Hiro Sawashiro

### Personality

Leaderly, phlegmatic, supine, loyal, scheming, sweet, absent-minded, clumsy (at times), serious, respectful, cruel, sadistic, strong-willed, athletic, brave, brotherly,

### Appearance

Slender, tall, lean muscled, fairly pale skin, red hair, red eyes, red cat ears, black sleeveless jumpsuit with white linings, maroon gloves with light gray cuffs, black boots

### Occupation

Co-leader of the devil team
Head servant of the Ishikawa family

### Home

Ishikawa Mansion, Mysteria (formerly)
Akuma’s Castle, Akuryo

### Allies

The Ishikawa family, Reijin Seishin, Mayoko, Kumiko Hojo, Hiroyuki Watanabe, Miyu Oikawa, Raqu Tomochika, Aku Kuro, other resurrected curse victims

### Likes

Chaos, the Ishikawa triplets, serving Chizue, the idea of a war, taking certain orders, Hiroyuki,

### Status

Dead

**Hiro Sawashiro** (born **Zenaku**) is one of the main antagonists and one of the most frequently appearing characters in the anime series *Devil Beats!*, and also a minor villain in its sequel series *Devil Beats!: New Life*.

## Personality

Since he has leadership skills and always takes care of the devil world, Hiro seems to be rather scheming on the outside, but also sweet inside when he is fond of serving Chizue, whom he hypnotizes with his demonic magic. Upon the audience’s first encounter, he seems to not only be sweet, but also absent-minded; however, he is a nihilist who fulfills the role of a major antagonist working as the top-ranked servant of the Ishikawa family and Chizue’s right hand man. He takes care of almost everything ranging from helping the move to their new mansion to digging up coffins containing newborn akuma. He hides a very cruel and sadistic personality to the public, but he is not without humanity as he has great respect and admiration for Chizue and her triplets despite being more powerful than her and the rest of the akuma. He didn’t show any signs of fear when he knew he was going to die. He strongly disliked and absolutely didn’t trust or want to keep Satoshi alive at one point despite what Chizue ordered and regretted listening to her orders about not killing him before being caught by the survivors and victims’ parents and families near the end of the anime.

In New Life, Hiro, having been re-resurrected by the Bloodstone Gang, acts very brotherly to Hiroyuki, despite him actually kissing the latter during their first encounter after he tied Akari in the portal’s location. He

## Appearance

Sawashiro is thirty years old, he has fairly pale skin, red hair, red eyes, and red cat ears. He wears a black jumpsuit with white linings, maroon gloves with light gray cuffs, and black boots.

In later episodes, he wears a dark blue shirt, black pants, and dark gray boots with lighter soles.

In New Life, he wears a dark gray jacket with deeper and red linings, a burgundy shirt, black pants, and dark gray shoes with white soles and laces,

In some episodes of New Life, his hair and cat ears are purple and his eyes are fuchsia, he wears a light purple jacket with a white shirt underneath, light purple pants, and dark gray boots.

## Role in the series

Hiro made his first appearance in First Curse. He is first seen awakening from his grave and examining his surroundings only to see a bright light coming from Aku Kuro, who introduces himself and tells him that he used to be the master of the devil world before his death. Aku then tells him about the Ishikawa triplets and their personalities, and In Third Resurrection, he meets and introduces himself to the newly resurrected Kumiko when she wakes up in her coffin to welcome her to the akuma side, as she was the first to join them. When she asks him to help her curse her sisters and her friends, he agrees to help her as her first task is to help dig up more coffins, the Yamaguchi brothers and a still living Hiroyuki witnessing her catching up to him (Hiro) from afar.

In Sixth Memory, Hiro has every resurrected curse victim so far gathered before him to tell him of what happened to them before they died and rose as akuma, with Kumiko angrily telling him that her cronies had been getting worried about her lately. Hiro assures her that being an akuma won’t be that bad, something she soon starts finding confidence in, so after being informed that her friends had been bitten, he assigns her to resurrect them too. In Seventh Casualty, Hiro is seen with Miyu and two other akuma beside the kidnapped Daichi, who is seen tied on a couch. He asks Miyu of what missions she would like to take next, to which she responds by looking for her mother in law Seijun to bite her. He then goes off to look for some black blood to inject into the captive Daichi only for Erena, Mori, Hayoto, and Tenjin to rescue her immediately. In Eighth Prayer, he confronts Dr. Maeda to capture Seijun and take her to be bitten by Miyu. In Ninth Thought, Hiro, smelling decomposition from her recently late father in law Mokusei, tells her that he won’t rise. In Tenth Reunion, Hiro informs Chizue and Seishin that her classmates had known her and her triplets’ secrets while the two are having tea and biscuits, causing her to break down crying.

In Twenty-First Escape, Hiro and other akuma watch in shock as Kumiko is brutally killed in an electric chair set up by the villagers and the remaining police officers. When a tween akuma girl asks him if he will be caught too, he assures her that he is a tamashii and that he won’t be killed easily which is proven wrong in The Final Countdown, where he is found by the survivors and the victims’ families who tie him to a stake and fire enough arrows to kill him.

### New Life

Hiro made his first appearance in the sequel in Tenth Origin. He is first seen when the re-resurrected Hiroyuki approaches him as he is leaving the kidnapped Akari in the location of the portal to Akuryo after he tied her. He tells the akuma boy that the Bloodstone Gang had re-resurrected him in the area where the survivors and the victims’ parents killed him, and that he has the four to thank for that. However, Hiro kisses him, causing him to vomit, before they set out to look for materials that will open the portal as a part of a plan to get her taken inside to be brainwashed by Akuma, only for Masayo, Sachiko, and Ria to rescue her afterward.

In Twelfth Capture, Hiro and Hiroyuki, the latter complaining about his failure to bring Akari to their side, come up with the idea to kidnap any of the girls who are present in the search for the cure to the anemia curse and the portal to Akuryo. He sends Hiroyuki to try to do so only for the latter to be knocked out by Binya, forcing him to retreat. His real name was revealed to be Zenaku in Fifteenth Funeral when Ketsusei mentioned him during her interrogation by Homura and Atsumi. Hiro can also be seen in a non-speaking appearance in Sixteenth Sigh of Relief during the Hojo twins, the Tsukumo sisters, and the Gogoiru Warriors’ infiltration mission for the cauldron from the sorcery room in Akuma’s castle, and can be seen being knocked out by Youkai.

In Seventeenth Moonlight, he and Hiroyuki have fun with the former’s idea to conjure an undead army and sending them to go after our heroes, who successfully defeats the horde with their powers and weapons, and even Binya’s help despite the fact that some of the zombies were killed by the Hojo twins and the Gogoiru Warriors using their powers. In Nineteenth Survival, he informs Mika, the Bloodstone Gang, and the Slaughter Sisters about Hiroyuki’s defeat in the hands of Masayo, and can also be seen in Akuma’s meeting. He joined the final battle in the end of Twentieth Confession and met his end there in Twenty-First Purity where he was finally killed by Haru while convincing her and Chizue to return to him, Chizue dismissing him once he drew his last breath.

## Trivia

* He is not only an *akuma*, but also a *tamashii* or a *jinrou*.
* His real name, which means “evil” in Japanese, was revealed in Fifteenth Funeral.