikkelsen is also around that age range, which makes the parallel even more convincing.

If you imagine Mads Mikkelsen playing an older, world-weary, alcohol-soaked Devil Hunter, the image of Kishibe appears almost perfectly.

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A Mix of Kakihara and Mads?

My personal take is that Kishibe feels like a hybrid:

• Visually and thematically influenced by Masao Kakihara
• With the facial structure, age, and vibe of Mads Mikkelsen

There is no official statement confirming either of these as direct models.
But if Fujimoto really did mix a sadomasochistic yakuza villain from a cult manga with one of the coolest European actors alive… that would be extremely on-brand for a movie- and manga-obsessed creator like him.

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Conclusion: Why Kishibe Is the Strongest Devil Hunter

Kishibe’s strength doesn’t come from flashy regeneration or giant chainsaws.

It comes from a terrifying combination of:

• Overwhelming physical ability and martial arts
• A body possibly enhanced — or nearly destroyed — by devil contracts
• Experience and instincts gained from decades of surviving as a Devil Hunter
• A mind that has numbed its fear with alcohol and trauma
• A surprisingly kind heart that still cares about his students despite constant death

Whether you believe he can no longer use devil powers, or that he has already paid everything and is constantly powered by his contracts, one thing is clear:

Among human Devil Hunters in Chainsaw Man,
Kishibe stands at the very top.

That’s why, in my view, he deserves the title of “the strongest Devil Hunter.”