Sayo Aisaka

Infobox animanga character
color = #e9e7e7
color text = royalblue
name = Sayo Aisaka
series = Negima! Magister Negi Magi


caption = Sayo as depicted in the Manga.
first =
last =
creator = Ken Akamatsu
voiced by = Yuri Shiratori (Japanese)
Kate Bristol (English)
oaux1 = Mai Nishida
oaux1 name = Portrayed by
alias =
age = 15 (at death)
species = Human (Deceased)
Ghost
gender = Female
born = In the 1920s
c. 1925 ("Negima!")
Late 1940s to early 1950s (as implied in "Negima!?")
death = In the 1940s
1940 ("Negima!")
1960s (as implied in "Negima!?")
relatives = Unnamed mother, deceased ("Negima!")
Unnamed younger sister, current whereabouts unknown ("Negima!")
paux1 = 149cm (4' 11")
paux1 name = Height
paux3 = Unknown
paux3 name = Blood type
paux2 = 77cm - 56cm - 79cm
(30" - 22" - 31")
paux2 name = Measurements
paux4 = White
Gray ("Negima!")
Black (when alive, "Negima!")
Bluish white ("Negima!?")
paux4 name = Hair color
paux5 = Red
Black (when alive, "Negima!")
Orange hazel ("Negima!?")
paux5 name = Eye color
divider = Class information
aux1 = 2/3-A
aux1 name = Class section
aux2 = 1
aux2 name = Class student number
aux3 =
aux3 name = Preceded by
aux4 = Yūna Akashi
aux4 name = Followed by
aux5 = 19th (Tied with Sakurako) (Point Total:28)
aux5 name = Negi Love Ranking

nihongo|Sayo Aisaka|相坂 さよ|Aisaka Sayo is a fictional character from the manga series "", created by Ken Akamatsu. The 1st student in Japanese alphabetical order of class 2/3-A, is the helpless and meek ghost of a former student, occasionally accompanied by a pair of "hitodama". More often frightened than frightening, she is invisible to virtually everyone, and her presence goes mostly unnoticed though Takahata had her included in Negi's class registry, with a note not to change her seat. Eventually, she does get noticed by her teacher Negi Springfield and most of her classmates and becomes a friend and ally in his quest.

It is interesting to note that Sayo is introduced early in all television depictions of the manga compared to the manga itself.

Character design

Among the many strange and weird characters Akamatsu had planned for Negima, he knew from the beginning that one of Negi's students was going to be a ghost. However, integrating this ghost girl into the story was a matter more difficult than he realized. Akamatsu's original intention was to use Sayo Aisaka (which she was called from the beginning) in an old-fashion ghost story, filled with the creepy and bizarre. However, every time he tried to write the story, he got nervous and backed away. When he finally did get around to introducing Sayo, he instead used her more natural personality in a story that parodied the ghost stories, depicting her as trying (and failing) to haunt her homeroom before finding acceptance with several of the students. After her introduction, he intended (and succeeded) to keep Sayo as Kazumi's constant companion. He has also hinted that he would reveal Sayo prior to her death, but at this time Akamatsu has yet to depict this as part of his plot.

Her appearance, with white hair and red eyes, gives her the impression of an albino, which looks appropriately creepy for a ghost. Similarly, Sayo was designed in wearing an old-fashion "sailor-fuku" style school uniform as contrast to the other students in the school who all wear preppier uniform clothing and to show that she lived and died in another era. She is also depicted to have no feet (being a ghost). [The most that has been shown has been the top of her socks; from there up to her dress's hemline and above is only occasionally distinct. See vol. 9, page 46] In both anime series, however, she is depicted to have feet (although an eyecatch of her in the Spring OVA shows her without feet). As a further comparison, however, Sayo is depicted as a walking ghost in the first anime, while she is sometimes seen in "Negima!?" floating in midair. In fact, in the first series, she falls to the ground while trying to catch a butterfly flying high.

It should also be noted that Sayo, being a ghost, has been wearing the same uniform regardless of the change of seasons. In case of the manga, she is constantly seen in her black winter uniform with white collar and red ribbon. In the first anime series, as to be noted below, she is wearing a white summer uniform with blue-collared white blouse, blue skirt, and green ribbon. In the live-action adaptation "Negima!!", she wears a dark blue uniform with white ribbon. Interestingly in the second anime series "Negima!?", she wears either an all-blue winter uniform with red ribbon or a blue-and-white summer uniform with red ribbon depending on what type of seasonal uniform the other students wear. Furthermore, since Sayo is depicted in pale colors in "Negima!?", the shade of blue might even be darker.

Background and personality

According to the character notes at the end of Volume 9, Sayo's past was supposed to take a darker turn as it is stated that Sayo was one of the victims of a series of murders taking place around the founding of the school. However, having been dead for so long she has lost her recollection of the events surrounding her murder. As Sayo has no interest in recalling the events regarding her death, it is presently unknown whether this device is still in use, or if she died by another means.

She has low self-esteem and is not skilled at being a ghost, tripping despite the fact that she doesn't have feet and being completely unable to (intentionally) scare people. Sayo has been friendless and lonely for around 60 years since her death, which made her very desperate for a friend. Her attempts of making friends has led to misunderstandings, which are discussed at the following section. After her discovery, she does gain friendship and understanding from her teacher and her classmates. Her originally morose personality has become happier and more outgoing.

Part in the story

Although she is initially on the class roster for 2-A when Negi arrives, she is unable to participate or connect with anyone in the class initially. The seat which she sat in sixty years ago remains unoccupied, even if other people (such as Kazumi) have the ability to sit next to her. Prior to the Mahora festival, Sayo remained unnoticed and unconnected with her classmates.

She is first noticed in Volume 9, Chapter 74 when Negi absentmindedly counts her during a class vote. She still wears the school uniform of Mahora from over half a century ago, a standard "fuku" type. Presumably, Evangeline is the first one able to see her, probably due to being a powerful mage. She never bothered to speak to Sayo until Sayo went out of her way to reveal her existence and make a friend.

Her attempts to talk to the rest of the class during the preparations for the School Festival during chapter 74 led a series of comedic misunderstandings as everyone mistook her for an evil spirit. She nearly ended up being exorcised by Mana [Mana also becomes instrumental in Sayo's discovery to the other students in "Negima!?" (episode 7) and the live-action adaptation "Negima!!" (episode 6).] and Setsuna, but Negi and Kazumi, having caught a photo of her crying and realized what was really happening, came to the rescue and offered to be her friends. After the festival, she befriended Zazie Rainyday for a while, but is rather frightened by the spirits that often accompany the enigmatic girl.

She currently hangs around (or haunts) Kazumi, who sits beside her in class, and is currently able to see her. Like several other girls she seems to have developed a slight crush on Negi. She has also been seen with Zazie and her phantoms, but finds the other girl scary. She is currently traveling with the group to England by the use of a special magic doll.

She has accompanied the group to the magical world and, like the others, was scattered across it when Fate destroyed the teleportation gateway. She and Kazumi (who was initially disguised as a bard) were eventually reunited with Negi and company while Negi was contemplating on how to gain the freedoms of Ako, Akira, and Natsumi. She is currently helping Chachamaru and Kazumi locate the other girls, riding with the latter's miniature satellites whenever performing an active search; her latest search flight eventually led her to Kū Fei's location.

Later in the search, Sayo (along with Kazumi) discover that Nodoka is being attacked by the "Black Hounds." Using one of Kazumi's search cameras, she manages to warn Negi and the other of the impeding attack. Thanks to her quick warning, Negi and the others manage to save Nodoka in the nick of time.

Abilities

*Ghost Powers: Sayo has all the standard powers of a ghost, though she is not very experienced in using them, despite having them for over 60 years. These abilities include floating/flying, intangibility, invisibilty, (though this was due to no one noticing her in the first place), possession of other people, levitation of objects, and other skills commonly associated with poltergeists. However, Sayo also shares the same weaknesses of ghosts and is vulnerable to spirit wards, magical spells, and weapons (such as Mana's spell-breaker bullets and perhaps any 'ghostbusting' equipment created by Satomi and Chao).

*Sayo Doll: Since she is bound to the grounds of Mahora Academy, Sayo can only leave the area by means of a mystical doll given to her by Kazumi. By possessing the doll, she is able to interact more physically with the living world and can even use her ghost abilities outside of the doll. She uses the doll as an anchor point, and so long as she doesn't stray too far from it, she can exist in places outside of the academy.

*Pencil/Pen Twirling: Though not an especially useful skill, Sayo is a master of spinning pencils and pens about her fingers and hands. It is presumed she learned the skill to offset the boredom during the summer vacations, when there are no classes. This skill is demonstrated in volume 19, chapter 175, "A Single Frame of a Youthful Summer", on one page titled: “Spinning for 60 Years.” The same chapter also shows Sayo's "friendship" with Zazie Rainyday.

ayo in other media

Mahō Sensei Negima! (1st Anime)

Sayo is introduced relatively early in the first anime as her introduction in the manga occurs out of the scope of the anime series. So her background in this series, revealed on Episode XIX, is written specifically for the anime. Though she occasionally is seen as part of the class, she mostly remains unconnected until her story is revealed. Nonetheless, she is depicted as friendlier and less clumsy than she is in the manga.

When Sayo was alive, she bore a small resemblance to Konoka, but with black eyes and hair. Sayo died protecting her little sister's flowers at Mahora's clock tower from a storm, but it is not any more specific than that. Her little sister heard from someone that if she covered the whole ground in a certain flower type, it would bring their mother back from the dead, hence the flower bed. Eventually, Sayo finds the flowers intact, even still bearing the message her little sister wrote on a rock wishing both Sayo and her mother to come back. Her constant wearing of her summer uniform despite the change of seasons is also a clue that she wore it when she died during the summer of 1940 during World War II, as stated in Mahora's old archives.

Before her discovery, everyone sees her as either a sickly exchange student (because of the uniform) who always misses out at school, one who was expelled from the Academy, or someone who enrolled in the Academy, but never arrived in class. Some even think the inclusion of her name in the registry is a printing error. That is because she is invisible to all except Kazumi who (with a little help from Nodoka) is able to see her while researching her history. Before her discovery she is used to hang around Nodoka more often than the other girls because, as she put it, Nodoka "goes at the right pace" for her. Afterward it is revealed that she and Nodoka seem to share the same love of books. Evangeline casts a spell to allow her to interact with the rest of the class.

The school dean Principal Konoemon seems to have known her, as he recited a poem she wrote when she was alive: " planting small hand of hers, looking forward to when time gets filled..." It is speculated that he had known Sayo when he was younger. Not actually saying her name, but referring her as to a girl whom he liked long ago through her poem, it is possible that he had a crush on her back then.

After the mass pactio, she attacks with her "hitodama" as an artifact that she throws rather lazily at the opponent, mostly because she's been out of shape for 60 years (65, according to the Funimation dub).

Negima!?

In this anime, Negi decides to cast a spell on Sayo so he can see her. Previous non-magical attempts to do so have apparently failed, leading him to call Yūna (who is student #2) first during the roll call, possibly to prevent the class from breaking out. Her seatmate Kazumi occasionally thinks she hears a voice in the seat next to her, but always believes she is just hearing things."Negima!?" anime, episode 7]

When Negi asks whatever painful memories Sayo has when she was alive, causing her to become a ghost, Sayo answers that she can't help. She reasons that in the first place, she has no memories of her past, being a ghost for forty years (rather than sixty in the manga). So he offers to help her in finding at least part of those memories. But while doing so, she goes a bit too far after enjoying herself in the girls' dormitory, and nearly scares most of her classmates. Fortunately, Negi manages to save her from being shot by Mana. She also shows an ability to appear in monitors and other screens, and thanks to Evangeline's spell (who secretly cast a spell onto Kazumi's digital camera) everyone manages to see Sayo's face in Kazumi's digital camera after she gets caught.

Later, Sayo becomes permanently visible and tangible after joining in on the mass "pactio" with Negi. ["Negima!?" anime, episode 14] In fact, she is the very first from the group of twenty to have her Pactio ability used to pull out a Star Crystal which has penetrated a column. It is her Cosplay form, in which she wears a deep purple kimono and gains plates, possibly referencing the ghost story Banchō Sarayashiki. She gains the ability to become "solid" and penetrate an object to make it "liquid." But she also becomes ticklish whenever that object is held. ["Negima!?" anime, episode 15] The only other Pactio form for Sayo invoked is during the "Suka incident," during which she transforms into a clione who merely just floated around as usual. ["Negima!?" anime, episode 19] She turns back into her Cosplay form during the final Mass Pactio. ["Negima!?" anime, episode 26]

Asuna is the last student of 3-A to discover Sayo. She is asleep when the rest of the class discover Sayo. So when the mass "pactio" with Negi is held and Sayo becomes visible, Asuna even asks who Sayo is. Understandably, Asuna also doubts if Sayo is a ghost after the latter activates her Cosplay Pactio ability and becomes tangible in the process.

As added note, Sayo is one of the first characters to break the fourth wall, doing twice in the same episode. In the first instance, she becomes aware of the viewers as she flies across the screen and apologizes. In the second instance, while Negi is having his roll call, she asks the unseen narrator if he can see her, which the narrator does.

Footnotes