Y’all better stop sleeping on Best Boy Sakoda
Ok, so can I just say, that of all the side characters, Sakoda is HANDS DOWN the best one. Seriously, every time he comes on screen I end up smiling and laughing. Now that we get to see more content with him and more about Sakoda through Azami’s arc, I really feel like I get him better.
First of all, Sakoda isn’t just some underling of Sakyo’s. I know that how we all think of him, and that’s the way it appears when he first appears on screen, but Sakoda purposely goes out of his way to make himself useful because he’s grateful to Sakyo for picking him up off the streets. We don’t get much context as to exactly what that means because it’s only briefly mentioned in a conversation between the two of them, but I think it’s clear that he’s just grateful to him.
Plus, Sakoda just seems to be a genuinely helpful person, even when Azami asked him to go grab some of his things from home he doesn’t hesitate to agree. This also happens in various backstages, and other small little clips, Sakoda isn’t always being ordered around by Sakyo, it’s just most of the time.
In fact, I’d imagine that if things really did go down the way they’re telling it, and Sakyo took Sakoda in. That Sakoda probably started following Sakyo around before Sakyo started ordering him around, and after he realized there was no way to get rid of Sakoda, he just accepted it.
Can we also talk about how Sakoda got so angry for Azami’s sake, like he literally just started yelling like mad at the kingpin of this yakuza like it was nothing. I get that hes been a part of this family for years now but, even that’s not enough to exempt this.
Sakoda is like seriously yelling and almost insulting the head of the family in front of his son and I was expecting heads to roll, ok. I was proud as heck of him anyway and I was cheering him on, but I was just sitting here waiting for the fallout.
Like, I think it’s more impactful that he’s yelling like this because of how genuinely kind and helpful Sakoda’s always been, he’s never been shown being anything other than upbeat and supportive, so when he ups and starts SCREAMING, I seriously got goosebumps.
I think it’s also worth noting, that Sakoda was getting so worked up because of how he just dissed Azami’s dreams like they were childish and stupid, Sakoda isn’t upset because of something personal, he’s upset for Azami, and that’s important.
The best part of all this, the hammer never does come down, there’s no punishment, just Azami explaining his dream to his dad and him accepting that dream, and not only that, but telling him to go for it and not to look back.
Not only is there no punishment but the Boss drops a not so subtle hint that Sakoda would be the heir to the family in Azami’s place, and Sakoda just COMPLETELY MISSES IT. Sakyo even brings it up again later and it just goes completely over Sakoda’s head.
Sakoda, the myth, the legend, he walks into the room yells and talks back to the boss, and walks out the heir to the family.
