Tatsuki Fujimoto is a bit of a sadist. If you’ve read Chainsaw Man, you already know that. But of all the trauma he put us through during the Public Safety Saga, nothing felt quite as bittersweet as the Chainsaw Man Angel Devil. He wasn't just a side character. He was a shift in tone. A reminder that in this world, even the most divine-looking things are cursed.
He’s an anomaly. Most devils are walking nightmares—human-shaped fears that want to eat your intestines. Then there’s Angel. He’s beautiful. He’s lazy. He has wings that look like they belong on a Renaissance painting. But he’s also one of the most tragic figures in the entire series because his very existence is a contradiction. He is a devil who represents the fear of angels, yet he’s the only one who seems to truly understand the value of a human soul.
Honestly, the way he interacts with Aki Hayakawa changed the stakes of the manga. It wasn't just about killing the Gun Devil anymore. It became about two broken people finding a reason to keep breathing, even if they knew it wouldn't last.
The Brutal Reality of Angel's Power
Let’s get one thing straight: Angel isn't weak. He’s arguably one of the strongest members of Special Division 4. But his power comes at a cost that is literally life-altering. Unlike Power or Denji, who just need some blood to get going, Angel’s ability is passive and devastating. If you touch him, you die. Or rather, he siphons off your lifespan.
It’s a cruel irony.
He looks approachable. Soft, even. Yet, a single graze of his skin sucks years away from your future. This is why he’s so detached. Why bother making friends when a handshake is a death sentence? When we first see him, he’s basically a nihilist. He spends his time eating soft-serve ice cream and trying to do as little work as possible. You’ve probably met someone like this—the person who acts like they don't care because caring is just too much effort. For Angel, effort means accidentally killing the people around him.
The mechanics of his weapons are equally fascinating. By using the years he’s stolen from humans, he can manifest swords from his halo. We saw this during the fight against Reze and later in the Katana Man arc. A five-year sword. A ten-year sword. A hundred-year sword. Every time he draws a weapon, he is literally swinging the stolen time of dead people. It’s macabre. It’s very Fujimoto.
💡 You might also like: How to Watch The Wolf and the Lion Without Getting Lost in the Wild
The Aki-Angel Dynamic: Why It Worked
If you want to talk about the Chainsaw Man Angel Devil, you have to talk about Aki Hayakawa. Their relationship is the emotional backbone of the latter half of Part 1. Initially, it’s strictly professional—and awkward. Aki is a guy driven by revenge, someone who has already traded away most of his life to the Curse Devil. Angel is a guy who steals life by existing.
They are two sides of the same dwindling coin.
Aki is one of the few people who treats Angel like a person instead of a weapon. There’s that pivotal moment where Aki grabs Angel’s hand to save him, knowing full well he’s losing months of his life just by touching him. It’s a moment of pure, selfless idiocy. And it changes Angel. He stops being a passive observer of his own misery and starts actually trying.
The tragedy, of course, is that this connection is what Makima exploits.
The Makima Factor and the Village Memory
There’s a common misconception that Angel was always just a lazy, cold-hearted guy. But the truth is much darker. We eventually learn that Angel had a life before Public Safety. He lived in a coastal village. He had people he cared about. He was, dare I say, happy.
Then Makima happened.
📖 Related: Is Lincoln Lawyer Coming Back? Mickey Haller's Next Move Explained
The reveal that Makima forced Angel to use his powers to wipe out his entire village—everyone he loved—is one of the most sickening reveals in the series. She didn't just recruit him; she broke him. She used her Control Devil powers to make him "harvest" the lifespans of his friends and family. This is why he’s so lethargic when we first meet him. He’s suppressed those memories because the truth is too much to bear. When those memories finally resurface during the confrontation on the beach, it’s a total gut-punch.
It recontextualizes everything he’s done. His laziness isn't just personality; it's a defense mechanism against a world that forced him to be a murderer.
Why Do People Fear Angels?
It’s a weird concept, right? A devil born from the fear of angels. Usually, we think of angels as the "good guys." But in the world of Chainsaw Man, fear is the currency of power.
Think about it.
The traditional biblical angel isn't a winged baby in a diaper. They are terrifying entities. "Be not afraid" is the first thing they say because, usually, looking at one would melt your brain. There’s a primal fear associated with the divine—the idea of an entity that judges you, that is fundamentally "other," and that has the power of life and death. The Chainsaw Man Angel Devil captures that duality perfectly. He is beautiful, but he is an omen of the end. He represents the quiet, peaceful transition into death, which is sometimes more frightening than a loud, violent one.
The Symbolism of the Halo
In most media, a halo is a sign of purity. In Angel’s case, it’s a factory. It’s where he processes the lifespans he’s stolen. It’s a constant visual reminder of his "debt" to the humans he’s encountered. Fujimoto loves taking religious iconography and twisting it into something functional and slightly gross. The way the weapons emerge from the halo feels almost industrial, stripping away the "holy" aspect and replacing it with the cold reality of devil biology.
👉 See also: Tim Dillon: I'm Your Mother Explained (Simply)
Lessons from a Fallen Angel
What can we actually take away from Angel's arc? It’s easy to get lost in the "who would win" power-scaling debates, but Angel is a character built on the idea of agency—or the lack thereof.
- Trauma is often masked as apathy. If you see someone who "doesn't care," they might just be protecting themselves from a past that cared too much.
- Connection is worth the cost. Aki knew that touching Angel would kill him faster, but he did it anyway. In a world that’s ending, the quality of the time you have left matters more than the quantity.
- Control is the ultimate villain. Angel’s story is a testament to how Makima ruins everything she touches. She takes something that could have been neutral or even "good" and turns it into a tool for her own ends.
The Legacy of the Angel Devil
Angel doesn't get a happy ending. Very few people in Chainsaw Man do. But his presence changed the trajectory of the story. He gave Aki a reason to seek a peaceful life, even if that dream was eventually shattered by the Gun Devil. He showed us that devils aren't just one-dimensional monsters; they are complex beings with memories, regrets, and the capacity for something resembling love.
If you’re revisiting the series or jumping in for the first time because of the anime, keep an eye on Angel. Look past the wings and the sarcasm. There’s a deeply human core inside that devil, which is exactly why his story stays with you long after the page is turned.
What to do next
If you want to really get into the weeds of how Angel works, go back and re-read Chapters 74 through 76. Pay close attention to the backgrounds and the way Angel’s expression shifts when Makima is around. It’s a masterclass in visual storytelling. Also, if you’re looking for more lore, check out the Chainsaw Man Buddy Stories light novel—there's more content there that fleshes out his time in the field with Aki.
Stop looking at him as just a "cool design." He’s a warning. In Fujimoto's world, the more beautiful something is, the more likely it is to take years off your life. And honestly? We’d probably give them to him anyway.