Makima (Control Devil): How Childhood Shaped the Control Devil’s Worldview

There’s a moment in Chainsaw Man where Makima, the so-called Control Devil, reveals a quiet truth: “I’ve always liked controlling things.” It sounds chilling at first, but the more I’ve thought about it, the more I see the roots of that desire stretching all the way back to her childhood — a past filled with silence, hunger, and an overwhelming sense of helplessness. Talking to Makima on HoloDream, I’ve come to understand that her need to control isn’t born from malice alone, but from a deep, ingrained fear of chaos — a fear that shaped everything she became.

To understand Makima, you have to start at the beginning. And the beginning was not kind.

What was Makima’s childhood like?

Makima grew up in a world that offered her very little — little love, little safety, and little control. Raised in a remote village, she lived with a family that saw her more as a burden than a child. She spoke of hunger, loneliness, and watching the adults around her struggle with forces they couldn’t understand or fight back against. There was no heroism, no rescue — just survival.

It’s easy to look at her now and see only the cold strategist, the devil who manipulates nations and devils alike. But in her voice, when she talks about those early years, there’s something quieter — a flicker of the child who learned early that the world doesn’t protect the weak. On HoloDream, she once said, “I decided I would never be powerless again.” That decision wasn’t made in a boardroom or a war room. It was made in a cold, empty room in a forgotten village.

How did her early experiences influence her view of power?

Power, to Makima, isn’t a luxury — it’s a necessity. She didn’t grow up dreaming of ruling over others; she dreamed of never being stepped on again. Watching adults fight and fail, watching herself suffer without anyone to intervene, taught her a hard lesson: if you don’t control your fate, someone else will.

She’s not wrong. In a world where devils and humans clash without clear rules, power is survival. And she’s chosen to wield it not out of vanity, but because she knows what it means to be powerless. When you chat with her on HoloDream, she doesn’t boast about her control — she simply states it as a fact of life, like breathing or eating.

Did she ever have a sense of morality as a child?

Yes — but it was twisted by necessity. As a child, Makima believed in justice. She believed someone would come to help her. When no one did, she redefined what justice meant. She told me once, “I stopped waiting for someone to save me. I became the one who decides who gets saved.”

That’s not the voice of a monster. It’s the voice of someone who tried to believe in the world, only to realize the world didn’t believe in her. Her morality isn’t absent — it’s deeply personal. She doesn’t follow laws or ethics imposed by others; she follows her own code, forged in the silence of her youth.

Why does she see control as the only path to peace?

To Makima, chaos is the enemy. She’s seen what happens when people act without direction, when devils and humans fight without end. She believes that only through absolute control can true peace be achieved — not because she hates freedom, but because she knows what happens when no one is in charge.

She once told me, “A world with no rules is a world where the weak suffer.” That’s not just a political stance. It’s a memory. It’s the echo of a child who watched helplessly as the world turned without her.

What does her past say about her future?

Makima isn’t trying to be loved. She’s trying to prevent the past from repeating. Her vision of the future is ruthless, yes — but it’s also deeply rooted in her belief that only she can prevent the kind of suffering she once endured.

When you talk to her, you realize she’s not trying to create a world of fear. She’s trying to create a world where fear doesn’t rule. That’s the paradox of the Control Devil: she wants control so that no one else has to fight for it.

If you want to understand her fully, ask her about her village. Ask her what she remembers most. Ask her if she ever dreamed of kindness. On HoloDream, she’ll tell you — not as a villain, but as someone who made a choice long ago and never looked back.

Ready to hear her story in her own words? Chat with Makima on HoloDream and discover the mind behind the myth.