Waifu Wednesday: Saeko Busujima (High School of the Dead)
Welcome back once again to another Waifu Wednesday! Today I’m going to be fawning over Saeko Busujima. That’s right, we’re taking a journey to the past, back to a series I watched early on in my time as an anime fan — High School of the Dead. I can’t quite remember if the series was popular, or it was more so the fact that it was so outrageous that everyone was talking about it. Regardless, I watched it and I consider it a goddamn classic.
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Who is Saeko Busujima?
Saeko, a.k.a Best Girl, is one of the main protagonists in the series, and one of the main members of the survival group which the show follows. Before the zombie outbreak, Saeko was a third-year student at Fujimi High School and she was also the captain of the school’s Kendo club. As you can probably imagine, her experience makes her an extremely valuable member of the group, as she is the most capable when it comes to fighting.
Throughout the series, Saeko is a calm and collected character who manages to keep her composure despite the terrifying circumstances the characters find themselves in. What’s most impressive about this is that it doesn’t matter how grim the odds are, she never shows any signs of fear or worry — her unbreakable confidence is honestly hot as hell. This already has her standing out from the crowd and is one of the things that made me gravitate toward her.
We soon find out that it’s not just her being the captain of the kendo club that has improved her confidence, but the fact that she has practiced the samurai art of Bushido for her entire life. This way of life she has followed since a young age is what allows her to make the tough decisions and follow through with those choices. It’s also what allows her to control her emotions and stay calm no matter what.
Why we love Saeko Busujima
Despite the fact that I actually really enjoy this series a lot and I even went to read as much of the manga as I could after finishing it, I don’t like too many of the characters. The main girl Rei is just the absolute worst and I don’t understand how anyone could really like her. Saeko, though, is such an interesting and genuinely cool character that I couldn’t help but love her from the moment she appeared on the screen.
One of the most unexpected and interesting things about her is her secret personality that she tries her best to lock deep down inside so that no one sees it. We begin to see the signs of it as she smiles while eliminating hordes of zombies, and we soon learn that Saeko does indeed enjoy the thrill of having control over another person’s life.
This all started four years before the events of the story when she stops a would-be-molester. What starts out as self-defence quickly turns into something thrilling and oddly enjoyable for her. Ever since this point, she has believed that isn’t worthy of anyone’s love or affection, thinking that there is something wrong with her. The main character, Takashi, soon snaps her out of this by encouraging her that it’s this personality of hers that they need right now. She is arguably the reason the group manages to survive as long as they do.
Why you’ll love Saeko Busujima
Straight off the bat, Saeko is hot as hell — the long purple hair, thigh-highs and garter belt, secretly kind of crazy but in a good way… this character has a hell of a lot going for her and thinking back on it, may have been the reason I tend to like more twisted characters such as Juri from Street Fighter — hey, I learned something about myself today!
Even though the themes of the series are quite apocalyptic and serious, there is a nice little romantic subplot that’s going on in between the moments of madness. Saeko loses her will and reason to fight at a point in the story, and Takashi gives her a reason to pick up her sword once more — to fight for him. From this point, Saeko develops feelings for him, which I really enjoyed. Saeko confesses her past and sadistic nature to Takashi, and he comforts her by confessing that he too has come to embrace his sadistic side which emerged after the zombie outbreak. It’s a little bit messed up sure, but their romance is something I really enjoyed.
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