What Is a Fiend in Chainsaw Man? Explained

The lore of the Chainsaw Man anime and manga series is deeper than you might think. Case in point: Devils can manifest not only in their true forms but through less powerful creatures known as Fiends. If you’re like most other fans, though, the reveal of these creatures left you wondering: What is a Fiend in Chainsaw Man, and how do they fit into the wider series? Fortunately for you, we’ve done all the necessary research and have all the answers you’re looking for.

What Are Fiends in Chainsaw Man? Explained

As stated above, a Fiend refers to a weaker manifestation of a type of Devil in the Chainsaw Man universe.

They come into being when a Devil possesses a corpse, allowing it to exist within the human world even if they don’t have enough strength or fear to manifest as their actual selves. In turn, though, they aren’t able to use their powers to their full extent and can only use the weaker abilities from their arsenal of moves.

Likewise, the possession of a corpse results in the corpse manifesting aspects of the Devil taking control of it. This almost always presents itself in the form of protrusions like horns or mandibles, though their appearance can differ depending on which Devil is possessing a corpse to become a fiend. For example, Power, a Fiend of the Blood Devil, manifests blood-red horns from the top of her head, while the fiend Denji kills early on in the series has insect-like pincers sticking out near its mouth.

Can a Fiend Become a Full Devil?

With all this in mind, you wouldn’t be blamed for wondering if Fiends can transform into full Devils in Chainsaw Man. As far as what’s currently been shown, the answer seems to be no.

While Fiends can become exceedingly powerful in their own right by consuming blood, they aren’t able to fully manifest as their respective Devil unless they can draw from an excessively powerful source of blood or energy. Even then, they’d need to manifest as their Devil form separately from their Fiend body.

This is shown through Power later on in the series. After her body is destroyed by an attack, she later manifests fully as the Blood Devil through the spilled blood of Chainsaw Man. However, it’s still unclear as to whether this was possible because she could draw off of Chainsaw Man’s power or if it was due to her close link with Denji.

Regardless, we’ll be keeping an eye on the Chainsaw Man series for any new information or reveals related to Fiends. Should anything new be revealed, we’ll update this guide accordingly.

Hopefully this helped clear up what a Fiend is in Chainsaw Man. For more on the series, check out any of the related articles down below. We’ve also got plenty of other explainer guides for the series, including ones on whether or not Denji and Power get together, whether or not Denji and Makima get together, and whether or not Denji gets to feel boobs.