History Characters / ChainsawManMakimaAndNayuta

** Nayuta expresses a fascination, and even desire, toward the idea of acting like a Devil and killing humans, only refraining because Denji would get mad at her for it. But after their house burns down and Denji abandons her to be Chainsaw Man again, leaving her with nothing left to lose, to her own surprise she finds she doesn't actually enjoy killing and being a Devil at all, and would genuinely rather just live a normal life.

* WhatYouAreInTheDark: In Chapter 155, Nayuta is finally alone and starts killing members of the mob to save herself. She reveals to the reader via internal monologue that she actually doesn't enjoy killing people all that much, despite her bluster, and only did so because Denji made it look so cool and eventful. She'd much rather be playing video games or doing some other little kid activity instead of fighting for her life. Whether or not she has this in common with her predeccesor is up in the air.

** For all Makima's power and brilliance, her date with Denji and the reveal of her true desires show her to be this. What the Control Devil really wants is simply to be loved and have actual friends and companions, something which she probably could have gotten had she been willing to try and accept other people, but her cruelty, arrogance, and megalomania lead her to dismiss all of those chances in favor of Pochita, which eventually results in her suffering a particularly [[CruelAndUnusualDeath gruesome and UndignifiedDeath]].

The Devil representing humanity's fear of control and one of the [[HorsemenOfTheApocalypse Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse]]. Her first incarnation to appear in the series is Makima, Denji's domineering caretaker and love interest who is eventually revealed to be the BigBad of Part 1. Following her death in that saga's climactic battle, her next incarnation is the young Nayuta, who plays a supporting role in Part 2 and becomes the closest thing Denji has to family. As such, this Devil has been the second most influential one in Denji's life behind the Chainsaw Devil himself, whether as a friend or a foe.

The Control Devil, the Devil representing humanity's fear of control, and one of the [[HorsemenOfTheApocalypse Four Horsemen]]. Her first incarnation to appear in the series is Makima, Denji's domineering caretaker and love interest who is eventually revealed to be the BigBad of Part 1. Following her death in that saga's climactic battle, her next incarnation is the young Nayuta, who plays a supporting role in Part 2 and becomes the closest thing Denji has to family. As such, this Devil has been the second most influential one in Denji's life behind the Chainsaw Devil himself, whether as a friend or a foe.

!!Due to the [[LateArrivalSpoiler nature of both]] [[WalkingSpoiler of these characters]], all spoilers for Part 1 are unmarked.

** For all Makima's power and brilliance, her date with Denji and the reveal of her true desires show her to be this. What she really wants is simply to be loved and have actual friends and companions, something which she probably could have gotten had she been willing to try and accept other people, but her cruelty, arrogance, and megalomania lead her to dismiss all of those chances in favor of Pochita, which eventually results in her suffering a particularly [[CruelAndUnusualDeath gruesome and UndignifiedDeath]].

** Nayuta expresses a fascination, and even desire, toward the idea of acting like a Devil and killing humans, only refraining because Denji would get mad at her for it. But after [[spoiler:their house burns down and Denji abandons her to be Chainsaw Man again, leaving her with nothing left to lose]], to her own surprise she finds she doesn't actually enjoy killing and being a Devil at all, and would genuinely rather just live a normal life.
* TheWorfEffect:

** In Chapter 151, [[spoiler:Barem completely shrugs off Nayuta's mind control and strangles her because he's so unhinged and devoted to Makima that Nayuta powers have barely any effect on him, though there's also the possibility that Nayuta, a child who had just witnessed her home burn down with possibly all her beloved pets inside, is simply too scared of Barem to properly control him. Luckily, she fights back by firing chains through the gun-wielding Public Safety members, who proceed to fill her enemy with holes once again, allowing her to free herself.]]

* ADayInTheLimelight: [[spoiler:Part 2's Chainsaw Man Church arc manages to do this to Makima ''as a PosthumousCharacter'', as she is shown to be a large influence over both the Church's motivations and her future self Nayuta's growth as a person.]]

* MeaningfulEcho: A posthumous example. In chapter 82, Makima mentally breaks Denji by telling him that she will make sure to destroy any and all future happiness and normalcy he ever achieves because he "needs to atone for his sins." [[spoiler:In Part 2, Makima's only willing follower, [[NotBrainwashed Barem Bridge]], does ''exactly'' that, burning Denji's home to the ground with all of his pets inside, telling him that the flames are his punishment.]]

* PayEvilUntoEvil: Her brainwashing of the Whip and Spear hybrids comes across as this with the reveal of [[spoiler:what they're really like in Part 2, as they're both shown to be quite nasty pieces of work in their own right. It's especially true in regards to Whip Woman who's revealed to be a SuperSupremacist and a psychotic killer who gleefully laughs in anticipation of murdering innocent people, including children.]]

* PosthumousCharacter: [[spoiler:In Part 2, the remaining Weapon Humans heading up the Chainsaw Man Church are still dedicated to Makima and are attempting to carry out her will, blaming Denji for interrupting her plans for a peaceful, controlled world. Furthermore, her reincarnation Nayuta is unable to use her own Control Devil powers against them due to Makima's existing control. She is also the only deceased Part 1 character to be mentioned by name, due to her lingering influence on the Chainsaw Man Church.]]

* VillainousLegacy: While definitively killed at the end of Part 1 and only "surviving" as a brand-new being, [[spoiler:one of her followers, Barem Bridge, survived and goes after Denji in Part 2 because he stopped Makima's plans, and is attempting to continue them.]]

* AmbiguouslyEvil: Nayuta doesn't particularly care about human beings (which is actually worse than her predecessor who sincerely wanted to make the world a better place), may be using her powers freely to get what she wants, and sees a casual attitude to murder as an inherent to being a devil. She is however rather flippant about it, and willing to avoid killing humans if only because it's important to Denji. [[spoiler:Chapter 155 shows that when first discovered, Nayuta specifically intended to continue Makima's plan to give Denji the happiness he wanted via a normal life and then destroy it all, albeit for the new goal of learning about her own identity. However as she continues living with Denji, he manages to give her a new foundation to build her sense of self on: being his family. In a sharp contrast to everything that Makima did to Denji, Nayuta ultimately [[HeroicSacrifice sacrifices]] herself to save him.]]
* AmbiguousSituation:
** While she seems to know about Denji's general history (more specifically [[CartwrightCurse his dating life]]), it's unclear how much, if anything, she knows about her previous life as Makima. There are small hints, such as her vaguely referencing Makima's regard of him as a dog and imitating Denji's peace sign response despite, taking DeathOfPersonality into account, having only just met him. Becomes even more ambiguous with chapter 131's reveal that [[spoiler:she is fully aware that she is the Control Devil, and she knows the Famine Devil enough to call her "sister". Despite this, she is distinct enough from Makima that she refuses to help Famine out with her plans because she has grade-school, and her control powers don't work on Barem because he is ''specifically'' still devoted to Makima.]] [[spoiler:Chapter 155 clears up some of this confusion, revealing that she used her powers to look into Denji's mind and discovered her previous identity as Makima, as well as her goal of breaking Denji's contract with Pochita. Nayuta, desperately wanting some sense of identity, chose to follow in her former self's footsteps in the hopes that she can be ''somebody''. However as she continued living with Denji, she slowly discovered a new role for herself: being Denji's family. [[DeathByIrony In an instance of tragic irony]], one of her former self's most fanatical followers, Barem Bridge, decides to pick up where Makima left off and completely burns Denji's life to the ground. In contrast to her initial goals, Nayuta is absolutely horrified by what Barem does and, despite Denji turning his back on her, Nayuta chooses to put her life on the line to save him, cementing to herself that she truly is her own person. However, it still isn't clear exactly how much of her past she knows, whether she just got a cursory read from Denji and learned about who Makima was and her goal of breaking Denji's contract with Pochita, or if she's fully aware of everything Makima did to Denji.]]

* BecomingTheMask: [[spoiler:Chapter 155 reveals that Nayuta originally wanted to continue Makima's plan to crush Denji's hopes and spirit. However, after spending time with him, she realized that this wasn't what she truly wanted to do.]]

** Nayuta is implied to have no memory of her past life as Makima and while she retains some of her mannerisms, she's ultimately a completely different person. Chapter 119 shows that she retains Makima's possessive nature and has ''some'' knowledge of Denji's life before she herself came into the world, even if she otherwise acts very different. [[spoiler:This also means that she is unable to control the Weapon Humans who are still devoted to her previous self.]]

* EnfantTerrible: She's a highly possessive brat by the time she's shown again in Part 2, sadistically using her powers to humiliate people for encroaching upon what she perceives to be "(her) property". She openly thinks being a devil makes it normal for her to kill any living thing and needed Denji to talk her out of ''actively aiding'' [[spoiler:the impending apocalypse]]. [[spoiler:Nayuta actually ''started out'' planning to sacrifice Denji for her own gain before deciding she liked him too much.]]

* GoodAllAlong: She spends much of Part 2 AmbiguouslyEvil, as it's often very hard to tell if her care for Denji is selfless or self-centered, because she seems more willing to fall in line only when Denji basically bribes her or reiterates his love for her. [[spoiler:Chapter 153 confirms that her love for Denji is indeed entirely selfless; she rescues him from an angry mob and urges him to run, one of the few times someone isn't asking him to save them but rather trying to save ''him'']].
* GuileHero: She clearly has Denji's creativity, and [[spoiler:saves him and Asa from being EatenAlive by fiddling with a Devil's senses so humans taste like actual crap to it.]]

* HeroicNeutral: Nayuta lacks any wide-spanning ambitions for her powers, good or ill, she's just interested in keeping herself, Denji, and their pets safe and happy. [[spoiler:She even brushes off Fami's invitation to help save the world, [[BystanderSyndrome not really considering]] if her own family's life would depend on it.]]

** [[spoiler:Underneath the bratty attitude and childlike antics Nayuta knows a lot more about the supernatural events around her than she lets on, being fully aware of her own nature as the Control Devil as well as the identity of and her relation to the other Horsemen of the Apocalypse. Chapter 131 has her casually conversing with Famine and receiving information on the [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt Prophecies of Nostradamus]], something that Asa/Yoru and Denji are both entirely unaware of.]]

* HoistByHerOwnPetard: An indirect and very tragic example. [[spoiler:Nayuta initially defined herself as merely an extension of Makima, thus seeking to continue her former self's goals of destroying Denji out of a desperate desire to have some sense of self, yet was slowly able to carve out an identity as her own person through her familial relationship with Denji. All of that, however, is abruptly cut short by Barem Bridge who, in a fanatical obsession to realize Makima's goals, does ''exactly'' what Nayuta initially set out to do by burning Denji's entire life to the ground.]]

* LoopholeAbuse: In Chapter 149, Denji states that Nayuta is not allowed to kill humans. [[spoiler:When Fumiko disagrees with Denji and Nayuta wanting to go back to their apartment and check on their dogs and Meowy, Nayuta responds by shooting a chain in her direction and has an old woman try to strangle her. While the human is under her control, [[ExactWords Nayuta herself isn't the one trying to kill Fumiko]]. Denji still takes issue with this and asks her not to kill humans, indirectly or otherwise.]]

* NominalHero: She assists Denji's devil hunting, and even encourages him to pick himself back up and return to it when he was in a depressive funk, but general lack of concern for people outside her family suggests this is entirely because of her connection to him. [[spoiler:Until Denji turns her down, Nayuta seriously considered abandoning humanity to side with the devils just because she'd gotten tired of its rules.]].
* ObfuscatingStupidity: [[spoiler:Nayuta only expressed a vague warning to Denji about Asa. The way she and Fami discuss her being the War Devil implies it was something Nayuta at the very least suspected.]]
* OriginalPositionFallacy: Nayuta believes that Devils taking over the world and killing humanity wouldn't be such a big deal since it's natural for Devils to do that, she'll be perfectly fine since she is one, and she won't have to go to school anymore so she can spend more time playing with Denji and their pets. Then the [[spoiler:Chainsaw Man Church]] destroys her home, and [[spoiler:kills Meowy and her dogs]] in a single day at the behest of the [[spoiler:Famine and Fire Devils.]]
* PetTheDog: While Nayuta's certainly a bit of a possessive brat, she and Denji genuinely have a good relationship with each other. When Denji wakes her up in the middle of the night, screaming his head off over [[spoiler:being impersonated on TV]], Nayuta just quietly comforts him with a pat on the back.

* RaiseHimRightThisTime: Pochita notes that Makima turned out the way she did out of a desire to build relationships with people, but only thought she could do so through fear. Kishibe notes that if the government found her they could very well turn her into another Makima. The two of them decide to entrust Nayuta, the new Control Devil, to Denji so that he could show her a real loving relationship. Her reappearance in Part 2 indicates that the results of Denji's efforts are mixed: she still ends up developing something of a [[SmugSuper superiority complex]] and [[SemanticSuperpower all the dangers that entails as the Control Devil]], as well as displaying possessiveness and a willingness to react to perceived threats with force, but Nayuta has been reined in from simply becoming another Makima by the fact she has a genuine relationship with Denji as a [[MoralityChain moral compass]], refraining from controlling everything around her on a whim and her hostility to Asa being at least partially motivated by her concern for him. [[spoiler:Chapter 154 reveals that for as shakey as she can be, Denji succeeded at least in one regard; despite thinking she'd enjoy battle as much as he did, even with Denji out of the picture Nayuta derives no enjoyment from killing people.]]
* RedemptionDemotion: The Control Devil's powers require her to fully believe someone or something is below her to control them. Nayuta does think of herself pretty highly, but since she lacks Makima's mental conditioning it's less reliable. She also has no interest in recreating Makima's brainwashed army or self-resurrection contract, and so far can only control three people at once. [[spoiler:When she tries to control Barem, he is able to easily resist due to him still being under her previous self's influence.]]

* SameCharacterButDifferent: When Devils die and reincarnate, they become completely distinct from their previous incarnations with new appearances and personalities, as seen with multiple minor antagonistic Devils in Part 2. As the Control Devil, Nayuta is therefore the same ''entity'' that Makima was, but not the same ''person''. She is referred to as "the former Makima", and the difference in identity means [[spoiler:she can't control beings such as Barem who were already bound to Makima's will despite her no longer existing.]]

* SkewedPriorities: Nayuta turns down [[spoiler:Fami's offer to help prevent the end of the world]] because she's busy with school. If nothing else, Denji definitely taught her to take her education seriously.

* TookALevelInCheerfulness: Much more energetic when she reappears in Part 2 while also being a demanding hellion. [[spoiler:Chapter 155 shows a direct contrast via cutting from her when she first met Denji, freshly reborn with a blank slate but still with the instincts of a Devil, and several months later, where she is happily running and playing with her surrogate brother and pets]].
* TookALevelInKindness:

** Chapter 155 expands this further. [[spoiler:We're shown that shortly after Denji was introduced to Nayuta, she was something of an EmptyShell that displayed indifference and confusion at Denji's kind treatment of her. It was clear that she by this point was still full-on Devil, as she scans Denji's memories, sees her past self as Makima, and decided to fulfill her original plans to give Denji happiness then break him in order to find some sense of self. However, she found herself genuinely enjoying living with Denji and eventually adopted many of his mannerisms as well as a protectiveness over him. Even reborn with a blank slate, she Took A Level thanks to Denji's upbringing]].
* UncertainDoom: [[spoiler: Nayuta is last seen in chapter 155, seconds before she's seemingly about to be killed by a bloodthirsty mob, though the aftermath isn't shown. The next chapter opens with Denji waking from a week-long coma and frantically asking Yoshida where Nayuta is, only for the latter to respond that he doesn't know.]]
* UndyingLoyalty: For all of their flaws, Nayuta loves Denji and will go against her own nature if it means helping him. [[spoiler:Even when Denji [[KickTheMoralityPet rejects her and calls her a burden]] after returning to being Chainsaw Man, she still chooses to save his life and urges him to escape.]]
* WeCanRuleTogether: [[spoiler:After she nearly kills Fumiko, Nayuta asks Denji if they can live as devils, conquering others so they don't have to obey any human rules. He talks her out of it.]]

** [[spoiler:Denji has fully crossed the DespairEventHorizon by Chapter 153, fully embracing being Chainsaw Man, manically eviscerating the Weapon Hybrids, and even telling Nayuta to piss off by claiming he always saw her as a burden. Even though both of them have pretty much lost everything by that point, Denji's love and dedication to Nayuta gets rewarded as Nayuta refuses to leave her big brother's side at his lowest point, and goes out of her way to selflessly rescue him; a ''very'' far cry from Makima]].

* BeingEvilSucks: For all her power and brilliance, her date with Denji and the reveal of her true desires show her to be this. What she really wants is simply to be loved and have actual friends and companions, something which she probably could have gotten had she been willing to try and accept other people, but her cruelty, arrogance, and megalomania lead her to dismiss all of those chances in favor of Pochita, which eventually results in her suffering a particularly [[CruelAndUnusualDeath gruesome and UndignifiedDeath]].

* BeingEvilSucks: Despite all her talk about how it's just a devils' nature to kill and her enthusiasm for Denji's violent escapades, when she's forced into a situation where she has to kill, it brings Nayuta no joy at all and she admits that she has more fun playing video games.

* BeingEvilSucks: Despite all her talk about how it's just a devils' nature to kill and her enthusiasm for Denji's violent escapades, when she's forced into a situation where she has to kill, turns out it brings her no joy at all and she admits that she has more fun playing video games.

** Makima burrows her way into Denji's heart so well that, even with complete knowledge of everything she'd done, he still loves her. Outstandingly, this works ''against'' Makima, as her revival ability doesn't recognize Denji slowly ''eating her entire corpse'' as an attack [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve because Denji views it]] [[ThePowerOfLove as an act of love]]]].

* MinoredInAssKicking: Makima prefers to have her minions take care of any physical confrontations and, on the rare occasions she intervenes personally, stays at range and relies on her HandBlast ability. But in Chapter 95, she's so disgusted to see Denji back as Chainsaw Man that she attacks him with her bare fists, relying on [[LiquidAssets her Contract with the government and expert hand-to-hand combat skills to gradually wear him down before ripping out his heart. [[EvilIsPetty All to prove that he's so much worse than the "real" Chainsaw Man that she wouldn't need her powers or minions to beat him]]. Which is proven to be doubly ironic less than a chapter later when it turns out that she ''was'' fighting the "real" Chainsaw Man, and Denji, the human she hated so much, manages to get the drop on her and take her out in a single blow]].

** Makima burrows her way into Denji's heart so well that, even with complete knowledge of everything she'd done, he still loves her. Outstandingly, this works ''against'' Makima, as her revival ability doesn't recognize Denji slowly ''eating her entire corpse'' as an attack [[ClapYourHandsIfYouBelieve because Denji views it [[ThePowerOfLove as an act of love]]]].