Hirokazu Arai is a character every series needs. He’s a breath of fresh air in the Devil hunting world, working under Makima‘s command alongside Kobeni. With his black suit and buzz-cut hair, he looks a bit like a bodyguard, as formal as it can get.
Personality-wise Arai is exactly how you would expect. He cares a lot about morals. In a scene where Himeno promises to kiss the Devil Hunter who killed the Devil on their mission, Arai gets flustered and later tells her a woman should wait til marriage for these kinds of stuff. But there’s more to him than just morals. Arai has a caring nature, always being there to help his friends. However, he is very envious of Denji and his skills as a Devil Hunter. After all, Arai is still young and insecure. How we all were once, or are now.
More of his caring personality is shown when he takes care of his mother after every drinking session of hers and even holds Denji’s hair whom he is not a fan of, to vomit easily. I just remembered how much Arai doesn’t like Denji. This dude was willing to trade poor Denji for a Devil. How funny is that?
Hirokazu Arai’s hobby ladies and gentlemen is writing or reciting Haiku, which is a Japanese short-form poetry. I mean, to be honest, he did seem like the type of guy who’s all tough on the outside but a little teddy bear inside.
Hirokazu Arai’s journey
Let’s begin the story of Arai. This guy was trained by Himeno for only 6 months before graduating from the Devil Hunting Academy (joking, there’s no such thing). In the Bat Devil arc, Arai is the one who saves Denji from the Leech Devil.
In the Eternity Devil arc, Arai begins questioning Aki and Denji and is in two minds about whether they can be trusted. He ends up trusting them after Aki reassures him. They kill what seems like a Devil and move further into the hotel but Arai notices a small detail- they’ve gone from the eighth floor to the ninth floor but the floor number still shows “Floor 8” which is suspicious. Arai goes down the stairs to check but he finds himself on the same floor again. Pretty scary right? Anyway, what’s funny to me is that Denji suggests everyone sleep because they’re trapped there anyway. Arai’s reaction is priceless. He asked Denji if he was stupid since they could be trapped there forever but Denji just didn’t care and went to sleep. The contrast in their personality and the fact that it bothers Arai so much is plain comedy for me.
In the Katana Man Arc Hirokazu was shot by an old woman in a plot created by the Gun Devil. Arai was hit in the neck but he still managed to shield Kobeni using his body and sacrifice his life to save her. This led to Kobeni successfully killing the attacker and being able to save Denji. It’s all because of our young Devil Hunter, Hirokazu Arai.
Hirokazu Arai had a life full of ups and downs. He was a well-respected Devil Hunter, sometimes a dandy poet, and more than all of that, a hero in their world. He would sometimes make fun of his friends especially Denji but he loved them with all his heart and had their back when no one else did. Even his name (Hirokazu) translates to “wild, rough, laid waste” (荒あら). Let’s have a round of applause for this legendary character.
Arai’s Abilities
I believe there are two kinds of people in this world, maybe three. The first kind is the ones who can easily learn and develop skills. The second kind might lack skill but they make up for it by the force in their body, the drive they have to achieve their goals, and the third kind are the combo of the first and second.
Hirokazu Arai fits the second kind. He has a strong willpower that helps him in hard times Along with the Fox Devil contract he made that allows him to summon a part of its body during fights in exchange for letting the Devil eat parts of his body.
So, that’s Hirokazu Arai in a nutshell. Hope you enjoyed this review and I’ll see you in the next one. Til then, sayonara folks!
