Satsuki: Snap out of it, Ryuko Matoi!
[Berserk Ryuko/Senketsu remains]
Satsuki: I can’t get through…
In retrospect, Satsuki’s inability to free Ryuko and Senketsu from their berserk state is incredibly sad.
While neither Satsuki nor Ryuko know it at this point in the series, Satsuki has been fighting practically her entire life for Ryuko’s sake. Satsuki’s immense love for the sister she never got to know drives her to push through unspeakable horrors and pain… but when Ryuko needs it the most, that love doesn’t come through. Satsuki can’t help her.
Even without acknowledging Ryuko and Satsuki’s blood relation, though, the understanding that Satsuki was never truly against Ryuko also puts this entire sequence in a much more tragic light. For perhaps one of the only times up until the big sister reveal, there’s a real sense of remorse from Satsuki regarding Ryuko.
Satsuki: Damn! That’s what you were after, Nui Harime?
Notably, Satsuki is more than simply upset upon seeing Ryuko and Senketsu’s mutated form—she’s shaken. The camera positioning is also quite telling; whereas even Mako’s reaction to the danger of Ryuko’s situation is presented with a silly, over-the-top medium shot depicting both her and Houka (which “brings viewers closer to the characters while still showing some of their environment”), Satsuki’s response is conveyed with an extreme close-up of her eyes, a choice that is “usually for expressive or dramatic purposes and … can be an extremely powerful means for guiding and directing a viewer’s attention to the important features of a scene’s action or meaning” (Prince 9).
Further, an extreme close-up of the face is most commonly utilized to depict intense emotions, such as existential agony in Ingmar Bergman’s Persona (1966), for example (Corrigan and White 109). As such, the usage of an extreme close-up and focus on Satsuki’s horrified reaction, when she has thus far presented herself as the series’s primary villain, upon seeing the hero in peril? In the moment, it’s a remarkably powerful way of foreshadowing Satsuki’s true intentions, but with those intentions in mind, it’s also a remarkably poignant depiction of Satsuki’s true feelings. No matter her claims later on that she only ever intended to use Ryuko as a tool, Satsuki clearly harbors some genuine concern for the girl here. The thought of Ryuko being in danger deeply affects her—enough that when Mako later steps in to save the day in Satsuki’s place, Satsuki’s angry demand that Nui “[h]old [her] tongue and watch” feels like a lot more than simple resentment at Nui for messing up her potential weapon.
Indeed, perhaps there’s even a sense of jealousy from Satsuki; she couldn’t save Ryuko, but Mako can. While Satsuki is not truly against Ryuko, her plan prevents them from being close. The thought of Satsuki fills Ryuko with hatred… when they could have been allies and friends. Satsuki’s tired, sad frown as Ryuko returns to normal, juxtaposed with the Mankanshoku family’s shock and Nui’s bemusement, does well in hinting that maybe Satsuki wishes she had Mako’s power herself… and she’s sorry that she doesn’t.
Satsuki: Mankanshoku, [Ryuko] survived thanks to you.
Even sadder, this scenario later repeats itself in episode 18 of the series, right after Satsuki reveals her ambition. Put under Ragyo’s control, Ryuko attacks Satsuki, and Satsuki once more attempts to get Ryuko to come back to her senses… but once more, it’s no use.
Satsuki: Matoi, snap out of it!
Ragyo: She’ll never be able to break free of my control.
When Ryuko is again out of her mind upon being forced to wear Junketsu in episode 21, Satsuki no longer attempts to get through to her. Satsuki commands Mako and Senketsu to help instead, leaving herself out of it, even though Satsuki realizes her relation to Ryuko at this point in the story and must think, at least on some level, that she should have the power to reach Ryuko’s heart, but she doesn’t.
Satsuki: Now, Mankanshoku! Jam Senketsu into the wound! Senketsu! Use your strength to shake Ryuko’s Life Fibers loose from Junketsu!
The situation becomes even more tragic in the following episode, when, upon regaining her freedom, Ryuko struggles to refer to Satsuki as her sister; in fact, in one of the earlier scripts, Satsuki herself is noticeably upset that Ryuko can’t. While she’s been fighting for Ryuko for so long, and while she’s clearly cared for Ryuko long before knowing that Ryuko was the sister she’d been fighting for, Satsuki’s lies keep Ryuko distanced from her even once the truth is revealed.
Satsuki: SNAP OUT OF IT, RYUKO!
But Ryuko and Satsuki’s sad history makes the moment that Satsuki does finally get through to Ryuko so dang sweet. Once Satsuki makes her heart and feelings clear, she holds the same power as Mako and Senketsu do when it comes to Ryuko, just as a sister should.
Corrigan, Timothy and Patricia White. The Film Experience: An Introduction. 3rd ed., Bedford/St. Martins, 2012.
Prince, Stephen. Movies and Meaning: An Introduction to Film. 6th ed., Pearson, 2013.
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