Satō Matsuzaka (松坂 さとう Matsuzaka Satō), also spelled Satou Matsuzaka, is the main heroine of Happy Sugar Life. She is a first-year student attending Makisuhara High School who finally learns what true love means for the first time after meeting a young girl called Shio Kōbe, falling in love with her and living with her in a shared apartment.
Publicly, she tells people and writes in documents that she resides with her aunt, and keeps the fact that she lives with Shio a secret and does everything to protect their “Happy Sugar Life”.
Appearance
Satou is a beautiful fair-skinned girl with thigh-length light bubblegum pink hair that is usually tied in small buns on each side of her head with the left one being decorated with a white lace around it and a red plaid patterned ribbon and she has big dark-crimson eyes.
Her wardrobe changes, but she usually wears a brown vest with two golden buttons, a navy blue jacket-like blazer and a green skirt with black knee-high socks and brown shoes - her school uniform.
She often carries around her blue bag with fake sweets. Inside is a taser, a knife and other tools that she might use to protect herself or when committing murder.
Personality
Outwardly, Satou appears to be a kind girl who enjoys spending time with her friend Shōko Hida. Apparently, Satou is somewhat of an idol for her co-workers and she is admired by the people around her, always being friendly and knowing what to do in any situation. Shōko reveals the fact that Satou has had many stalkers before. She is also popular at her school and seems to be well-educated, practical and usually uplifts her coworkers at work whenever they didn't look like her.
However, her personality is all a façade and in reality, Satou is a manipulator who is willing to lie, cheat and even going as far as killing if that means that she'll get what she wants, which is being able to stay with Shio Kōbe. Satou snaps when she sees someone as a threat to Shio or to her sugar happiness with her, such as the previous owner of her apartment and Asahi Kōbe, which she refrained from bashing his head in with a crowbar due to him saying her and Shio's vows when asleep. Although she does understand that killing would reduce her chance of being with Shio, she does it anyway to protect her sugar love. She usually plans things ahead and uses social manipulation to get her way rather than violence, like what she did to Sumire Miyazaki after she had kissed her.
Satō's yandere eyes
Satou did seem to show some remorse when she first murdered Shouko. She seemed to object to killing her friend, but didn't see any other way to get rid of her. Satou usually uses her aunt as an excuse for her behavior whenever she has self-doubt or feels guilty. This is the only way she can accept the kind of a person she became.
Many of her behavioral symptoms are tied to the Yandere trope for her and Shio to live in and spend their days together forever, away from the "corrupted and filthy" outside world.
Background
Satō as a child with her aunt
At a young age, Satou's parents had passed away in an unknown accident, leaving Satou in custody of her aunt. Satou's aunt would often bring by strange men to sexually and physically abuse her for fun while Satou was quietly observing it. Her aunt taught Satou about different types of love throughout her childhood, raising Satou with deranged ethics to accept all types of "love" and to love everyone. Her aunt stated she had to swallow up all of Satou's joy and desires, such as Satou's teddy bear that had been ripped apart by her aunt. She tells Satou that this type of behavior was considered "love". It is because of this type of upbringing that made Satou have mixed feelings about love. She dislikes the thought of loving everyone as she is firmly convinced there should be one person to love the most in the world. In an attempt to find this person, Satou would regularly hang around and sleep with many boys and men, but no special feelings bloomed, only a feeling of bitterness settled in her heart.
One day it was raining and an artist asked Satou if she wanted to stay inside his house so she can dry off. Satou accepted the offer and offered to repay him in exchange for the shelter and modeled for a painting. From then on, she regularly visited his apartment. They had conversations regularly while he was drawing Satou. However, when Satou brought Shio Kōbe to the apartment, the artist noticed that Satou behaved very strangely and different from usually. As a result, he tried to strangle Shio while Satou was searching for towels in the bathroom, which lead to his brutal death at the hands of Satou. Satou took over his apartment as her own castle and locked the room splattered with his blood on the wall, butchering his corpse and later on having it incinerated. His paintings can be seen at the back of the room, covered with a piece of fabric.
After meeting Shio, Satou stopped hanging out and sleeping with guys and began taking on a part-time job in order to earn enough money to support both Shio and herself.
Satou learns about a restaurant known as the Princess Imperial, and decides to work there. While there, Taiyō Mitsuboshi asks Satou out for a date only to be turned down. From there, it appeared as though Mitsuboshi quit the restaurant out of despair of having been rejected. When the employees get their checks, Satou notices that her check was short despite working more hours for the restaurant. While conversing with the Princess Imperial Manager, Satou notices her cabinet, realizing that Mitsuboshi was actually trapped in there. The manager explains to her that she had kidnapped Mitsuboshi because she overheard him say that he loved Satou instead of her. Enraged by this, she kidnapped Mitsuboshi, forcefully molesting him as her way of making him love her. Unfortunately for her, Satou filmed her confession on her phone and suggests that she leak the footage to the public lest she be given her due, leading to the manager to forcefully surrender. After Mitsuboshi was freed, Satou possibly uploaded the video and ruined the manager's life.
Shortly afterward, Satou returns to her high school where she is confronted by her teacher Daichi Kitaumekawa. After this, she discovers that he was following her and so leads him into an alleyway. When Daichi was trying to make advances on her, Satou activates her safety alarm, alerting residents and scaring her teacher off. The next day, she forces her teacher onto the ground and stomps on his crotch, manipulating him into helping her get rid of the garbage bags from the pantry under the threat of destroying his livelihood. Satou returns to her original job where she runs into Mitsuboshi. After he saves Asahi Kōbe from getting savagely beaten up by thugs, Asahi is taken to the back to recuperate. Alone with the young boy, Satou realizes that Asahi had connections with Shio when she overhears him reciting the "wedding" oath to himself. Fearing the worst, Satou grabs a crowbar and approaches him.
Satou killing Shōko.
Later on in the manga, Satou's friend, Shōko Hida finds Shio and takes a picture of her with her phone. Despite offering to hand over the phone to her, Satou slits her throat out of fear that she might go to the authorities about what she had discovered. However, unbeknownst to her, Shouko had managed to send the photo to Asahi prior. As Shouko was the only link that Satou had with the outside world, Satou became more unhinged. Realizing that her cover could potentially get blown, Satou convinces Shio to run away with her to some other location, hopefully a tropical island. The two then decide to actually become married and Satou buys rings for her and Shio.
Satou protecting Shio from the fall impact
After forging a pseudo wedding with Shio, Satou goes to her aunt's and informs her about what she had done, and that she felt entitled for her aunt to assist her in her getaway because of her being "poisoned" by her aunt's feelings on love. The plan is to gather several containers of gasoline, and set the room on fire. Satou would pass off Shouko's body as her own, ergo faking her death. She dresses the corpse in her clothes, and mentally removes Shouko from her mind, destroying any lingering remorse that remained. She then tosses Shouko's phone on a moving truck.
Satou tasks her aunt with burning the apartment building to the ground as a means of covering her tracks. Just when Satou was about to escape with Shio, she realizes that she left her ring at the apartment. While searching for it, the two are confronted by Asahi who is surprised to hear Shio proclaim that she was going to stay with Satou even after Asahi gave her the facts about what happened on the day their mother abandoned her in the streets. With no way off the roof, Shio and Satou opt to jump. As the two were plummeting, Satou realizes what the current emotion she’s feeling is, and thats wanting to save Shio. Satou shields Shio with her body, taking on the full blow and dying instantly.
Relationships
Shio Kōbe
Satou and Shio
- Shio is Satou's sugar love. They first met in an alleyway, shortly after Shio was abandoned by Shio's mother. She is willing to do anything it takes to protect their happy sugar life. She keeps Shio shut in their "castle" and locks the door to prevent Shio from going out. She looks at her love for Shio to be sweet and genuine, unlike the bitter feeling she had only experienced prior.
- Satou loves Shio with all her heart, devoting herself to her part-time job and saving money by cooking in order to maintain her life with Shio. Satou also tries to make Shio happy by, for example, bringing her different types of cake.
- Although she jumped from the rooftop of a burning building and attempted suicide, she learned "true love" just before her death and died by protecting Shio, saying "I want Shio to live."
Satō's Aunt
- Sato's relationship with her aunt is complicated to say the least, since her aunt is Satou's only living blood relative. After her parents' death, Satou followed her aunt to her apartment so she took Satou in. Satou is ashamed of her aunt and finds her strange, firmly told her aunt that her apartment smells. Her aunt thinks that Satou is adorable.
- However, being raised by her aunt has left a bad taste in her mouth. She seldom sees her aunt and holds her in a low regard. Despite that, Satou is willing to cooperate with her if it means she'll be able to stay and run away with Shio. On legal documents specifying where she lives, she uses her aunt's address instead of her own, wanting to keep Shio a secret from everyone. When Satou's aunt tells Satou that she is overstepping her boundaries, killing for love and that she'll grow into a dirty adult, Satou grabs and twists her aunt's collar, demanding that she takes responsibility for raising her. Satou's aunt was initially shocked but agreed to take responsibility. Satou doesn't consider her aunt to have truly loved her since she loves everyone just the same.
- Auntie immediately noticed the moment when Satou killed Shouko, but promises not to tell the police or anyone else and tells Satou that she isn't the first person who came to her saying they killed someone. She also supported Satou's plan to move elsewhere after the murder, providing her large sums of cash and committing arson to burn all the evidence.
- When Satou died from falling off the building with Shio, she showed no regrets at all as she believed Satou lived a blissful life. However, she remarks that she has no way of verifying Satou's happiness and was truly sorry that she couldn't see Satou's face when she committed suicide. However, upon looking at the ceiling and asking how Satou's love and last moments were, she giggled, reminiscing Satou's face. She promises that she'll keep loving Satou, even though she can't see her anymore.
Shōko Hida
- Satou's former best friend who often hung out and shared conversations with Satou. They were very important to one another. However, after betraying her trust by taking a while to answer if she still wants to be friends with Satou after she meets the aunt and eventually taking a picture of Satou and Shio, Satou slices her throat for taking a picture of her and Shio. Satou doesn't dispose of the body, cleaning her up and dressing her in her own uniform, leaving her in the apartment to burn with the fire.
Asahi Kōbe
Shio witnessing Satou and Asahi fight.
- Satou believes Asahi to be the bane in her relationship with Shio and will do anything it takes to keep Asahi away from Shio. She nearly bashed his head in with a crowbar when she was alone with him at the café. Asahi holds a similar contempt for Satou, holding her responsible for breaking up his family and killing Shouko.
- The two come head to head at the end of the anime and manga as both parties fight and trying to get Shio away from the other, all while Asahi yells at her to give Shio back. They only stop fighting when Shio screams for Asahi to stop hurting Satou. After being rejected by Shio for the likes of Satou, the apartment collapses and that is the last that Asahi sees of the pair together. It is likely he holds hatred for Satou for destroying Shio's state of mind in the end.
Taiyō Mitsuboshi
- She first met Taiyou at work and they quickly became friends, Taiyou even confessed to Satou at some point, although she turned him down. She also rescued him from being sexually abused by their old manager. However once she realizes his obsession of being purified by Shio, he becomes nothing more to her than a pawn she uses to get her way. She exploits the fact that Taiyou wants Shio to get him to make sure Asahi stays far away from Shio.
Sumire Miyazaki
Satou manipulating Sumire Miyazaki
- Sumire highly idolizes Satou and wants to be exactly like her, even in appearance. Satou had to even lie to her by saying she loved her to in order to make sure Sumire did not try to pry into her personal life again. Sumire falls for her senpai and is also the one who gives Satou and Shio her sister's and her passport so they can leave the country. Sumire appears to be mentally crushed in the end upon hearing Satou's death on television.
Daichi Kitaumekawa
- Daichi is a perverted teacher and a masochist who teaches Satou at her high school. Despite already having a family, he wants to have a harem for himself. However, his obsession with Satou and perversion made him a prime target for manipulation. Satou only uses him as an errand boy and nothing else. He likes to see Satou get in trouble like when the police came to her apartment but was completely dumbfounded when he realizes that Satou's aunt is actually alive.
Quotes
Etymology
- The name Satō means "sugar" (さとう) in Hiragana.
- Satou's surname Matsuzaka means "pine tree, fir tree" (松) (matsu) and "slope, hill" (坂) (saka/zaka).
Trivia
- While Satou is obsessively in love with Shio Kōbe, she is never shown to have sexual feelings or intentions towards Shio.
- This may be influenced by Satou's desire to preserve Shio's purity and innocence.
- Shio describes Satou's heart as an "empty, but not broken" jar when they initially met.
- Satou makes all of Shio's clothes with the exception of her blue long-sleeved school uniform.
- Satou loves sweets and hates bitter things, most likely because her aunt often left her with a jar of candy. She categorizes what she experiences based on sweetness and bitterness.
- Satou is responsible for four homicides throughout the entire series:
- The Painter
- Two thugs in the park
- Shōko Hida
- According to Shouko, Satou wears non-appealing underwear.
- Satou used to sleep around with boys in an attempt to find love before she stopped doing that after meeting Shio.
- Satou used to be into candy decorations, some of which still dangling from her schoolbag or decorating her phone case.
- Satou is an excellent cook and a skilled waitress.
- When asked about her hobbies, Satou answers with movies, shopping, having tea and chatting with her friends in cafes. She also used to regularly visit a spa with Shouko before meeting Shio and saving her money.
- Satou believes that TV personalities are amazing and that she could never do what they do.
Gallery
Character Design
.jpg "FULL-ANIME-SATO(1).jpg (129 KB)")
.jpg "FULL-MANGA-SATO(1).jpg (207 KB)")
Manga
Anime
Gifs
.gif "Tenor (37).gif (2.31 MB)")
Other
Notes
| Characters | |
|---|---|
| Main Characters | Satō Matsuzaka · Shio Kōbe · Asahi Kōbe |
| Blood Relatives | Yūna Kōbe · Satō's Aunt · Yūna's Husband |
| Side Characters | Shōko Hida · Taiyō Mitsuboshi · Daichi Kitaumekawa · Sumire Miyazaki · Princess Imperial Manager |
| Minor Characters | The Painter · Rei Midorino / Kai Kurokawa · Mitori Tajima · Princess Imperial Employee · Taiyō's Mother · Shizuka Kitaumekawa · Minori Kitaumekawa · Mei Kunizuka · Reika Oboroki · Misuzu Sandō |