Why Did Aki Save Denji’s Life in Chainsaw Man? (& Risked His Own?)

Chainsaw Man is one of the most popular and recent manga from Shounen Jump and its newly released anime is extremely successful. Just recently, in episode 6 of the anime, Denji and the other characters entered a hotel in order to fight a devil that supposedly resided there and had a piece from the Gun Devil. In there, while discussing whether or not to kill Denji as requested by the Eternity Devil, Aki did not want to kill Denji and even risked his own life trying to save him, but why exactly did he do that?

Aki protected Denji in the most recent episode of Chainsaw Man because he thinks Denji might be capable to destroy the Gun Devil, which is Aki’s goal, a goal he cannot reach by himself. Since Makima has trusted Denji with this task, Aki also believes in him and hopes he can eventually kill the Gun Devil, thus he does not wish for him to die and will try his best to protect Denji from any foe.

But why exactly does Aki wants to see the Gun Devil destroyed and why will he go as far as he can to protect Denji? Let’s dive a bit deeper into that.

Why Does Aki Want the Gun Devil Dead in Chainsaw Man?

Since Aki Hayakawa’s introduction, we have noticed how professional he looks and acts and does everything according to the rules. This is because he is trying his best to do good as a Public Safety Devil Hunter and live long enough to see the Gun Devil meet its end, but why is that?

When Aki was a kid, he lived together with his family, which were his mom, his father, and his younger brother. He did not seem to be a very polite kid, but when given the chance he would be very kind to his younger brother, who suffered from some type of illness. At some time during winter, things took a bad turn.

Aki lived with his family far from the city, in a house out on the field close to a forest. On one sunny winter day, Aki wanted to play catch ball with his father, who was taking care of and giving attention to his younger brother. Aki was sad and angry he was not getting the attention he wanted until his younger brother volunteered to go out and play with Aki since he also wanted to have fun and did not want to stay in bed all day.

Aki and his brother eventually went out, but Aki was not happy about this, he wanted to play catch with his father, not his brother. Angry at the situation, Aki throws a snowball at his brother, who was happy to be out with him. His brother sees that as an opportunity to play with Aki and they start a snowball fight. Aki eventually gets to have fun playing with his brother and asks him to go inside and pick up a baseball glove, so that they can play catch.

However, as soon as Aki’s younger brother enters the house, a huge blast of wind comes and destroys the whole house and Aki’s entire family. That was the Gun Devil’s first and only attack ever, as he killed thousands of people and made the whole world even more afraid of devils.

After this, Aki dedicates all of his life to destroying the Gun Devil and getting revenge for what he did to his family. After training, Aki eventually becomes a licensed Devil Hunter and starts working for the government, where he meets Makima and Himeno and will later meet Denji and Power.

Aki and Denji’s Relationship in Chainsaw Man

Denji was introduced in Chainsaw Man in the first episode since he is the main character and the Chainsaw Man himself. Not long after that, he met Aki, who was supposed to mentor him and teach him how to work as a Public Safety devil hunter. But they did not get along very well at first, with Denji kicking Aki in the crotch several times. However, Aki was told he was supposed to take Denji in and live with him to keep an eye on him 24/7. Denji and Aki do eventually develop a friendship.

Aki is not that happy with the situation, since he never wanted to live together with Denji and Power and did not want to take care of them, but had to do so since they were Makima’s requests. Aki was extremely hostile towards Denji since Denji was really obnoxious and had caught up Makima’s attention, which made Aki very jealous.

Despite his feelings toward Denji, Aki did not wish for Denji to die. Denji might be an important piece in Aki’s pursuit to get revenge on the Gun Devil, so he will try to keep Denji at his side for as long as he can. Not only Aki, but Makima believes Denji is capable of bringing the Gun Devil to an end, and Aki is willing to take a bet on him.

How Did Aki Save Denji in Chainsaw Man?

But during episode 6, how exactly did Aki save Denji from being killed? Here’s a recap from the end of the episode.

As Denji, Aki and Himeno try to think about how to defeat the devil that has taken over the hotel but he begins to chase them and expand. This leads to the floor of the hotel turning 90 degrees. While discussing what to do now, Kobeni tries to kill Denji, since it was requested by the devil who calls himself the Eternity Devil.

As Kobeni tries to stab Denji, Aki jumps in front of him and takes the blow in his place. Aki goes on to say he does not care if Denji dies or not, but he needs Denji to bring the Gun Devil to an end and will not be able to do it alone. So he will do whatever it takes for Denji to keep on living.

In the end, Aki does seem to care at least in some way or another about Denji and does not want him to die. Not long after this, Aki will eventually start truly caring for Denji, not only as a weapon but as a friend.