Summary
What this episode lacked in action, it made up for in drama, thrills, and suspense.
We recap the Crunchyroll anime series Chainsaw Man season 1, episode 6, “Kill Denji,” which contains spoilers.
This episode marks the halfway point of the season, and it’s definitely still got viewers’ attention. With so much mystery and rising tensions, this installment proves that Chainsaw Man has the ability to craft a compelling narrative that doesn’t rely solely on gore and big fight scenes.
Last week, we followed Denji (voiced by Kikunosuke Toya) and the other devil hunters on a mission to locate a devil they thought may have consumed a piece of The Gun Devil. It’s clear there’s something bigger at play as they find themselves trapped inside the hotel with no way to escape.
Chainsaw Man season 1, episode 6 recap
This episode picks up right where the last one left off, with Hirokazu standing on the staircase. Himeno also runs down the same stairs only to show up from the top of the staircase. They realize they are in some sort of loop that keeps them trapped on the eighth floor.
Assuming it’s the work of a devil, Aki begins to investigate one of the hotel rooms. He realizes that all of the windows only open to adjacent hotel rooms.
The team gathers to assess everything that they know about their situation. Besides the windows and the staircase, they also know the elevator is not working, and any attempts to escape only lead them right back to the eighth floor. Denji wonders if what’s messing with them now, is a curse from the head and foot devil Power killed earlier, but Aki explains that devils do not retain their powers after they die. Himeno asks if the piece of Gun Devil flesh they have has reacted at all, but it’s gone dead still, prompting her to think that this may be an elaborate scheme by a different devil.
Fear begins to overcome some of the other devil hunters, specifically Kobeni, who’s only doing this job because her parents forced her to take it. Power takes great joy in her tears as Himeno attempts to calm her down. Considering devils derive strength from the fear of humans, Kobeni’s crying is only giving them precisely what they want.
After realizing that every clock in every room is stuck at 8:18, Aki wonders if time is frozen on this floor. If that is the case, then not even back up for them. Denji is surprisingly optimistic about their chances and even decides this would be the perfect time to catch up on extra sleep. To everyone’s surprise, he falls asleep instantly, only to be woken up by Himeno with updates.
While the electricity and power seem to work, they have yet to locate the devil responsible. Everyone seems tired, but still, Aki refuses to stop his search. Kobeni is currently passed out, while Hirokazu has a panic attack. The only other person who seems to be doing okay is Power, who is thriving, all things considered.
The three of them decide to take turns watching Kobeni and Hirokazu. While outside their room, Denji notes that Himeno smokes the same brand of cigarettes as Aki. She says this is because she’s the one who introduced him to smoking.
We flashback to a younger version of both Aki and Himeno, where she first tries to coax him into smoking. She knows that he joined Public Safety to get revenge on the Gun Devil for killing his family, and if he plans to die so soon anyway, he might as well smoke. He says he doesn’t plan on dying anytime soon, which she appreciates because she knows from experience that it can be a pain when your partners die. Aki witnesses that firsthand when the girlfriend of an old partner takes out her anger on Himeno in front of a convenience store. Although Himeno is used to this sort of treatment, Aki still takes his petty revenge on the ex anyway.
Later that night at dinner, Himeno tells Aki that she thinks he will last a long time in the devil-hunting business. It’s after this that she finally convinces him to smoke one cigarette.
We suddenly cut back to the present, where Aki bursts into the room, asking Himeno for a cigarette. She says the one she is currently smoking is her last one, and he takes it anyway. After his first puff, he announces that he has bad news. The devil that Power killed earlier has turned into a giant, grotesque monster that is now in the hallway. They rush out, only to have the devil offer them a contract. If they feed him Denji, even Denji’s corpse, he will let the rest of them go.
Kobeni then emerges from the room with a knife and demands that Denji give himself to the devil before attempting to stab him. Aki kicks it out of her hand before she has a chance to make contact and tries to call on his fox devil to save them, but it does not come. Himeno’s ghost devil manages to do some damage, but the devil reveals that no matter what they do, they will not find his heart here as they are located inside his stomach at the moment.
Chainsaw Man season 1, episode 6 ending
The group begins discussing the possibility of sacrificing Denji. If they accept the devil’s contract, he will have to keep up his end of the bargain, lest he dies. Hirokazu points out that if they don’t sacrifice Denji, they will likely starve here, but Aki says no. If the devil wants Denji, he will probably benefit from said death somehow, and they can’t have that.
Still unsure of how to escape, Aki informs Himeno that he’ll use the sword if he has to. She says no and that if it comes down to the sword, or killing Denji, Denji will have to die.
After discovering that Power ate what little food they had left, Kobeni decides this must be Power’s fault because she is a fiend. When Hirokazu defends her, Kobeni accuses him of being a spy. The sound of her screaming as she launches toward Hirokazu attracts the attention of the devil in the hallway. He begins expanding toward the room, prompting Himeno, Aki, and Denji to run as he declares himself The Eternity Devil.
Suddenly the entire floor begins to tilt until exiting a hotel room means falling down the hallway into The Eternity Devil’s mouth. With everyone calling for them to kill Denji, Aki decides to use the sword, but Himeno uses her ghost devil to stop him. Using the sword requires Aki to offer up numerous years of his life in a contract with a devil, and she refuses to let him make that sacrifice.
Himeno apologizes as Hirokazu holds Denji down. Kobeni rushes forward to stab him, only to stab Aki as he barely manages to put himself in front of Denji. Considering he cannot kill the Gun Devil on his own, Aki needs the help of other people like Denji, who are crazy enough to fight him. For that reason alone, he refuses to let Denji die. While Himeno stares in shock, Power attempts to use her abilities as The Blood Devil to help Aki.
Upset at the idea of having to own Aki anything, Denji decides to sacrifice himself. However, he doesn’t plan to make it easy, planning to use his chainsaw powers as he jumps right into the mouth of The Eternity Devil.
Of course, things ended right before they had a chance to get really exciting, but it doesn’t mean this episode wasn’t good. It was one of the most entertaining installments of the season, with the tension building perfectly throughout. Viewers learned a lot about Himeno and Aki in this episode, but it’s clear the real fun will come next week.
What did you think of the Crunchyroll Anime Series Chainsaw Man season 1, episode 6? Comment below.
