Kishibe in Chainsaw Man: The Complete Character Guide

Kishibe in Chainsaw Man is the veteran Public Safety Devil Hunter who captains Tokyo Special Division 4 and trains Denji and Power for combat. Kishibe transferred from Tokyo Special Division 1 after the assault on the Special Divisions, and Kishibe serves as the strongest human devil hunter of the new division. Makima calls Kishibe the strongest member of the division. Kishibe debuts in Chapter 29, “Perfect Score,” and Kishibe shapes the combat style of Denji and Power while secretly building a resistance against Makima.

The table below records 14 core attributes of Kishibe, with each attribute in the first column and the value of the attribute in the second column.

“I’ll turn you into the baddest of the badasses.”

Kishibe, Chainsaw Man

Spoiler warning: This guide covers the complete story of Kishibe, including the training of Denji and Power, the fate of Quanxi, the defeat of Makima, and the handover of Nayuta. Readers who have not finished Chainsaw Man will encounter full spoilers in every section.

Who Is Kishibe?

Kishibe is a veteran Public Safety Devil Hunter and the captain of Tokyo Special Division 4. Kishibe worked in Tokyo Special Division 1 before the assault on the Special Divisions destroyed most of Division 4, and Kishibe took command of the rebuilt division during the Katana Man arc.

Makima calls Kishibe the strongest member of Tokyo Special Division 4, followed by the Angel Devil. Kishibe calls himself the strongest Devil Hunter. Hirofumi Yoshida calls Kishibe a “first-rate hunter” during the International Assassins arc. The reputation rests on decades of experience in a profession where most hunters die within months or a few years. The scars on the face of Kishibe document the years of survival.

Kishibe serves as a supporting character across the Public Safety Saga. Kishibe works beside Aki Hayakawa in the rebuilt Division 4, and Kishibe takes charge of the training of Denji and Power at the start of the Katana Man arc. The profession of Kishibe carries the title devil hunter.

What Does Kishibe Look Like?

Kishibe looks like a tall, grizzled veteran with a stitched scar across the left cheek, grey hair, and a silver hip flask. The scar of Kishibe runs from the mouth across the left cheek, and scraggly facial hair covers the jaw of Kishibe.

The hair of Kishibe was black in youth and has turned grey in the manga, while the anime gives the hair a lighter, blond-tinted color. Kishibe wears two piercings on the left ear and one piercing on the right ear. Kishibe wears the standard Public Safety uniform with a large overcoat, and Kishibe drinks from the silver hip flask of Kishibe in nearly every appearance.

What Is Kishibe’s Personality?

Kishibe has a jaded, formal personality that hides sentimentality, dry humor, and ruthless pragmatism. Kishibe performs the work of Kishibe with calm formality and little emotion, and the actions of Kishibe often show a brutality that decades of devil hunting produced.

Kishibe speaks in a relaxed, polite manner and delivers horrifying statements with a completely straight face, which makes the humor of Kishibe difficult to read. Kishibe sees through the intentions of other people with uncanny accuracy, and Kishibe thinks in pragmatic terms even while drinking. Kishibe states that the most fearsome devil hunters to devils are not the brave or the strong, but the craziest, because the craziest hunters lack fear. Kishibe states that he enjoys booze, women, and killing devils.

The stoicism of Kishibe covers a sentimental core. Kishibe grows affectionate toward Denji and Power during the training of the pair, despite the stated hatred of Kishibe for fiends and devils, and Kishibe tells Makima of the concerns of Kishibe for the safety of the pair. Kishibe cares for Meowy, the cat of Power, while Denji and Power travel in Chapter 54. Kishibe refuses to look at the corpse of Quanxi after the death of Quanxi, because an implied past friendship binds the two hunters.

What Are Kishibe’s Devil Contracts?

Kishibe holds 3 devil contracts: the Knife Devil, the Claw Devil, and the Needle Devil. The story describes the 3 contracted devils as fairly dangerous, and Kishibe never explains the price of any of the 3 contracts.

The table below lists the 3 devil contracts of Kishibe. The first column names each contract, the second column states the price, and the third column states what the manga reveals about each contract.

The manga never depicts the contracted powers of Kishibe in detail. The contract theme of Kishibe matches the fighting style of Kishibe: blades, piercing, and slashing at close range. The guide How Do Contracts Work in Chainsaw Man? explains the price system that governs every devil contract in the series.

How Does Kishibe Fight?

Kishibe fights as a close-range specialist who pairs superhuman physical ability with knifemanship and hand-to-hand mastery. Kishibe is only human, and the body of Kishibe still performs feats that rival the physical output of fiends.

The manga establishes 7 combat feats for Kishibe:

• Snapping the necks of Denji and Power with one arm each during training
• Shattering the hardened blood weapons of Power with bare punches
• Dodging the slash of Denji and stabbing Denji repeatedly before Denji can react
• Slashing the throat of Power before Power can start an attack
• Dodging a spear thrust at point-blank range through a door during the operation against Quanxi
• Surviving a fall from a window hard enough to crush the roof of a car
• Keeping pace with Quanxi, the First Devil Hunter, in hand-to-hand combat

The knifemanship of Kishibe adds ranged precision to the close-range style. Kishibe throws a knife down a hallway and strikes Denji in the head with accuracy, and Kishibe wields blades with repeated, precise stabs in every training bout. In youth, Kishibe wore dual swords on the back of Kishibe, and the manga never demonstrates the swordsmanship of the younger Kishibe.

How Did Kishibe Train Denji and Power?

Kishibe trained Denji and Power through daily lethal ambushes that forced the pair to use tactics instead of raw power. Kishibe takes charge of the training of the pair in the Katana Man arc, across Chapters 29–34, after the assault on the Special Divisions leaves Division 4 in ruins.

The method of Kishibe is simple and brutal. Kishibe attacks Denji and Power each morning with lethal force, and Kishibe kills or cripples the pair because the regeneration of Denji and the fiend body of Power undo the damage. The training teaches one lesson: devil hunting rewards cunning over strength, and a hunter who relies on power alone dies first. The training rapidly improves the combat ability of the pair, until Denji and Power can barely land hits on Kishibe.

Kishibe accepts the mentor role with reluctance, and Kishibe never softens the regimen. Kishibe grows fond of the pair through the training, despite the stated hatred of Kishibe for fiends and devils, and the fondness of Kishibe later turns into genuine concern for the safety of Denji and Power under the command of Makima. The guide Chainsaw Man Arcs in Order places the training inside the Katana Man arc.

How Does Kishibe Fight Against Makima?

Kishibe fights Makima by leading a secret resistance and executing a multiphase plan designed to send Makima back to Hell. Kishibe serves under the command of Makima while secretly opposing Makima, and Kishibe eventually leads the Anti-Makima Squad of the surviving hunters.

The plan of Kishibe uses Pochita as the weapon. Kishibe builds a complex, multiphase operation around the devouring power of Pochita, because a devil that Pochita eats in his true form leaves the world and descends to Hell. Kishibe appears in Chapter 83 during the final battle, and Kishibe coordinates the surviving hunters against Makima and the controlled weapon hybrids.

The plan fails in open battle, and Denji finishes the victory with the Blood Chainsaw of Power and the consumption of the body of Makima in Chapter 97. Denji explains the victory to Kishibe in a park in the epilogue of Part 1, and Kishibe accepts the explanation of Denji with the calm formality of Kishibe. Kishibe then brings Nayuta, the reincarnated Control Devil, from China, and Kishibe asks Denji to raise Nayuta before the government shapes Nayuta into another Makima.

What Is Kishibe’s Relationship with Quanxi?

Kishibe and Quanxi are former Public Safety partners whose implied friendship survives a battle on opposite sides. The omake of Volume 8 and the light novel Chainsaw Man: Buddy Stories reveal that Quanxi and Kishibe formerly worked together as Public Safety Devil Hunters, and Quanxi carries the title of the First Devil Hunter.

The partnership ends on a battlefield. In the International Assassins arc, Public Safety deploys Kishibe against Quanxi in Chapter 67, and Kishibe singlehandedly subdues 2 of the fiends who serve Quanxi before facing Quanxi herself. Kishibe keeps pace with Quanxi in hand-to-hand combat, and the fight ends with the death of Quanxi during the International Assassins arc. Kishibe refuses to look at the corpse of Quanxi, because the past friendship of the two hunters outweighs the mission of the day.

The bond of the two hunters reaches into Part 2. During the raid of Asa Mitaka on the Tokyo Devil Detention Center, Quanxi refuses to harm the body of Denji, because Kishibe wanted to protect Denji. The respect of Quanxi for Kishibe survives the death of Quanxi, and the request of Kishibe still guides the actions of Quanxi years later.

What Happens to Kishibe in Part 2?

Kishibe survives Part 1 and receives a single mention in Part 2, in Chapter 162, “Fearsome”. Kishibe makes no physical appearance in the Academy Saga, and the status of Kishibe remains alive through the end of the series.

The influence of Kishibe persists without the presence of Kishibe. Quanxi honors the request of Kishibe and protects Denji during the detention center raid, and the training of Denji under Kishibe shapes the combat instincts of Denji through the final arcs. The guide Chainsaw Man Part 1 vs Part 2 compares the two halves of the story that Kishibe spans.

What Are the Most Common Questions About Kishibe?

Summary of Kishibe in Chainsaw Man

Kishibe in Chainsaw Man is the veteran captain of Tokyo Special Division 4, the strongest human devil hunter of Public Safety, and the brutal mentor of Denji and Power. Kishibe holds contracts with the Knife Devil, the Claw Devil, and the Needle Devil at unknown prices, and Kishibe leads the secret resistance that plans to send Makima back to Hell. Denji defeats Makima with the Blood Chainsaw and consumption, and Kishibe entrusts Nayuta to Denji before the close of Part 1. Kishibe survives into Part 2 with one mention in Chapter 162, and the training and the requests of Kishibe shape the story long after his final appearance.