Chainsaw Man is barely a romantic anime. After all, it is a shonen work that focuses primarily on action-filled scenes and supernatural themes. Denji, who is a hybrid human-devil, easily embodied the protagonist who is always present in combat scenes.
But Denji, despite the terrifying chainsaw visage that he has, still yearns for romance. Particularly, being able to date Makima – which is his motivation in his missions. So what is to say that romance and love does not affect other characters as well?
Himeno, despite her limited screen time, has been shown to harbor romantic feelings for Aki. After all, they have worked closely together as partner Devil Hunters for a few years. Aki was also seen defending Himeno from someone slapping her. This someone happened to be the loved one of Himeno’s deceased previous partner.
Obviously, this made Himeno fall in love with Aki. But does Aki reciprocate her feelings? Is Aki also in love with her?
We can look through on what makes Aki as a person in the anime. Rest assured there will be no manga spoilers!
Aki is a Reticent Person With Different Priorities
A reticent person is someone who does not readily show or share their emotions. Most of the time, Aki always had an unfazed expression on his face. He is calm, collected, and reserved.
But just because he has a poker face on, does not mean he does not feel anything. There are numerous instances where he clearly shows annoyance or exasperation – especially dealing with Denji and Power.
In other words, Aki is someone who refused to easily show his emotions. He is not the type who shares what he feels. So if he did have feelings towards Himeno, he probably never made it clear to her. At the same time, he probably just ignored them or never addressed it.
This is because he has different priorities in mind: avenging his dead family against the Gun Devil. Aki is still grieving the loss of his family, so he is more focused on his revenge than entertaining any fluttering emotions he may have.
Aki Seemingly Has a Crush on Makima
Because Aki does not always show his emotions, it always stands out whenever he does. This happened when Makima had asked him to look after Denji and Power. As such, these two unruly Devil Hunters will get to live with Aki – much to the latter’s displeasure.
He at first opposed Makima’s idea, but then she said that she trusts him. Aki blushed at this, seemingly flattered that Makima placed a great deal of trust on him. This made him accept the idea of letting Denji and Power live with him.
With Makima being the seemingly love interest of Aki, should he not have feelings for Himeno? This is not clear yet in the anime, but Makima has something more to her than meets the eye. She is very mysterious, and it is hinted that she may not have good intentions from her one conservation with Kishibe.
She has also showcased her abilities from a “devil contract”, in which she managed to make the prisoners sacrifice themselves by speaking a few words. Maybe there is something about Makima that made him like her. It may not be something genuine.
Read More: 5 Interesting Facts About Kobeni in Chainsaw Man
Himeno was Influential to Aki
It is clear as day that Aki respected and looked up to Himeno. After all, she was his senior in the Public Safety Devil Hunters organization. She was the one who guided and even trained him on what needs to be done. They were work partners, and they knew each other better than anyone.
Notably, she was the one who encouraged him to smoke. At first, he did not want to do it as it shortens his lifespan. Himeno brushed this off by stating that Devil Hunters never had long lives anyway. Eventually, Aki became a smoker himself.
Himeno also pushed Aki to get piercings on, as revealed in her last letter to her sister. It means that Himeno was responsible for getting Aki to try things out of his comfort zone. She made him explore new things, despite the grim situation they were in.
Aki probably only heeded to her because of his respect for her. He viewed her as a friend obviously, aside as a work partner. They have the mutual sense of respect and trust.
Aki is Comfortable With Himeno
The one thing we have to remember from Himeno is that she had kissed every Public Safety Devil Hunter. This meant that she had kissed Aki before. But it seems that Aki probably never took the kiss seriously, or Himeno may not have feelings for him yet at that point. Regardless, it did not make their professional and personal relationship awkward.
Himeno was touchy towards Aki, and he does not even scoot away. When they were in the Eternity Devil’s trap, Himeno hugged Aki close on the bed. Aki does not seem to mind it.
Arguably, Aki is most likely aware that Himeno had feelings for him. Himeno did not hide it from him either. She even offered to quit being a Devil Hunter with him, but sadly, he rejected her.
Himeno’s affections towards him are obvious, so Aki knew of them for sure. But he neither rejected or accepted them. At most, he seemed to be neutral towards them. He never addressed or acknowledged much of Himeno’s feelings, which gives an idea that he might not feel the same way. Yet it is not quite as simple as it seems.
Read More: Chainsaw Man Gets its First Live-Action Adaptation
Aki is Deeply Affected by Himeno’s Death
Himeno’s death devastated Aki a lot. His usual emotionless facade breaks when Himeno was dying. When he saw Himeno’s eyepatch, he did not seem too invested in the battle anymore as Denji continued the fight against Katana Man. He became preoccupied of Himeno’s death.
He also broke down in tears when Himeno’s death dawned on him. It is the first time we saw him crying which meant that Himeno is important to him. Her cigarette of “Easy revenge!” was kept by him. Her memory even encouraged him to kick Katana Man’s balls along with Denji.
Himeno’s death made him even more bent on revenge against Devils. His fellow Hunters thought he might quit, but he is still willing to go on. He made a new contract with the Future Devil, which helped him defeat the Ghost Devil despite remembering Himeno.
His grief can easily be interpreted as someone who has just lost a close friend or comrade. They obviously worked together for a time, so Himeno became a part of his life. However, it can also be interpreted that there is a possibility of Aki reciprocating the feelings back but he did not nurture it.
Aki Has the Possibility to Reciprocate Himeno’s Feelings
Aki just mostly treats Himeno platonically throughout the series as any sign of romantic feelings were never made explicit. Considering how Aki is a caring person, we can say this is his same treatment to everyone he works with. He is way too focused on his mission to hunt the Gun Devil down to even entertain romance or interest on anyone. But there is actually a big potential of him returning Himeno’s feelings.
She was one of the few people who understood and knew him on the deeper level. She was the first person he worked closely with once he became a Devil Hunter. He also never outright rejected her. This meant that he can love Himeno back if he wants to, but he is way too wrapped up in his vengeance. He is still mourning for his family. This is what is stopping him from accepting Himeno’s love.
Read More: Chainsaw Man Anime Accused of Underperforming After Manga Readership Falls
