Chainsaw Man gave us our first look at the dreaded Ghost Devil in episode 8, “Gunfire.” Ghost Devil has been teased ever since we met the character Himeno, whose contract with Ghost Devil saw her sacrifice an eye in exchange for using one of his invisible hands in battle. Well, just when the Devil Hunters of Special Division 4 think they can rest after their big victory against the Eternity Devil, a new group of enemies appear and launch a deadly ambush on the team. The ensuing fight finally gives us a full look at the Ghost Devil – at great cost.

That being said, “Gunfire” gets its name from the violent trap Gun Devil unleashes against the Tokyo Devil Hunters. The Devil Hunters are gunned down in the street mob-style – including Denji, who is shot directly in the head by the grandson of the Yakuza boss he killed in the first episode. With the chainsaw down, Aki and Himeno are forced to fight; when Aki uses the Fox Devil to eat the marksman, she is horrified to discover that Denji is not one of his kind, as the Fox reveals that he is both human and devil—and neither. The man transforms into a bladed version of Denji’s chainsaw (“Katana Man”). Aki manages to take down Katana Man with a unique Curse Devil attack, but Katana Man’s partner (“Akane Sawatari”) uses a revival technique to bring Katana Man back, and in the second fight, the villain easily slashes Aki.

Chainsaw Man managed to communicate fairly quickly that Himeno was in love with Aki, even though Aki was in love with Makima. So as Aki stares death in the face, Himeno sacrifices herself to manifest the full power of the Ghost Devil!

Explaining the spirit of the devil with a chainsaw

The Ghost Devil – like many of Chainsaw Man’s creatures – is truly geeky in design. The Devil has the head of a ghostly woman with eyes and mouth that appear to be sewn onto her face; it has a neck of flowers, leading to an elongated body with many arms, like a centipede. The fact that this monstrous entity also operates invisibly explains why it is such a terrifying and powerful devil to bond with.

…Unfortunately, the Ghost Devil was not as powerful as Sawatari’s snake demon entity, which tore the head right off the Ghost Devil, probably destroying it and leaving Himeno lost in her clothes, a victim. Naturally, fans are now freaking out.