Sakaki (Azumanga Daioh)
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| Name translations | |
|---|---|
| Chinese | Shén （神） |
| Chinese-to-English translation | God |
| Korean | I Tae-heui （이태희/李泰希） |
| Korean-to-English translation | Excellent-Entreaty of Plum |
Sakaki (榊 Sakaki?), a.k.a. "Miss Sakaki", "Sakaki-san", is a fictional character from the anime and manga series Azumanga Daioh.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
Tall and shy, Sakaki is uncomfortable with how others perceive her. Given a voluptuous body and thought of as the strong, silent type, her reticence is misinterpreted as "tough," "mysterious," or "cool." Although most of the characters admire her "coolness", she herself is envious of Chiyo due to the pigtailed prodigy's irresistible adorableness, while all others are oblivious to her love of cute things - e.g., knowing that Sakaki loves bears, Yomi buys her a can of bear stew, to Sakaki's great horror. She is the subject of Kaorin's anxious (and largely unspoken) affections.
Sakaki is a natural athlete, even though she's not particularly interested in sports. Rather, her secret passion is all things cute, especially stuffed animals (she likes to give them names, like a small child). She's also quite taken with cats, but can't have one at home because her mother is allergic. Unfortunately, cats hate her for some unknown reason, with one in particular, a gray cat known as Kamineko who delights in luring the naive Sakaki her near him so he can bite her. Kagura theorizes cats think her hand smells like fish. One subtitle in the original manga explains that the street cats suspect that Sakaki approaches them with murderous intent.
Because of her soft spot for cuteness, she is often seen with Chiyo and her Great Pyrenees (Mr. Tadakichi). She has a very strong desire for friendship as well, which led her to attach herself to the group and causes her to cherish memories such as the trips to Chiyo's Summer Home.
Later, after visiting Okinawa, she bonds with an Iriomote cat, the only cat in the entire series that would actually let her pet him. One theory could be that the cat formed a kinship with her in that they both have a similar deadpan facial expression. Later, after the cat's mother is run over and killed, he follows Sakaki to Tokyo, who adopts him and names him Mayaa.
In the anime, Osaka calls Sakaki "an American" because of her large bust. (In girls' locker room parlance, those with medium busts, such as Yomi, are referred to as "Hawaiian"; those with flat busts, such as Osaka or Tomo, are referred to as "Japanese.") Sakaki is unusually busty and tall for a Japanese girl her age. (In one episode her height is given as 174 cm or approximately 5'8" and "still growing," which is extraordinarily tall for a Japanese woman). In truth, Sakaki is self-conscious about her height and body. After Osaka made her comment, Tomo mentioned that it was hard to believe that Sakaki was in middle school only a year earlier and Sakaki was so embarrassed that she almost broke down crying.
Oddly, Sakaki occasionally has visions of a floating yellow cat-like creature that claims to be Chiyo's father.
In her senior year, Sakaki takes the examination to enter a veterinary college and is admitted. While initially concerned that the veterinary college was far away and would require her to get her own apartment, she warmed to the idea when she realized that this would allow her to have "her very own cat," Mayaa.
[edit] Trivia
- Like Kagura, Sakaki's given name goes unmentioned in both the anime and manga. Sakaki is Japanese for "evergreen tree", which is considered sacred within Shinto, and are often found on the grounds of shrines.
- In "Azumanga Web Daioh", Sakaki has a nonspeaking part. She looks for something from start to finish, and things shape up without her participation.
- Nonononn from Magical Play resembles Sakaki in that they share traits from the same character design of Kiyohiko Azuma, the manga's author.
- In a Christmas episode, the girls sing karaoke. Sakaki sings her character song, "Kokoro wa Shōjo de Parachute". Her beautiful singing voice surprises the other girls.
- She makes a cameo appearance as a philosopher who criticizes Quine in Classroom of Thesis; From the Report to the Graduation Thesis (論文の教室[レポートから卒論まで]?) by Kazuhisa Todayama. This book refers also to other Azumanga Daioh characters.
[edit] Voice actors
- Japanese
- Yuu Asakawa
- English
- Christine Auten
[edit] Character songs
- "The Heart Is A Girl's Parachute" Words by Aki Hata, music by Masumi Itō
- "The Day When We are able to Encounter a Magic Cat" Words by Aki Hata, music by Masumi Ito
