Have you ever seen that policeman who decides to join the mafia and do a complete 180 in his life? That’s Akane Sawatari for you, a former Devil hunter who decides to ally herself with the Gun Devil and work with Katana Man. Akane Sawatari aka the Snake Girl is all about the fun you can find in bad things. Her alias Snake Girl comes from the contract she made with the Snake Devil. do you wanna know more about her?
What’s Akane like?
Akane Sawatari is the kind of girl you’ll never forget even if you meet her once. Her blonde her with dark roots, her shining red eyes, the two-times oversized hoodie she hovers in, the aura she carries around her basically everything about her screams “REBEL”.
Akane is normally very calm and cool, but she does get panic attacks when important stuff happens, like seeing one of her subordinates die from Makima‘s attack. Her hands always being in her pocket adds to her charisma and mystery but the truth is that she hides her bloody fingers in order to hide her secret: Singing a contract with the Snake Devil.
Akane Sawatari’s journey
Is Akane’s life as fun as her choices? We’ll have to find out. The short answer is yes! One day she replaced Katana Man’s heart with the Katana Devil which turned him into a Hybrid. In the Katana Man’s arc when Aki defeats Katana Man Akane appears out of nowhere and starts complimenting him. Scary right? Aki questions who she is to which Akane doesn’t answer. She kneels down next to Katana man and starts bringing him back to life. When Katana Man stands up she orders him to kill Aki. I got the chills watching this scene. It’s like you don’t expect her to be this scary and demanding.
Later Himeno uses the power of Ghost Devil to defeat Katana Man again. Akane gets her hands dirty again by intervening and saving him using the Snake Devil. She brings Katana Man back to life again and this time when Denji comes to fight him she reminds him not to damage Denji’s heart for they are looking to take that home. She’s like the repairing team in Formula 1 when the cars visit the pit and every action is done in a matter of seconds.
The battle continues and at some point, all Akane’s subordinates except Katana man are crushed to death by Makima. This is where she starts to panic and tells Katana Man they should run away. At the same time, Kobeni appears and slays Akane as well as cuts Katana Man’s hands in order to borrow his gun and shoot him. Akane attempts to kill Kobeni but doesn’t succeed so she gets Katana Man and escapes the scene without the one thing they came for, Denji.
Sadly Akane’s life was bound to be over soon. In another attempt to steal Denji’s heart, Akane and her team engage in a battle with Special Division 4 using zombies from the deal they made with the Zombie Devil. Aki was like “Challenge accepted ma’am” and got out of the field killing almost all the zombies. He confronts Akane and is faced with the Ghost Devil her Snake Devil spits out. Despite the hard the Ghost Devil gives him, Aki decapitated him too due to Akane’s surprise. Aki holds a knife to her throat and the scene cuts to later when Makima is reporting to public safety on Akane. She tells them that Akane was killed by the Snake Devil which was likely due to a suicide clause in the contract she had signed with the Gun Devil. End of Akane’s Story.
What are Akane’s abilities?
Akane has some dope abilities thanks to her pal the Snake Devil. She can summon it anytime she wants and anywhere she pleases, by using these commands:
- “Tail” (尻尾 Shippo): Akane uses this ability against Kobeni Higashiyama when she summons the Snake Devil’s tail.
- “Swallow it whole” (丸飲み Marunomi): Honestly the name gives it away. Akane used this to summon the Snake Devil to fully eat the target, as seen in the scene with the Ghost Devil.
- “Spit it out” (吐き出し Hakidashi): This is the coolest one. So after being absorbed and eaten by the Snake Devil, whatever’s eaten is hers now, and she can restore and use it against enemies again. For example, after absorbing the Ghost Devil she can command the Snake Devil to spit it out and now the Ghost Devil with all its abilities is under Akane’s command. Did you get it? Tell me in the comments.
It’s important to note that all of these commands require hand movements so if her hands are tied or unable to move under any circumstances, Akane can’t use these abilities. Also, in exchange for each of these powers, Akane loses one fingernail. Hence her bloody hands that are always tucked in her hoodie pockets.
So that’s all you need to know about Akane Sawatari. Her name which translates into a mix of sky and river and everything in contrast with each other is like a mirror to her soul, her paradoxical personality. I hope you enjoyed getting to know her more as I did too. Bye!
