Hump Day Husbandos: Kishibe (Chainsaw Man)

Hump Day Husbandos

Hype continues to build since the initial announcement of Chainsaw Man’s anime adaptation, and with the reveal of its voice cast in the past week, it’s looking to be a knockout of an anime for both the upcoming season and entire year — with a knockout husbando in the form of Kishibe.

Since the series’ closest comparisons are probably Jujutsu Kaisen with a touch of Devilman and Claymore mixed into it, I was keen to see what all the fuss was about. And while this has resulted in me self-inflicting every spoiler under the sun after having read the entire first part of the manga — I’m impatient, okay? — I got to meet a new husbando sooner rather than later.

Who is Kishibe?

Kishibe
100 points to Kishibe as a husbando. 10/10 material.

Kishibe is a Public Safety Devil Hunter, and later becomes captain of the Tokyo Special Division 4. He acts as both a teacher and the one and only truly capable adult companion to the series’ main character Denji, though he appears fairly infrequently to help the poor boy out on his rough journey.

Kishibe’s intentions and motivations are quite vague for the most part initially, other than taking a dislike to — or rather clear distrust in — Makima, a high-ranking figure within the Public Safety Devil Hunters divisions.

But what’s made abundantly clear from the offset is that Kishibe is the dependable, older geezer in Chainsaw Man who you’ll immediately take a shine to for his quirkiness alone before things come to a head. Who in the right mind wouldn’t end up adoring the 50+ badass, a subtly tragic side character and a hero who deserves his own happy ending just as much as the main character does?

Why we love Kishibe

Kishibe in Chainsaw Man
To sum it up in one panel.

For a character who introduces himself by explaining that his interests are “booze, women and killing devils”, there’s a lot happening beneath his blasé and indifferent attitude.

Much like the rest of the cast, Kishibe can perhaps be summed up as being too human for his own good — particularly in a dark fantasy world where devils are born through fear nonstop. It takes the craziest kind of person to face such terrors and come out alive — and Kishibe is one of the oldest, most jaded of these crazy people. He’s faced an entire lifetime of character-building events before we even meet him.

He’s as mysterious as he is sympathetic, hiding a past of torment and suffering we’re yet to truly see. What monstrosities has he faced, and what losses came from such encounters? There’s a few hints here and there through his characterisation; his main hobby of drinking, for example, suggests that he’s become dependent on alcohol as a means of masking and coping with all the emotional pain.

The way he communicates with others captures a sense of careful consideration to those who deserve his attention. We tend to see this through vague suggestions in lines rather than explicit statements; for example, during an early conversation between him and Makima, he explains how he loathes both Fiends (devils who take over corpses) and Devils alike — yet he has grown fond of both Denji, who is a human/Devil hybrid, and Power, who is a Fiend, while training them.

We see his sense of consideration for others in numerous other situations, including how he goes out of his way to warn an estranged friend about trouble ahead, suggests to those considerably younger than him that they avoid sticking their heads into dangerous situations, and keeping his gaze turned when a comrade is killed in front of him.

He’s been through a lot, considering how ruthlessly cruel Chainsaw Man’s world is, and a simple omake indicates just how much more full of beans he used to be. But he hasn’t stopped soldiering on yet, using his impressive, superior skills for the greater good.

Why you will love Kishibe

Kishibe from Chainsaw Man
Anime Kishibe is as much of a knockout as we all expected

In a world of Devils and human/Devil hybrids, Kishibe is one of the strongest humans, being highly capable in both hand-to-hand and knife combat. For a supporting character whose badassery can only really be appreciated through his offscreen achievements — other than the iconic scene of him taking a direct punch to the face from the hybrid powerhouse Quanxi being — it’s all the more important to cherish all the scenes he does appear in. We’re all winners when he graces us with his presence.

Kishibe is both interesting and charismatic, a mix that is sure to make him immediately loveable. He adds a layer of mystery and intrigue to the series with his vague origins whilst bringing out different dynamics and angles of the other characters whenever he converses with them. He’s wonderfully and subtly encouraging as he remains hopeful in such grave situations despite everything he has seen and been through.

Plus, as far as his earliest scenes go, he adds some much needed comedic tone to a handful of scenes — always appreciated in a world as bleak as this. For example, in one scene he throws a knife squarely into Denji’s forehead and kills him repeatedly as the most hardcore kind of training imaginable. In another, he’s questioning Makima directly to her face, a brave move that had me wheezing for the sheer directness and confidence of it all.

In closing, I somehow managed to not use DILF here, but I’ll say it anyway since that is what we’re all thinking. Admit it. At least it’s easier to say that I’m sure we’re all looking forward to Chainsaw Man’s anime in October. It’s going to be one hell of a riot.

Header art by Naz. Original source here.

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Lilia Hellal
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