Roy Mustang vs Aki Hayakawa

Roy Mustang vs Aki Hayakawa is the ??? What-If? Death Battle by GoCommitDi, featuring Roy Mustang from Fullmetal Alchemist and Aki Hayakawa from Chainsaw Man.

Description

Fullmetal Alchemist vs Chainsaw Man!

Trivia

• The connections between Roy and Aki:
  • Both were massively affected a mass-casualty massacre that severely impacted the geopolitical foundations of their world (The Gun Devil's massacre and the Ishval Civil War). It was this event that birthed a deeply-held guilt (Roy at the Ishvalan deaths that came by his hand and Aki due to his inability to protect his little brother) and an iron-clad resolve to rectify the horror that this event represented. Both were also orphaned at a young age
  • Both are enrolled within a government institution (State Alchemist and Public Safety Devil Hunter) that deals heavily with the supernatural (but accepted and societally codified) aspects of their world. They are considered immensely talented and valuable within this organization, serving under a influential veteran superior (Captain Kishibe and Lieutenant General Grumman) and developing a surprisingly close, if professional rapport with the head of this organization (Makima and King Bradley).
  • They have contrasting personalities (Roy is outwardly cocky and shallow whereas Aki is brooding and callous), but with several key synchronicities in their characters. As a result of the trauma endured in their younger years, they emotionally guard themselves under a veil of cynicism and detachment. However, they truly care deeply for those that support them, to the point where they take up surrogate superior roles to those under their care (Roy seeing himself as a protector to his subordinates and Aki eventually seeing himself as a big brother figure to Power and Denji). Despite being outwardly composed (especially in comparison to the series protagonists), they do have something of a temper and there devotion to their allies has been exploited in the past (Aki offering anything Makima wants in exchange for Denji and Powers protection, and Roy nearly being driven to commit Human Transmutation in order to save Riza)
  • Both are wrapped up in battling against the conceptual supernatural beings that plague their world (Devils and The Homunculi), known for their regenerative capabilities and relationship to the negative emotions of humans (Devils feeding of the fear humans hold towards their associated concept and The Homunculi literally being born from the embodiment of the seven deadly sins). As a result of the people they have lost to these forces, both are ruthless in how they confront these targets and have explicitly stated an intent to torture them through a slow and painful death.
  • Both of their characters deal heavily with the theme of revenge and how it has consumed them (Roy with the murder of Hughes and Aki with the murder of his family and Himeno).
  • Both had an influential, intimate and trusted relationship with their workmate and dear friend (Maes Hughes and Himeno), who was relatively easy-going and upbeat in comparison to their stoicism. The death of this figure occurs early in the story and is spurred by the actions of a supernatural being (Envy and Katana Man), further igniting Roy/Aki's desire for revenge. They eventually get their hands on this being and brutally torture them (Aki kicking the shit out of Katana Man's nuts and Roy repeatedly incinerating Envy's eyes).
  • Tenured, dark-haired and sharp-eyed, they are the closest thing their Shonen series has to a "rival" character, though neither really embody this role beyond being a clear foil to the protagonist. Speaking of which, they are introduced as the more measured and talented counterpart to a boisterous blonde boy (Edward Elric and Denji) who was recruited into their organization after a near-death experience left them linked to a mythical supernatural figure (Truth and Chainsaw Man). Though they have butted heads with this boy on numerous occasions, they consider them a close ally and make it their duty to protect them after they become the targets of a foreign-born antagonist who can call upon destruction at their fingertips (Scar and Rize). They also keep the company of their more outwardly reserved partner (Riza Hawkeye and The Angel Devil), who was left scarred after their role in a mass-casualty event.
  • Both belong to a special organizational squad made up of their closest allies (The Mustang Unit and Tokyo Special Division 4), which is formed after both are re-stationed away from their original placements.
  • Both of their characters have the shared motif of eyes, future and fate, with both having been noted for their exceptional vision for the future and how it links to a supernatural being (Aki, after giving up his eye to the Future Devil, has the literal ability to see into the future, whereas Roy's vision for the future of Amestris is so strong, that Truth decided to take his eyesight after Human Transmutation). Similarly, both's eventual unfortunate outcomes were explicitly foreshadowed by supernatural beings (Lust remarking how she cannot wait until the day Roy's eyes are "wide with agony" and the Future Devil explicitly stating that Aki will perish in a cruel way).
  • Both eventually learn that the government they have been working for is compromised from the top-down, the center of this corruption being their leader (King Bradley and Makima), who has been hiding their secret conceptual title (The Control Devil and Wrath) and is associated with the presidential titles (Bradley is the explicit president of Amestris whereas Makima has a regenerative contract with the Prime Minister of Japan).
  • Both end up becoming a living conduit for the villains plans, being forcibly placed under the control of a supersaturate being (Roy being forced to meet Truth after Human Transmutation and Aki being made the Fiend of the Gun Devil). This event relates back to their motif of eyes (Roy loses his eyesight and Aki has the Gun Devil implanted over his eyes) and ironically mocks their core goal (Roy's vision for the future of Amestris is forcibly taken from him and Aki literally becomes the host for the being he swore revenge on).
  • Both are able to tap into their supernatural powers thanks to the their innate contracts (Roy's Gate of Truth and Aki's Devil Contracts) that allow them to the abilities of a supernatural figure (Truth and Aki's various Devils). They are both exceptionally skilled and dangerous in combat, and have even mutilated their own skin in order to use their abilities (Aki needing to sacrifice part of his flesh to the Fox Devil to use it and Roy carving a transmutation crest into his hand to fight Lust).
  • Both have military/combat motifs in the etymology of their name (Fujimoto claimed that Aki's name was derived from AK type of gun, whereas the surname "Mustang" is slang for a soldier with tenure in the battlefield).