Chainsaw Man Cliffhanger Teases Aki's Big Loss
Chainsaw Man just got real. Episode 8 of the anime started off in a nice enough place – Denji possibly getting laid by fellow Devil Hunter Himeno – but ended by taking a very tragic and horrifying turn. After seven episodes of the Devil Hunters all going hard on the mission to kill the Gun Devil, the villain turns the tables by setting up a mob-style hit on Tokyo branch of the Devil Hunters. When the shots start getting fired, there are definitely some major victims – including an ending that teased a major loss for Aki!
WARNING: CHAINSAW MAN EPISODE 8 SPOILERS FOLLOW!
In "Gunfire", the Gun Devil's forces catch the Tokyo Devil Hunters while they are taking a day to try to solidify their bonds. Really, it's a scheme that Denji and Himeno come up with, after deciding not to sleep together: Denji will try to help Himeno get with Aki, while Himeno will help Denji get with Makima. The romantic hijinks lead to a lunch date between Denji, Himeno, Power, and Aki. Just when the crew is gelling well, Denji gets confronted (and subsequently shot in the head) by a man related to the Yakuza leader Denji killed during his first Chainsaw Man transformation. Meanwhile, other Devil Hunter agents (including Makima) are gunned down in the streets, while traveling, etc.
The dire situation turns to full doom when Aki and Himeno try to do battle with the Yakuza leader's grandson, only to discover that he, too, is a powerful Devil-human hybrid, armed with sword appendages: Katana Man. Aki and Himeno prove strong enough to take on Katana Man – at least in the first round. It turns out that Katana Man has his own partner armed with some powerful Devil pacts to call on – including the ability to revivie and repair Katana Man's body.
Faced with two next-level opponents, Himeno has to go beyond any safe limit and fully summon the Ghost Devil. However, Himeno's pact was always using one of the Ghost Devil's invisible hands, at the cost of her own eye; to summon the full Ghost Devil requires the tribute of her entire body!
Aki is left on the battlefield looking at Himeno's empty clothes, with the implication being that she's dead. That said, we don't know what it means to "pay" a Devil in body parts, and if it constitutes "death" as we understand it. Chainsaw Man Episode 8's credits seem to hint that Himeno could be trapped in some kind of different realm or universe where Devils reside, which would be a "death" of sorts – albeit one Himeno could be rescued from.
Chainsaw Man streams new episodes on Crunchyroll and Hulu.
