Everyone wants to be rid of painful memories from the past, but no matter how hard we try to conceal them, the memories won’t just disappear. Shizuuchi, an unstoppable wrestler in the Japanese sports drama Sanctuary, dwelt on such horrific memories for a long period of time. The memories of Shizuuchi and the root cause of his introverted, depressed appearance have been effectively shown in the series.
Shizuuchi was a small boy when his father abandoned him. Their mother had raised him and his younger brother all by herself. His mother wasn’t an ideal parent since she was a heavy drinker who frequently took out her frustrations on her boys. Shizuuchi’s entire youth had been spent in anguish without an ideal environment in the house where he could feel secure and comfortable. Shizuuchi’s mother was ostracized by the community, maybe because she was a single mother, which often caused her to suffer. As a result, she turned to alcohol to help her forget the pain she was experiencing. Her mental health, however, was deteriorating, and one day she killed herself as well as her younger son. Little Shizuuchi observed everything, and it was too much for his innocent mind to handle. But he didn’t want society to criticize his mother, so he grabbed the knife and pretended to be the murderer of his entire family.
The rumors started to circulate, and one day Mr. Ito hired a go-getter reporter who threatened him, saying that if he didn’t lose to Enno in the forthcoming tournament, he would reveal the horrible events of his early life. Shizuuchi, though, had lost his fear of such blackmail. He had always kept those tragedies inside of him and cut himself off from the outside world. He was the one who claimed the knife in the act of killing his entire family, so he was hardly worried about what others would think of him if his mysterious past was revealed to the world. When we all predicted Shizuuchi would lose the match in the next competition with Enno, an unexpected turn of events changed the atmosphere of the setting. Just when we see Enno having delusions of triumphing in the bout and celebrating his win, in actuality, he ends up getting violently beaten up by Shizuuchi. Enno’s ear was ripped off, and he had to be brought to the hospital due to massive blood loss.
During the commencement of a fight, we observed Shizuuchi give his opponent a terrible smile that appeared so vile that it suggested his ruthlessness as a warrior. Perhaps Shizuuchi’s cruel smirk was enough to terrify his opponents, leading to their ultimate defeat. The same thing happened to Enno, who couldn’t have expected Shizuuchi to be so dangerous. However, the issue of why Shizuuchi beat up Enno so badly may emerge in this respect. To respond, we can state that the reporter was entirely to blame. Shizuuchi would have fought as he did on ordinary days if the reporter hadn’t enraged him before the event and reminded him of his disgruntled past. Perhaps another reason for Shizuuchi’s rage is Enno himself. Though Enno never held any grudges against Shizuuchi, he would casually refer to him as “two faces” owing to the scar on his face, which may have irritated Shizuuchi, which is why he delivered such a brutal retort to Enno during the fight.
However, by the time the following tournament rolled around, Shizuuchi had to forfeit his match against Ryuki, son of Okayata Ryukoku. But, in my opinion, Shizuuchi’s own intention worked more than the compulsion created on him to forfeit the match. Shizuuchi had just grown tired of the recurring flashbacks of his past. He’d just badly beaten up Enno, and his talk with the reporter or Mr. Ito had caused him a lot of anguish. He’d been brought back to those sad times in his life. To cope with the pain and recall joyful childhood memories with his mother, he returned to his native village, where tiny Shizuuchi once won wrestling contests, and his mother felt proud of him. He also visited the spot where the tragedy took place because he knew he couldn’t just forget his past; rather, he would learn to deal with it.
After instilling the fresh air in his mind, he decided to move on from the pain. He returned to his stable under the supervision of Koku. His true calling—the sumo—was something he decided to prioritize over all else; as a result, he felt the need to return to the place where he belonged. His rematch with Enno in the ring was finally set for the conclusion of the series. We watch as the two of them go up to confront each other as the match gets underway. However, the series ends without revealing who won the match. I think the series’ ending’s definite uncertainty was necessary because it’s now entirely up to the spectator to decide who might win. Was it Enno who trained day and night to become a champion wrestler and to get revenge on Shizuuchi? Or was it Shizuuchi, who had never previously lost a match?
Shizuuchi may have won the match as predicted, but it wouldn’t have mattered even if he hadn’t. Because in their own lives, both of these characters had triumphed. Shizuuchi learned to manage his emotions and cope with the tragedy, whereas Enno had overcome his inner battles with his ego. Therefore, whether they succeed in winning the game or not doesn’t make any difference for the show. However, if a second season is renewed, we would be interested in learning all about what transpired during the contest. In the second season of Sanctuary, we would also like to know what precisely occurred to Shizuuchi in his childhood that left a huge scar on his face. Perhaps this is another reason why his speech problem developed and persisted throughout his life. It’s up to interpretation for the time being until the next season arrives.
