Why did Kyoko try to help Sayaka?
As I said before, the best way to answer this question is to look back at what Kyoko said herself.
"It'd be like a story where love and courage wins, you know? When I think about it, I became a Mahou Shoujo because I loved those stories. Although I've already seen past that, Sayaka has led me back to that reason again." - Kyoko, Episode 9.
After witnessing the destruction of her family due to her wish filled with these virtues, she concluded that the bases of the wish, love and courage, were the sole causes of her family's demise. Therefore, she concluded in her mind that love and courage were fatal illusions that destroyed everyone they were directed towards.
Such is the cruel truth of the world that Kyoko claimed to have learned from her experience.
With this conclusion in mind, she crossed paths with Miki Sayaka, a young girl who seemed just as delusional as she was when she was a child. Indeed, the two of them attempted to fight to the death, because the new Kyoko hated seeing anything that looked like her weak and innocent self, who was full of virtues like love and courage. Kyoko was determined to crush such things under her spear for as long as she lived.
However, either because she grew tired of fighting to the death with Sayaka or for more complicated emotional reasons due to the growing amount of time that Kyoko was exposed to Sayaka, we begin to see Kyoko approach Sayaka in a calm and even friendly manner.
In Episode 7, we see Kyoko invite Sayaka over to her father's old church to tell Sayaka about her past. She also gives Sayaka advice on what to do.
When Sayaka asked Kyoko why she was talking to her about her past, (trying to give her advice), Kyoko responded by stating this:
"We both started from a mistaken conclusion. There's no reason to continue on the path you've chosen. You already paid plenty for it. That why I think you should think about changing your ways... I can see the differences between us. And I can see that you've started down the wrong path. I can't just sit and watch. - Sakura Kyoko Episode 7.
What is implied by Kyoko with her last remark, "I can't just sit here and watch", is that she can't bear to see herself going down the wrong path.
But why does it cause Kyoko pain to see Sayaka follow down a path she's been on before?
We may never know the answer to this question, since it is never made clear. Perhaps Kyoko's intentions are actually shallow, with little reasoning behind them.
And oddly enough, this sounds vaguely similar to those who describe their intentions for loving others. And it isn't as if Kyoko was not aware of this either, as seen here:
"This might make people think that I am a fool, but... I absolutely do not want to give up, until we know for sure that she can't be saved." - Kyoko Sakura, Episode 9.
What Kyoko's statement proves is that she knows that there is little logical reasoning behind her actions.
Kyoko understands that her actions are foolish. Yet she performs them anyway.
When I say foolish, I mean that her actions have little reasoning behind them. However, for a reason that is not clearly explained, she does not wish to give up.
Sakura Kyoko, the Mahou Shoujo of survival, logic, and reasoning, has definitely changed. For the first time since her childhood, she decided to act upon her feelings rather than her survival instincts.
"Didn't you say that you believe that you can use this strength to bring happiness to people?" - Kyoko, Episode 9.
Kyoko's question towards Sayaka during their final battle clearly shows Kyoko's new self. Instead of criticizing Sayaka for fighting for the happiness of others, she's asking her why she stopped doing it.
The situation has clearly been reversed, Sayaka lost all reason for fighting for others and Kyoko finally found a reason to do just that.
Kyoko's new self is shown again just before her death in Episode 9.
"I beg you, God... If this is how my life ends... Let me see a happy dream, just once..." - Sakura Kyoko, Episode 9.
Kyoko's wish before her death is further proof of her change. Kyoko, the perfect fighter, (in a logical and intellectual sense), is asking God, an invisible and illogical being, to give her the foolish illusion of a happy dream.
Basically, Kyoko weighed two things on her inner personal scale:
Emotion vs. survival
Dream vs. reality
Life vs. death
Happiness vs. loneliness
"Being by yourself must be very lonely... Don't worry, I'll stay with you, Sayaka." - Kyoko, Episode 9.
But why does it cause Kyoko pain to see Sayaka follow down a path she's been on before?
Perhaps the above statement is the answer to this question.
Kyoko has faced the same type of trial that Sayaka face. Therefore, she understands the same kind of suffering that came of it. Thus, it is not impossible to say that Kyoko understood the loneliness, which is obviously portrayed as high form of suffering, that Sayaka was facing by herself.
Yet, wouldn't the old Kyoko look at Sayaka and say she deserved it? Just because she knows what Sayaka is going through doesn't mean she has to save her.
Once again, a logical answer remains unapparent. Perhaps there is no logical answer.
However, she felt happy, nonetheless. We see this by the delicate tone of her voice, the dramatic change in her character, and the smile that she wore before she destroyed herself along with Sayaka's witch form.
When weighing her ideals on a scale, Kyoko came to a decision that love and happiness meant more than survival and longevity in the life of a human. And so, her subsequent actions came to show her new ideals, or rather, her old ideals as a child.
I cannot go into more details as to why Kyoko ended up scaling the power of emotions over the power of logical thinking, or why she decided that she wouldn't feel happy if Sayaka was lonely in death, because like I already said, a logical answer is never clearly mentioned.
And because of the lack of an answer, the only thing we can assume is that Kyoko loved her, whatever that may mean.
And thus, Sakura Kyoko found redemption through attempting to save Miki Sayaka, because she died in the bliss of a happy dream, rather than the loneliness of a survival-based warrior who never dreamed.
Kyoko came to found true happiness within her dream, and not within the cruel realities of the world. She was thus redeemed.
Knowing that, I would like to make this statement:
True happiness comes from dreams, not reality.
Whether or not this is true happiness is up to debate. However, it is unmistakably an intentional statement made by Urobuchi Gen through his character, Sakura Kyoko.
Such are the tragedies, survival, and redemption of Sakura Kyoko.
Hello! I was pleasantly surprised the moment I opened this page of your resource. What was the leading motivation at that moment when you followed the intention to organize your blog?
ReplyDeleteI don't watch Anime or movies or read any kind of story just for fun. The experience of immersing myself within a well-developed story exceeds the scope of "fun" for me. I find myself thinking about the universe we live in, and how things work; whether it be love, morals, etc.
DeleteBecause of my great interest in such things, I figured it to be best if I organized my thoughts on the various philosophical subjects presented to me by stories such as Mahou Shoujo Madoka Magica. Of course I want to share my thoughts and ideas to the world over the internet, but I'd have to say that my primary concern is to organize my thoughts in a manner that even I could easily understand and remember myself. (After watching a great Anime or film such as this one, you most likely experience thoughts and feelings that are jumbled up in your head, right?) I confess that that is the ultimate goal and motivation behind my blog articles.
(Sorry, I had to split the comment in two parts)
ReplyDeleteYou know, actually, it is stated, in Different Story, how she managed to survive when she saw all her family destroyed. Mami saved her, since she went to look for her when she found out, and Kyoko... when thinking about the things she had left in the world, thought about Mami, as her only ''familiar'' left. After that, well, she changed her view on life, and abandoned Mami.
But as I said, I think Kyoko preferred to lock her feelings and force the change. When remembering those things, she would tell herself she was wrong and dismiss the thought. That is something I think she reinforces with food, that's why she's seen almost all the time with something to eat. It would make sense, since forgetting about the past is her attempt, and one of the major things that her past carries along the way is starving (plus, the death of her family, and her naive ideals). She obviously appreciates food more than anything, but it is noticeable with only looking at the way she devours it. Not only she does it to avoid feeling hunger, but to leave aside her old-self and reinforce her 'new' self. Kyoko is the kind of person that locks her feelings in order to function the way she believes is the right. She knew she wasn't happy, but it was just as simple as to erase that thought and continue on surviving, as she thinks is, as you said, the one thing that matters the most for a human being. At least until she's forced to deal with her own inner self, when meeting Sayaka.
And the change is inevitable. When she says ''Protect the one thing that matters to you the most'', she's implying that she'd always wanted to fight for someone else, to protect the ones that she loved, even after all the things that occurred to her. She still believes in love. She still believes in courage, in justice, and wants to fight against the cruelty of the world, even if she knows that's the real nature. Because, more or less, that is something we all do. We intend to live a happy life, whatever that would mean to each one of us, even when knowing the world in most cases, won't let us have it. We try because we hope. We hope we can fight against the injustices of the world, with our own hands, in order to live upon our dreams. So, in some way, it is true, that true happiness comes from the dreams we built, and not from accepting the world's cruelty and giving up on our happiness. Because, if we're not here to be happy, then what is our reason to live?
You know, in Madoka Portable, Kyoko's Route is actually called ''My Only Hope Left'', referring to Sayaka. So... yes, it is accurate. Kyoko sees her own salvation in Sayaka, a relief for all the things she's been holding on.
Great post, the people like you are the ones that I really admire.
(Sorry, it is backwards, I'm not even sure if this comment actually appeared in your blog)
ReplyDeleteI totally loved your post. I'm like... naturally attracted to people like Kyoko, like the way she truly is. I practically fell in love with her. I don't know why, but I'm the kind of person that constantly analyzes people around me, I can't help it. And over the years I came to the realization that I really have a 'thing' for people that have lost their way on life. May I explain myself? I'm a very idealistic person, and... Sometimes I see people that constantly struggle with their lives, or people that strongly believed in love, and the kind of stuff you call dreams, but have lost it because of rough experiences. It's like... I cannot help it, but I feel the urge, the inevitable need to ''save'' them, in some kind of way. It's maybe some kind of ''Hero Complex'', but I just seem to fall for people that very on the inside, still believe in those kind of idealistic world, but cannot let that come out, for x reasons. That's why I practically love Kyoko, since she's exactly the kind of person that I like and tend to fall in love with.
So, you have no idea how much I loved reading this.
I just wanted to add something I think is relevant to her character. She quotes, just when she's about to pray to God, that ''You must only protect the one thing that matters to you the most. It's funny. All this time, I thought that was what I was doing.'' This adds more weight to the fact that she's been self-centered until *someone* made her realize that she's been wrong. I think, she locked her feelings inside her, but, experience tells you that you cannot escape who you really are. Forcing feelings, or forcing someone to change their ideals is never the answer. Forcing is never the answer. Perhaps, she's been all this time, as shown in her quote (''Let me see a happy dream, just for once''), waiting for something. I think, deep down, she knew she wasn't happy, but she couldn't otherwise.