Happy Sugar Life

Episode 6

Episode 6 confirms that Satou and Shoko mutually regard each other as best friends. It also confirms that Shoko is actually a goodhearted person and not just another creep in disguise. When she confesses her love for Satou late in this episode, the confession is free of any possessiveness or obsession; she just cares deeply about her as a close friend who helped her break out of her own shell. She's also laudable for working up the courage to do what a true friend should, choosing to pry when she senses that something's wrong. But is that going to wind up getting her killed?

That's an ambiguous point coming out of the episode. Unlike when she visits Mitsuboshi earlier in the episode, Satou doesn't give Shoko her trademark psychotic glare; she merely seems surprised and unsure of how far she wants to go in trusting Shoko. Even trying to gently warn Shoko off, while it comes across as cold, shows that she does care about Shoko. However, I found it curious that, for the first time in this series, we don't once see things from Satou's viewpoint, so we can't be sure about anything. Is the series just trying to be vague about how much danger Satou might be in?

There's certainly danger afoot from other angles too. Satou's message to the reclusive Mitsuboshi is nothing short of a challenge, one that she knows Mitsuboshi can't ignore. She's no doubt planning some kind of manipulation like she did with Sumire, who has gone AWOL. The threat she may not be aware of is posed by the sadomasochistic teacher, who's become convinced that Satou did kill her aunt, although I find his reasoning flimsy. Still, characters are gradually converging in a messy direction, and I'm all for it. Shoko learning about Mitsuboshi's obsession only tangles the web further.

The potential wild card in all this is Asahi, who's explored in much greater detail in his flashback this episode. His backstory shows that the whole marriage vows tradition started with their mother, and that five years passed from the time that she escaped their abusive living situation to the time that Asahi's father finally died, theoretically allowing him to be reunited with Shio. However, the new revelation is that their mother was still alive when Shio disappeared, so she might not currently be dead. Something definitely happened given the gruesome interior of the house, but what? On the downside, the alcoholic father's level of monstrous-ness goes completely over-the-top with his habit of prying off Asahi's fingernails. This series has shown before that it isn't above resorting to caricatured portrayals of villainy, so I guess it's still in line with the show's tone, but I don't think the story needed to go that far to convey its point.

So while the parts about Shoko (and to a lesser extent Mitsuboshi) work, I find Asahi to be underwhelming as a compelling character. That's the main thing holding back an otherwise good episode.

Rating: B

Happy Sugar Life is currently streaming on Amazon Prime.