Primo.Lucani.17

Oh, we can only hope.

Would like to connect the part about Sakuya being a tragic character back to the plot payoff which wwwwhhhhoooo and I both mention in our previous posts (one of wwwwhhhhoooom [get it? 😉] I’ll get on a little further down), by pointing out that Sakuya turns out to be a direct byproduct of that first tragic character, thus I don’t consider it a handicap that she herself is tragic as well.

Noike, on the other hand…yeah, she plays out like a composite of Kiyone (cop girl, responsible, partner of Mihoshi) and Sakuya (extra wheel sent in to attach to Tenchi for ulterior motives, gains Tenchi’s favor quickly), with her orders from Seto serving as the gateway to bring Jurai’s politics to the forefront. Not a pretty combination there, at least in my opinion.

Like I’ve stated too many times to count, I don’t hate Sakuya or Tokyo, in fact it had all the potential in the world to be the next best in line.

Sakuya being the “normal” girl to parallel Tenchi’s normality is something many have wondered why there WASN’T a “normal” girl before like her, but in this instance, we the viewers and Tenchi himself learn that “You don’t know what you got, till it’s gone”

Like we’ve covered in the past, you and I, there were definitely pieces to the Tenchi in Tokyo concept as well as Sakuya being the “tomato in the mirror” that in all likelihood could’ve been pulled off better. The “you don’t know what you got, till it’s gone” thing, though, definitely seemed to be the moral of the story. In a way, fate may have been guiding Sakuya’s steps even more than Yugi was. In the long run, miss Kumashiro seems to have been predestined to help Tenchi and the girls appreciate each other more, as well as show him and Yugi herself that behind the crazy kid trying to freeze the world was a lonely and tortured soul not too unlike those Tenchi’s already been housing.

I agree with Dagon for the most part on this one–it’s not because she’s from a spinoff that she’s not my fav character–but I do see your point Primo: the girls were very different (at least, their negative attributes were exaggerated) in Tokyo because: 1) reason for Tenchi to want to get out of the house 2) try and garner a bit of sympathy for Sakuya, & 3) as you mentioned, as a plant for a wonderful payoff in the plot at the end. Given this, it’s an interesting ‘what if’ (which we do have a thread for now, if this keeps going on in a direction too far off from discussion about Sakuya’s appeal or lack of) to consider the character Sakuya in a setting such as, say Universe (or ova).

Just looked around upon reading that and saw the ‘what if’ thread. Guess this is not exactly a great opportunity to put emphasis on what I initially meant by “accepted into the family”.

My personal opinion (using universe as example, due to Kiyone being present): if she were present, we would still have people against her or for her, but perhaps to a lesser degree. First of all, (Ryoko forgive me) Tenchi’s attraction to her in Tokyo is apparent; it’s there, whether anybody likes it or not. However, I feel this was enhanced because the planet’s aligned so to speak: the familiar cast is portrayed right from the get go as being excessively selfish, needy, possessive, rude, etc. (for reasons we’ve already touched on). If we’re dealing with Universe/ova girls, this factor would lessen to considerable degree, and Tenchi would likely (imo) have a bit more neutral stance towards Sakuya (as he does with Ayeka and Ryoko, he just can’t seem to choose one…thus ‘Tenchi Solution’ especially if we’re dealing with ova realm).

Yeah, this is probably the most likely thing. OVA, she’s part of the Tenchi Solution for sure. Universe, it does remain more of a competition, and while I still think Sakuya could gain the highest of Tenchi’s favor for a cup of coffee, it wouldn’t stick for much longer than that. And as we’ve both extensively covered the advantage she has over the others in Tokyo, there’s no need to keep on about that.

Secondly (yet the primary reason behind my theory of her still retaining disdain from some and admiration from others) I don’t think she’s disliked because she’s ‘normal’ (though that may be a factor from some). It’s not because she can’t fly, or make force-fields, or is an alien/gp officer: it’s because she’s competition! Not to say that Kiyone/Tenchi pairing (obviously Universe Kiyone) wouldn’t be cute, but in reality in the series we just don’t see them really having a romantic interest in each other (even though they’re both shy/serious type, we see–in main series–no effort on Kiyone’s part, nor anything hinted at to suggest otherwise). Thus, hardcore Ryoko/Ayeka fans have no problem with Kiyone’s presence; same goes for Universe Mihoshi (she expresses romantic intent in ova, but she doesn’t really assert herself as competition, and the few times we do see it hinted at, it’s clear it ticks off Ryoko and Ayeka); same goes for Universe Washu (Washu is competition in ova, but…come on, it’s Washu! No one can hate her).

As we’re all aware, in Tenchi fandom in general, (perfectly paralleling the series) who is predominantly behind the most intensive debates on ‘who gets Tenchi?’ or getting in youtube comment spats or trolling elsewhere (if it occurs at all)? It’s either Ryoko or Ayeka fans! If Sakuya was ‘as is’ in Universe/ova, we would have a dynamic of a fighting threesome instead of the classic dueling duo, because unlike the rest of the cast, her desire for Tenchi seems almost as strong as –if not equal to–Ryoko’s or Ayeka’s, and if you’re ‘Team Ryoko’ or ‘Team Ayeka’ or ‘Team [not Sakuya]’ well, ‘we can’t have that now, can we?’

:fight: <-- picture that, but add in Sakuya 😆

As it is now, she (and similar figures like Haruna) is unfortunately a scapegoat, and bashing her has become common ground for Ryoko and Ayeka fans (the enemy of my enemy is my friend…cue ‘Night at the Carnival’ comparison) and it may likely remain this way, for some, for eternity; but with places like here where we can have intelligent, reasonable criticism and analyzing of characters such as this one, that may change someday.

Going the triple threat route would be pretty fun to see. I’d be especially curious as to how Sakuya being passive-aggressive or even just plain passive would impact THE BATTLE FOR TENCHI. The complications and painful lessons to be heaped upon all three ladies from such a scenario, I can only say “wow”.

Of course, this would only worsen the “die for our ship” dynamic. I almost feel stupid for underestimating that at the moment, and if I’d forgotten about it altogether and this wasn’t the brilliant TenchiForum that it is I’d be setting myself up for a walk of shame somehow. And as you’ve so astutely pointed all of this out, I look around and I’m glad that this is still a place where even after disappearing a long while, I can come back in the building at least for now and have this kind of conversation with no fear of butthurt.

Last but not least…

gotta go back to something.

(Washu is competition in ova, but…come on, it’s Washu! No one can hate her)

Nope! Not even a tough-as-nails independent android could! Thus is the charm of the incredible little Washu!

:washu: