[Analysis] The Dehumanization of Kaede Kazeki
Man, I sure get into some weird topics, sometimes.
I recently did a deep dive into the lore of a little series by mangaka Uziga Waita called "Mai-chan's Daily Life". Yes, that series. If you're familiar with the series, you might be thinking… "What 'lore'? Isn't it just gore porn?" Well, yes. It very much is gore porn. However, in my recently poking around, I stumbled upon what appears to be, or could possibly be, a prequel series starring the head maid, "Kaede Kazeki". (She made that last name up.) And, wow, it's quite the journey.
The "prequel" series is titled "In a Quagmire" and the specific story is called "Fragile". It stars another character who would later appear in Mai-chan's Daily Life, Sayuri. ("Sayurin", in that series.) However, instead of being a "pet" of Kaede's… she's the adult daughter of a wealthy plutocrat. The story is more-or-less about her and her efforts to come into her own… but the real story is about Kaede, and how she affects and manipulates Sayuri. I'll give you a run-down of the sequence of events and some thoughts, but I should warn you… this is not at all safe for work. I hate to put this behind a "mature content" warning, but it really is necessary, given the subject matter.
Anyway. Here's a rundown of "In a Quagmire" and some thoughts.
- One day, while walking home, Sayuri - the sheltered daughter of a wealthy plutocrat - hears something in the park. When she goes to look, she sees a woman with sharp features being sexually abused by a gang of homeless vagrants! At least, that's what she thinks. As she watches, she notices the woman reveling in carnal bliss. The woman isn't being forced upon at all - she's a willing participant!
- Sayuri runs home after witnessing the act, her mind buzzing with questions. She heads off to bed, trying to push the visions out of her mind. As she flops on her covers, she noticed an unlabeled cassette tape laying there. Curious, she puts it into her VCR and… it's a video of a different woman completely giving herself to a group of random men!
- Sayuri barely sleeps that night. The next day, she heads to the luxurious bath in her family mansion, thinking about her future. As she starts to relax, she hears someone coming and hides. Peering out from behind a column, she sees the other maid of the mansion arrive with her boyfriend. Apparently, the maid was informed no one would be there. Neither of them notice Sayuri as they begin to fool around. The sight stirs something in Sayuri's mind, but she continues to resist.
- When the maid and her boyfriend finish, Sayuri overhears them talking about her like she's some unreachable, prudish woman. This plants doubts in her head. As she tries to climb out of the heated bath, however, the physical, mental, and emotional sensations overwhelm her and she faints. When she wakes up, she's naked in the public park.
- To Sayuri's further shock, Kaede is there, too, fully dressed and cheerfully claiming "a naked walk seemed like a good idea". Sayuri protests and demands to be escorted home… only for some men to come out of the woodwork. The men approach Kaede and she removes her glasses. As she starts to get felt up, Sayuri begins to realize… that short-haired woman she saw in the park, the other night… was Kaede!
- Kaede gives Sayuri an ultimatum: sit there and watch her have sex with homeless men, or try and get home by herself, naked and vulnerable. Sayuri begrudgingly agrees to sit and wait. As she watches the proceedings, though, she feels her body warm and her head become clouded. Seeing one of her maids lose herself to lust like that is confusing… but strangely kind of exciting, too. She doesn't understand it.
- Eventually, some of the men gravitate toward Sayuri and begin touching her. Kaede does nothing to stop this and even playfully comments on how the men are "keeping her warm" during the cold night. Slowly but surely, Sayuri begins to lean into their touch, the shock more exciting than unbearable.
- Things escalate as the men finish with Kaede and approach Sayuri, making her touch them. One grows especially bold and gets into position. And just like that… Sayuri loses her virginity. Without love. Without affection. It's a nightmare come true.
- After everything, Kaede returns the emotionally shattered Sayuri home. For a week, Sayuri shuts herself in her room. Finally, Kaede approaches… and gets a violent slap across the face for her trouble as Sayuri says understandably awful things, questioning her every action and motive. But then… Kaede hugs her.
- Slowly, Kaede opens up, explaining that she lived a similar life to Sayuri when she was younger. She goes on to say that her own mother tried to kill them both by throwing their car over a cliff, then ends by explaining that she couldn't stand to see something similar happen to Sayuri. Everything she'd done has been to free her from the "gilded cage" her father keeps her in. And, to add to all of that… Kaede kisses Sayuri as a lover might, and tells her not to throw her life away.
- After Kaede's confession and direct actions, Sayuri returns to her usual cheerful self - if not a bit happier! The two begin exploring their newfound relationship, spending time together around the manor, drinking tea, watching the sun set, and of course, making love in secret.
- During one particular night, Sayuri asks Kaede if she loves her. Kaede immediately tells her, with a big smile, that she loves Sayuri more than anything. This simple but powerful statement unlocks Sayuri's heart further… and she gives her entire heart and body to Kaede, who is deeply touched by the gesture. Little do either know, however, that Sayuri's father, the plutocrat, is beholden to everything via one-way transmitter…
- In a flashback, we learn that after committing to one another, Kaede convinces Sayuri to reveal her "true self" to some of the housekeepers of the manor. She's extremely hesitant at first, but Kaede reminds her of what the one man said… that she's "untouchable" and "prudish". Sayuri, against her better judgment, slowly allows herself to shatter that image and, before long, she's engaging in completely consensual intercourse with many men as they praise her with words of adoration and affection, Kaede looking on in pride during.
- Sometime later, Sayuri's father calls her and Kaede in to his study. He proudly announces that he's arranged Sayuri to be wed to the son of a wealthy businessman. Sayuri, understandably, wants nothing to do with that. After she leaves, the plutocrat turns his attention to Kaede… and Kaede cuts him off with a hard slap to the face. As he lays on the floor stunned, she tells him she knows who he is and what he's done…
- As it turns out, when Kaede was a young girl, Sayuri's father bought out her father's company and, through manipulation or threats, pushed her father to the breaking point. On top of that, he made her watch as he forcefully took her mother to bed time and time again. And then, eventually… he forced her into the same position as her mother watched in horror.
- Kaede finishes by telling him about her mother's plan to kill them both and how she dragged herself back up from the seaside cliff, empowered wholly by the idea of getting revenge. She proudly proclaims she doesn't care what happens next; her revenge is complete and she's satisfied. With that, she leaves his employment and disappears.
- The next day, Sayuri finds out Kaede is gone and sets out to find her. That night, distraught and desperate, she winds up at that same park where she first saw Kaede giving herself out. She knew Kaede would be there… Unfortunately, Kaede was nowhere to be found. Her heart shattered and emotions burning, she fell apart.
- Meanwhile, Sayuri's father heads out to the same park, having been told by Kaede the previous day that he should be there that night. To his horror, he's informed that her daughter was found being violated by homeless men. As she approaches his naked daughter, though, she does something he didn't anticipate… and tries to seduce him. Kaede truly got her revenge… through his daughter.
After reading this series, I started to think about the connections it has to Mai-chan's Daily Life. Kaede is, of course, a central character in that series. She is much darker and colder than she is in In a Quagmire, but it's still her. Sayuri is there, briefly, too… but broken, amputated, and made to be a subservient "pet". Amusingly, Mai - or a woman who looks like Mai - is in both series, as well, as she's the woman who was on that video tape.
I'm 100% certain Mai appearing in both series is entirely a coincidence, though, as they're clearly not the same character despite looking exactly the same right down to the plaid hair bow. However… I can kind of see Kaede and Sayuri being the same characters, years on. Like, the way I figure it, Kaede eventually found employment with a new master, and after some time had passed, she went out and looked for Sayuri. Then, after a one-sided tearful reunion… Sayuri gave her whole to Kaede again, too broken to say "no" and too overcome with joy to resist. Sadly, Kaede had all but lost whatever humanity she'd had in those younger days. She only cared to make Mai's life a living Hell, almost out of some twisted form of amusement. As such, she made an example out of Sayuri, forcing Mai to take care of her after she had made her "modifications". Or something like that. However, when Sayuri ended up dying from an accident (spoilers, hah), a glimmer of humanity found its way to Kaede's cold, calculating surface. She sat with Sayuri as the light left her eyes.
When Mai recovered and saw what had happened, she broke down in hysterical laughter, overcome with with the cruel, "hilarious" irony that she, herself, could be taken to the brink of destruction and survive just fine, yet one single stray accident was enough to end Sayuri's life. Kaede didn't take this sitting down. She attacked Mai and forced her to watch Sayuri return to the earth. By the end of it, though, Mai had emotionally shut down and given up. As an act of mercy, or maybe to benefit her own selfish desires, she erased Sayuri from Mai's memory. Still… it seemed like there was some humanity left in Kaede, even if it was twisted and tarnished.
I genuinely had no idea this author had reused his characters across their works, much less left things so open to interpretation. Considering Mai-chan's Daily Life was released in 2004 while In a Quagmire was released in 2002, it's entirely possible all of this was completely intentional and the connections were meant to be seen. It's also possible that the two series are entirely unrelated, or take place in "alternate timelines". However, I like to think that the story told in In a Quagmire explains why Kaede is the way that she is in Mai-chan's Daily Life. Maybe that's just me, though.
~ J