Necessary Evil | A Makima Character Analysis (Chainsaw Man)

A deep dive analysis about why I think Makima's character centers around necessary evil. Enjoy!
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thumbnail Makima:
Artist - Ryugisa
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In Video Art:
Makima Hands Together
Artist - Rivery

Makima With Birds (Totally forgot to credit them at the end of the video, I'm so sorry! Still getting used to doing that)
Artist - Chiyorozu Zatsu
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Thumbnail created by @ZenithAniManga
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Music used in order:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Intro: 0:00
Makima's Goal: 1:40
Makima's Dream: 6:12
Makima's Flawed World View: 12:52
Outro: 21:16
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
#ChainsawMan #CSM #Makima #Denji #Power #Aki #Pochita

[sailorclout]

Hey, so this video has been picking up steam lately since the anime is starting to air. This video is not meant for anime onlys, there are spoilers all over this video. That is all.

[TheShwaMan]

Makima has gotta be one of the all time best villains in modern manga

[lovomileen]

Makima is such a tragic character because it constantly feels like she's ALMOST got it. She ALMOST connects with her peers at gatherings, she ALMOST is a genuinely decent mentor to Denji in teaching him how the world works, she ALMOST seems apologetic for her actions. But the twisted worldview her higher-ups instilled in her from a young age ensured that no matter what, she would always sabotage herself, forgoing relationships with people who genuinely cared for and respected her to instead chase after an idol she didn't even personally know.
Underneath her exterior, she's like a child who never grew up and learned that things couldn't always be exactly how she wanted them and that there were consequences to her actions, only worsened by her superiors basically force-feeding her power and authority. It's sad, but at least Nayuta has Denji to break that cycle of disassociation from others.

[kunaldebnath]

Makima wanted to erase the world's sufferings. Now, that's a noble goal. But the way she tried to achieve this goal was pure evil.

[rosevalety]

Honestly, I've never forgiven Makima for what she did to Power, and mostly for what she did to Aki. I just died a bit more for each time Aki was forced to kill, was truly traumatized by her just hurting EVERYBODY. I'll never see Aki have a happy ending, and this makes me so, so ressentful, especially when he was beginning to enjoy more and more his life with Denki and Power... Maki was truly a damn antagonist, and even if she does change in her new life, I'll never see her as a good person, not with what she's done. Damn what a good writing...

[justelliot]

When i think of Makima, i think of Evil, deceptions and manipulations. The first time i read the manga, by just looking at her design, her facial expressions, the way she talk and her overall body languages, my instincts just tell me that she is dangerous and untruthful, she is not someone i should trust easily. It feels like she is hiding something so wicked yet i don't know what it is and it makes me Fear her.

[Replied_ByMeatrder]

Makima does have point in the world's suffering. Sure life will be much more interesting and meaningful. But that also means children with cancer, terrible accidents, victims of wars and evil people in the world and a large list of etcs. But Pochita nevertheless defends this point, he confronts Makima alongside Denji because of this. It's like the issue of what a parent should do before their child's upbringing, expose him to the dangers but also possibilities of the world, or maintaining them under a leash, controlling them and never letting them out of home. It's about having faith in humanity, or treat them like pets.

[tuumef]

You did a great job. Makima was explored without leaning too far into either condemnation or condonation. The editing was tight as well. Thanks.

[SolidReader]

When I think of Makima, the first image in my head is her smiling when she talks about her crush on Chainsawman, and how she smiled during their fight. That is because its the first time Im meeting her. All the scenes with her before that point were just an act, of a fake Makima. It was a pleasure to meet the real Makima during that fight. Its that weird?

[KelanJ]

I have never seen an anime antagonist as complex as Makima. She is my favorite character in the series.

[NunyaBiznessss]

Me in the beginning: Oh this dude is simping hard

Me further in: Oh this dude has a *point*

[Prn]

Some are saying Makima got clapped in hell but in reality she probably allowed herself to lose to simply return to our world.

[empyrean]

I don't understand how this video isn't anymore popular. No synopsis is without any inquisition, this well formulated. Frankly I think that's understatement but it's the best regard I feel can give when this is indescribly so polished. You've given such a clarity and more of Makima and her goal's. This deserves far more attention than presently given. The more I think about this vid's statements, my enjoyment grows for Chainsaw Man. You deserve more support my friend and have easily accquired mine

[MedievalAngryDude]

I really like how Fujimoto combines symbolism with existentialism and the absurd. These are three equal parts that reveal each other. Neither Makima, nor Pochita, nor Denji himself seem to reflect solely one of these three components. I think this is something many people underestimate about Denji, who seems to them to be just a post-modern deconstruction of the shounen hero. He showed his humanity more than once when he reflected after the death of Himeno, when he saved Reze, when Makima forced him to open the door, etc. His simple desires coexist with deep feelings, which is much more realistic. As well as the fact that his development and maturation is not displayed linearly, he makes mistakes, he is manipulated, he adapted to avoid the traumatic experience at the moment when his mother died, which explains in some places why his “frivolous” perception and seemingly short-term experiences about the actions taken. Through absurdity, Fujimoto shows the blurred boundaries between the symbolic and existential at the metanarrative level and the coexistence of farce and tragedy as part of existential experience at the narrative level. For me, Chainsaw Man initially became an escape from the common dull reading of the symbolic and from unfeeling deconstruction at the same time. This manga has become an example of the harmonious coexistence of the strange, sensual and conceptual as equal parts.

[dontask]

This is such an interesting way to look at her character. I think that she’s such a tragic villian. She too wants love and connection, and to be able to understand that.

[lynn]

Wow. This is the best CSM analysis I’ve ever watched, no joke. The emphasis in your voice to feel more emotion when mentioning certain things, the editing, the smooth explanations, I love it!!!

[quan]

My grandpa once told me this before he died, "If you have everything what left is there to gain?"

[Replied_ByMeatrder]

I think you missed a point that is that Makima does not only admire Chainsaw Man for how chaotic and strong he is, but she also admires him for his heroism. So that alone would make the point of her not achieving the equal relationship she wants when she gets to control Chainsaw Man invalid

[alfredopirangabertoni]

I feel like makima is actually a victim who got tired and drained of being abused by the ones who claim to be necessary evil by the other hand makima lost almost all of her original self and train of thought she became a doll a husk of herself due to the pressure of the world and when she got to control and become the leviathan she was so twisted and corrupted that she wasnt even herself anymore we all feel like her sometimes

[EnkiDagda]

Chainsaw man is pretty much inspired by greek mythology, Fujimoto chose a amazing and diferent metaphoricaly way to retelling to us greek myths, more
precisely the Works and Days and Theogony poems made by Hesiodo.
And have a lot of others concepts even greek fables like The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse by Aesop
Nothing Is as It Seems in chainsaw.
Makima is only character honest in how he really are, he is a human concept of divinity, the Greeks already knew at that time the role of the world of ideas, more precisely Plato, about the importance of archetypes in the civilizing process and she is a divine archetype, which goes through civilizing stages, being represented at the beginning as the maternal goddess, who feeds and offers her the breast for Denji to have a decent meal for the first time, later the controlling god of anger and control, and in the end Denji reformulates his own concept of god through the creative process that also refers to primitive peoples to eat and become one with it, implying that he is reformulating his own concept of god and creating him in his own image and likeness which in this case will be represented in the form of the Nayuta.
There is no hell, or heaven in chainsaw only the world of ideias fujimoto play with us about these concepts to teach us the concept of archetyps.
And right there is Makima and her roleplay, being a god archetype and her obsession about Denji(dreams) and hopes being represented by contract with pochita, yes pochita is not a chainsaw he is a daimon of hope(pochita say that in first chapter) and its also a greek myth, the pandora myth, humans dreams can be a curse or a gift, and the chose of the main role to god archetype to pursue the humans dreams(pochita) making him suffer, learning or being recompensed is to symbolize the concept of Demiurge or evolution itself, Denji its an enbodiment of that primitive human carrying all this.