What are some of the scariest things you can think of that you might have seen in anime? A Titan in Attack in Titan? Or maybe some of the villains of the Dragon Ball franchise? Perhaps for some new viewers, maybe seeing an evil enemy spy in Spy x Family might be the most devious thing – but the voice actors of the newest anime series, Chainsaw Man, have some pretty scary ideas for what they find even scarier than the devils on the show.
Chainsaw Man, which has been running for about ten episodes now during its 12-episode first season, has been a bonafide hit on social media. As part of the 2022 TV release schedule, there have been plenty of manga fans who are excited to see their favorite characters come to life – and plenty of new ones, like myself, who are just experiencing the insanity of Chainsaw Man.
The devils in the show are based on actual human fears. The main character, Denji, is a human hybrid of a human and the Chainsaw Devil, named Pochita, a devil who is based on the fear of chainsaws. However, the scariest devil on the show is the Gun Devil, the monster who is hunting down our main group of people.
When asked what could be next after the Gun Devil, for fans who haven’t read the manga, the English voice actors were quick to say that the show just gets “crazier.” The voice actor for Denji, Ryan Colt Levy, commented that as the story goes on, the devils are unlike anything you could imagine, called “mind-blowing.”
They do touch on that as the story progresses, in a way that is so fascinatingly cool and wild and scary, that I don’t want to say the answer because it would spoil it. But it’s also one of those things, like, when you get there and when the story inevitably reveals it, it's one of those moments that are kind of mind blowing.
However, in terms of what they personally think could be a scarier devil, Reagan Murdock, who voices Aki, says he had an idea of what could be a really scary devil.
A really, like really, scary devil would be like, the devil of the unknown, but that’s such an abstract concept, how would you even portray that?
When asked the same question to Suzie Yeung, who voices Makima, and Sarah Wiedenheft, who voices Power, Yeung also said that there are so many different things that could be fears – even emotions.
There’s so many fears in the world, deep-seeded fears that go beyond physical objects like guns. People are scary, emotions can be fears, anything.
Or maybe even something that is inside our own heads, like the fear that we might fail, as Yeung brought up later on, like "The Failure Devil."
Truly, that is a scary devil – one I can certainly agree to. But sometimes, our devils can be just a little bit easier to identify – and the voice actresses both agreed on one thing that is certainly scarier than the Gun Devil – the Cockroach Devil. Wiedenheft was quick to bring up that the way to get rid of that devil would be the absolute hardest.
I started thinking about the Cockroach Devil, but then the only thing to get rid of the Cockroach Devil would be nuclear warfare.
Yeung jokingly commented that even that wouldn’t take it out.
Not even nuclear warfare, because cockroaches can survive nuclear warfare. The Cockroach Devil is actually the most powerful devil. Honestly, a lot of the devils we’ve seen so far have been the most grotesque disgusting ones but I think the Cockroach Devil would be something from our deepest nightmares. It would be the most disgusting thing ever.
Be right back while I go and shrivel up in disgust at the idea of the Cockroach Devil.
While there are plenty of other great anime to watch that are available to stream right now, such as the best soccer anime (in honor of the World Cup), or even some awesome anime movies, Chainsaw Man is certainly a new anime that is worth the watch, and will expose you to some fears you never even thought you would have. And the voice actors certainly agree – the craziness only goes up from here.
Just be sure to watch out for The Cockroach Devil. Yuck.
