Ask John: What is SaiKano?

Question:
I’ve recently heard of this series, “Saikano” which is short for Saihuueki no Kanojo (spelling?) which translates to something like “My Girlfriend, the Ultimate Weapon.” Exactly what is this series about? Is this an OVA or TV series? Is there a manga?

Answer:
I normally try to refrain from analysing or reviewing series until I’ve seen them in their entirety, but I’ve now encountered several requests for information regarding this particular title.

“Saishu Heiki Kanojo: The Last Love Song on This Little Planet” translates to roughly “ultimate weapon girlfriend.” Gonzo Studio westernizes it as “She, the Ultimate Weapon.” For the sake of convenience, the title is commonly abbreviated to “Saikano.” Written and drawn by Shin Takahashi, the SaiKano manga made its premier in the pages of Big Comic Spirits Magazine in December 1999 and concluded in October 2001 after 7 collected volumes. Gonzo Digimation, the creators of hit anime series including Blue Sub No. 6, Hellsing and Vandread, adapted the best selling manga story into a 13 episode TV series that premiered on July 2, 2002 and ended on September 24th. As of this writing, Konami has announced plans to adapt the manga into a dating simulation game for the Playstation 2.

SaiKano is a dramatic (no pun intended) change of pace and style for Gonzo Studios, their first true dramatic anime, and their first romance. SaiKano also looks dramatically different from the classical bright color and wide-eyed style of typical Gonzo anime, instead emulating the subdued, watercolor style of the original manga. And unlike most Gonzo productions, which emphasize shonen action, SaiKano is a deeply affecting and emotionally gripping tragic romance. The story revolves around a pair of teenage lovers named Shyuji and Chise. Manga author Shin Takahashi has stated in interview that none of the characters have last names by design, to make them more accessible, and more representative of typical everyday Japanese teens. These two shy and uncomfortable teens find themselves weighted under extreme circumstances when Japan falls under attack by an unidentified enemy and suddenly goes to war. The war painfully strikes home both when one of Shuyji’s friends is killed in a bombing raid, and when he discovers that his new girlfriend Chise, a small, timid and clumsy girl, is actually Japan’s ultimate weapon. Whenever they are needed, and sometimes at highly inopportune times, Chise’s body mutates and sprouts bio-mechanical weapons of mass destruction that she can only barely control. And as the war becomes more vicious and costly, Chise’s ability to restrain her destructive abilities, and possibly her very humanity increasingly erode in response.

The power of SaiKano lies in its exceptional writing that’s honest and deeply sentimental without being melodramatic. The raw emotion and constant fear and hesitation that weighs on all of the characters makes every moment and every word deadly serious, largely eliminating any chance of things being taken lightly or comically. In a distinctive expression of Japanese social convention, Shyuji, Chise and their friends live each day as though it may be their last yet still maintain a delicate social etiquette of restraint and introspection. The characters come alive to the viewer because their actions, motivations, and expressions all seem honest and affecting. Shyuji struggles with his fear of commitment, his sublimated fear of Chise’s inhuman ability, his natural masculine sexuality, and his conflicted but heartfelt attraction to Chise which is a combination of lover, partner, and protector. Chise is haunted by her decreasing ability to control her own body and her increasing fear that she is loosing her individuality, will and humanity by becoming more machine than human. She’s also constantly tormented by her increasing inability to sustain her model appearance. Chise lives to make her parents and friends proud. She validates herself by being a good girl. But when she’s forced to kill and destroy, and looses control over her body and her willpower, she looses the very things that she relies upon to continue living as herself.

In a painfully tragic and realistic way, both Shyuji and Chise unconsciously prioritize their own physical and emotional well being while trying to consciously comfort and protect each other. The physical war brings them together and tears them apart. Their love for each other brings them together at the same time their own natural fears struggle to separate them. The pure, raw intensity of their emotions and their willingness to be brutally honest and forthright with each other makes their relationship deeply affecting and emotionally heart wrenching for the viewer. All of the characters in SaiKano, from Shyuji and Chise to minor supporting characters with no names are brilliantly characterized to be ultimately expressive. The viewer can’t help but sympathize for the characters on screen, and empathize with them. Their pain and suffering are transferred virtually directly to the viewer. We want them to be happy, and happy together in the face of hopelessness, but fate seems aligned against them.

Like many great anime war dramas including Graveyard of Fireflies and Ima Soku ni Iru Boku, and masterfully written and conceived tragic love stories such as Fushigi Yuugi, Saishu Heiki Kanojo is a memorable and deeply stirring experience. The simple character design and nondescript backgrounds may at first seem unimpressive and uninviting, but, in fact, they seem to be intentionally subtle in order to focus attention on the writing and characterizations, and generate an vicarious accessibility that’s only apparent after the story has the viewer hooked. In many respects SaiKano is a difficult show to watch because of its constant manipulation of viewer emotions and its heart rending examination of a single fading glimmer of hope and love amidst chaos and death. But this emotional impact is SaiKano’s greatest strength and the thing that makes this animation stand among the finest anime series ever produced.