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Over the course of Sora Kake, I have been wondering what kind of prologue some of the characters have from before the series began. It is not hard to conclude that Nami's life has really turned sour in a big way at some point in the past and that her family has been either unable or unwilling to help Nami cope with it.
Nami reminds me of myself in a way. I have been fought for, fought over, and fought against by the bureaucrats manning the very public social service agencies that are supposed to help people. I could sit on here all night describing the whole drama in gory detail, but the long and short of it is that there are a lot of things that need to go just right if I am to thrive and flourish. I am well aware of that argument holding true for everybody; still, in my particular case, there are a lot of things that can upset the proverbial apple cart that I cannot completely guard against on my own. Nami and I have had it demonstrated that it is foolish to expect your family to come help you when this happens. While I have some people in my life that will allow me to get it off my chest even if they cannot actually solve the problem I am facing, it does not in any way make up for the fact that I am conscripted into a session of cheap crass city comedy if I explain any kind of situation to my parents. One of these things usually happens:
1. My parents becoming confused about what I am explaining to them or attempting to read between the lines and fill in the blanks (which usually works to my detriment)
2. My parents using the infamous »I understand how you feel, but . . . « line to sweep my feelings aside and play down my concerns
3. My parents washing their hands of the whole matter, especially if they are partially at fault
4. My parents giving me advice that is either irrelevant to the situation at hand or otherwise impractical/undesirable
5. All of the above or a combination of the foregoing
If she is behaved toward by the other Shishidou sisters the way that my parents do with me, then Nami being out for their blood is quite understandable since I have periods of psychiatric turbulence in my prologue as well. I am doing much better since I have been out on my own and have the people in my corner that I do. If Nerval and Kagura were not so dead set on capturing large groups of people for that Utopia of theirs, they would have helped Nami get some kind of perspective that affords accommodating her sisters' imperfections and to have some kind of ethical/moral compass. Nami wanting to lash out at her sisters for how poorly they treated her is understandable; Nami actually doing so is quite predictable but is just as wrong and counterproductive.
Something is rotten in the Shishidou Family Foundation Estate. Takane being away from home so much and not offering to step in when Kazane is at her wit's end and about to snap at her younger sisters, Kazane being on the computer so much and preoccupied with work that she cannot foresee when she needs to step in herself or call in outside assistance, Akiha spending so much time with Imoko not once having thought to drag Nami along with her as her partner in crime, Nami spending so much time by herself in the house wearing an outfit that most parents would throw in the incinerator at the first opportunity (think back to episode 1), and Sakura who has a tough time understanding appropriate social behaviors because she is so easily tempted/bribed into designing space colonies or doing repair work in some far-flung area somewhere where anything could happen to her . . . I am not so sure about you, but all that tells me that something is seriously wrong in the Shishidou family.
Considering that she acts so cold and distant, it is not out of the question for Kazane to have been made to study so much information in such a short period of time and to have browbeat Takane into submission when the two were kids. There are several examples of Kazane having something seriously wrong with her and that her inherited second sight is not all it is cracked up to be. Even if I set aside the whole arranged marriage thing as a Japanese custom, Kazane should have known better than to send Nami after Akiha like she did. What if Akiha and Nami were to get into a wreck on the highway?
Kazane gets worse as the series goes on; she marches right into Leopard's room and declares that she is in charge before proceeding to throw out all of Leopard's »junk« after failing to keep Sakura close at hand. I am so glad that Leopard stood up for himself and threw Kazane right out on her imperious caboose. While he was built and programmed by the Shishidou Conglomerate, Leopard has been on his own for 50 years without any word from the Conglomerate which could have been exterminated or disbanded for all he knows. I like how Kazane kept cool when everything is going to hell in a hand basket but not how she behaves toward Akiha as if she were a rabid animal instead of a human being near the end. There is no crime with which Akiha is formally charged or of which she is convicted in a court of law using due process. Is that not a violation of Akiha's human rights? Does Kazane think that Akiha forfeits her human rights just because she is the »Sora wo Kakeru Shoujo«!?! Does Kazane not worry about Akiha and Nami's safety the same way that Akiha does for Imoko's?!? Is there really nobody that has the courage to keep Kazane in check!?!
I would be way more scared of Kazane than I would be of Nami and Panther (Dark-Leopard). Also, could somebody please explain to me why Takane can easily stalemate Kagura in battle to protect Akiha but not Kazane when she is being a tyrant? Does Takane not have any morals or a backbone?!? Nami was willing to involve Akiha and herself (along with the other people on the highway!!!) back in episode 1 for some extra allowance . . . am I the only one that thinks this is not OK? Kazane is violating Akiha's human rights and there is nobody to stop her. Takane could do that but refuses . . . why is that!?!
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