Why Did the Ghost Devil Help Aki in Chainsaw Man?
Back in episode 11 of Chainsaw Man, we saw the Special Divisions of Public Safety raiding the base of Katana Man to learn more about the Gun Devil that supposedly supplied them with the guns that they used to assassinate members of the Special Divisions. In that regard, Aki engaged Akane Sawatari, who surprisingly used the Ghost Devil against him, as Aki was shocked by what he saw. The Ghost Devil proceeded to choke the life out of him but stopped and allowed him to kill it after Aki remembered Himeno. So, why did the Ghost Devil help Aki?
The Ghost Devil most likely helped Aki because it was probably the last command of Himeno when they were still under contract and before the Ghost Devil used Himeno’s entire body in the fight against Katana Man. In that regard, it was most likely Himeno’s final wish that made the Ghost Devil help Aki.
In a sense, Aki got lucky when the Ghost Devil suddenly stopped its attack on him because that was what allowed him to gain the upper hand on Sawatari and distract her long enough for Kobeni to sneak up behind her and put a knife under her throat. In that regard, Aki’s relationship with Himeno ultimately saved his skin. So, with that said, let’s talk more about why the Ghost Devil attacked Aki.
Why Did The Ghost Devil Stop Attacking Aki?
Back in episode 11 of Chainsaw Man, we saw the full strength of the Special Divisions in its attack on Katana Man’s base, as it was clear that Public Safety was out for revenge for what the yakuza did to them when they assassinated members of the Special Divisions in the earlier episodes. Of course, Devils and Fiends were too busy killing all of the zombies that were in the base. Meanwhile, Aki stormed through the zombies to get to Akane Sawatari.
For those who forgot, Sawatari was the one partly responsible for killing Himeno because she and Katana Man attacked them several episodes back. When a wounded Himeno used the full power of the Ghost Devil in her attempt to kill Katana Man, Sawatari intervened by using her Snake Devil to consume the Ghost Devil. As a result of her contract with the Ghost Devil, Himeno’s entire body disappeared as she seemingly died in vain.
However, when Aki faced Sawatari, he was shocked to see that she was able to summon the Ghost Devil, as this could be one of the powers of the Snake Devil. It can be presumed that the Snake Devil is capable of absorbing the powers of the Devils that it consumes and allows them to fight in its stead. In that regard, Sawatari used the Ghost Devil against Aki as it proceeded to choke the life out of him.
Then in episode 12, while the Ghost Devil was choking Aki, he suddenly remembered the early days he spent with Himeno, who was one of his first friends when he first joined Public Safety. Being his senior, Himeno was the one who showed Aki the ropes as his mentor even though he knew that she was into him. And she was also the one who tried to convince him to get into smoking.
Of course, Aki declined her offer because he was still a minor. But Himeno held on to the cigarette that she wanted to give Aki so that she could give it to him when he was ready and old enough to smoke.
After remembering Himeno, Aki was shocked to see that the Ghost Devil had stopped choking him. Instead, it ended up giving him the very same cigarette with the words “easy revenge” on it. That was when the Ghost Devil was willing enough to allow Aki to kill it as he sliced its head off cleanly. So, why did the Ghost Devil help Aki?
It was never fully explained why the Ghost Devil stopped attacking Aki to allow him to kill it. But we can make the assumption that Aki simply no longer feared the Ghost Devil while he was remembering Himeno.
He explained during that scene that the Ghost Devil doesn’t have eyes but uses a person’s fear to see what it needed to attack. In that regard, it is possible that Aki’s fear disappeared when he started remembering Himeno because all that he had in his heart were the fond memories he had about his senior. That was when the Ghost Devil could no longer see his fear.
Why Did The Ghost Devil Give Aki A Cigarette?
Of course, we can also make the assumption that the moment that the Ghost Devil could no longer sense fear in Aki, it remembered Himeno’s final command, which was to give the cigarette that she could not give to him when she was still alive. And this final command might have been issued sometime in the past when Himeno told the Ghost Devil to give the cigarette to Aki in exchange for a body part.
Considering that Devils tend to honor their contracts down to the letter, it is possible that the Ghost Devil remembered its contract with Himeno and proceeded to give Aki the cigarette that she promised to give him when he was ready and old enough to smoke. As such, the Ghost Devil was honoring the memory of Himeno with that gesture.
As mentioned, the cigarette also had the words “easy revenge” written on it. This could mean that Himeno knew that the Ghost Devil would be used against him sooner or later and that he understood what the Ghost Devil’s weakness was. Considering that Aki knew that the Ghost Devil could not see or attack a person that did not fear it, that was when it became easy for Aki to kill it.
Of course, this is something that we are merely speculating about because the details were never explained in Chainsaw Man. Nevertheless, the fact is that Himeno’s influence still lingered on even after she had already died when she sacrificed herself to save Aki from Katana Man.
