Half-Masked

A lot of Azumanga Daioh tends to devote time to the mass of these characters enjoying festivals or competing in gym class, which unfortunately left less time to explore some of the cast personally. But I was happy to see the show throw Sakaki a bone when they all go to Okinawa. The cats where the girls live have this strange tendency to bite her hand comically. Despite this, they go and look for the famed “mountain-cats” in Okinawa. Kagura makes a joke that all she has to do is extend her hand, and a cat will pop out, somewhere, to chow down on it.

Sakaki entertains this idea. She stretches her arm out, and she stands still. The camera does not move, only ambience. It goes on like this. It went on long enough that I kept bouncing back and forth between thinking a cat would show up or not. It gave me time to try and guess the episode’s next move, like it’s a game of chess or something. This show has mastered the art of comedic timing, and introduces a couple of new tricks.

Eventually, one of the famed mountain cats emerges from the brush and actually lets her pet and cuddle it. This is probably the first time in her life that she’s been allowed to show affection for one of these things without it trying to attack/eat her. And it’s a sad farewell when they have to leave, because she certainly can’t take it home to the allergies of her parents, and the cat is an endangered species, a “living monument”, so it probably wouldn’t even be legal to keep. This experience, and those that follow, move the character forward in a way that is long deserved. It’s not too little or too late, but I still think they could have done this sooner in the show.

Especially for Sakaki, who is normally trodded out on display, sometimes for several episodes in a row, without really gaining anything for it. This was something new, something unexpected. Prior to that, all we get from her are the same fan-demanded routines. I do like this character, but it feels like the show is trying too hard to force that on me. She’s the Elmo of Azumanga Daioh.

While her insecurity with her looks and wanting of feline companionship did reach me, somewhat, I couldn’t help but thinking that she needed a swift kick in the bum, and just be happy that she looks and thinks and acts the way she does. Far be it for me to complain that someone else who had it pretty good in their teens, someone privileged in mind and body, is still somehow mopey and depressed. A lot of people are driven to frustrating sorrow over that missing piece. But I still kept saying: “What is there to be depressed about???” She has a nice home, has great friends, goes to a good school, and demonstrates a quiet intelligence and compassion not often encountered in the modern world. She has security, companionship, and on top of all that, she looks fantastic, and yet she is still rent.

Is it just the hormonal explosion of her teenage years? Does she really hate how she looks that much? I know she didn’t ASK to look like that, but I think she should be learning to just roll with it by that point in her life. Is a cat really that important a goal for her? Well, if I hadn’t seen just how utterly, purely happy this otherwise stoic, stone-faced woman becomes in the company of her mountain-kitty, I’d have assumed it was more a goal of bitter rebelliousness against her mother. But that wouldn’t explain the self-image issues.

Why are people possessing of such worth so ready to doubt it? I’m glad she finds what she’s looking for(spoiler-alert?), but all in all, I can’t help but wonder if she was being a little too emotional about it. Cats are nice, but I think if she’s that torn to pieces over it, maybe that’s not where the deepest wound lies. Or maybe there is no wound, but a howling emptiness? In spite of all she has, she doesn’t think she’s complete enough, not until she’s made a four-legged acquaintance.

There’s a Cracked.com article titled “5 Things You Think Will Make You Happy (But Won’t)”, and it theorizes true happiness can only come from cute things. Maybe Sakaki’s self-inflicted misery makes a bit of sense after all? This might also explain why I enjoy this program to the extent that I do.

I’m gonna go toss a toy mouse to my two kittens now.

END OF LINE

~A.H.