Much to my embarrassment, I did forget how exactly Happy Sugar Life started with Satou and Shio atop a burning building. That kind of negligence is bound to happen when you’re following ten or more anime for a season but perhaps Satou’s plan going so smoothly at first really did lure me into a false sense of security. Most embarrassing is that I did catch Satou and Auntie buying gasoline for burning the house down. How the hell did I not connect the dots there?! Oh well, moving on.
For the most part, I am glad that Satou didn’t get out scott free. She does gain some sort of victory over Asashi since the jailbait will forever be her get out of jail free card though in the end, Satou dies protecting Shio. How we got to this point, though, feels a little silly. Considering how deadly Satou is, I have a hard time believing that her best strategy against Asashi was running away and heading up a soon to be burning building. I suppose it could also be chalked up to impulse; Satou’s best plans have tended to be the ones developed far in advance. But come on, she’s not that dumb. For that matter, having her neglect to put the ring back on her finger is pretty contrived, an excuse to pad time in order to prevent Asahi’s entrance from feeling rushed.
Despite knowing the crimes she’s committed, I have to admit that Satou’s death really did garner her some sympathy. A lot of that sentiment owes to the direction, perhaps some of the best this anime had to offer. Incorporating the ED is a nice touch, of course, but I especially liked how the background shows all the dreams Satou and Shio had hoped to live out as they fall to their doom. The more extravagant the visuals get, the more apparent it seems like this is the end for them. The fact that this promise will go unfulfilled also plays nicely with the two falling down to face what lies ahead together. I also do really like that Satou’s last action is shielding Shio from the impact of the fall. After all the heinous acts she’s done, she at least finishes off with the purest display of love and protection possible. All things considered, this yandere got a most fitting ending.
Of course, being the finale, we naturally have to see where this finale leaves with everyone else. The Auntie getting arrested for the arson and Shouko’s death doesn’t surprise me though watching her happily confess to them is pretty darn funny. Wow do so few things deter this lady. Sumire (God, what an underutilized character) losing her beloved senpai and Mitsuboshi getting forever denied of his jailbait also makes sense.
There are a few things I am mixed over though. Watching Kitaumekawa-sensei get arrested, presumably for all the sexual harassment he committed at work, is completely out of left field. It satisfies to know that scum like him are getting his comeuppance in this story but not knowing how he got caught is rather anti-climatic. I also don’t know how I feel about seeing Shio’s mother not get arrested for murdering her husband, let alone the implication that she’s about to visit Shio in the hospital. She is understandably a victim but her going unpunished for a homicide feels unrealistic, especially since the other criminals in this story ultimately don’t get away with their dirty deeds. Even that aside, what even is the point? In the end, Shio still rejects her entirely and doesn’t even want to consider being a family again with her and Asashi.
And speaking of Shio, what a peculiar state she’s left in. You’d think she’d be sad that Satou is dead but instead, you get quite the opposite. Knowing that Satou’s love is what saved her makes Shio rather happy and she seems to view living now as a means to keep that precious bond alive. I kind of get what she means when she said she’s been “reborn”. In a way, she’s become a proxy of Satou, someone abandoning any personal attachment save for just the one most precious to her and enjoying life solely because of it. It does beg the question if being reborn also means we got a new yandere now…maybe no one is safe just yet…
I enjoyed my time with Happy Sugar Life. It’s a bit bumpier than I would’ve liked but all things considered, this is a pretty worthwhile anime (and Lord knows, Summer 2018 needed one). I don’t know if I’d call it scary and some directorial choices could stand to be better but as far I’m concerned, this is still a well-made story that compels you to follow a character that you normally wouldn’t. Farewell, Satou. You will be missed.
Thanks for reading!
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For all of my Happy Sugar Life Episode Reviews, check out the show’s archive page!
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