For the manga, please go to Sakura Ogawa (Manga). For the film, please go to Sakura Ogawa (Film).
Backstory[]
Sakura Ogawa (小川 さくら, Ogawa Sakura) and her boyfriend Kazuhiko Yamamoto are very insular and the most trivial things entertain them. She has a pure soul and a very gentle manner about her, despite the pain she felt over her father's death. When she was little, her father was gunned down without a warrant by the government after being suspected of antigovernmental activities. One of Sakura's favorite television shows was called "Tonight, at the Same Place." A character in the show, Mizue, decided to break up with her true love, an act that Sakura disagreed heavily with.
Sakura had always admired Kazuhiko, albeit from a distance when they first became classmates. She suspected he was someone who could understand her. Shortly after, they began dating. They enjoy going on dates in the city, to the cinema and for ice cream together. Sakura and Kazuhiko were described as the most intimate couple in the class.
Appearance[]
Sakura's hair was cut short for a girl. She had a wide forehead and a pretty profile. She was tall, which made her look slim along with the fact that she always sat up straight. She was viewed as one of the prettiest girls in her class, just behind Mitsuko Souma and Takako Chigusa. Her demeanour was calm and serene, as noted by Kazuhiko, Takako, and Shinji Mimura.
Friends and Enemies[]
Sakura did not appear to have any close friends in the class. Her boyfriend is Kazuhiko Yamamoto, whom she had dated for two years prior to the Program. She had slept with him one month before the Program began. It is unknown who her enemies are, although she views the rest of her class as friends and refuses to kill them.
In the Program[]
Before she leaves the school, Sakura passes a note to Kazuhiko, asking him to meet her on the northern tip of the island.
Sakura is the eighth student to exit the building and heads straight for the northern cliffs. Once Kazuhiko joins her there, he gives her a tiny bouquet of clover-like flowers and they sit at the edge of the cliff holding hands. Sakura murmurs how quiet it is and Kazuhiko agreed as they look out to the islands in the horizon, some of which were homes they would not be returning to. Sakura thanks Kazuhiko for the flowers and begins to remember all of the things she wouldn't be able to do anymore, as she knows it was futile to resist the government. For the first time, she explains to Kazuhiko how her father died fighting the government. He doesn't know how to respond, but tries to be understanding. Sakura breaks into a smile and thanks him for his kindness. Sakura expresses that she is very happy that she was able to spend this time with him, as she knows terrible things are going to happen, and she doesn't think she could handle them. Even if she manages to survive, she couldn't bear the thought of being without Kazuhiko. She tells him she is going to kill herself before anyone else gets the chance to. Sakura starts to cry as they agree they couldn't live without each other.
Suddenly, Sakura asks if Kazuhiko had seen the final episode of "Tonight, at the Same Place," a popular television series. He tells her he had since she had asked him to. Sakura goes on to explain how she hated the character Mizue for giving up on the guy she loved. Kazuhiko says she knew she would feel this way and grins; Sakura knows she couldn't hide anything from him. She tells him how she felt about him the first time she saw him and he returns the sentiment. He then wraps his hand around her shoulder.
After sharing one final kiss, they heard a rustling sound in the bushes behind them. They mistake this sound as someone coming to attack, and so they jump off the cliff to their deaths. They hold hands on the way down.
Sakura is mentioned in Shuya Nanahara's dream after his fight with Kazuo Kiriyama. It is said that "her head was split open like an overripe fruit" after her fall.
Etymology[]
- The name Sakura means “cherry blossoms, decoy” (さくら) in Hiragana.
- However, when written in kanji (桜 or 咲良), it could possibly mean:
- 桜—“cherry blossom”.
- 咲良—“blossom” (咲) (saku) and “good, virtuous, respectable” (良) (ra).
- However, when written in kanji (桜 or 咲良), it could possibly mean:
- Sakura's surname Ogawa means "stream, brook, bourn/bourne" (小川).
Notes and Trivia[]
- Sakura is one of seven students who has lost their virginity. The others are her boyfriend Kazuhiko Yamamoto, Shinji Mimura, Mitsuko Souma, Hirono Shimizu, Yoji Kuramoto, and his girlfriend Yoshimi Yahagi.