Chainsaw Devil's Devil Wiping Ability Explained

Key recommendations

• Chainsaw Devil's Devil Erasure ability erases the concept of fear, affecting both devils and humanity.
• Chainsaw Man must consume devils to activate Devil Erasure, erasing their past, present and future existence.
• Devil Erasure has mysterious side effects, making the unpredictable Chainsaw Devil the most dangerous devil.

There are plenty of reasons to fear the Chainsaw Man, especially when he's in his Chainsaw Devil form. The double saw coming out of the arms, the big chainsaw coming out of the forehead, the loud and menacing roar, the hyper-aggressive fighting style, the violence, the brutality, the bloodbath, the destruction, so much to be scared of.

That being said, the one ability that puts the fear of God into the heart of other devils is Chainsaw Devil's Devil wipe ability. Honestly, this ability is so overpowered that it's a wonder why any devil dares to go against the Chainsaw Devil. What's even more interesting is that this ability doesn't just affect devils, it also greatly affects humanity. So let's take this chance to unpack everything about Chainsaw Devil's Devil Erasure.

A crash course in the devil

Before we talk about Erasing the Devillet's take a second to remember the nature of Devils in the world of The man with the chainsaw. As the title suggests, this is not a comprehensive examination of the devils in this series, but more of a crash course that focuses on some of the aspects of devils that are relevant to the main topic at hand, devil erasure.

Each devil represents a concept of fear

The devils in this series aren't just bloodthirsty, weird-looking monsters. Each of them represents humanity's concept of fear. Fear of war? There is a war devil. Afraid of guns? There is a devil of weapons. Afraid of chicken? There is a chicken devil. No matter what you fear in your heart, there is a devil for it.

The stronger the fear, the stronger the devil will be. This means that primal fear such as aging, death, and hell are some of the most powerful devils out there. This principle also works for fears based on abstract concepts, such as zombies or ghosts.

A cycle of rebirth

When a new kind of fear manifests—the fear of social media, for example—that devil will also be created in hell. If, for some reason, this devil is killed by his brothers, he will be reborn on Earth. The same devil, but with a completely new memory and personality.

The same principle applies if a devil is killed on Earth. They will be reborn in Hell with a brand new memory and personality. Because of this cycle of rebirth, there is no death for devils. The only exception to this principle is Devil Erasure. This ability is the only thing that can grant true death to a devil.

What happened when the Chainsaw Devil consumed a devil

To activate Devil Erasure, the Chainsaw Devil cannot kill a devil, it must consume it. This means that he must physically eat the devil. It would be better to eat them whole, but eating the head alone should do the trick. These are the things that happen when Chainsaw Man uses his Devil Erasure.

Consumed = Deleted

For the Chainsaw Devil, killing and consuming are two very different things. Killing a devil will simply throw them into the regular cycle of rebirth, but when they consume the devil, they basically erase the concept they represent as well. They are outside the cycle of rebirth, and the concept they represent in humanity is also absolutely erased from existence. It's as if that thing never existed in the first place.

“Nazis. World War II. SOA. AIDS. Arnolone syndrome. The eruption of Mount Hio. Nuclear weapons. All these once existed and were as much to be feared as the devils of their names. But I'm the only one who remembers those names now, because Chainsaw Man ate them all.

It works everywhere, every time, at once

Once a fiend has been consumed, the wipe effect does not only occur at that particular time. The fear type of the devil is erased everywhere, at any time, at once. Whether on Earth or Hell, past, present or future, the concept represented by this fear is erased from the memory of every man, animal and even devil.

Take nuclear weapons, for example. When the Chainsaw Devil consumed the Nuclear Devil, nuclear weapons instantly became a foreign concept to everyone. They have never heard of nuclear weapons before and have a hard time understanding what nuclear weapons even mean. It's as if nuclear weapons never existed.

Change of Perspective

While Devil Erasure can erase certain objects, fears, ideas, or even concepts and make them as if they never existed, this ability cannot erase physical objects or artifacts that were created based on that concept. People simply have a different perspective on the purpose of objects and how to use them.

“According to the research we conducted during the three minutes and 50 seconds that the ears were erased… In a world without ears, hearing did not disappear, cell phones and radios still existed, and screws were sold as products of arts and crafts.”

— Fumiko Mifune, Chapter 174

Things can go back to normal

When the Chainsaw Devil consumes a devil, it is removed from the cycle of rebirth, and its concept is forever erased from our lives. However, there is a special condition that allows a deleted concept to come back to life. Chainsaw Devil simply has to pour the devil back.

As long as the Chainsaw Devil has not fully digested the devil, he can always regurgitate it back. The devil himself will still be dead, but now he will be able to return to the cycle of rebirth. This means that the concept it represents will also be alive and well in the real world. This is what happens when the Chainsaw Devil eats the Ears Devil in Chapter 174 and vomits it back up shortly after. For 3 minutes and 50 seconds, every living thing walks around without a pair of ears and lives its life not knowing what it means to have ears.

Mysterious side effects

Due to the nature of Devil Erasure which erased the concept without erasing the man-made objects related to the concept, it is incredibly difficult to predict what would happen after consuming an important devil, especially one that is closely related to our daily lives by day.

What if they wiped the “hands” out of our lives? Does that mean we have to do everything using our feet? What if it erased the concept of “aging”? Will mental and physical decline disappear completely? Will an ageless society lead to a utopia or topple everything into a dystopian future? This is one of the greatest dangers of erasing the Devil. There are so many unpredictable side effects.

“The magnitude of this is so big I can't wrap my head around it…”

The most dangerous devil in existence

When it comes to raw power, there are so many devils that are much stronger than the Chainsaw Devil. This is especially true of devils who represent humanity's primal fear, such as death, aging, and falling, to name a few. These primordial devils command powers that are beyond human understanding.

That being said, even the strongest devil will be wiped out once the Chain Devil has a chance to consume him with Devil wipe. Unfortunately, the moment the Chainsaw Devil consumes one of the primordial devils who embodied humanity's most basic fear, the fate of human beings will also be changed forever. For better or for worse. This immense yet unpredictable ability is why the Chainsaw Devil is the most dangerous devil in existence.

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