| The Shadows of
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| The Shadows of
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Meet Sakuya Kumashiro -- the newest girl in the Tenchi family, and
the first girl ever to win Tenchi's heart.
When Tenchi accepted his grandfather's friend's offer of practicing the way of a shrine priest at his family shrine in Tokyo, he never expected so much to happen. First the evil spirits, then the Tenchi family breakup, and Sakuya-san...
Tenchi is introduced to Sakuya when he unknowingly picks the seat next to her to sit on on the day he attends his first class in Tokyo. They had met earlier before -- but it was an insignificant pass-by on the busy streets of Tokyo. Sakuya is a girl who shares the same age with Tenchi. She has a slender figure and stands at half-a-head shorter to Tenchi in height. She has a pair of sparkling dark green eyes (emerald green) and shinny black hair whose hair-style closely resembles to that of Aeka (without the two ponytails). Her skin is pale white in colour. Overall, you might say she is an extremely attractive girl. Oh yeah, she's got a pretty cute voice too.
However, the main reason why she won Tenchi's heart is not her appearance (although it is in part a factor) but her personality. Sakuya is sweet, cheerful, outgoing and downright fun to be with. She can easily grab the attention of everyone with her smile; her boisterous character sometimes even surprises those close to her. In school, Sakuya is ranked number three on the perfect date list. She is fairly proficient in academics and is heavily involved in all kinds of extracurricular activities. In spite of her impressive credentials; however, Sakuya is not the type of girl who stands on the sideline waiting for the person she likes to come and sweep her off her feet. No, when she sees someone she likes, she makes him pay attention -- not too forcefully though, since she still plays the romance game within the confines of traditional rules. ^^; Guess the first line she says to Tenchi the instant he says hi and sits down next to her. "I like you already." Later on at lunch hours, she invites herself to sit next to him, "shouldering" aside Tenchi's two new friends. She's even the one to confess her love to Tenchi and asks if he is willing to be her boyfriend later on still in the park. Wow. ^_^
In the twenty-fourth episode, Tenchi learns that Sakuya isn't an
ordinary girl but is in fact a physical manifestation of Yuugi's shadow.
His feelings for her is clear at this point as he dashes to her apartment
to talk to or perhaps question her about it, unwilling to accept Wasyu's
explanation, or perhaps ever so slightly aware of the ominous event that
is about to take place. Tenchi gets to Sakuya's apartment one step too
late, as he is confronted with a Yuugi who has already re-captured Sakuya.
After Yuugi leaves, he replays the message Sakuya left on his answering
machine. It tore him apart.
"Tenchi. I had a wonderful day today, thank you. I have decided that I will not dwell on my missing memory of the past any longer, because I understand now that everything I had with you will always be mine, and I know I will be creating many more new ones with you..."It's funny, but sometimes I feel the only reason I exist in this world is to love you. I love you even more now, Tenchi."
Maybe it is Tenchi's confession of love that awakens Sakuya in episode
twenty-five... when Tenchi hugs Sakuya from the back and tells her that he
loves her, Sakuya awakens from the dream, freeing herself from Yuugi...
and decides to help Tenchi return to reality.
"I am very happy, but the time is up for us.
"Although I don't want it to end, I understand now... no matter how beautiful it seems, or how happy we are... it's all just an illusion.
"Humans can't live in dreams. Tenchi, there are things you must do, people to protect, and places to go back to.
"It doesn't matter for me anymore, because every minute, every second of memories I made with you will always be mine...
"...and I will keep all these memories locked up, here in my heart, forever."
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Brief Profile on Mayumi Iizuka The voice behind Sakuya is the lovely Mayumi Iizuka. Born in Tokyo on January 3rd, 1977, she is a AB-type Capricorn. Lived in Taiwan for a period of time and is proud of her familiarity with the Chinese language. |
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| Love, War & Tenchi Muyo! | Aubrey Chen |
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