Who dies in the Chainsaw Man season 1 finale?

Warning: the following article contains spoilers for Chainsaw Man season one, episode eleven, “Katana vs. Chainsaw.”

The war rages on between Division 4 and Akane and Katana Man in the Chainsaw Man finale, and one of them doesn’t make it.

The episode picks up with Aki in the grasp of the Ghost Devil. With Himeno killed, Akane gained control over the devil and used it to attack Aki. Aki and the Future Devil put up a good fight, slicing off its many limbs with his sword, but the Ghost Devil proved too strong for him. While being held, Aki thinks back to a moment he shared with Himeno where she offers him cigarettes with the label “easy revenge.” He tells her that he’s underage and she takes the offer back.

In the present, it looks like Aki’s not going to make it, but the Ghost Devil releases Aki and shows him a cigarette with the easy revenge label on it. Aki then walks up the Ghost Devil’ body and cuts off her head in front of a shocked Akane. She prepares to use her Snake Devil but she’s stopped by Kobeni who has snuck behind her and held a knife to her neck. Kobeni was seeking revenge after her partner Arai, but Aki stops her before she goes through with it.

Denji finds Katana Man in a hallway and he’s ready to do battle, but his enemy suggests a peaceful surrender if Denji admits that he was wrong for killing Katana Man’s grandfather. Denji, of course, refuses because they were zombies and he doesn’t feel guilty about it. They transform into their devil forms, break out of the building, and fight along the rooftops of the city. It’s metal on metal as these two powerful characters clash, and they end up fighting on a train. Katana Man cuts off Denji’s arms, but when they clash again, Denji uses a leg chainsaw to cut him in half.

Katana Man isn’t dead, or at least he doesn’t stay dead. Denji pulled the katana out of his arm and put his two halves back together and he came back to life. Denji ties him up for the purpose of torturing him and when Aki arrives and he’s against this cruel competition Denji proposes at first, even if it is because of what they did to Himeno. But after considering it, he decides to go for it and they hurt Katana Man.

In the last scene, Makima is debriefing a superior about the Akane. She says that she had a contract with the Gun Devil in exchange for Chainsaw Man’s heart. Before they could find out why the Gun Devil was after Denji’s heart, the Snake Devil bites her head off per her contract. They were able to recover 1.4 kilograms of Gun Devil flesh, and along with the amount they already have, it’s enough to lead them to the main body.

Akane died in this episode, but Katana Man may still be alive if Denji and Aki only beat him up. The bigger question is how much Makima actually knows and how much of this is she responsible for. Kishibe accused her of manipulating the situation and he just might be right.

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