Aki and the Ghost Devil

Chainsaw Man Episode 12 is the final episode of the anime’s first season. I don’t know if there’s been confirmation of a second season or movie yet. But, I’m sure there will be one at some point.

Anyway, at the start of Episode 12, Aki cuts down the Ghost Devil. This was a powerful scene for a number of reasons. Part of it had to do with Aki beginning to come to terms with Himeno’s death. And part of it had to do with Aki overcoming his fears.

There’s something I don’t quite understand, though. Aki explains that because the Ghost Devil doesn’t have eyes, it “sees” based on fear. This means if you don’t fear the Ghost Devil, it doesn’t know where you are and can’t attack you. And, the implication here was that Aki was able to defeat it because he overcame his fear.

However, it seemed to me like this isn’t how Aki was able to defeat the Ghost Devil. It looked a lot more like the Ghost Devil chose to let Aki kill it. And, if that’s the case, I’m not entirely sure why it chose to do that.

My understanding of this whole scene is that the Ghost Devil wanted to help Aki because of Himeno. It gave him the cigarette from her, which helped calm his nerves. And, even if it couldn’t see his fear, it should have been able to feel him literally walking on it.

So, if that’s all true, why did the Ghost Devil do this? You could argue it liked Himeno and so it wanted to help Aki. But, does that make sense? Shouldn’t a Devil not have an emotional attachment toward humans? I don’t feel like the Ghost Devil should be one of the friendly Devils.

Katana vs. Chainsaw

Denji finally beats the Katana Devil guy (Katana Man) in Episode 12. And, it’s in this episode that we finally learn the name of his Devil — the Katana Devil. Of course, people had left me comments saying that he’s the Katana Devil before this point.

I’d like to address those comments here. I understand that you knew what his Devil was because you read the manga. But, I don’t care. His Devil wasn’t stated until this episode. And in the OP, we saw him with other kinds of blades, not just Katana.

Even if I know things about a series, if they haven’t been revealed yet, I don’t spoil them. I see spoilers for the series I review all the time. It’s inevitable. So, you don’t need to comment spoilers to make yourself feel smarter. Odds are I already know and I’m not going to respond to you.

With that out of the way, Chainsaw Man vs. Katana Man didn’t interest me that much. It was a decent fight. But, it’s the whole Chainsaw Man vs. Katana Man thing that bored me. I’ve said it before, but No Guns Life did a lot of the same things before Chainsaw Man.

Because of that, I find Denji’s use of the Chainsaw Devil to be some of the most boring parts of the series. I’m way more interested in the other various Devil powers. And the more unique and niche the power is, the more I enjoy it.

The Chainsaw and Katana Devils don’t matter. Give me more stuff like the Ghost, Angel, Curse, and Makima’s Devil. I don’t even know what the Angel Devil does other than suck life force. But, he’s different and weird so I like him. Chainsaws and Katana? Boring.

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And They Lived Happily Ever After

I was uneasy during most of the post-credits scene of this episode. While the credits were running, we got to see Denji, Aki, and Power having fun and living their lives together. So, I thought something was going to have to go wrong.

This is Chainsaw Man, after all. We can’t end the season without something terrible happening, right? At first, I thought something was going to happen to Aki. When he went out on the balcony to smoke, I thought, “this is where he dies.” That would have been a crazy end to the season.

And, I know you may be thinking that Aki wouldn’t die here because he’s one of the main characters. But, we already know the author of this series is fine with killing characters off. And we know Aki doesn’t have much longer to live.

Though, I will admit that if Aki “died” at the end of this episode, I wouldn’t expect it to be permanent. I’d expect it to be more like a close call and that we were led to believe he died until next season. But, that didn’t happen.

Then, we got to see Denji’s dream with Pochita behind a door in some alley. This scene is also in the OP, so it’s going to be important. My guess is that this door represents the Chainsaw Devil’s “true power” sealed inside Denji. You know, like how Naruto had Kurama’s “true power” sealed inside him in the form of a prison.

If Denji opens that door, maybe he won’t be able to control himself when in his Devil form.

And at the very end of the episode, we got a teaser for a new character, Reze. I know nothing about her other than that she exists.

Conclusion

What do you think of Chainsaw Man Episode 12? Do you think the Ghost Devil let Aki kill it because of Himeno? How do you feel about Katana Man being a clone of Chainsaw Man? And did you think something bad was going to happen at the end of the episode? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer. And, come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

Future Devil or Forest Spirit?

Chainsaw Man Episode 11 might be the most exciting episode of the season. And I don’t mean because of the action. Although, Aki fighting the Ghost Devil was definitely cool. No, this is the most exciting episode because of all the new Fiends and Devils it introduced.

To start, we’re just going to be looking at one of these new Devils, the Future Devil. I have some mixed feelings about this Devil. So, let’s begin with what I don’t like about him: his personality. I get that not every Devil is serious — look at Power — but the Future Devil is a bit too goofy.

Also, I’m not a fan of the “trade” he makes with Aki. Rather than taking something from Aki, the Future Devil chooses to live inside Aki’s right eye. He does this because he wants to witness Aki’s death, which he thinks will be entertaining.

So, why don’t I like this “trade” the Future Devil made? It’s a cliché. It’s a common trope for some overwhelmingly powerful being to help a nobody on a whim like this. We see this a lot in shounen battle anime, such as with the Tailed Beasts in Naruto.

And, as the trope usually goes, I expect the Future Devil will come to like and respect Aki. But, that’s enough about what I don’t like. What do I like about the Future Devil? Well, he has an interesting design. Is he supposed to be tree-like because nature will take over again in the future?

There’s also the Future Devil’s ability. Aki can now see slightly into the future. And, with time and training, he may be able to extend that. It’s not a unique ability by any means. But, it’s one that can make fights more fun.

The Makima Devil

I’ve been saying that Makima isn’t human since literally the first episode of the series. She doesn’t have human eyes and she doesn’t have a very human personality. And when we first met Power, I brought up Makima’s eyes again by commenting on how they had similar eyes.

Well, now we have (probable) confirmation that Makima isn’t human. Denji and Power’s teacher says he’s only allowing Makima to do as she pleases since she’s helping mankind. The implication here is that Makima isn’t part of “mankind.” She’s an outsider who’s lending her help — for now.

Of course, this whole scene could be there to throw us off. It’s possible that Makima is completely human. Denji and Power’s teacher can still not trust her even if that’s the case. She may be a human who’s playing both sides for her own gain. But, I still think she’s a Devil.

Now, you may notice that I say I think Makima is a Devil, not a Fiend. That’s because of some other information we got later in the episode. We met a lot more Devils and Fiends, and through that, we learned a bit more about them.

We already knew that you can tell someone’s a Fiend by looking at their Head. Division 4 has 3 Fiends: Power, the Shark Fiend, and the Violence Fiend. Power has horns, the Shark Fiend has a shark head, and the Violence Fiend probably looks strange, too. Makima, however, does not have a noticeable physical trait.

So, wouldn’t this mean she’s a human? Not quite. There are also multiple Devils in Division 4. And we’re told that some Devils can take on human forms. We see this with the Spider Devil. So, Makima could be a Devil in human form. What Devil? We don’t know.

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Humans & Fiends & Devils, Oh My!

We can break the members of Division 4 into 4 groups. There are humans, Fiends, and Devils. So, where do all the known members of Division 4 fall? Well, let’s start with the deceased. Himeno and Arai were both humans.

The living humans are Aki, Kobeni, the Captain, and Denji. Why am I putting Denji in this category? Because his relationship with Pochita is kind of a Devil contract. Pochita lives off Denji’s blood and, in return, Denji can use the Chainsaw Devil’s power. It’s not that different from other Devil Contracts.

Fiends are more interesting than humans, though. The first Fiend of Division 4 we knew of was Power. But, in Episode 7, we learned there was another Fiend in the Division. Apparently, there’s not only 1 other Fiend; there are 2. These are the Shark and Violence Fiends.

The Shark Fiend can swim through walls and the ground. And, he can also turn into the Shark Devil for brief periods of time. The Violence Fiend is very strong despite Fiends generally being weaker than Devils. To keep his power in check, he has to wear a gas mask filled with toxic gas 24/7.

Now, the most interesting members of Division 4 are the Devils. The fact that there are Devil members at all is strange. But, there appear to be 3 of them. The first, although technically unconfirmed, is Makima. The other 2 are the Spider Devil and the Angel Devil.

Under normal circumstances, the Spider Devil takes the form of a human woman. But, when fighting, she takes on her Devil form. The Angel Devil looks like an Angel. He’s an ally of humans, not only on good terms with them. And he can drain the life force of those who touch him.

Conclusion

What do you think of Chainsaw Man Episode 11? How do you feel about Aki’s “trade” with the Future Devil? Do you think Makima is a Devil herself? And, which of the new Fiends and Devils is your favorite? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on your social media of choice — links are in the footer. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 12 is available now.

Life Without Himeno

Chainsaw Man Episode 10 starts off by reminding us that Himeno is gone. But, could there still be a way to bring her back? It’s possible. I’ll explain how toward the end of this review. However, I don’t see it being very likely.

Himeno had to die. She was the perfect character to kill off. Why? Because her death made the danger of those aligned with the Gun Devil real. Up until now, we’ve seen the Devil Hunters defeat devils pretty easily. But, they’re now facing a bigger threat than random devils working independently.

Why did it have to be Himeno, in particular, though? Well, let’s consider who the options were. There’s Denji, Power, Aki, Makima, Himeno, Arai, and Kobeni. Those were the established characters who mattered at the time. And since Denji, Power, Aki, and Makima are the main characters, it wasn’t going to be one of them.

That leaves Himeno, Arai, and Kobeni. Now, Arai did also die. And to be fair, his death likely had a big impact on Kobeni since they joined around the same time. They were also similar in a lot of ways.

But, the reason why Arai couldn’t be the only one to die is that he’s too new. Even if Arai and Kobeni both died, that wouldn’t have much of an impact. We’re told that new recruits die all the time. Himeno, however, is a veteran who’s outlived multiple partners already.

Himeno’s death carries weight. Even if Denji and Power aren’t particularly sad about her death, it affects everyone in Division 4. And, her death was important for Aki. It makes him think more about the time he has left. Will he live to see the defeat of the Gun Devil? Maybe not.

Denji and Powy

Something I noticed is that we never got the name of the guy who’s going to be training Denji and Power. We also still haven’t gotten the names of the two who are going to train the human members of Division 4.

But, their names aren’t important right now. What’s important is that Denji and Power now have their very own old guy mentor. That’s all Chainsaw Man was missing from the shounen anime formula. This is their Jiraiya, their Rayleigh, their Master Roshi. And like any good mentor, he’s going to beat his lessons into them.

I have to say, though, that this new mentor’s logic doesn’t exactly add up. He claims to be the strongest Devil hunter. And that may very well be true. But, he also claims that only the strongest Devil would be able to defeat him.

The assumption here is that Devils and Devil hunters are about equal in terms of strength. That doesn’t seem to be the case based on what we’ve seen. Devil hunters are outmatched. Why do you think they need to form contracts with Devils? They wouldn’t stand a chance against strong devils on their own.

With that said, I do need to mention that, so far, we don’t know if this guy has a Devil contract. He might not have any. But, regardless, his plan is to train Denji and Power to the point at which they can defeat him. And if they can defeat him, they can defeat most Devils.

Oh, and how is this guy going to train our 2 idiots? He’s going to hunt them. Denji is immortal and Power is basically immortal. So, he can hunt them over and over again until they learn how to survive.

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Aki’s New Devil

It’s time to talk about Aki. Before this episode, he had contracts with 2 Devils, the Fox and Curse Devils. He definitely still has a contract with the Curse Devil. And as far as I understand it, he still has a contract with the Fox Devil, too.

However, we’re told (and shown) that the Fox Devil is no longer respecting this contract. She didn’t like how Aki used her against the Ghost and Snake Devils. And, we’re told she likely won’t return to him. But, I’m not convinced. With Arai gone, that would mean nobody’s left to use the Fox Devil.

Anyway, Aki needs to get a new Devil. The Fox Devil aside, he can’t exactly use the Curse Devil much anymore, either. He only has 2 years left before he dies. And the Curse Devil takes a portion of his lifespan whenever he uses its power.

So, what’s the new Devil Aki’s going to make a contract with? The Future Devil. He didn’t get to choose. His superiors made the choice for him. But, it’s kind of ironic that the guy without much of a future is going to make a contract with the Future Devil.

Now, because the Future Devil is powerful, it requires demanding contracts. 2 other Public Safety members have contracts with it. 1 gave up half their lifespan and the other gave up their eyes and sense of taste and smell.

What’s Aki going to give up? He doesn’t have much life left to give. Will he give up parts of his body? Or, can he give up his soul when he dies? That last one might be the contract.

Also, what can the Future Devil do? Can it change the future? Create a future with Himeno?

Conclusion

What do you think of Chainsaw Man Episode 10? Do you think there’s a chance that Himeno comes back? How long will it take for Denji and Power to “graduate?” And what’s Aki going to give up in his new Devil contract? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 11 is available now.

The Gun Devil’s Hitmen

Things didn’t go so well for the Gun Devil’s hitmen in Chainsaw Man Episode 9. Most of them died. Makima killed the ones who attacked the train. And then she also killed most of the ones who attacked Denji. 2 others also died, killed by the Blade(?) Devil and Kobeni.

In the end, there were also only 2 remaining. And, it’s no surprise that these were the two with Devil powers. The first is Sawatari, the girl with a contract with the Snake Devil. She also has snake-like eyes, so there may be more going on there.

I don’t get the feeling that she’s a fiend. But, the appearance of her eyes could be the byproduct of a Devil Contract. They also might not even be snake eyes. They could be Cat Devil eyes that allow her to see better at night.

The other Gun Devil follower who survived is the guy I called the Sword Devil in Episode 8’s review. I’m now thinking that he’s supposed to be the Blade Devil, not the Sword Devil. And I think that because in the OP we see him with other types of blades.

Now, something else I mentioned in last week’s review was how Sawatari revived the Blade Devil. I said that she might have some Devil power that lets her do that. But, after thinking about it more, that seems unlikely. The Blade Devil looks like the Chainsaw Devil. So, maybe it works the same way, too.

Denji’s Chainsaw Devil form is the result of him combining with Pochita. So, it looks like the Blade Devil guy probably combined with the Blade Devil in a similar way. And what that means is that there might be a way to revive him on his chest.

Makima’s Devil Power(s)

We have to talk about Makima and her Devil power(s). It seems to me that she may have displayed as many as 4 different Devil powers in this episode. Though, some of the things we saw could come from the same Devil.

The very first thing she does in the episode is revive herself. We don’t know how she did it. But, that seems like it has to be the work of a Devil power. And since I’m still convinced Makima’s a fiend, I think this could be her natural Devil power.

In the OP, we see plants and animals associated with Makima. Specifically, carnivorous plants, insects, and a snail. This might be alluding to her having some power over life itself — and that we shouldn’t trust her. Anyone associated with venus flytraps is suspicious.

Now, what about her other Devil powers? The most obvious one in the episode was the one she used to squish people. When the first guy got squished, I thought it was the Gravity Devil. But, that’s not quite right. I don’t know the name of this Devil. But, Makima seems to trade one life for the ability to crush another in her hands.

This could be the power of the same Devil that revived her if it’s all about manipulating life. But, I’m not so sure. Also, she used crows to locate her enemies before crushing them. So, is this a Crow Devil power? Or was she manipulating the crows in the same way she can manipulate people?

Lastly, when she killed her attackers on the train, she left gaping holes in their bodies. That seems like the work of a Devil. And this could all be the same, very versatile Devil.

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Kobeni the Monkey

Despite everything with Makima, the biggest surprise of the episode was Kobeni. Apparently, when she’s in danger, she turns into a monkey. And by that, I mean she suddenly becomes competent and able to fight. Did you see how easy it was for her to kill that old woman?

I’m not sure how to feel about this change in Kobeni’s personality and abilities. I didn’t get the impression that this had anything to do with her Devil power. So, does that mean she’s the Zenitsu of this series? Instead of becoming strong when sleeping, it’s when she’s scared.

Although, now that I’m thinking about it, this could be the real Kobeni. Every Devil contract requires a sacrifice. What if Kobeni sacrificed her self-confidence most of the time and that’s why she’s the way she is? If that’s the explanation, I’ll take it.

Now, let’s take a look at who survived the attack on Division 4. We know Makima, Kobeni, and Power survived. Denji can come back to life whenever, so he’s fine, too. And Aki hasn’t bled out yet, so I’m counting him. That means we only lost Himeno and Arai.

Initially, I thought Makima would have some way of bringing everyone back to life. This could have meant reviving them or turning back time to before they died. But, now that we have the casualty count, that seems unlikely. At this point, it’s pretty clear that Himeno and Arai aren’t coming back. And, I’m okay with that.

With Arai, we didn’t lose much. He had a contract with the Fox Devil, which is the same as Aki. Losing Himeno hurts more because she had a unique Devil contract. Also, I liked her. But, I acknowledge that killing off a good character can be worth it.

Conclusion

What do you think about Chainsaw Man Episode 9? Do you think Sawatari’s eyes are the result of a Devil contract? How many Devil contracts do you think Makima has? And are you okay with losing Himeno and Arai? Would you trade anyone to get them back? Let me know in the comments.

If you enjoyed this review, remember to click the like button down below. Also, follow me on Twitter @DoubleSama so you don’t miss out on any future content. And come join our Discord server to discuss anime with other members of the community.

Finally, I’d like to thank Roman for supporting DoubleSama.com at the Heika tier this month. To learn more about how you too can become a supporter of this blog, check out Patreon.com/DoubleSama.

My review of Episode 10 is available now.