Sakurako-san no Ashimoto ni wa Shitai ga Umatteiru – 08
*music plays* Now I ain’t sayin she’s a gravedigger~
Awww, this episode was pretty cute. From Shoutarou building a cat skeleton with Sakurako, to the beautiful lighting present throughout, to just seeing Hector be a cute fluffball lounging in the corner. What a nice little mystery! …about human bones. Err, I still think it’s cute though…
YOU’RE NEXT, HECTOR!
I really liked the way Shoutarou dealt with his personal issues involving Sakurako and cat bones. He learned something about her that made him extremely uncomfortable, and instead of forcing his opinion on her, he took the time to try and understand her side of the story. Obviously, this was hard at first, as he could barely hide his disapproval at her actions. It was really sweet that even though it bothered him so much at first that he gave her the benefit of the doubt and decided to try and be non-judgmental of her hobbies. That’s something a true friend does. They love even the weird side of you.
It was adorable how the episode ended with Shoutarou giving his own detective-like reasoning for Sakurako’s behavior, and then casually offering to build a cat skeleton with her. What makes the whole effort Shoutarou went through really meaningful is Sakurako’s reaction. This wasn’t a one-sided thing. She honestly was bothered that her actions were frowned down upon, and was made to feel guilty for the way she felt was the most natural to grieve for her deceased pets. It was tough for her. But Shoutarou was sensitive enough to pick up on it and make things right in the end. Who will miss a dead cat skeleton that belonged to Sakurako in the first place, anyways? Everything is made right in the end as all the bones are returned to their rightful owners and everyone is happy. Awwww.
Foot fetishes save the day once again
As with the usual pattern of the show, the mystery of the bones in the science room mirrors the clash that Shoutarou has with Sakurako. It is also about people keeping bones to remember those they loved. It’s an interesting and heartfelt little mystery in itself, but the true purpose is to help Shoutarou understand Sakurako better. Once Shoutarou sees other people be this deeply sentimental about bones, he realizes that maybe this kind of behaviour isn’t that odd in the grand scheme of things. It’s not like she’s killing people and then harvesting their bones! I mean, okay, I’m still not entirely sold that going out of your way to dig up the bones of a dead infant and stuffing them in a music box isn’t really fucking creepy. But that’s the kind of thing that isn’t really hurting anybody so you just let those types of people do what makes them feel better. I’ve never had anyone important in my family die so who am I to judge their gravedigging?
The funny thing is, Shoutarou simply can’t ignore this bone-hoarding behaviour. The whole concept eats at him constantly as it goes against his morals. While I would have just shrugged it off as Sakurako being Sakurako, he turns it into a whole quest to understand this category of people who find having dead people’s remains on hand as sweet and touching.
I liked the way the story was told in three different ways: the old lady’s lie, the truth, and what the teacher believed to be the truth. All those complications lead to very different interpretations of the same facts. Which basically was a giant allegory for Shoutarou telling him to not be so quick to judge when you may not fully understand the circumstances or reasoning behind something. Shoutarou may be a bit of a dull character, but his overly conscientious personality makes him the perfect match for Sakurako as he tries to accommodate to her weirdness. He needs to work on not shouting at her when she’s doing important investigative work by asking suspects important questions though. Sometimes you’ve gotta ask tough questions to get tough answers!
All in all, I really like where their relationship is going. Shoutarou is getting Sakurako to open up a lot more and talk about her more human side (although she loathes to admit she harbours such sentiments). However, there is a bit of a dark cloud looming overhead as her uncle warns her to not get “too deep” in something. My guess is it’s either a dangerous mystery involving this butterfly fedora dude or that Shoutarou himself is part of a larger mystery. Could it be she only hung out with him at first because he was the key to solving an important case? Either way, things might start to get more intense now. There’s usually a storm after the calm.
Maybe Shoutarou will go back and dig up the cat he buried in episode one to please her now
About Overcooled
A neuroscience graduate, black belt, and all-around nerd. You'll either find me in my lab or curled up in my rilakkuma kigurumi watching anime.
POWUH: Meta Team and Spammy Tamer with 7115 comments
I don’t know if I really thought the best of Sakurako going after the old lady in what felt like an accusatory manner. But it’s also something that feels like knowing the truth doesn’t hurt anyone anymore.
Other than that, tho, I thought it was a great episode. And it made me realize how much I’d like to see more of Shizuka Itou in lead roles.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
Sometimes I really like there being a rude character who just blurts stuff out because it gets mysteries solved quicker. But yeah, Sakurako certainly could have worded things more nicely when she handed her the music box.
I didn’t notice the seiyuu, but I did notice that this episode looked realllly pretty (as do the other ones).
POWUH: and Vampire Lover with 11746 comments
I’d say this was most relaxing episode of the show so far and a few personal issues got put to rest. I really like how Sakurako is self-aware, saying she’s acting like an emotional human being. An undeniable fact she’s not the type to willingly socialize.
The difficult part was trying to keep with Sakurako’s facts she brought up while questioning the wheelchair-bound elderly woman. Since she forged her backstory with the roles of her and her caregiver friend reversed, it started to get confusing as Sakurako uncovered the truth. Especially as the reveal was going in a fast pace.
An inevitability. But he still has time to enjoy life.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
It’s funny how she fights back against acting more human. She’s so adamant on keeping others at arm’s length that even when she does star to feel things, she tries to stop it. She’s a little too aware of her own feelings, almost.
Let’s hope no one poisons Hector too D:
POWUH: Meta Resident with 1692 comments
We’ve learned a lot (and so has Shoutarou) about why Sakurako is the way she is. She’s lost her beloved brother and her pet cats were poisoned and died in pain. No wonder she tries to act unemotional and like she doesn’t care–she’s afraid of losing someone/something dear to her again and hurting once more. It also makes sense why she wants to have the skeletons of both her cats–they meant so much to her and it’s the only way she has to hold onto them.
POWUH: Meta Team and The Mad Scientist with 5525 comments
I love the episodes where we learn more about Sakurako because she is such an interesting character. It’s such a treat to see her outwardly show a rare display of humanity.