Ever since their first mention nearly two thousand years ago in the Book of Revelation, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse have served as the ultimate, ready-made, badass bosses in stories like Chainsaw Man. Indeed, they present the perfect "formidable adversary" a hero must either conquer or, as in the biblical context, face divine consequences for failing to overcome.
Chainsaw Man creator Tatsuki Fujimoto, however, reimagines the concept of the Four Horsemen as women, transforming them into powerful and influential devils. Unlike their biblical counterparts, who were unleashed as part of a divine plan to bring about destruction, devastation, and chaos, Fujimoto’s "horse-persons" operate independently. While they still embody various forms of human suffering, these devils are not bound by any higher purpose or divine agenda. Instead, they pursue their own motives, which may or may not align with humanity’s well-being, and they certainly do not act under any divine will. This reinterpretation adds a layer of delicious unpredictability and moral ambiguity to their roles in the story.
The First Horseman - Makima / Nayuta - The Control Devil
The World Will Bend A Knee To Her Authority And Prosper
While popular interpretations of the Four Horsemen often portray them as four individuals riding across the Earth simultaneously, unleashing an apocalypse wherever they go, Fujimoto adheres more closely to the biblical depiction. Specifically, he presents them as a sequence of characters, each emerging to create and influence a specific circumstance or environment that helps set the stage for the arrival of the next Horseman.
Thus, mirroring the Book of Revelation, the first Horseman the story encounters is Makima, the Control Devil, who parallels the biblical rider of the white horse, traditionally associated with conquest and the establishment of global dominance. In Makima's case, her goal is cloaked in a veneer of benevolence: she genuinely seeks to create a better world, free from suffering. However, this vision comes with a significant caveat humanity must submit to her complete and absolute control. To aid her in achieving her objectives, Makima possesses the terrifying ability to control anyone she perceives as inferior, whether they are human, devil, fiend, or hybrid.
While her abilities and goals are scary enough, what's truly unsettling is her personality. She is ruthlessly manipulative, extremely cunning, and possesses a heart of stone, biblical in its coldness. Yet, her captivating beauty and charisma add to her irresistibility. In her mind, the sacrifice of people or devils is merely a means to an end, a necessary step toward achieving her objectives. The full extent of Makima's power is evident in her ability to reincarnate despite being killed in Chainsaw Man Part One – a circumstance that normally prevents devils from reincarnating. Makima's remarkable resilience is underscored by her rebirth in Nayuta.
The Second Horseman -Yoru - The War Devil
Disruption and Chaos Is The Name Of Her Game
The next Horseman to appear in Chainsaw Man is Yoru, the War Devil, who parallels the biblical rider of the red horse — a figure commonly associated with war, bloodshed, and the disruption of peace and harmony in human society. Unlike Makima, Yoru harbors no grand ambitions of world domination. Stability is not her goal; instead, she craves a world consumed by perpetual warfare and violence. The more conflicts that rage across the globe, the more fear is generated to feed her insatiable appetite. To aid her in spreading chaos and destruction, Yoru's unique ability is that she can transform anything —including people— into weapons, which she then wields to kill and devastate.
As expected of someone who thrives on confrontation, Yoru possesses a short temper and an irksome pride that grates on others. Regardless of who controls the world, Yoru is content as long as there is significant conflict. She seeks to eliminate the Chainsaw Man. His eradication of devils who help incite war has substantially weakened her power and influence. Indeed, Yoru believes that by killing the Chainsaw Man, she can resurrect those devils and restore her former power, as the fear of warfare intensifies.
The Third Horseman - Fami - The Famine Devil
Give Me Your Tired, Your Poor, and Your Starving Masses
The third Horseman to enter the picture is Fami, the Famine Devil, who corresponds to the rider of the black horse in the Book of Revelation. As her title suggests, Fami embodies scarcity and the famine that often follows in its wake. Unlike Makima and Yoru, she prefers to operate from the shadows, orchestrating events that lead to scarcity— particularly those that inflict hunger, starvation, and deprivation upon humanity. In this regard, she closely resembles Makima: cold, calculating, and ruthlessly manipulative, using people, devils, and circumstances to achieve her goals.
Yoru possesses the remarkable ability to influence others to do her bidding, complemented by a soft and affectionate demeanor that is nearly impossible to resist. Fami, like Yoru, relies on humans to maintain her relevance. For instance, any human or devil suffering from hunger or deprivation can easily fall under Fami’s control. After all, as long as humanity exists, so will deprivation and famine. Fascinatingly, while she delights in inducing hunger in others, she herself is both a glutton and a gourmet, unable to resist indulging in a well-prepared meal.
The Fourth Horseman - Death - The Death Devil
In Darkness And Light - There is Death
Last but certainly not least is the yet-unnamed Death Devil, who mirrors the biblical rider of the pale horse and wields the power to bring death through various means. If the Book of Revelation is any indication, the arrival of the Death Devil signals that the apocalypse has entered its final phase of unimaginable destruction and chaos. Fueled by humanity’s fear of death, the Death Devil is the oldest and most powerful devil — the true force underlying everything that has transpired in the Chainsaw Man saga.
For such a powerful devil, her appearance —as revealed in Chainsaw Man Chapters #195-196— is quite the opposite. She is portrayed as a perpetually sad and crying teenage girl, both proud and docile — perhaps due to the conflict between her immense power, her need to kill, and her discomfort with killing. While closely related, the Death Devil is a natural rival to the Control, War, and Famine Devils, as she has the ability to eliminate humanity, thereby stripping them of all desires and powers.
However, there is also the possibility that they could collaborate with Death to create a situation that benefits them all. At present, the extent of the Death Devil’s powers, personality, and goals is only beginning to unfold in the story, but she is bound to have a significant impact on everything and everyone moving forward in Chainsaw Man.
