Sanpei and Saki in the anime
I just wanted to take a moment to appreciate Sanpei Nowaki. After Saki, he’s my favorite character in the first Sukeban Deka series.
For those who don’t know, Sanpei is Saki’s biggest admirer. We first meet him in episode 2, when Saki returns to Takanoha high. He approaches her, introducing himself and saying that he has “a soft spot for strong women”, and asks her out. Saki sticks her tongue out at him and drives away on her motorcycle, leaving him smitten.
He helps save Saki multiple times, and eventually gains Jin’s trust in protecting her, but he’s not her savior. He lets her be the star of the show while still protecting her in every way he can.
He’s upbeat and positive, a perfect foil for Saki’s serious demeanor. Any fans of Nancy Drew will see parallels between him and the Ned Nickerson of the 30’s, 40’s and 90’s (I’m a huge Nancy Drew nerd as well!).
He’s open about his feelings for her, but accepts that either she doesn’t reciprocate or is just too busy for romance, and doesn’t force her otherwise.
While he's a supporting character in a show most of the Western world doesn't know about, I think that there should be more male characters written like him.
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