In the world of Chainsaw Man, devils, and humans have been mortal enemies since the dawn of time. However, there are instances when the two warring species come together and work towards the same goal. By the way, we use the word “come together” quite loosely in this context.

They do so through devil contracts, turning into a fiend, or becoming a devil hybrid. This article will explain the differences between these three concepts and some of the examples that we can see in the series.

Related: Chainsaw Man: Who is Quanxi?

Devil Contracts

Devil Contracts is the most transactional option of the three. As the name suggests, this is a verbal contract made between a devil and a human, usually a devil hunter. Just like any other form of contract, the two parties have to give up something in order to gain something. For the devil's side, they are willing to lend some of their power for a brief amount of time whenever the contracted human asks them to do so. In exchange for this ungodly power, the human has to give something back to the devil, be it body parts, senses, life spans, or even a living human being.

A devil can make contracts with multiple people. Likewise, a human being can form a contract with multiple devils. Although no party involved is forced into making this contract, the burden always falls heavier on the human side. After all, they are the ones who have to sacrifice something precious to them, unlike the devil who merely has to lend some of their power. The more devils you form contracts with, the more you have to sacrifice. That is why it is highly discouraged for newcomers to form a contract with more than one devil.

One of the strongest Japanese public safety devil hunters, Kishibe, is even said to barely have anything left in his body due to making contracts with numerous powerful devils. On the contrary, lots of public devil hunters have made contracts with the Fox Devil, including Aki Hayakawa, but there’s barely any visible burden at all to the Fox Devil itself. In actuality, it is more than happy to receive free and frequent meals in exchange for stomping or chomping down on nasty devils from time to time.

Fiends

Once in a while, a devil may choose to enter a human corpse and assimilate themselves into this new body. When such a thing happens, those devils become a new hybrid creature called Fiends. The main reason why a devil may choose to be a fiend is usually due to something as simple as to keep on living. When a devil is in a weakened state, becoming a fiend is one of the most viable options for them to survive.

Since the human corpse that they usually choose still has its brain intact, the memory and personality of the original human may affect the devil, which is what happened to the Violence Devil who turned timid once it became a fiend. But more often than not, the devil’s own personality can overpower the human brain. This allows them to retain their original personality, which is the case for most fiends like Power or Beam.

The most obvious characteristic of a fiend is the head because although the devil is currently living in a human body, their head will still take on some of the characteristics of its original devil body, such as Power’s horns or Beam’s shark head. Interestingly enough, although they can now consume human food thanks to their new body, most fiends still prefer ingesting blood. After all, blood is the only thing that can heal their wounds and increase their strength.

A devil can still use their original power once they become a fiend, although to a much lesser degree. Some fiends have shown that they can turn back into their original devil bodies for a while, such as Power and Beam, but it’s unclear whether every fiend can do this or only certain fiends can.

Related: Chainsaw Man: Why Denji is The Ultimate Anti-Hero

Devil Hybrids

The rarest union between a devil and a human is a state known as the Devil Hybrids. Unlike Devil Contracts where the two parties involved gain something from the union, or a fiend where the devil is the one who is fully in control of a human body, Devil Hybrid is the sort of union that benefits the human way more than the devil.

The story of how a regular human can end up as a devil hybrid is different from one hybrid to the next. One of the most common details between them is the fact that the devil is often in a weakened state when they merge into the human body. However, for some unknown reason, rather than becoming a fiend, they end up as devil hybrids instead. This is the case with Chainsaw Devil and Denji, and also War Devil and Asa Mitaka in the Chainsaw Man Part 2.

For a human, becoming a devil hybrid is quite possibly the best way to gain devil power. After all, they get to live in their own body and can transform into a devil hybrid form whenever they want without having to pay any price to the devil who has most likely been fully assimilated to the human body at that point. When in hybrid form, only their head and limbs are transformed into the head and limbs of the devil inside them. Other than that, their body is still largely no different from their regular human self.

Apart from enhanced durability and regenerative ability, a devil hybrid is no different from a regular human when they are still in their human form. When they transform, however, they gain the same ability as the devil that they have assimilated with. And just like devils and fiends, devil hybrids also regain their strength and heal their wounds by consuming blood.

Eight confirmed devil hybrids have appeared in Chainsaw Man thus far, the Katana Man, the Bomb Girl, the Sword Man, the Flamethrower Man, the Bow Girl, the Spear Man, the Whip Girl, and lastly, the Chainsaw Man himself.

Chainsaw Man is available to stream on Prime Video.

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