Sakuya Ohtori from Rewrite and the Value of Family

Warning: As per usual, I will be drawing from Rewrite in this piece.

One theme that tends to be unimportant, at least to the typical viewer, is the notion of family itself, especially families that fall outside of the norm. In this case, the “normal family” notion makes little sense because so few families actually appear in such a form. I wanted to discuss on especially peculiar form: those involving people not tied together by biological relations. Many sub-divisions of course exist but, in this case, the family consists only of a girl named Chihaya and her guardian named Sakuya. For those familiar, I am clearly referring to Key’s visual novel Rewrite, released in 2011.

Chihaya lives alone with Sakuya in a grand mansion that clearly announces economic power and influence – and a life apparently without trouble. Clearly her situation is abnormal. She comes from influence but her parents are markedly absent. Though she lives with Sakuya, he appears more like a butler, at least at first. When confronted with the topic of family, Chihaya cannot offer a completely honest answer free of “ums.” Human society has grown to especially favor the nuclear family featuring a mom, dad, and children, which betrays its expectations behind family. In particular, the romantic love between the parents is considered to create the family and provide an initial driving force for its maintenance.

Interestingly enough, sibling-sibling romantic love or child-parent romantic  love is thus forbidden for usurping this normed scheme of relationships, though from a logical standpoint both “aberrations” still represent romantic love. One could explain the immorality of such love using age differentials or the requirement that siblings care for each other from a sufficient distance – close enough to relate but not too intimate. Neither explanation is particularly compelling, though. Society appears to construct the family as a stable unit of organization that is meant to resist twists. Of course, I am referring to that ideal nuclear family that is immune to dysfunction.  Again, society’s expectations are completely exposed when analyzed in this manner.

How does this information relate at all to the two people about whom I am writing? As Chihaya’s butler, he cares for Chihaya’s needs but not try to play any deeply emotionally role  - he does not act protective or attend to her every whim, betraying sincere emotional devotion. At least, that’s the role that Sakuya is perceived to play. Yet Sakuya plays the role of Chihaya’s family by shielding her from harm – for simplicity, he could be seen as her brother. When Sakuya dies, Chihaya has to process heavy emotions but she comes to the conclusion that she can accept his passing. Chihaya thus forgoes the usual stages of grieving because of the strength of her bond with Sakuya, reflecting his worth in her life. His support, however, is quite intimate when viewed closely, which approaches the barrier that siblings are expected to not transgress. Rewrite does not specify if Sakuya indeed feels romantic emotions for Chihaya but he does view himself as a father figure in her life; either way, he acts as the latter, not the former. For the purposes of this discussion, this possibility is unimportant. Rather, the role he actually plays in her life is of note.

Tanner’s “Images of Couples and Families in Disney” offers insight into media depictions of family and covers a broader range of media than I can in this analysis. In particular, Disney calls a large swath of media for its own, making such a study highly pertinent. The researchers were able to affirm the assertion that families are perceived to be primarily created through love-driven marriage and the children that result. Romantic love is then tied to the formation of a family, which undermines many alternative notions of family. Specifically, a family-beyond-blood (but without romantic love) is thus made into an inappropriate idea that should be dismissed. Previous experiences should, however, clearly indicate that it can be both created and maintained without a romantic component. Familial relationships are given great importance in Disney films, though Disney often displays fragmented families lacking one or both families. Though such representations highlight alternative families, Disney seems to focus on creating entertaining and beloved tragedies. Rewrite has a main cast of orphans (whether figuratively or not), so it too emphasizes tragedy and the alternative family. Thus, information derived from Disney’s animated films still offers insight into this visual novel, despite obvious cultural differences.   

Sakuya’s situation shares striking similarities to the observations listed above, though clearly this family is not bound by romantic love. In this case, however, the fragmented family is given emphasis in Rewrite, thus making the stories more tragic. The importance of familial relationships apparently displayed in Disney films coincides strongly with the relationship shared between Chihaya and Sakuya. Throughout Chihaya’s route, they take care of each other. So far, I have showed meager evidence of Sakuya actively playing such a role. Let me remediate this.

When Kotarou has to stay at Chihaya’s place, Sakuya is quite displeased presumably due to his overprotective nature. Despite this initial tension that pervades the common route and the beginning of the Chihaya route, Sakuya takes care of Kotarou as well. Sakuya reluctantly decides to help Kotarou hone his aurora power in order to fight those who would wish him harm. The relationship between Sakuya and Kotarou is a strong parallel to the one between Sakuya and Chihaya, though Kotarou bears romantic feelings for Chihaya. Through this training, Sakuya can be seen as both human and as a caring family member. Later into the route, Chihaya’s empathetic nature is revealed: she wraps bandages that offer magical protection around both Kotarou and Sakuya – these white bandages absorb attacks, defending the wearer. Clearly such an act constitutes familial and empowering love. Both due to Sakuya’s receiving protection and his offering protection to both Kotarou and Chihaya. Similar logic can clearly be extended to expose all three of them as being in a non-biological family.

Because Chihaya is a Rewrite main character, she must have a tragic backstory. Indeed, she tells Kotarou (and by extension the reader) that she lost her parents to a virulent attack on her home by Guardian agents. Chihaya is then forced to wander, evading enemy combatants while being essentially unarmed. She stumbles across a tree who transforms into Sakuya. Years later, she met Kotarou after moving to Kazamatsuri City. Thus, Chihaya lacks the typical family but she gains Sakuya and Kotarou. One complication that the visual novel tosses the reader is Sakuya’s existence as Chihaya’s familiar – or her servant, in other words. Her affection for him, however, transcends an inequal master-servant relationship. One day in his usual obliviousness, Kotarou asks what comprises Sakuya. To this question, Chihaya responds that she does not want to know, which clearly affirms Sakuya’s humanity – though one could hazard a guess, knowing what comprises someone important to you would be highly discomforting to learn because it introduces uncertainty.

Rewrite presents the strongest case for both Sakuya’s role of family and, by corollary, his humanity in the most intense scene of the route. Guardian manages to discover that Kotarou holds Kagari, so he is coerced into bringing Kagari to a meeting location. The place turns out to be an abandoned church. Nishikujou and Shizuru greet Kotarou and Chihaya and then demand that the Key is handed over. Another demand is thrown in: that Sakuya must be surrendered and destroyed. Such a demand implies that Sakuya is inhuman. When Chihaya vehemently protests this order on account of Sakuya being part of her family, Nishikujou rejects this claim by referring to Sakuya as a monster. Sakuya’s ability to constitute family (and humanity by extension) is thus doubted. Nishikujou’s face becomes contorted into an expression of disgust at the very idea of a familiar playing such a role. Even the mere idea of someone wishing to protect a familiar.

This chain of events leads to Kotarou losing control and becoming superpowered as a result of rewriting himself, forcing everyone in the church to cooperate. Shizuru heals Sakuya – who had been her sworn enemy just earlier that day – and tries to fight Kotarou. Chihaya relinquishes some of her protection in order to aid Sakuya, reflecting the sacrifices she is willing to make for her familial relationships. Sakuya manages to reawaken Kotarou by landing a punch. Though Kotarou had intended to protect Chihaya alone, he ended up endangering her life. He is then inundated with Sakuya’s memories of regretting to protect someone special to him. And that Sakuya was reborn, getting his chance for atonement of his regrets. Kotarou becomes fully conscious again and gains a better understanding of the true meaning of family. Sakuya had played a greater role than just protection: he offers cooperation and support. Though both characters’ humanity has been doubted, they face salvation in the form of Shizuru’s healing. Thus indirect evidence that Sakuya and Kotarou are human and capable of family is provided. Both Shizuru and Nishikujou are both forced to see both of them as a part of Chihaya’s family. Sakuya is finally humanized in the eyes of those who would want all familiars destroyed.  

Therefore, when Sakuya dies, Chihaya does not lose her familiar but rather a critically important member of her family. Though Sakuya’s death signifies his true end, his life provides a strong example of the importance and potential strength of family. His story reflects an empowering representation of family that is unconventional but not oppressive. By extension, the monochromatic idea that a family must be normed and nuclear is called into question.

Now, the formal tone employed will be broken. I personally disliked Sakuya at first, and I was not that fond of Chihaya initially either. Yet when I played and completed the Chihaya route, I developed a  great fondness of both characters. They are both revealed to be truly complex people by relation to each other, which made that route so enjoyable for me. Key’s Rewrite manages to capture the essence of family and offer something both interesting and insightful. The orphaned main cast is truly tragic yet still very human. Personally, I feel that most Disney animated films tend to use an alternative family for the setup of a tragedy that is quickly undone in favor of a romantic coupling that leads to a new family.