Ghost Devil in Chainsaw Man is a devil who embodies the fear of ghosts and serves as the contracted devil of the Public Safety devil hunter Himeno. The Ghost Devil lends Himeno an invisible, intangible right arm in exchange for the right eye of Himeno, and the Ghost Devil later consumes the entire body of Himeno in exchange for the full power of the Ghost Devil. According to Shueisha, Tatsuki Fujimoto wrote and illustrated Chainsaw Man.
The table below records 15 core attributes of the Ghost Devil, with each attribute in the first column and the value of the attribute in the second column.
| Detail | Info |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Ghost Devil (幽霊の悪魔, Yūrei no Akuma) |
| Also Known As | Ghost; the devil Himeno contracted |
| Species | Devil |
| Concept Embodied | Ghosts; the fear of ghosts, known as phasmophobia, associated with the fear of the dark |
| Contractor | Himeno (right eye for the right arm; later her entire body for the full body); later Akane Sawatari |
| Debut | Chapter 15, “Endless 8th Floor” |
| Full Body Summon | Chapter 25, “Ghost, Snake, Chainsaw” |
| Death | Chapter 35, “Minor”, decapitated by Aki Hayakawa |
| Abilities | Invisibility, selective intangibility, fear perception, many-armed strength, devil contracts |
| Weakness | Fear perception fails against a person who feels no fear; special weapons and other devils can strike the Ghost Devil |
| Voice Actor (EN) | Brandi Price |
| Popularity Polls | 33rd place in the First Popularity Poll with 413 votes; 42nd place in the Second Popularity Poll with 646 votes; 69th place in the Third Popularity Poll with 366 votes |
| Anime Debut | Season 1, episode 5, “Gun Devil” |
| Anime Death | Season 1, episode 12, “Katana vs. Chainsaw” |
| Status | Deceased; killed by Aki Hayakawa in Chapter 35 |
Spoiler warning: This guide covers the complete story of the Ghost Devil, including the death of Himeno in Chapter 25 and the death of the Ghost Devil at the hands of Aki Hayakawa in Chapter 35.
Who Is the Ghost Devil?
The Ghost Devil is a devil who embodies the concept of ghosts and draws power from the human fear of ghosts. The Ghost Devil belongs to the devils of Part 1 of Chainsaw Man, and the Ghost Devil appears in the Eternity Devil Arc and the Katana Man Arc. The Ghost Devil shapes two of the most emotional deaths of Part 1 through the contract with Himeno.
The Ghost Devil matters because the Ghost Devil defines the fighting style of Himeno and the death of Himeno. Himeno fights through the invisible arm of the Ghost Devil, and Himeno dies by trading her entire body for the full body of the Ghost Devil. The Ghost Devil then turns against Aki Hayakawa under a new contractor, and the Ghost Devil spares Aki in the final moment through the lingering bond with Himeno.
What Does the Ghost Devil Look Like?
The Ghost Devil looks like a large devil with a cylindrical body, a torso covered in white flowers, and several arms instead of legs. The flowers carry yellow or pink centers in the manga, and the flowers appear pink on the outside and blue on the inside in the anime. The skin of the Ghost Devil carries a grey hue in the coloured manga.
The head of the Ghost Devil appears old and desiccated, with long dark wavy hair and sunken cheeks. The eyes of the Ghost Devil are sewn shut, and the mouth of the Ghost Devil is sewn shut. The sewn eyes explain the most important trait of the Ghost Devil, because the Ghost Devil perceives the world through fear rather than through sight.
The many arms of the Ghost Devil grow from the torso in place of legs, and the arms serve as weapons, restraints, and the link between the Ghost Devil and the contractors of the Ghost Devil.
What Is the Ghost Devil’s Personality?
The personality of the Ghost Devil remains largely unknown, and the Ghost Devil shows fear, eagerness, and a lingering attachment to Himeno. The Ghost Devil refuses at first to fight Katana Man, because the Ghost Devil fears Akane Sawatari. The Ghost Devil changes position at once when Himeno offers her entire body, and the Ghost Devil smiles eagerly and accepts the bargain.
The Ghost Devil shows residual sentiment for Himeno during the final confrontation with Aki Hayakawa. The Ghost Devil carries the cigarettes of Aki for years after the death of Himeno, and the Ghost Devil offers one cigarette to Aki at the moment when the Ghost Devil holds the life of Aki in the hands of the Ghost Devil. The gesture saves Aki, and the gesture reveals that the bond with Himeno survived inside the Ghost Devil.
What Are the Ghost Devil’s Powers and Abilities?
The Ghost Devil possesses 5 main powers and abilities: invisibility, selective intangibility, fear perception, many-armed strength, and the standard devil power to form contracts. The Ghost Devil holds all of the standard devil abilities, including the ability to make contracts with humans for a price.
Invisibility: The Ghost Devil turns invisible, and the invisibility extends to the arm lent to a contractor. Himeno grabs the Eternity Devil with the arm of the Ghost Devil without any observer seeing the arm. Enemies cannot track the strikes of the Ghost Devil by sight.
Selective intangibility: The body of the Ghost Devil resists touch from others, and the intangibility follows the same ghost logic as the invisibility. Power cannot touch the arm of the Ghost Devil during the confrontation with Himeno, and Power surrenders after the arm of the Ghost Devil chokes Power into submission. Special weapons can cut the Ghost Devil, and other devils can attack the Ghost Devil.
Fear perception: The Ghost Devil perceives through fear instead of sight, because the eyes of the Ghost Devil are sewn shut. The Ghost Devil senses a target through the fear of the target. The perception carries a fatal flaw, because the Ghost Devil cannot sense a person who feels no fear, and Aki Hayakawa exploits the flaw to kill the Ghost Devil.
Many-armed strength: The Ghost Devil strikes with great physical strength through the numerous arms of the Ghost Devil. A single limb of the Ghost Devil hits Aki Hayakawa hard enough to make Aki drop the sword of Aki, and the Ghost Devil lifts Aki into the air by the neck of Aki to choke Aki.
Devil contracts: The Ghost Devil forms contracts with humans for a price, like every devil in Chainsaw Man. The known contracts of the Ghost Devil run to Himeno first and to Akane Sawatari second, and each contract trades a body part or a body for a matching share of the power of the Ghost Devil. Readers can learn the rules of such bargains in the guide to how contracts work in Chainsaw Man.
How Does the Ghost Devil’s Contract With Himeno Work?
The contract between the Ghost Devil and Himeno works as an exchange of the right eye of Himeno for control of the right arm of the Ghost Devil. The Ghost Devil consumes the right eye of Himeno, and Himeno gains the power to summon and control the right arm of the Ghost Devil. The arm stays with Himeno at all times, and Himeno directs the arm by moving her own right arm, which the ghost arm mimics.
The Ghost Devil communicates with Himeno through the right arm by forming a mouth on the arm. Himeno speaks with the Ghost Devil through the mouth, and Himeno negotiates with the Ghost Devil through the mouth during battle.
What Happens to the Ghost Devil in the Eternity Devil Arc?
The Ghost Devil debuts in the Eternity Devil Arc as the weapon Himeno uses inside the hotel trapped by the Eternity Devil. Himeno first reveals the contract in Chapter 15, “Endless 8th Floor”, and Himeno uses the arm of the Ghost Devil to grab the Eternity Devil in midair so that Power can slice the Eternity Devil to pieces. The Eternity Devil Arc runs through the guide to Chainsaw Man arcs in order.
Himeno uses the arm of the Ghost Devil against her own allies twice inside the hotel. Power threatens Kobeni Higashiyama to test Himeno, and Himeno chokes Power into submission with the arm of the Ghost Devil. Himeno restrains Aki Hayakawa with the arm of the Ghost Devil when Aki suggests using the sword of Aki against the Eternity Devil.
Himeno tries to finish the Eternity Devil with the arm of the Ghost Devil by gouging chunks from the body of the Eternity Devil, and the attempt fails after the Eternity Devil grows in size. Denji battles the Eternity Devil in transformed state and nears defeat, and Himeno intervenes with the arm of the Ghost Devil to pull the cord of Denji and trigger the regeneration of Denji.
What Happens to the Ghost Devil in the Katana Man Arc?
The Ghost Devil returns in full in the Katana Man Arc as the final weapon of Himeno against Katana Man and Akane Sawatari. Katana Man slashes Aki Hayakawa, and Himeno asks the Ghost Devil for assistance against Katana Man. The Ghost Devil refuses, because the Ghost Devil considers Akane Sawatari too scary to face.
Himeno answers the refusal by offering her entire body to the Ghost Devil in exchange for all of the power of the Ghost Devil. The Ghost Devil smiles eagerly and agrees to the bargain, and Himeno summons the full body of the Ghost Devil in Chapter 25, “Ghost, Snake, Chainsaw”. The Ghost Devil overwhelms Katana Man with the many arms of the Ghost Devil, and Katana Man calls for the help of Akane.
Akane summons the Snake Devil to swallow the Ghost Devil, and the Snake Devil seemingly decapitates the Ghost Devil while the body of Himeno vanishes. Himeno leaves only her clothes behind, and a hand of the Ghost Devil reaches out in the final moment to pull the cord of Denji so that Denji can fight in the place of Himeno.
How Does the Ghost Devil Die?
The Ghost Devil dies in Chapter 35, “Minor”, when Aki Hayakawa decapitates the Ghost Devil with a sword. The death follows the raid on the hideout of the terrorists, where Aki confronts Akane Sawatari and orders Akane to surrender. Akane refuses, and Akane commands the Snake Devil to spit out the Ghost Devil, which now serves Akane as a subservient devil.
The Ghost Devil attacks Aki with the many arms of the Ghost Devil, and Aki uses the future sight gained from the Future Devil to evade the strikes and cut off several arms of the Ghost Devil. The number of attacks overwhelms Aki, and the Ghost Devil catches Aki and begins to squeeze the life from Aki at the command of Akane. The Ghost Devil then drops Aki to the ground instead of finishing the kill.
The Ghost Devil offers Aki a cigarette marked with the words “Easy revenge”, the phrase tied to Himeno and to the promise between Himeno and Aki. Aki remembers the conversation with Himeno in which Himeno told Aki that the Ghost Devil senses only fear, and Aki stops feeling afraid. Aki climbs the body of the Ghost Devil unseen by the fear perception of the Ghost Devil, and Aki decapitates the Ghost Devil with a single blow of the sword.
The death of the Ghost Devil closes the story of the Ghost Devil in the manga, and the death of the Ghost Devil frees Aki from the last weapon of Akane in that raid. The Ghost Devil appears in the anime in episode 5 and dies in episode 12, “Katana vs. Chainsaw”, mirroring the manga arc.
Ghost Devil’s Relationships With Other Characters
Himeno: Himeno is the first contractor of the Ghost Devil and the most important relationship of the Ghost Devil. Himeno trades her right eye for the right arm of the Ghost Devil, and Himeno later trades her entire body for the full body of the Ghost Devil. The Ghost Devil fears Akane more than the Ghost Devil values Himeno at first, and the Ghost Devil accepts the full bargain with eager delight once Himeno offers everything.
The bond between Himeno and the Ghost Devil survives the death of Himeno. The Ghost Devil carries the cigarettes of Aki for years, and the Ghost Devil offers the cigarette marked “Easy revenge” to Aki instead of killing Aki.
Aki Hayakawa: Aki Hayakawa is the partner of Himeno, the student of the lesson about fear, and the killer of the Ghost Devil. Aki learns from Himeno that the Ghost Devil senses only fear, and Aki uses the lesson to climb the Ghost Devil without detection. Aki decapitates the Ghost Devil in Chapter 35, and the death of the Ghost Devil avenges Himeno in part while closing the service of the Ghost Devil to Akane.
Akane Sawatari: Akane Sawatari is the second contractor of the Ghost Devil and the figure the Ghost Devil fears. The Ghost Devil refuses to fight Katana Man because Akane frightens the Ghost Devil, and the Snake Devil of Akane swallows the Ghost Devil after the full summon of Himeno. Akane later commands the Ghost Devil against Aki, and the Ghost Devil obeys Akane until the lingering bond with Himeno interrupts the kill.
Denji: Denji is the ally the Ghost Devil saves twice through the hand of Himeno. Himeno pulls the cord of Denji with the arm of the Ghost Devil during the Eternity Devil fight, and a hand of the Ghost Devil pulls the cord of Denji again after the body of Himeno vanishes in Chapter 25. Denji fights on in the place of Himeno, and the Ghost Devil enables the survival of Denji at the two turning points of the early story.
Power: Power is the ally whom Himeno disciplines with the arm of the Ghost Devil inside the hotel. Power threatens Kobeni Higashiyama, and Himeno chokes Power into submission with the invisible arm. Power cannot touch the arm of the Ghost Devil, and Power surrenders.
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Summary of Ghost Devil in Chainsaw Man
Ghost Devil in Chainsaw Man begins as the contracted devil of Himeno, a large devil with a flower-covered torso, many arms instead of legs, and eyes and mouth sewn shut, trading an invisible, intangible right arm for the right eye of Himeno.
The Ghost Devil serves Himeno inside the hotel of the Eternity Devil Arc, grabbing the Eternity Devil unseen, choking Power into submission, restraining Aki, and pulling the cord of Denji to trigger the regeneration of Denji.
Himeno trades her entire body for the full body of the Ghost Devil in Chapter 25, and the Ghost Devil overwhelms Katana Man until Akane Sawatari intervenes with the Snake Devil, which swallows the Ghost Devil while the body of Himeno vanishes and leaves only her clothes behind.
The Ghost Devil returns under Akane during the raid on the terrorist hideout, catches Aki Hayakawa with the many arms of the Ghost Devil, and spares Aki by offering the cigarette marked “Easy revenge” instead of finishing the kill.
Aki remembers the lesson of Himeno that the Ghost Devil senses only fear, calms himself, climbs the body of the Ghost Devil undetected, and decapitates the Ghost Devil in Chapter 35, ending the story of a devil defined by invisibility, intangibility, fear perception, and loyalty to Himeno beyond death.
