RedQStudios: Shinsekai Yori (From The New World)

Character Analysis - Relation to plot

Shinsekai Yori (From The New World) | Q's Anime Review

With Saki as the central actor it's her group of friends, group 1 that's the main focus of the story until the overarching narrative starts unfolding that is. As her mom is the head librarian and her dad is the Mayor. Saki herself is a particularly sensitive and delicate girl, whom usually buts heads with her friend Satoru quite a bit. However due to that sensitivity she's particularly the most observant in her group of friends, and while she's not the strongest or the most talented, and may be one of the first to cry as she's easily moved, her ability to endure & stability as a person is particularly unique to her, as her strength as a person is unmistakable. However I feel Saki has quite a transient personality, in that while she can be light hearted & amicable to those she likes, to Satoru she can be rather snotty (in a cute way) & un-agreeable, and with Mamoru she can be quite indifferent & apathetic. In that her personality changes from a person to person basis quite a bit as I find she's slightly the jealous type, however that's really not to say that's she ingenuous however. While she is and seems like a shy and nice person, in a state of emergency and danger when things get serious, she proves to be someone that can be relied upon to make sound decisions.

Main Cast |

Satoru on the other hand has a much more mischievous & outspoken personality. He's an evil world class liar & smooth talker who often embellishes tall tales and speaks boastfully while doing so. In that Saki & him often clash repeatedly, as she's not so easily fooled by his tall tales & his add libbing. Satoru generally has a pretty excited temperament and attitude, to which I'd describe him as the "puppy dog" of the series, really being some one who takes advantage of his natural good looks, talents and the gullibility of others. However I've always thought that there was a sort of dangerous and radical part of his personality, as in particularly stressful situations Satoru usually lets his emotions get the best of him, where Saki would often have to try to hold him back from doing so. Though he too can show a more genuine and caring side in times of need & when others like Saki need support, where he plays a major role in the endgame of the series, and in fact through the entirety of the story. As his presence ironically brings Saki some sound of mind & a sense of security.

Maria however is Saki's closest friend, with an outward confidence and well spoken attitude that often times gets the best of Saki's more ruminative and concerted personality. She's someone who's able to keep Saki's heart from sinking to low, & keeping her eyes on the here and now. In a way she's a pretty enchanting character, who's playful and seemingly confident. Though outwardly strong willed, she's doesn't have the nerves of steel and sheer ability to persevere like Saki does. As often times she's concerned with the likes of Mamoru where she usually leads him on, but in dire times of need Mamoru is always the first person she'll go to and protect. Out of all those asides from Satoru and Saki, Maria gets some of the best screen time treatment, as she has a very key supporting relationship with Saki, as the two make for some of the most amicable, plush and tragic moments of the series.

Meanwhile Mamoru is the weakest link of the group who has a introverted and sensitive personality, however Mamoru in turn is actually quite gifted in his creative ability, though he's unstable and has an immense paranoia for the unknown that'll give rise to recklessness. As there's an element of unpredictability to his character since he rarely ever voices his feelings or thoughts. In that when he does, it because he's always the first one to crack when under pressure. It's funny because in the novel Saki in particular really doesn't give two sh*ts about him, being that in her memorandum she openly admits to forgetting anything he would spend his time doing, let alone actually caring (#Savage). Only viewing him a nuisance or rather an obstacle that'd be in the way of her relationship with Maria, due to his very clingy personality & attachment to her. It's funny because even Yusuke Kishi himself clearly doesn't like Mamoru either, cleverly going so far as to use Saki to express that thought (In the novels), and really there's a good reason why. In that Mamoru is a character who's pretty exclusively used as a plot device, instead of character who has their own merit within the realm of Saki's story.

The unobtainable love interest of course is Shun, being the most talented of the students & cantus users he has the highest expectations amongst his peers for his future in the village. Saki & Shun are actually quite alot like, in how both of them are rather observant and smart, however where Saki is easily moved, delicate and average in her cantus abilities, Shun is a prodigy who has the most modest & graceful of personalities. Being how he's the most mature, wisest and the voice that provides the most reason that the group is willing to follow, in that he has such outwardly stable confidence & modesty to him that others admire. Again however, like Saki he has a particularly damned part of his personality where he will keep his innermost struggles only to himself in an effort to not trouble others. In these situations he can be cold and distant, as his stroke of luck is much worse than anybody else's. Though for all his talents and gifts, his wisdom and strength, unlike Saki he's a victim to the subliminal emotions and subconscious that lie underneath. He's a seminal character in Saki journey, in that he continues on to spread clues and insight before her to guide her to the right answers, and while he only has a fair amount of screen time, he's written very well with the amount of time allotted.

Supporting Cast |

Though she appears much later (About halfway) into the story Tomiko san is probably one of my favourite characters in the series, in that she too plays a key role as someone in guiding Saki and being someone whom she can talk too about the secrets of the village. Being that they're somewhat likeminded, though as you might imagine as the head of the ethics committee and someone who's her elder, she's able to offer guidance for Saki in navigating through the pain that or lingering questions she has that she can't talk to anybody else about. Tomiko has a special way with words, as she's able to penetrate the walls between people and their personal defences in the most un-expecting ways, and while soft spoken, like Saki she has nerves of steel and in her own right can be scary at times.

However unlike Tomiko san, the other two characters such as Squealer & Kiroumaru are also seminal characters to the overarching plot, particularly in the later half of the story. In that they are not human but queerats, two of which whom are the polar opposites of one another, often seeming like oil and water. On one hand Squealer has a silver tongue even more so than Satoru, where kissing up to his human masters is his speciality. In that while he tries to seem humble and of the utmost obedience, there's a truly frenzied and maniacal side to his personality, as he lets on much less than he actually knows. On the other hand Kiroumaru has a intimidating and stoic personality, fitting of his wolfish like appearance. However as we get to know him more, while fearsome in battle and as a tactician, he proves to be genuinely humble and trustworthy, though he has red hot temper that can get the best of him sometimes.