Why Didn’t Himeno Want Aki to Use His Sword in Chainsaw Man? Answered

The Chainsaw Man anime and manga is full of fun abilities and powers, which give it a distinct flavor from other Shonen offerings. In addition to the main character’s ability to sprout Chainsaws from almost any part of his body, other characters can form pacts with Devils and carry out insane feats in exchange for power. With this in mind, though, you’re probably wondering: Why didn’t Himeno want Aki to use his sword in Chainsaw Man, and what would the cost have been if he did use it?

Fortunately, we’ve got all the answers you’re looking for.

Why Doesn’t Himeno Want Aki Not to Use His Sword in Chainsaw Man? Answered

The most immediate reason Himeno didn’t want Aki to use his sword during Chainsaw Man’s Eternity Devil arc is that she loves him and doesn’t want him to lose parts of himself fighting Devils.

Over the course of their partnership, while working for the Public Safety department, she began to have feelings for him due to his drive to help people and his determined personality. Not only that, but he managed to stay alive and look out for her no matter what dangers presented themselves.

However, this also led to an issue: She began to care about whether or not he sacrificed himself to defeat the many Devils they needed to face on a daily basis. This led to her taking a more vested interest in how often he makes deals with Devils in exchange for power and how often she’s willing to let him put himself in harm’s way.

What Does Aki’s Sword Do? Explained

Himeno’s aversion to Aki using his sword in Chainsaw Man makes even more sense when one learns what Aki’s sword does.

The sword acts as a conduit for a contract he has with the Curse Devil. By pointing the sword at a specific point on his target’s body and saying “Fire,” he can summon the hand of the Curse Devil to flick the sword and strengthen its attack. If he manages to do this three times to the same enemy, then the Curse Devil will be fully summoned and can completely obliterate all but the strongest enemies.

This ability comes at a great cost, though. Even one usage of the sword in tandem with the Curse Devil shaves off a decent chunk of the user’s total lifespan. Fully summoning the Curse Devil, meanwhile, would drastically reduce the lifespan of the user to the point that they’d only be able to summon said devil two times maximum.

It’s easily Aki’s strongest means of attack but is also something he can’t use more than once due to his past dealings with Devils. As such, Himeno stopped him from using his sword in order to ensure he doesn’t waste his ace in the whole – or his lifespan – on an enemy that wouldn’t be worth the sacrifice.

Hopefully this cleared up why Himeno didn’t let Aki use his sword in Chainsaw Man. For more on the series, check out any of the related articles down below. We’ve also got plenty of other explainer guides for Chainsaw Man, including ones on whether or not Aki dies, what a Fiend is, and what the Alley Door means.