If you’ve spent any time scrolling through the Chainsaw Man subreddits or arguing on Twitter about Tatsuki Fujimoto’s power scaling, you’ve probably heard someone mention the Pain Devil. It sounds terrifying. It sounds like a Primal Fear. It sounds like something that should be tearing Denji’s heart out right now.
But here is the weird thing: it doesn't actually exist in the manga. Not yet, anyway.
Seriously. You can scrub through every single chapter of Part 1 and Part 2, and you won't find a single panel where a "Pain Devil" introduces itself. It’s one of the most persistent pieces of "Mandela Effect" headcanon in the entire fandom. People just assume it’s there because, well, pain is a universal human experience. How could there not be a devil for it?
Why the Pain Devil Chainsaw Man Theories Won't Die
Fear is fuel. That is the basic law of the Chainsaw Man universe. The more people fear a concept, the stronger the corresponding Devil becomes. This is why the Gun Devil was a global catastrophe and why the Tomato Devil is... a joke.
Pain is arguably the most fundamental fear a living creature can have. Even before a baby understands what a "gun" is or what "darkness" represents, it understands that hurting sucks. Evolutionarily speaking, pain is the ultimate teacher. So, logically, a Pain Devil Chainsaw Man fans keep dreaming up would have to be a Primal Fear, right alongside the Falling Devil or the Darkness Devil.
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Why hasn't Fujimoto shown it?
Maybe because it's too broad. Fujimoto tends to lean into specific manifestations of suffering rather than the abstract concept. We have the Punishment Devil. We have the Justice Devil. We have the Hell Devil. These all involve types of pain, but they are tied to specific human anxieties.
Actually, think about the Darkness Devil for a second. Its introduction in the International Assassins arc was peak horror because it tapped into a sensory, visceral dread. If a Pain Devil were to appear, it wouldn't just be "a guy who hits hard." It would likely be a conceptual nightmare that manipulates the nervous systems of everyone in a five-mile radius.
The "Primal Fear" Problem
Primal Fears are Devils that have never experienced death. They've stayed in Hell since the beginning of time because they are simply too powerful to be killed.
If the Pain Devil is a Primal Fear, it’s chilling in Hell right now, probably looking like a collection of exposed nerve endings or a mass of rusted surgical tools. Some fans argue that the "Hell Devil" actually encompasses the fear of pain, but that feels like a reach. Hell is a place; pain is a sensation.
There's also a theory floating around that the Death Devil—the big bad everyone is waiting for in Part 2—is essentially the "ultimate" version of the Pain Devil. But that's not quite right either. People often seek death to escape pain. They are distinct fears.
Close Calls and Misidentifications
A lot of the confusion comes from the sheer number of Devils that look like they could be the Pain Devil.
Remember the Eternity Devil in the hotel? That was psychological and physical torture. Or the Doll Devil’s "perfect" dolls? That looked pretty painful. Then there's the Punishment Devil, which was used by Makima to attack the Gun Devil. It appeared as a chaotic mass of limbs and weapons—basically a visual representation of "hurting a lot."
But names matter in this series.
When a Devil is introduced, its name defines its ceiling. The Pain Devil in Chainsaw Man would theoretically be stronger than almost anything we’ve seen because every other fear—the fear of fire, the fear of drowning, the fear of snakes—is ultimately rooted in the fear of the pain those things cause.
If you take away the pain, does the fear of a shark remain? Maybe a little, because of the "loss of life" aspect, but the agony of the bite is the primary deterrent.
Why Fujimoto Might Be Saving It
Fujimoto is a master of subverting expectations. He knows we expect the big ones. He gave us War, Famine, and Control. Death is on the horizon.
By skipping over "Pain," he keeps the power ceiling ambiguous. Or, perhaps, he thinks the concept is redundant. Denji’s entire life is a cycle of pain. He has been chopped up, burned alive, eaten, and emotionally shattered. In a way, Denji is the manifestation of enduring pain.
There's also the "Chainsaw Man" factor. Chainsaws are loud, messy, and incredibly painful. The fear of Chainsaw Man among Devils isn't just because he can erase them from existence—it's because being eaten by him is a slow, agonizing process.
The Fan-Fiction vs. Reality Gap
If you search for the Pain Devil Chainsaw Man on Pinterest or DeviantArt, you’ll find some incredible fan designs.
- A spindly creature made of barbed wire.
- A giant, weeping eye surrounded by teeth.
- A humanoid figure with its skin pulled back to reveal the musculature.
These are cool, but they aren't canon. It’s important to distinguish between "what makes sense for the worldbuilding" and "what is actually in the chapters." Right now, the Pain Devil is a ghost—a theoretical entity that exists in the "What If" space of the community.
Could it appear in Part 2?
Public Safety is currently scrambling to deal with the Fire Devil and the looming prophecy of Nostradamus. The stakes are rising. If the "King of Terror" isn't the Death Devil, could it be Pain? It’s unlikely. Death is the ultimate end, and the series has been telegraphing the Four Horsemen for years. Pain is just a passenger on that ride.
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What This Means for Power Scalers
If you're trying to rank the strongest Devils, you can't really include the Pain Devil because we have no feats for it. We don't know its abilities.
However, we can speculate based on the rules of the world. A Pain Devil would likely:
- Possess a "passive" aura that causes sensory overload in opponents.
- Have the ability to reflect damage (since "pain" is a response to stimuli).
- Be virtually immune to physical attacks because it thrives on the sensation of being hurt.
But again, this is all theory.
The closest we’ve gotten to a "conceptual" pain-based power is Makima’s ability to transfer damage to citizens of Japan. That’s a bureaucratic avoidance of pain, which is very different from a Devil that embodies the sensation itself.
How to Track New Devil Reveals
If you want to be the first to know if the Pain Devil Chainsaw Man actually makes its debut, you have to watch the weekly Shonen Jump drops. Part 2 is currently exploring the "Fear of Chainsaw Man" itself, which has split the public’s perception.
Don't trust TikTok edits that show a "leaked" Pain Devil. Those are usually just colored panels of the Darkness Devil or the Punishment Devil with a filter on them.
The reality is that Fujimoto is much more interested in the emotional pain of his characters than he is in the physical manifestation of it as a monster. The "Pain Devil" of Part 2 is arguably just the trauma Denji carries from Part 1.
To stay ahead of the curve and avoid the misinformation that plagues the Chainsaw Man community, you should focus on these concrete steps:
- Read the Official Translation: Use the Shonen Jump or Manga Plus apps. Fan translations sometimes mistranslate Devil names, leading to "Pain Devil" rumors that don't exist in the Japanese text.
- Check the Wiki References: The Chainsaw Man Wiki is meticulously moderated. If a Devil doesn't have a chapter citation, it isn't canon.
- Analyze the Primal Fears: Look at how Fujimoto handles "abstract" fears. The Falling Devil represented the fear of falling, but also the psychological "falling" into despair. A real Pain Devil would likely have a similar dual meaning.
- Ignore "Leaker" Culture: Most Twitter leakers for CSM are just guessing or re-posting fan art. Stick to the actual pages.
The Pain Devil remains one of the most fascinating "missing" pieces of the Chainsaw Man mythos. Whether it's a Primal Fear waiting in the wings or a concept Fujimoto feels is already covered by the Horsemen, its absence speaks volumes about the kind of story being told. It’s not just about the monsters; it’s about how the characters live through the hurt.