For the novel, please go to Sakura Ogawa (Novel). For the manga, please go to Sakura Ogawa (Manga).
Sakura Ogawa (小川 さくら, Ogawa Sakura) is a minor character in Battle Royale.
Backstory[]
Not much about Sakura's background is known. She hated the idea of killing her classmates and had a headstrong personality. If Sakura was anything like her novel and manga counterparts, then she had a purse she loved since it was the first gift her boyfriend bought her.
Friends and Enemies[]
Sakura was dating Kazuhiko Yamamoto, but its unknown if she had any other friends. If the couple were anything like their novel and manga counterparts, then they were the most intimate couple in class.
Before the Program[]
Before Kitano resigned, Class B decided to take a day off and skip school, Sakura included; she attended the basketball game against Class A, and celebrated when Class B won. Sakura decided to go on the class trip; while on the bus, she most likely either chatted with Kazuhiko or pored over a catalog. Sakura fell asleep after breathing in a sleeping gas that was pumped into the bus; she was then transported to an island and fitted with an explosive collar.
Sakura, along with the rest of the class, woke up in a classroom in the island's school. Unnerved by the presence of Shogo Kawada and Kazuo Kiriyama, Sakura rushed over to the window to watch a helicopter land in front of the school. Sakura was shocked to see that Kitano had returned. When Kitano asked the class if they knew the BR Act law, Sakura kept quiet, obviously knowing the law, but afraid to say it aloud. Sakura was horrified upon seeing Masao Hayashida's corpse. When Fumiyo Fujiyoshi was killed, Sakura panicked and ran for the door trying to escape before running towards the back of the classroom when the soldiers began firing. When Yoshitoki Kuninobu's collar got activated, Sakura ran around the room trying to evade him.
When Sakura's name was called, she held Kazuhiko's hand for a few seconds before grabbing her school bag and running towards the front of the room; when she caught her supply bag, she paused before throwing it at Kitano with a disgusted expression and then ran out of the school.
During the Program[]
Sakura (left) and Kazuhiko Yamamoto jump off the cliff.
She later meets with Kazuhiko by the edge of a cliff. They flinch when they hear gunshots nearby. Kazuhiko apologizes for not being helpful, but Sakura says she's happy he came with her. Sakura declares that she'll never partake in the game before throwing her school bag over the edge of the cliff. Kazuhiko kneels on the ground and voices his hope that someone might come along and save them. Sakura bends down and takes his arm, telling him that no one is coming for them, and tells him it's time to go. She holds onto his arm as she pulls him up, and then jumps off the cliff, taking Kazuhiko with her.
Etymology[]
- The name Sakura means “cherry blossoms, decoy” (さくら) in Hiragana.
- However, when written in kanji (桜 or 咲良), it could possibly mean:
- 桜—“cherry blossom”.
- 咲良—“blossom” (咲) (saku) and “good, virtuous, respectable” (良) (ra).
- However, when written in kanji (桜 or 咲良), it could possibly mean:
- Sakura's surname Ogawa means "stream, brook, bourn/bourne" (小川).
Notes[]
- Sakura's weapon could have been an axe, since the video instructor shows one as a possible weapon and nobody got one. This can also be said for Yoshitoki Kuninobu and Fumiyo Fujiyoshi, since they both died before the supply bags were handed out.