Character profile
Background
Aki Hayakawa is everything Denji is not. He is disciplined, educated, respectful of the chain of command, and personally motivated by a promise he made to himself as a kid. The Gun Devil killed his entire family in front of him. He joined Public Safety the day he turned old enough, and the only reason he has not killed himself chasing the Gun Devil yet is that he is trying to do it the smart way.
His first reaction to Denji is to beat him up and demand he quit the job. It is not cruelty. Aki has been through four Division partners already and watched most of them die, and a kid who treats devil hunting like an excuse to touch girls is going to die faster than any of them. When Denji refuses to quit, Aki settles into the resentful role of reluctant guardian, and spends most of the season quietly keeping Denji alive in ways Denji never notices.
Aki already has a Fox Devil contract when the show begins, which lets him summon the head of a fox big enough to swallow a car. During Season 1 he adds two more. The Curse Devil, paid in years of his remaining lifespan per use, lets him drive a cursed nail into a target and detonate it from the inside. The Future Devil, signed after Himeno's death, lives in his right eye and shows him the 'best future' that the devil can imagine. Aki's reaction to that vision is to keep hunting anyway, which tells you everything you need to know about him.
Abilities and contracts
New ability
Curse Devil, summons a skeleton yokai to impale targets with a cursed nail, used on Katana Man but failing to finish him
Episode 8New ability
Future Devil contract, signs a new contract letting the Future Devil live in his right eye, granting him precognition
Episode 11Contracted devils
- Fox Devil (formerly)
- Curse Devil
- Future Devil
- Control Devil
Connections
Relatives, contract partners and characters with a shared affiliation.
Taiyo Hayakawa
Relative
Fox Devil
Contract partner
Curse Devil
Contract partner
Future Devil
Contract partner
Denji
Tokyo Special Division 4 (formerly)
Kobeni Higashiyama
Public Safety Devil Hunters (formerly)
Madoka
Public Safety Devil Hunters (formerly)
Aging Devil's Victim
Public Safety Devil Hunters (formerly)
MINAMI NAKANO
Public Safety Devil Hunters (formerly)
Relatives
- Taiyo Hayakawa (younger brother) †
- Unnamed parents †
Record
Affiliations
- Public Safety Devil Hunters (formerly)
- Tokyo Division 2 (formerly)
- Tokyo Special Division 4 (formerly)
Occupations
- Public Safety Devil Hunter (formerly)
- Wild Fiend
Key events
Introduction
Signs contract with Fox Devil. Aki introduced as a Public Safety senior hunter contracted with the Fox Devil, which can materialize a massive fox head to devour enemies.
Bat Devil
Posed as Kobeni's ally, then ambushed Denji Killed by Aki Hayakawa (Fox Devil).
Bat Devil
Denji wins, rescues Power's cat Meowy
Bat Devil
Aki kills the Leech Devil with Fox Devil, saving Denji
Eternity Devil
Trapped on the endless 8th floor with a piece of the Gun Devil. The devil offers to release them if they give up Denji.
Katana Man
Signs contract with Curse Devil. Aki uses the Curse Devil for the first time on Katana Man, driving a cursed nail into him. The contract costs years of Aki's remaining lifespan per use.
Katana Man
Division 4 devastated, Himeno, Hirokazu, and Fushi dead. Denji captured. Makima presumed dead.
Katana Man
Curse Devil, summons a skeleton yokai to impale targets with a cursed nail, used on Katana Man but failing to finish him
Katana Man
Signs contract with Future Devil. Aki signs a new contract with the Future Devil through Kurose and Tendo. The cost: letting the Future Devil live inside his right eye, and seeing the 'best future', his own death.
Katana Man
Denji, Power, and Aki (with new Future Devil contract) strike Katana Man's hideout
Katana Man
Future Devil contract, signs a new contract letting the Future Devil live in his right eye, granting him precognition
Katana Man
Delivers Himeno's final cigarette-message to Aki, then is killed by him Killed by Aki Hayakawa.
Katana Man
Aki kills the Ghost Devil and captures Akane. Denji rematches Katana Man as Chainsaw Man, finale of Season 1.