The other day, I pondered if in Happy Sugar Life, you find out Satou’s friends are just as crazy as everyone else in this anime. Lo and behold, in Episode 5’s post-credit scene, you see one of her co-workers dressing up like her and sniffing her work uniform. Goddamn it, Happy Sugar Life. I was joking! Does the abundance of terrible people in this show bother me? Not entirely. The reality is that there does exist creeps like that in the real world. Perhaps things feel absurd to me because at this rate, Satou seems like a noble guardian compared to who she shares the screen with.
I mean that in a good way as without the interplay, it’d be hard for any viewer to want to root for Satou. Let’s use this episode’s “fight scene” as an example. After beating up Mitsuboshi, the two thugs decide that they’ll take Shio and use her as bait to lure Asashi so they can beat him up again. Unfortunately for them, Satou makes it in time and proceeds to kill them, in grotesque fashion no less. It is, by all means, a heinous action and even if you or I argue that the thugs deserve it, the fact remains that our protagonist is still a kidnapper who locks her love in an apartment. However, knowing that Shio would be most safe with Satou, you find yourself siding with the latter anyway. It also boils down to the fact that under normal circumstances, the protective trait Satou possesses would be a good thing. Compared to her, the thugs have no redeeming qualities. They’re just people who get a sick joy out of doing terrible things.
There’s a couple of other things that make Satou an effective protagonist in spite of her lack of scruples. For one, she’s motivated. She wants to live a “happy sugar life” with Shio and she is undoubtedly determined to keep that dream alive. I’m surprised Satou doesn’t just go around stealing money. Considering her track record, theft would be rather petty. But I get why you have her taking a normal job. It paints her as a hard-working individual and that can make her appear admirable and worth rooting for.
Another thing is that she’s efficient. She’ll get anything done and she knows exactly how. Going back to the fight scene, you find out that she’s acquired quite the arsenal and she conveniently brought all of them for the occasion. Most surprising is that she’s adept with them beyond just for killing as you see her successfully install a new lock on her front door. Honestly, I think she should consider a job in engineering and construction. Compare Satou to, say, Mitsuboshi or Kitaumekawa-sensei. Both men are at least just as creepy but they’re also kind of pathetic. Mitsuboshi just wallows in his room to stare at Shio’s missing poster and Kitaumekawa-sensei is too masochistic to act on his suspicions over Satou. When you consider the competition, it’s becomes really easy to expect victory from Satou.
You do have to wonder how well the “happy sugar life” can stay alive though. Granted, income seems steady and Satou has opponents such as Kitaumekawa-sensei on a leash. Still, Asashi is still on the lookout and Mitsuboshi did spot Satou rescuing Shio. There’s also Shio to consider as it seems that she’s starting remember things about her family and that can’t possibly go well. What about that co-worker I mentioned at the start? Where does she fall into all this?
You know, I didn’t think there’d be a relationship chart in Happy Sugar Life but apparently, I stand corrected.
Thanks for reading!
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