幸色のワンルーム

SACHI-IRO NO ONE ROOM

MANGA

STATUS
COMPLETE
VOLUMES
11
RELEASE
December 21, 2022
CHAPTERS
69

DESCRIPTION

That day, she was abducted. But to her, that abduction was a ray of hope -- the beginning of a new life. The girl promises to marry her abductor, and the abductor offers plenty of "happiness." This is the story of an abductor and his victim... How could it be so warm?

(Source: Crunchyroll)

Note: Chapter count includes one bonus chapter.

CAST

Sachi
Onii-san
Hijiri Matsubase
Ryotarou Yashiro
Miho Satou
Tsugumi Hitotsugi
Shin Katagiri
Sachi's Mother

CHAPTERS

RELATED TO SACHI-IRO NO ONE ROOM

Cover Art for Sachi-iro No One Room Gaiden: Seikai No Meitantei

MANGA DramaSachi-iro No One Room Gaiden: Seikai No Meitantei

REVIEWS

Kumichou
94/100
It's a story that I wasn't really expecting, it was so much more than that.
(Review was written after reading 39 chapters)

The description for it was not helping as well. It was not that appealing as I'm not a fan of relationships established around abuse or forced affection. The description gave me this preconceived notion that it's just another yandere manga centered around an obsessive relationship. Contrary to my expectations, it didn't happen. I was expecting the author to take the usual shoujo route where people are forced to develop feelings for one another and sugar coat everything and the audience will have to accept it without questioning prior occurrences within the relationship. Halfway through I scratched the romance out of the story despite it being a tag on some websites. For me, it was a story of dependence and looking for a reason to live.

Plot/Story (8/10)
The plot of the story is centered around xxx-san (who will be then named "Sachi" after a few chapters) who was abused by her parents, bullied by her classmates, and sexually assaulted by her teacher, was kidnapped by her stalker.

I was a bit cautious to continue on as the beginning of the manga was following the typical slice of life route, depicting their daily lives as their time together passes. But I was still curious about what prompted these characters to make these decisions so I continued reading. Things started to pick up around chapter 5 so I was glad I continued reading.

I love how the manga continues to remind the characters, in extension the audience, that what is happening to Sachi is bad. The manga makes it clear how dysfunctional and how the whole kidnapping this is absolutely unacceptable to society. At the same time, it also points out how it is technically the best option Sachi has for now. It continues to remind the audience that kidnapping is unacceptable but at the same time it begs the question, what if it's the best option? I was in constant dilemma because of this.

Again the story starts off a little dry and slice-of-life like, but as you go down the ladder things started to heat up, and cracks from the characters masks starts to show up. More characters are added in and the plot thickens.

Though this can be viewed as another kidnapper x victim, it wasn't really the point after a few chapters. Sachi was more than happy to be kidnapped. She was happy because finally, she can be somewhere away from the cruel life she was leading. Sachi has a lot of freedom in the hands of her "kidnapper" as well. So the term kidnapping is a bit ambiguous at some point. Hence, ruling out my preconceived notion that this story depicts Stockholm Syndrome.

Which brings us tot he next point, the Characters.

Characters (10/10)
Two people with their own complicated circumstances end up depending on one another. It's a relationship established around dependency and the benefits they can make out of it, not out of love. That was one of the reasons why I ruled out the possibility of a romance between them. At around chapter 27, their relationship started looking very platonic

The characters were the main appealing point for me throughout the whole story. Both characters are smart and very aware of what they are doing and the consequences of their actions. It was very interesting to watch them struggle through different problems. This led to very interesting discussions between the characters.

For one thing, the character's interests and thoughts about their relationship are not necessarily aligned with one another. It's not a "us against the world" situation. The "us" part in their relationship started to draw a line the moment their true intentions are revealed. It was interesting how they can depend on one another but at the same time have different intentions out of the relationship.

While we have the chance to pry over the character's inner thoughts, the characters are very guarded. The readers get to see a few glimpses, but I as the reader, was also led to believe that they, as the characters, don't understand their thoughts that much as well. Which led me to think that the main characters are very unreliable narrators of their own tragedy.

As of now, their personalities and ideologies are starting to clash and the characters themselves are slowly changing as well. I can't wait to see how they will influence each other on the future chapters.

Art (9/10)
The art is clean and fits well with the story. As much as I want to see what is hidden beneath the mask of "Onii-san", I get why we don't get to see that yet. Over all, the character designs are really great as well! I especially like Hijiri Matsubase!

Overall (9/10)
So far, the plot is very promising. The characters are well-rounded and the story keeps you grounded despite its themes. Entertainment wise, this story s definitely worth your time. If you like complicated stories with deep psychological close-ups on how the characters will react to different provoking situations, then you are in for a ride. ____
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ZenTea
90/100
A dreadful story of a toxic relationship between a young girl and her kidnapper
If you know me, you know just how much I love psychological-horror and, if you knew that, you will also know just how much I'm loving this manga. Let me tell you about it.

Description

The manga I'm reviewing today is called Sachi-Iro no One Room, or One Room of Happiness for the english speaking folks.

It's current year. The news on TV is talking about a girl that has been recently kidnapped. Our protagonist, Sachi, looks at the news and then turns at the Onii-san next to her: "Look, they're talking about us!"...

Yes, you heard that right. This is the story of a young girl that has been kidnapped and yet is fine with it, going along with her kidnapper's requests. Actually, not just that, Sachi even promises her kidnapper to marry him and treats him like her savior.

This premise by itself already makes for a great psychological-horror, but, as the story progresses, the sense of dread build up as this, to say the least, toxic relationship goes on.

The best part about this manga are, without any sort of doubt, the drawings, an most importantly the full-page panels, which I could only describe as concentrated terror.

The chapters are also really long, about 30 to 40 pages each, and each one is more raw than the other. Not in a gory sense, this manga doesn't have gore scenes, but in a psychological sense. Panels that make shiver are plentyful in this manga.

One thing I can't comment on is the length of the series, as it's been on hiatus for a good while now.

Thoughts

As of writing this, I'm currently on the last available chapter in the manga and eagerly waiting for new ones to come out.

Hakuri, the mangaka, has also made a bunch of other notable oneshots, like Nante Nasakenai Bokurada. I love his style: I find his drawings extremely realistic and powerful and his way of story telling really good at psychologically intense stories.

My favourite character is definetely the Onii-san that abducted Sachi, but my favourite scene has actually nothing to do with him. I'm now going to put a spoiler tag, because this is a mild, out of context spoiler, but still a spoiler nonetheless. My favourite scene is the one where, after realizing that the police has found fingerprints of the both of them all over their house, Sachi turns around to a room full of black handprints all over the wall.

This manga is also one of the very few ones that I've read that I started off as a digital read, only to then go ahead and buy the physical volumes after realizing just how much I really liked it.

If I had to choose a good manga to recommend to a horror/thriller lover, this is definetly one of the first I'd recommend. It's at the very least a 9 out of 10 for me.
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C00kieMaster
90/100
A Kafkaesque tragedy about a complacent society
One room of happiness is a manga following the tragedy that is the life of Sacchi due to an uncaring and complaisant society while tackling the absurd bureaucracy of the modern world.

Sacchi the main protagonist of this world escaped with her alleged stalker because she had enough of the abuse she endured in her home. She went missing for days and it was officially announced by the police that she was kidnapped. And despite the official narrative of the public, she was having literally the happiest and greatest time of her entire life living with her stalker. But more tragic of all is despite the status quo that she is being kidnapped and is in danger, those that are directly involved in her life downplay the severity and treat the news of her kidnapping either as a joke or a hinderance to their own selfish needs.

Her stalker just known as Onni-san despite the only one in the world that treats her with love and kindness is labeled by the public as a dangerous criminal that has to be brought to justice. Because in accordance to the law, he is a kidnapper holding a minor hostage. It does not matter that she willingly follow him, it does not matter that he has protected her from an abusive home and life. He has broken the law according the black and whites of the written law. Which is tragic because as the manga progress we learn more about Onni-san and his character, as he is the only person in the world that actually truly care about Sacchi and is genuinely a kind individual.

Then we are introduced to the detective Matsubase who is also an active participant in the very few that genuinely wants to protect Sacchi but is too caught up with the complex bureaucracy of society to directly do so. But for him, he knows the system better than most which leads to him wanting to help Sacchi in a indirect yet rational way that does not tangle with the law. But Sacchi refuses and insist in staying in her one room of happiness.

The manga center around these 3 characters as they try to protect their safety and happiness despite uncaring and selfish wishes of society. These 3 characters know what they are currently doing is the best course of action for their own safety and their own happiness. What they are doing is not wrong, they are not hurting anyone and they are just peaceful living their lives. But in the official narrative of society, what they are doing is wrong and the 'right' thing to do is for Onni-san to be sent to prison, Matsube to have his detective license revoked and for Sacchi to go back to her abusive home.

And this is the thing about the manga which I both love and hate. It started off really optimistic and feel good with Sacchi finally escaping her terrible life and finally feeling love from somebody that actually cares for her. Sacchi finally feeling safe and happy despite her understandable trauma from her hellish life before. And throughout the story it emphasizes more how miserable her previous life was and how happy her current situation was. Yet it kept reminding us that despite how much fun and happiness our characters are having and creating in their one room of happiness, to the absurd uncaring bureaucracy of the world, they are doing the 'wrong' things and have to be corrected.

I don't want to spoil the ending to this manga, but I will say it left me with conflicting thoughts and emotions. I will just say that Sacchi being taught what love means by her stalker, in turn, reciprocate the love she received with sacrifice as she learnt from him. It was quite an emotional finale.

I like this manga, it is a strong emotional character driven story that tackles societal perception and morally grey actions. Though I don't think the ending was perfect, I could not even begin to imagine a better outcome that will satisfy the wishes and well-being of these nuanced characters. A truly captivating and conflicting read to the very end.
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