Sarazanmai 8 Analysis
So this episode was a rapid fire succession of plot progression, culminating in a painful and complex scene that left me shaken.
I have spent the last day trying to decide if I loved or hated this episode (mostly because Enta is my #1). I think in the end I have settled that this may be the best episode of the show. Let me explain, the show follows two thematic groups: 1) Connections and the complexities that come in dealing with/without them. 2) The boundary between desire and love , in particular in how they affect actions and affect connections. My thesis is that this episode pushed the exploration of both themes in all 5 main characters/antagonists and in doing so finally showed us what their flaws truly are. Here is the breakdown:
Reo+Mabu: We have known that Reo is living with the desire for recovering his lost "true" Mabu, while Robo Mabu Is trying to show that he can love Reo. This episode reinforces their status by showing Mabu giving Reo baked goods, a show of love, which Reo finds again to be insufficient for him. The climax of their characterization is that wether love or desire, they are willing to go to the extremes of murdering in cold blood for it. We see this in two cases in the episode. Yet most importantly while Reo is completely without regret, we see that Mabu,who should be emotionless, actually tells Kazuki to seek help. These characters are tragic, but now we can see the full extent of how their tragic situation has left them. Desire or Love? Now we can take that gun and aim it at them and make our judgement. They have been corrupted in their search for either. Ultimately I believe their fate is tied to wether if they can overcome this corruption.
Toi: From an audience point of view, up to this point has had a hole in motivation. He appears to be willing to do things that have no apparent value for his quest to save his brother. He goes and kidnaps Sara, he wants to play soccer, he talks and listens to Enta. In this episode we can finally piece him together: He can connect, He knows he can connect, but his connection with his Brother trumps his desire to connect with others. Toi cares for Kazuki and Enta but he can't let go of his brother. Ultimately his character is a study in conflict, we see that for now he has decided to stick with his brother. I think in the end he has to realize that his brother is not the same guy who used to make Soba, he is a bad influence. I don't know how the show will resolve his internal conflict but I find it compelling! We don't know enough about his brother to know exactly wether even with his pardon from the dishes he would not eventually do something that puts him and his connection with Toi in peril. Toi may be a tale of when we should disconnect and for what reasons
Enta: So I am not going to excuse his actions, he has been driven by jealousy and acted accordingly. Enta is a guy who is capable of connecting (Harukka, Toi, Toi's brother), but he has only one connection that he longs for and that is Kazuki, as a result he neglects all other connections anytime there's a conflict. He is also afraid of putting himself out there and tell his feelings due to the risk it entails, and yet he's also willing to prevent others from getting close to Kazu. This episode finally got Enta to tackle one of his two issues, his wish for Kazuki's connection to be exclusive. See when Enta learns of the ankle bracelet Toi gave Kazu, he realizes Toi has as much a claim to Kazu as he does , more even, destroying the foundation of his obsession with Kazu. He is shaken because he now realizes that Toi is in a situation not unlike himself, where Kazu fails to acknowledge their connection fully. He finally casts aside his jealousy and rushes to Kazu to save BOTH of their connections with Kuji! It is here where he is slain. I actually cried at this realization, because this is his big step and its rendered powerless by both Kazu's reaction and Reo's action. Now we don't know if he will ever get a chance to tackle his second flaw: His fear of confessing to Kazu and jeopardize his connection and his conformity with him. I hope we get to see it because otherwise his arc would not be complete.
Kazuki: So my opinion of this man has been a roller fing coaster. First loved him and rooted for him, then hated him, then proceed to be puzzled, and now I'm actively upset at Kazu. I have been really confused ever since he and Harukka made up. He appeared to be changed and good, but him just saying let's play soccer after everything that had happened without any reflection on his part left me unfulfilled. See, he never addressed Enta's revelation, and he never apologizes to Toi for making him kidnap Sara. I think now I understand why he left me uneasy. After this episode we can finally see that Kazu's problem is that he is loved, and he takes this for granted. He deals with his connections in a one directional way: Harukka gets hurt so he decides to connect as fake Sara on his terms, His best friend confesses his love via creepy shit and he ignores it or passes it as a joke, He has Toi's Micanga but doesn't even realize that's the reason Toi is connected with him and just accepts he's willing to do what he wants him to do. In this episode this is highlited by seing Enta furious because he finally realizes this about Kazu, We see Kazu fail to realize how Toi is connected with him and loses him, and finally the one person who loves him above anything dies in his arms without ever even asking or wondering why he would do such a thing. This is Kazuki's real trial ahead, he has to face that Harukka was not an exemption to how he deals with his connections but the rule. Now, having lost everything, he will have to fight to reconnect and he won't be able to do it on his own terms or call on those he takes for granted. He will have to realize how selfish he has been and have to be fully selfless to build connections that will flourish.
I think seeing each character finally expose the true nature of their faults, and give them all a high toll to pay for them is what makes this episode so powerful. My main hope is that the show does not fall into some silly "and he never got to fix it because sometimes there's nothing that can be done or life just never gives you a chance to fix it" pessimistic endgame. I think such an outlook undermines the themes of connection, desire, and love. We will all experience failures to connect , to achieve desires without being corrupted, and to find and give pure love. Making a tragedy of it gives us nothing that we don't know ourselves as human beings. No, the real test for the audience here is to take us to the darkness and give us a path to the light that asks us to change who we are at fundamental levels, requiring that we tackle our deepply flawed selves. If we are left with darkness we will learn nothing from the show that challenges our perceptions, we will fill potty for these characters and forget their struggles. Only we can define how we connect, what we desire , and who and how we love, figuring out how we do all three requires growth, introspection, suffering, and experimentation. I hope Ikuhara can give us an ending that can drive that home because many of us never get to do the soul-searching needed to achieve the best version of ourselves.
