How do you cope with a world that hates you? How do you cope with a world that hurts you? How do you cope with a world that misunderstands you?
Sachiiro no One Room is a story that breaks your heart and puts it back together again. It is a story that makes you feel everything - sadness, anger, sympathy, hope - and nothing at all. It is a story that shows you how life can be cruel and unfair, but also beautiful and meaningful.
Genuinely, nothing else has etched a hole in my heart as deeply as this manga has. The synopsis frames the character's relationship
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as a willing abduction, but both the characters are unreliable narrators, and their narration is used to shine light on the worls that left them in such circumstances. Just keep a look out on what the foundations of their supposed "romance" and "abduction" is.
Story & Characters coz I can't talk about them separately:
The story follows a young girl named Sachi and the mysterious young man she calls Onii-san, who she seems to be willingly staying with despite supposedly being her kidnapper. It's a story about two individuals who have slipped through the cracks of society, isolated, helpless and deeply resentful of a world blind to them. A girl who has been abused and neglected by everyone she knows. A boy who has lost his purpose and his identity. A pair who had nothing but each other finding each other in a world that doesn't want them. Because even tho it is Sachi that is the runaway, the refuge in each other they try so hard to protect is, in fact, an escape from their pasts and their problems for the both of them. However, the ongoing search for Sachi keeps pushing them into further and further corners, blurring the line between their desires for companionship and their desperate escape from their troubled histories, entwining their relationship into a deeper and deeper state of codependence.
It goes without saying, but happiness, especially for marginalised people like them, is not easy to find or keep. They face many challenges and dangers along the way. Over their journey, they have to hide their faces, their names and their feelings. They have to lie to themselves and others. Deal with their traumas, insecurities and doubts. It's hard to imagine how harsh Sachi's life was before we meet her in the story since she seems to so readily discard her previous life for someone whom her happiness with can't even be assured (branded kidnapper and all). Yet, they forge ahead, making grand promises to one another, such as marriage and a shared fate in death. Deep within their hearts, however, they recognise the ambiguous and uncertain nature of these vows—a façade designed to uphold their false sense of security. A lie they tell themselves to keep moving forward. Because humouring their cohabitation under a twisted all-or-nothing facade of romance is the only way they can define a role and place in this world with a future by each others' sides.
The characters constantly refuse to address the false pretences under which their relationship lies, and they struggle to reconcile their desires for a place in the world with the dire reality of their situation. However, the events of the story constantly demand them to face themselves. Is it love or dependency? Is it healthy or toxic? Is it enough or too much? They make promises they can't keep. They hurt each other without meaning to. They wonder if they are better off together or apart. Despite their deep connection, the happiness they experience together under their fake promises and facades is ultimately fragile, and with the many moving outside factors intertwining against them, there's an anxious aching to the way everything they built could come crumbling with a single misstep. A reminder that, in a world that has been so cruel to them, even their moments of happiness are fleeting. This uncertainty creates a sense of urgency and desperation as we find ourselves hoping against hope that they will somehow be able to overcome the obstacles that stand in their way and find a way to be happy together. The narrative evokes a mix of emotions, simultaneously rooting for their bond while desperately wishing for them to find solace beyond the confines of their current circumstances. They act as if the value they see in each other is all they need, but could there be more? (Plz let there be more.)
Over the course of the story, the two main characters show each other what it means to be seen, heard, understood; alive, hopeful and grateful. But ultimately, it is in the presence of those who reach out and genuinely see them for who they are that they begin to find the strength to confront their circumstances and propel them beyond the confines of their codependence. Some of their encounters are kind and helpful, some of them are cruel and pieces of shit, and some of them are somewhere in between. And I suppose it is part of my obligation to point out that one of these pieces of shits and the topic explored through them involves SA, which while it does tie into the manga's themes, plot, characterisations and stuff, it probably could've been handled with a wee bit more delicacy? Tho everything ties together and pays off at the end. (But honestly, y'all can nitpick every flaw you find in it but Sachiiro will always be peak fiction in my heart.)
One of the things I appreciate about this manga (I appreciate everything) is that despite how much you end up rooting for them, the manga does not glorify or justify the main character's relationship. It does not pretend that it is normal or healthy. It does not ignore the fact that they are breaking the law and hurting other people. It does not shy away from showing the pain and trauma that they have endured and inflicted. But it also does not condemn them. It does not paint them as monsters or victims, nor deny them their humanity or their feelings. Instead, the characters are simply allowed to exist, dealing with their issues as clumsily and flawed as human beings do.
At times, you get a feeling that their relationship is gonna be doomed and that there's no way they'll end up happy (fuck me), but also how the joy and meaning they found through each other is worth betting everything on regardless. It's an appreciation of how they were able to grow and change as individuals, even if their futures can't be assured. That even so, they must cherish those who were able to see and accept them, in fierce defiance of a world that will not extend the same to the two of them.
Overall:
Overall, Sachiiro no One Room is a story that will make you (me) think and feel deeply. It is a story that will challenge, inspire and stay with you long after you finish reading it. It is a story that shows you the power and beauty of human connection with characters who walk down non-black-and-white paths, whose actions are not just good or bad but complex and flawed. It's a tragic tale highlighting the harsh realities of life and the unfairness of the world, especially for those who are vulnerable and marginalised, but also how two people can find each other in the darkest of times and light up each other's lives in spite of that. It shows you how two people can love each other in the most unconventional and unconditional way. A powerful reminder the fact we all have stories to tell and that we all need someone to listen.
A story that makes you ask yourself:
How do I cope with a world that hates me? How do I cope with a world that hurts me? How do I cope with a world that misunderstands me?
And how do I live in spite of it?
I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to experience something different and meaningful, because genuinely from the bottom of my heart, I have a mental breakdown every few days thinking about it and I think you should go through it too coz fuck you and the world and everything but also ily.
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Mar 19, 2023
Sachi-iro no One Room
(Manga)
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How do you cope with a world that hates you? How do you cope with a world that hurts you? How do you cope with a world that misunderstands you?
Sachiiro no One Room is a story that breaks your heart and puts it back together again. It is a story that makes you feel everything - sadness, anger, sympathy, hope - and nothing at all. It is a story that shows you how life can be cruel and unfair, but also beautiful and meaningful. Genuinely, nothing else has etched a hole in my heart as deeply as this manga has. The synopsis frames the character's relationship ... |
