Saki Asami
| Saki Asami | |
|---|---|
| Japanese Name | 浅海 サキ (Asami Saki) |
| Weapon | Whip-like riding crop |
"We believe in you, Kazumi, just like how you believe in us." - Saki Asami, Chapter 3.
Saki Asami (浅海 サキ Asami Saki) is a character in Puella Magi Kazumi Magica: The Innocent Malice.
She is a magical girl, and the effective leader of the Pleiades Saints. Her wish was for the lily of the valley left by her late sister, Miyuki, to bloom forever.
Personality
Saki is tough on the outside and always maintains her cool, as required from someone in her position. However, she cares not only for the safety of her teammates safety, but also for their morale. She effectively assumes leadership of the Pleiades Saints, and is an apt commander both in battle and outside of it.
She is also known to have short fuse at times, having angry reactions to being teased or provoked.
History
This section may contain major spoilers for the Kazumi Magica manga!
Please refrain from reading if you haven't read the latest chapter yet.
After a witch traps Kaoru and Umika inside of itself and takes off, Saki, Nico, Satomi, and Mirai come to Kazumi's aid. They introduce themselves as the Pleiades Saints, a seven-girl witch-hunting team of which Kazumi and her abducted friends are also a part of. Together, they search for Kaoru and Umika across town. While they search, the mysterious girl from previous chapters, Yuuri, disguises herself as Satomi and separates Kazumi from the rest of the team. Upon meeting with the real Satomi, Saki realized they had been tricked, and leads the girls to where the fake Satomi brought Kazumi. They proceed to rescue Kazumi just as she is on the verge of defeat. Kazumi is then held by her opponent at gunpoint, causing them all to hesitate. Kazumi screams out for them to attack anyway, and they fire a joint attack at the mysterious girl: Fili Del Toano. It causes a large explosion, but the magical girl gets away. Kazumi is only lightly wounded.
They reunite at Umika's house for a strategy meeting. While analyzing the situation, Saki makes a breakthrough. She discovers the symbol the witch left across town was also on the back of a book, leading her to conclude the witch has possessed a bookmobile. After filling up on Kazumi's delicious food, they head out to the last stop on the bookmobile schedule to intercept it. Upon arrival, Saki orders Kazumi to stay outside. She protests, afraid that they do not trust her, but Saki reassures her, explaining that their plan is to seal the witch and have Kazumi fire Limiti Esterni from the outside to finish it off. The girls plunge into the witch's barrier, and rescue Kaoru and Umika just in time. Together, the six of them bind the witch with Episodio Incrocio. However, Nico's GPS/com unit breaks, leaving them unable to give Kazumi the needed signal. Umika, thinking quickly, commands them to use candy flutes given to them by Kazumi. The sound reaches her, and the witch is destroyed by Limiti Esterni.
While they reunite and celebrate their victory, they are approached by Jubey, the "fairy" (妖精) that turned them into magical girls. He cleans up their Soul Gems, and gladly accepts the last witch's Grief Seed. He then refuses a couple of weird looking seeds, obtained from the pseudo-witches of Chapters 1 and 2, saying they were not real Grief Seeds. Umika theorized they imitated the Grief Seed's power and were created by the mysterious girl from before. Before they could draw further conclusions, they are attacked by that very girl, Yuuri. She kidnaps Kazumi, and orders them to go to the Asunaro Dome at midnight if they want Kazumi back. While waiting for the deadline at Umika's house, they speculate on Yuuri's motivations. However, Saki couldn't care less about it: she was impatient to save Kazumi, despite their wounds.
At the right time, they arrive at the dome, but to a force barrier they can do nothing but watch as Yuuri enacts her plans. Yuuri states her objective is to seek revenge on the Pleiades. She interprets the Pleiades' failure to recognize her as having been "just that insignificant" to the girls. She then removes her hat, causing a shocked Umika to recognize her, and proceeds to shove an Evil Nut, one of the awkward Grief Seeds from before, into Kazumi's forehead, while the Pleiades scream in horror.
However, Kazumi is able to free herself, and engages Yuuri. During the battle, Yuuri's Soul Gem begins to crack, prompting Saki to order Juubey to cleanse it. Yuuri shoots him first and becomes a witch. Along with the other Pleaides, Saki is trapped on a cross in the witch's barrier, and is enveloped in thorny vines.
The magical girls are then shown a vision of the witch's past as Airi. After that, Kazumi falls under the influence of the Evil Nut and breaks free. However, she is unwilling to fight the witch and even attempts to change her back. Saki then shoots the witch, freeing herself and the other Saints. They then attack the witch as they explain to Kazumi that they have no choice but to kill her. Finally Kazumi delivers the final blow, saying she wishes to share this burden with her friends.
Later, Saki is seen with Kaoru, Satomi, and Mirai confronting a magical girl named Sumire Akane (it's unclear if Umika or Nico are also present). Kaoru uses a spell called Tocco del Mare (English: Touch of the Sea), causing Sumire to scream. We then see Saki untransformed, holding out her Soul Gem.
While Kazumi is fighting Ayase and Luca Souju, Saki telepathically contacts Nico and asks if she "acquired it yet" - presumably referring to Ayase's Soul Gem. Later she appears with the other Pleiades Saints and catches the Evil Nuts that the Soujus threw at Nico and Kazumi. Kaoru says they'll be taking the Soujus' gems. Saki tells Kaoru not to do it in front of Kazumi, but Nico says Kazumi already saw her doing it. Kaoru pulls out both Ayase and Luca's gems with the spell Tocco del Mare. Kazumi angrily asks the others why they're taking the Soul Gems of other magical girls, saying that she said earlier she would bear the burden with her friends. Against Saki's objections, Umika says she'll tell Kazumi the truth about the Pleiades Saints, but is interrupted by Nico's Soul Gem glowing. As she falls over, a witch appears.
As Nico's Soul Gem cracks, we see background text of her thinking that that she'll die without a trace, and she wants everyone to remember. She thinks she doesn't want to kill anyone anymore. The runes coming out of her Soul Gem read "We have no future as long as he's around." The next page has a cover image of a golden-eyed Nico holding a gun, asking to be killed. The Pleiades are shocked to discover Nico has become a witch. Repeatedly shouting "Cut", the witch turns her hands into a single pair of scissors. Kaoru transforms and blocks the attack using Capitano Potenza ("Captain Power"), which encases her arms in a black metallic substance. The witch fires projectiles from its body. Kaoru turns to the others and tells them not to stand there. Umika encases herself, Kazumi, and Satomi in a barrier. Saki pushes Mirai in, but is wounded. Mirai flips out and uses her attack La Bestia ("The Beasts") causing an army of teddy-bears to appear and chew on the witch. When the witch throws them off, Mirai uses La Bestia Refare ("Remake the Beast"). The bears start hugging each other and turn into a giant bear that Mirai jumps on. The bear pounces on the witch and pulls it into a bear hug. Mirai leaps into the air, turns her wand into a giant sword, and cuts both the bear and the witch in half. The witch dies, yelling "Cut" one last time. She drops a Grief Seed (which notably looks different than Nico's Soul Gem).
Mirai asks Saki if she's alright, but she's still processing Nico's death. Mirai tells her she had to do it, but is interrupted by Satomi screaming that she doesn't want to die or turn into a witch. Kazumi takes the hand of Nico's body and finds it's cold. As she shouts Nico's name, a voice says "You called?" Everyone is shocked to see another Nico standing behind them. As Kazumi asks what's going on, the other Nico walks up to the first Nico's body, puts her arm around her neck, and with a disturbing expression says "Switch". She then touches the hair of the body, and it's face suddenly vanishes. Jubey, a disturbing grin on his face, says that the body was Nico's "spare" and "compensation for Nico's contract". Kaoru asks why Nico didn't tell them. Nico says that to deceive an enemy, you have to deceive your allies. Kaoru punches her, then gives her a hug. Nico then says they should cut to the chase. Kaoru tells Saki Kazumi can handle it.
The scene switches to Mirai's teddy bear museum, "Angelica Bears". Mirai says that in Japanese it's called "Ashitaba" (literally "tomorrow's leaf") and says that Kazumi came up with the name. As they walk inside, they step onto a magic circle. Umika holds out her ring, suddenly transporting them all somewhere else. Umika tells Kazumi that the museum was born from them meeting with her. The walk up to a giant door, which opens into a giant room filled with girls floating in tanks. The middle of the room contains a pile of Soul Gems. Umika explains that after they take Soul Gems, they put the empty shells of the magical girls into "the Freezer". Kazumi says that Ayase was right, and asks why they're doing this. Jubey says that it's their response to the magical girl system, which is full of contradictions: Rejection.
Umika explains that witches are the end state of magical girls. Umika tells Kazumi that they lied to her when they said that sometimes the Soul Gems of magical girls go out of control. Jubey, grinning, explains that Soul Gems are the extracted souls of magical girls. Kaoru admits that they're like zombies, but it's preferable to dying to a witch in one shot. Jubey then says that the Pleiades refuse to fight without feeling pain. Kaoru responds by saying that if they do that they'll cease being human. Umika explains that the magical girls they capture are placed in a barrier that separates them from their Soul Gems and puts them in suspended animation, preventing them from becoming witches. Kaoru says they hope to find a way to completely clean the gems and turn them back into humans. Until then, they'll keep fighting. This is their "rejection" of the magical girl system. Nico then takes out a container that has the Soujus, their Soul Gems, and the Soul Gem and body of another magical girl. The bodies of the magical girls have been shrunken to the point where they can be picked up by one hand. Nico puts into two new containers, saying they "will keep on waiting for the prince's kiss." Kazumi asks when everyone found out about the connection between magical girls and wishes. Umika touches her forehead to Kazumi's, telling her to remember everything.
The story flashes back into the past. Umika, Kaoru, Satomi, Mirai, Nico, and Saki are standing on a catwalk. They are all displaying a witch's kiss on their necks. Saki's despair is from her childhood. A younger Saki is seen with Miyuki (later revealed to be Saki's younger sister), who shows off her lily of the valley flower, and says her dream was to grow lots of flowers and use them as a bouquet in her wedding. Saki says that dream won't come true, because she thinks no man is good enough for Miyuki. Miyuki hugs Saki and says that she'll marry her. Years later, Miyuki and Saki are caught in a horrible car crash. Miyuki is killed by a piece of glass lodged in her throat. Saki can only say Miyuki's name.
The girls standing on the catwalk jump off, as a voice says, "Everyone should just die." The voice is cut-off by a familiar spell with ribbons wrapping around the girls, stopping their fall. Their savior is none other than Kazumi, who says, "Ciao! You suicidal girls!"
Kazumi opens up a witch's barrier around herself and the girls. Familiars appear and start attacking the normal girls while Kazumi watches. Kaoru tries to use her crutch to fight them off, but falls down. Umika shields her with her body. Mirai does something similar for Saki. Satomi asks why Kazumi isn't helping. Kazumi responds by asking why they don't want to be eaten if they want to die. She then pulls six firearms from her hat and drops them on the ground. The familiars combine, revealing that they were actually a witch. The girls pick up the weapons, Satomi saying she doesn't want to die and Nico musing she can't run away from guns. They fire at the witch, deflating it like a balloon. It re-inflates itself and charges. Kazumi stops the witch with her cross, saying that "As long as you keep trying to live, you won't fall into despair" and that there's always hope. She then fires "Limit Esterni", destroying the witch.
As the barrier disappears, Saki asks "What was that?" A silhouette appears behind her, looking similar to Kyubey. It turns out to be Jubey, who says that was Magical Girl Kazumi, who hunts witches. A loud growling noise is heard, which turns out to be Kazumi being hungry. It's revealed that her ahoge was absent in the past (though the symbol is still on her hat and earring-bell). The scene changes to Kazumi's house, where she eats with the Pleiades. She talks about how her grandmother said that people eat plants and animals to live, and so they have a duty to them to keep living. She asks the girls about her strawberry risotto, which was passed down from her grandmother. When they respond positively, Kazumi says that her grandmother would be happy to hear that. Saki asks where her grandmother is now, prompting Kazumi to reveal that she had passed away. She tells them not to worry.
Kazumi point to a book with Umika, asking her if that's the book that plagiarized her story. After reading the book Kazumi says it's bad because the main character wastes food like "The Girl who Trod on the Loaf" (a fairytale by Hans Christian Andersen). Umika suddenly becomes animated and agrees, saying the scene wasn't in her draft. She then explains that the rule of villains is that the one who wastes food is a villain and can't be left alive - revealing the source of the brief flashback Kazumi had in Chapter 1. Kazumi says she never heard of that, but agrees. She tells Umika to keep writing, because other than the main character the story was good. As Kazumi goes to get desert, Saki asks her how she became a magical girl.
Kazumi explains she became a magical girl the day her grandmother died. The story flashes back again to Kazumi's past. She narrates that she was studying abroad when she learned that her grandmother's condition became critical. While hurrying home, she ran straight into a witch's barrier. Fortunately, she's saved by a surprise appearance from Mami Tomoe, who muses that she can't take it easy even on a trip. Mami destroys the witch with "Tiro Finale". When Kazumi thanks her, Mami tells her to get going and be careful. As Kazumi leaves Jubey is strangely seen by Mami's feet. At Kazumi's home, a doctor explains that her grandmother only has a few days left unless she's hooked up to a respiratory machine and it's unlikely that she'll wake up. Kazumi says that her grandmother would never want to go on life support. Later and alone with her grandmother, Kazumi starts crying and says that she wants her grandmother to open her eyes, just once more. Jubey appears on the windowsill, saying that he can grant her wish if she makes a contract and becomes a magical girl.
Jubey tells Kazumi being a magical girl is difficult. Kazumi is fine with that and wishes for her grandmother to return to her normal self as long as she remains alive. Jubey asks if she's fine with not curing her grandmother's illness. Kazumi says she wants to, but it wouldn't be respecting her way of life. The contract is established. Kazumi's grandmother wakes up, asking if it's a dream. Kazumi says it's her last dream, and asks her grandmother if she can teach her how to make strawberry risotto. Kazumi spends the day learning cooking skills and advice from her grandmother. She tells Kazumi that people can't fall into dispair as she gives Kazumi her earring-bell; the same earring-bell Kazumi has worn throughout the series. The flashback in a flashback ends as Kazumi says her grandmother went to heaven the next day.
Saki asks why Kazumi didn't just wish her grandmother to be healthy, saying Kazumi is now all alone. Kazumi says her grandmother will always be in her heart, just like Miyuki will be in Saki's heart (Miyuki here is revealed to be Saki's sister). Mriai asks if she can be a magical girl. Jubey tells her she can if she accepts her fate of fighting witches. Mirai says she can accept anything. Umika, Kaoru, Satomi, Nico and Saki quickly chime in agreement. Kazumi cheers over having new friends. Mirai questions the fact that she's a friend, prompting Saki to thank Mirai for protecting her. Jubey tells the girls to give him their wishes. Mirai says her wish was already granted by having friends. Saki suggests wishing for the friends that have always protected her - Mirai's teddy bears. She points to a number on it, asking Mirai if it's her 666th friends. When Mirai asks how Saki knew, Saki explains that her sister did the same thing. Mirai decides to wish for a museum for all her teddy bears. Kazumi suggests calling it "Angelica Bears" which is a pun on Mirai's name and the Ashitaba plant (Mirai's name means "Future Young Leaf", Ashitaba means "Tomorrow's Leaf" and is in the Angelica genus).
Satomi then wishes to talk to animals. Nico whispers her wish to Jubey, embarrassed to say it aloud. Saki wishes for her sister's flower to bloom forever. Umika wishes for an editor to recognize and handle her works preciously. Kaoru wants to help the people that were hurt in the match where she had her injury. Kazumi asks her about her injuries, but Kaoru says she'll just return to the field with her current legs. The contracts are completed, and Kazumi names their team the Pleiades Saints. The scene cuts to the girls fighting a witch. Kaoru destroys it with her spiked shoes. Jubey asks about her strengthened magical girl body. Kaoru is very happy about it. Kazumi calls Kaoru's attack Capitano Potenza ("Captain Power"), and reveals she wants everyone to call their attacks, even recording them in a book. Kazumi reveals that she's following the lead of Mami Tomoe and says she won't cook for the girls if they don't do it. Saki then notices Kazumi's earrings are missing. Kazumi guesses she lost them in the battle, but admits it's okay because her grandmother won't disappear from her heart. Later on Kazumi receives a new pair of the earrings. Kaoru explains that Saki asked her dad to get them while he was on a business trip. Kazumi thanks Saki, while Mirai has a sad or angry expression on her face.
Later, Kaoru and the other Pleiades (except Kazumi) wonder why Kazumi is late, having been told Kazumi was bringing a new friend. Jubey appears, saying a witch's barrier is nearby. They run to Asunaro Dome, where they see Yuuri Asuka transform into a witch. After the battle the girls are stunned. Satomi asks if magical girls turn into witches. Jubey explains how witches are created, and says his job is to gather the energy form the conversion of hope to despair. Kaoru grabs Jubey while he explains that immature witches should be called magical girls. Suddenly Umika grabs Jubey and slams her head against him. A laser fires from her eye into his. Jubey falls down and asks why Umika is looking scary. Umika explains to Kaoru that she rewrote Jubey's memories, preventing him from making contracts. The story then returns to the present. Kazumi says she remembers hunting magical girls after Yuuri, but then suddenly falls over. The symbol for the Evil Nuts appears in her eyes. Satomi looks on in shock, as Kaoru says everyone's tired. Umika leads Kazumi out as Kaoru says they should rest for the day. Saki remains in the Freezer, looking at the pile of Soul Gems. They include two Evil Nuts. We then find Satomi is walking up behind her. Saki asks why Satomi is there. Satomi pulls her hand to her mouth and says, "Saki, let's kill Kazumi." The last panel has Satomi giving a sinister grin.
Powers, Weapons & Abilities
Saki has the ability to control lightning. She can summon thunderbolts from her riding crop, and can fire them indirectly by firing them upwards and sending them back straight down, like a real thunderbolt.
Her riding crop also unravels into a whip, which can extend to great lengths, pierce enemies and form nets.
Saki can also move from place to place seemingly instantaneously. The exact nature of this ability is unknown, but she appears somewhat older and has longer hair after using it. It may be some form of time manipulation.
Trivia
- When transformed, Saki sports a monocle, a military-style outfit, a beret and a riding crop that extends into a whip, giving her the appearance of a high ranking military officer. It is quite suitable to her position within the group.
- She usually wears glasses: when transformed, they turn into a single monocle. How this affects her vision is unknown.
- In contrast with her tough appearance, Saki seems to enjoy reading love stories. In her backpack, titles such as "My First Love Was The Milky Way" and "Lemon Kiss Memories" can be seen.
- Saki's Soul Gem is worn as a hair pin when she is not transformed, making Saki the second (after Kazumi) magical girl to not wear her Soul Gem as a ring.
- Saki has a mole under her left eye.
- Saki never calls Kazumi "Kazumi-chan".
- As declared by Satomi in Chapter 13, Saki is in love with Kazumi.
Speculation
- There is an astonishing lack of detail on Saki's lower half when transformed, between her jacket and her high boots, which caused some speculation that she might actually be naked. While it is probably a simple drawing mishap, the effect is quite noticeable. It should also be noted that Kaoru, who wears a skin-tight suit, looked naked as well in more than a few panels.
- Chapter 8 and the cover of volume 3 show that Saki is wearing trousers, so this is certainly just a drawing mishap.
- While it is speculated that the Pleiades are hiding something from Kazumi, likely the true nature of witches, it is possible that Saki is hiding other facts. She has, in several occasions, said mysterious sentences about her past, and cut conversations short. In particular, a statement by Yuuri pertaining to Kazumi's relation with Saki caused an irate "shut up!" from her.
- This most likely was referring to Saki being in love with Kazumi.
- Despite her constant attacks on Kazumi, Saki seems to be the Pleiad Yuuri hates the most. Both their short conversation ended in one of the yelling. First, Saki accuses Yuuri of being a coward for using Kazumi as a human shield, to which Yuuri responds "Look who's talking!". Later, Saki violently tells her to shut up when asked if Kazumi was "the person you don't want to show your filthy hands to", the meaning of which is still a mystery.
- Yuuri could have been referring to the Pleiades seizing the Soul Gems of magical girls. She may have been following them around and seen them doing it. To an observer, it might seem that the Pleiades were killing their targets which would further strengthen Yuuri's belief of the Pleiades as magical girl hunters. As the leader of the Pleiades, Yuuri focused her hatred on her.
- It is suspected in Chapter 10, that Saki was in love with her younger sister, Miyuki.
- Miyuki even promised to marry Saki in the future.
- Saki's personal magic circle appears on the door to the room where Kazumi's previous clones are stored in the Freezer. She may have been personally responsible for preserving them.
Gallery
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Saki in color on the third volume cover.
Saki's unexpected choice of reading.
Saki stating her belief in Kazumi.
A lot bad blood between Saki and Yuuri.
Saki's riding crop extending
Saki's hair grows extremely long as a side effect of using one of her powers in chapter 13.
Another view of Saki with long hair.
Saki's magic circle.
Saki's riding crop and lightening powers.
Saki and Mirai on a paper file included with Kazumi Magica volume 3.
Fanart
This section contains fanart images
Everything in the following fan gallery is created, or the comments accompanying them are created, for entertainment value and should not be confused with actual canon events of the Puella Magi franchise.- SakiFanart.png