Manga / The Love and Creed of Sae Maki

The Love and Creed of Sae Maki is a 2015 manga by Tohru Uchimizu, also known as Saeism

Misao Kuniki is an unpopular New Transfer Student, a quiet and shy Bully Magnet who has no friends. After a month of abuse she's on the verge of an emotional breakdown when suddenly the girl who sits in the vacant seat next to her returns. Sae Maki is the school's darling—smart, beautiful, athletic, and rich—and everyone loves her, especially the girls. She saves Misao from her bullies, directly confronting them about the way they treat her, and she quickly becomes Misao's only friend.

Shortly after Misao receives an anonymous letter warning her to stay away from Sae. She refuses to believe it at first but within two weeks Sae has become domineering; demanding that Misao be at her side at all times, ordering her to stay away from other students, throwing tantrums when Misao disagrees with her—and all because she loves Misao.

Misao's life begins to spiral out of control as she realizes that she's become Sae's pet and slave, learning how far Sae is willing to go to continue controlling her. Her only salvation is a secretive classmate who's trying to protect her from becoming Sae's latest victim, who claims that she's killed before . . .

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This manga provides examples of:

• Academic Athlete: Sae is both a gifted student and an incredible athlete. Though her book smarts don't come up much, she is dangerously cunning and shockingly capable in a fight.
• The Ace: Sae is the most popular student at Seirinkan High because she's beautiful, intelligent, athletic, and rich.
• Arms Dealer: The Nazo Corporation is a Meiji-era weapons manufacture and export company.
• Arsenal Attire: Sae has customized shoes allowing her to hide a taser in the sole. Misao learns first-hand about it when she tries to change her persona to lose Sae's interest; she's shocked unconscious during lunch after Sae taps her leg with her foot under the table, and nobody has any idea what happened to make her suddenly "faint". In the final chapter it's revealed that she also has a knife installed in her high heel.
• Bedsheet Ladder: Used by Misao and Ran after Sae falls asleep at her villa. They sneak out the window to avoid her butler Jin and explore the shed out back, looking for her secrets.
• Big Damn Heroes: At the very end, Kokai tackles Misao out of the way just before Sae is struck by lightning.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: Sae is the school's Ace, their beloved darling and she meets Misao by protecting her from bullies. So far as everyone in Seirinkan High is concerned Sae and Misao are the best of friends and Misao is incredibly lucky. Sae never lets anyone see how she abuses and controls Misao because of her crazed love; even Misao wasn't aware that she's a dangerous Yandere until Kokai tells her of Sae's previous victims.
• Bland-Name Product: Signs for NcDonald's can be seen while Misao and Sae are shopping and Kokai arranges to meet Misao at one.
• Bodyguarding a Badass:
  • The Kigurumi Army will protect Sae with their lives. Sae is an incredibly fast and powerful opponent on her own, capable of beating down Kokai during Sae's Court in a second, timed on-screen.
  • Jin, the Maki family butler is capable of subduing Sae during her Sleepwalking Super Mode, but he still loses to her.
• Bully Magnet: Misao is shy and unpopular in her new school, as such she's picked on by classmates.
• Cassandra Truth: Misao comes up with a plan to publicly expose Sae's secret violent side. She and Kokai arrange for hundreds of copies of photos of Sae killing Seiga with a concrete slab to drop on the student body during an assembly. The students are shocked and horrified by the photo evidence of Sae killing a man—until she stages a Wounded Gazelle Gambit complete with Crocodile Tears, claiming it's all a cruel prank. The first students to take her side are the girls but soon everyone is convinced that somebody is playing a sick joke on school's darling.
• Catapult Nightmare: Misao has a graphic nightmare of a monstrous Sae tearing Kokai apart after Sae's Court and sits up in her bed, panting and sweating.
• Childhood Friends: Kokai and Ena were friends when they were younger, pre-elementary school, until she moved away. She returns in junior high and becomes Sae's first slave, outwardly very happy with her best friend. Because of their previous relationship, Kokai is the only one who can tell that she's not happy around Sae, and she ultimately entrusts him with her journal revealing the truth about Sae's abuse. Kokai's primary motivation for taking down Sae is to get justice for Ena's death.
• Crazy-Prepared: Kokai tries to be as prepared as possible for the confrontation in Sae's Court.
  • He refurbished a pistol that he tries to shoot her with.
  • Arranged for Seiga's Dynamic Entry to handle her costumed soldier.
  • Has a knife and small Smoke Bomb to blind her in a direct fight.
  • He ultimately built a suicide bomb if there was no getting out of it alive.
• Death Glare: Sae gives Ran an increasingly deranged series of stares during their meeting at the karaoke club; getting more intense as each excuse Sae offers is easily swatted away and Ran worms her way deeper into her relationship with Misao . . . until Sae goes to the bathroom for a moment and returns with a welcoming smile and accepts Ran into their group, very clearly Not Herself.
• Destination Defenestration: The Mysterious Baron warns Misao and Ran that "Sae is a sleepyhead". When they exit the underground hall they're greeted by Jin crashing through the window, followed by a berserk, sleep-walking Sae.
• Destructive Romance: Sae is madly in love with Misao and "expresses" it by abusing and controlling her. She's loved two previous girls this way before; Ena and Madoka, resulting in one dead and the other disappeared along with her family.
• The Determinator: Jin refuses to go down after being poisoned by the Mysterious Baron to prevent him from saving Sae. He manages to reach her side only to be violently cast away by his mistress.
• Disguised in Drag: After the failed attempt to have Sae taken out by the Bowgaren gang, Kokai meets her on the street dressed as a housewife in an apron.
• Driven to Suicide:
  • Supposedly, Ena Takanashi killed herself jumping off her apartment roof but without any motivation for why she would do it. She mailed her journal of everything that Sae Maki did to her to Kokai, which ends with a note that she's going to break off the relationship and talk to the teachers if Sae refuses to leave her alone, implying that Sae killed her.
  • The ultimate fate of Jin after Sae's death. He still has the gun he shot the Mysterious Baron with and shoots himself.
• Dynamic Entry:
  • Sae rescues Misao from the thugs harassing her by suddenly kicking one in the head.
  • During Sae's Court Seiga comes to Kokai's rescue by running down her costumed soldier with his motorcycle.
• Even the Girls Want Her: Sae is The Ace of Seirinkan High School, but the girls love her more than the guys and want to buddy up to her.
• Epigraph: The manga opens with a quotation from Aristotle: "For without friends no one would choose to live, though he had all other goods".
• The Faceless: The Mysterious Baron is first only seen from the neck down, eventually revealing that he wears an elaborate mask. It's forced on him by Sae, who instinctively hates her husband. His face is never revealed even after he destroys the Maki family and Nazo company and is killed by Jin.
• Faceless Goons: Sae's Kigurumi Army, a force of henchmen and bodyguards who wear large mascot costumes to conceal their identities.
• First Friend: Misao breaks down crying after Sae saves her from Kimura's gang, explaining that she's always been shy and never had a friend to stand up for her before. They're immediately on first-name basis afterward.
• Friendless Background: Misao is an unpopular transfer student as well as being shy and quiet. She has no friends at the start of the story until Sae comes along.
• Fun T-Shirt: Misao wears some not-so fun versions of these when around Sae, like one that reads "victim" and another saying "help".
• Genki Girl: Ran is very energic and constantly running about chasing a story. When she first meets Misao at the karaoke bar she's regularly in motion; leaning across the table to get in Misao's face, curling up with her notebook, making exaggerated sad faces at one photo and disgusted shocked faces at another. She's playfully mischievous even while Misao's terrified of not responding to Sae's texts quickly; she puts that cheerful energy to good use by inviting Sae to ditch school and join them, telling Sae she's an admirer who befriended Misao to get closer.
• Giving Someone the Pointer Finger: Upon meeting the Mysterious Baron, Ran claims that she's just an admirer of Sae's, and he counters that they wouldn't have found their secret hall if that were true. She confesses to wanting to know all of her secrets and dramatically demands the truth while pointing at him.
• Good Morning, Crono: The story begins with Misao waking up in bed, dreading yet another day of abuse and stress in school.
• Goofy Suit: Kokai sees Sae talk to a costumed mascot while following her to the trap he and Misao laid. The "Kigurumi" comes to save her from the ambush, revealing that she has an army of Faceless Goons in silly costumes.
• The Glomp:
  • Sae explains her justification for not wanting Ran to be friends with her and Misao; claiming that she didn't want another Even the Girls Want Her sycophantic worshipper. Ran, the Genki Girl, is so excited and pleased that Sae sees her as an equal she attempts to glomp Sae— who suddenly steps up to use the bathroom, leaving Ran to crash into her vacant seat.
  • After the trip to Sae's villa, where Sae nearly rapes Misao and legitimately feels bad about it, they don't see each other for a while. When Sae finally makes contact again Misao invites her to an amusement park—without Ran. The first thing Sae does is Glomp Misao, overjoyed that she was finally invited out by her.
• Hand-or-Object Underwear: Misao covers her breasts with her hand after Sae commands her to strip as a test of loyalty.
• A Handful for an Eye: During Sae's Court Kokai throws a Smoke Bomb into Sae's face and attempts to get around her to stab her In the Back. Sae is too fast and defeats him with a flurry of kicks.
• Has a Type: More of a victim profile, but Sae has a type she's into; shy girls with pigtails.
• I Just Want to Have Friends: Misao has difficulty making friends and unfortunately she has bullies instead. Her loneliness is crushing her spirits before Sae enters her life.
• In the Back: During Sae's Court, Kokai attempts to stab Sae in the back after blinding her; unfortunately she's too fast for him.
• Identical Grandson: Misao and Ran find a dining room with portraits of Sae's ancestors and they all look identical to Sae. All of them are also named Sae Maki.
• Institutional Apparel: The "Sae-Rins" go shopping to find Misao a swimsuit. Sae's favorite is a one-piece suit in black and white prison stripes complete with a ball and chain.
• Intrepid Reporter: Ran observes the aftermath of the Sae's Court scene and then personally gets involved, meeting with Misao and becoming the Third Wheel in their relationship.
• The Jailbait Wait: A strange variant that isn't about legal adulthood. Sae Maki is married from birth to the president of the Nazo Corporation, but has a gene that prevents her from living past the age of eighteen. So she has to produce the next generation, Identical Grandson Sae before that time. Maki family tradition is that her husband has sex with her once to produce this heir.
• Japanese Delinquents: "Mad Dog" Seiga's Bowgaren gang. A group of biker thugs unassociated with the Yazkuza, led by a psychopath willing to harm men and women equally.
• Join or Die: The offer made by Sae during Sae's Court, she declares Kokai guilty of crimes against her and demands he choose between submission or elimination. He instead chooses to Take a Third Option by pulling a gun on her.
• Karaoke Box: Ran takes Misao to a Karaoke Box to introduce herself and discuss Sae.
• Kick Chick: Sae's favorite form of attacking is to kick. The first time she's seen in a fight is kicking a man bothering Misao in the head, when she's seen preparing to try Kokai in Sae's Court she's kicking the shit out of a punching bag. So much so that ultimately, her need to line up a perfect high kick to finish off Misao with the blade in her shoe gets her struck by lightning and killed.
• Lecherous Licking: Sae licks her cellphone while looking at a picture of Misao, on the train after proclaiming her love.
• Never Found the Body: The last Misao sees of Kokai during Sae's Court, he's grappling Sae with a suicide bomb. She runs from them and is knocked unconscious by the explosion. She awakens in bed with Sae at her side telling her that the "matter is resolved". The explosion is covered by the news but no word of any bodies left around. Even when Ran reveals she saw the whole thing, she has no idea what became of Kokai, leaving Misao to assume he's dead. Ultimately revealed that he was kidnapped by the Maki family.
• Never Wake Up a Sleepwalker: Inverted, Ran and Misao sneak out of their room at Sae's villa to snoop and discover she has a Sleepwalking Super Mode. Sae is extremely dangerous in this state and their only hope is to force her awake.
• New Transfer Student: Downplayed, Misao has been at Seirinkan High School for a month at the start of the manga. She still hasn't made any friends and her parents are slightly concerned.
• The Nicknamer: Ran immediately declares Misao to be "Misaon" and, after some headbutting between the two, starts calling Sae "Sae-rin".
• Out Sick:
  • Misao thought the seat beside her was vacant because Sae was out sick for the month since she transferred to Seirinkan High School.
  • Ran Daimon introduces herself to Misao by ambushing her on the way to school, explaining that she called in pretending to be Misao's mom and that she's been called out sick.
• Malevolent Masked Men: The Mysterious Baron is first seen, from the neck down at least, interrogating the captured Kokai and speaking with Jin about preventing another Sae's Court event, indirectly plotting to aid Sae in an attempt to murder Ran and dispose of the body. When Ran and Misao meet him his face is "revealed"; he wears a scarf wound around his head and has a mask with a stitched-together Glasgow Smile, one eye a sewn-shut slit, and the other as an eyepatch with the Nazo company emblem.
• Marital Rape License: Part of the secret Maki family tradition; Sae and the Mysterious Baron have been married since her birth. Within a month he will have to have sex with her to produce a new Sae Maki before she dies at 18; but the Saes always despise their husbands. There's a single panel of the hypothetical act to come and Sae is furious and struggling. It's unknown if all the Saes are Psycho Lesbians, but the current one is.
• Master of Disguise: Kokai never meets with Misao at school and not dressed as himself. His disguises include:
  • A baseball cap low over his face with a high-collared vest.
  • A hippy musician with a big afro, giant sunglasses, fringed leather vest, and bellbottoms.
  • A younger student, with a bowl cut, glasses, and shorts.
  • In drag, in an apron and yukata.
  • Ultimately less of a "disguise", but he confronts Sae's Court dressed as a samurai.
• Mysterious Watcher: At the start of the manga, Kokai can be seen hanging around watching Sae. Another student asks if he's a fan of hers, like about everyone else, and he denies it.
• Ordered to Die: The traditional fate of the Maki family; when the current Sae dies at eighteen, her Kigurumi Army and her father/butler all commit suicide together.
• Overt Rendezvous: Kokai arranges to meet Misao in public places, always in disguise, and most often just walking past and telling her where to meet. Their first meeting is a cafe where they sit back to back in adjacent booths and speak softly to each other, they later meet at a restaurant where they sit at the counter together.
• Power Dynamics Kink: As Kokai describes it, Sae expresses her love through
• Psycho Lesbian: Sae Maki in a nutshell. Within two weeks Sae declares her love for Misao before departing on the train; a ride she spends in crazed arousal on her phone with Misao's picture, moaning and licking the phone while clutching at her panties. Shortly after Misao attempts to defy Sae and go home for dinner with her parents, Sae demands a test of loyalty on a rooftop—stripping off her skirt, blouse, and bra. She constantly tells Misao how cute she is with a predatory look in her eyes. In a later scene where Sae confronts Misao for setting her up in an ambush, Sae takes the opportunity to hold Misao by both the breast and between her legs.
• Redemption Equals Death: The Mysterious Baron explains the nightmare of the Nazo Corporation and Sae Maki's cycle of death and rebirth to Kokai, and reveals he intends to destroy it all. To that end he poisoned Jin and the Kigurumi Army so that Sae has no enforcers to help her, and entrusts Misao's strength to destroy Sae once and for all. Unfortunately Jin is The Determinator and shoots him for his betrayal before rushing to Sae's side. Before he dies, he tells Kokai that he wants to atone for his sins, like covering Ena's death as a suicide.
• Rape Discretion Shot: Ena describes Sae spending the night at her house in the journal she left Kokai. Sae sneaks into her bed on the second night and starts to strip Ena despite her pleading; the rape is depicted as Ena being devoured by a woman's fang-filled mouth which pulverizes her body.
• Rooftop Confrontation: After saving Misao from the thugs bothering her, Sae drags her onto a nearby rooftop. Sae shakes and slams Misao against the guard rails while screaming that she loves Misao more than anyone else and demanding that she obey her every whim. After a shaken and terrified Misao apologizes, Sae orders her to Shameful Strip as a test of loyalty.
• School Newspaper Newshound: Ran Daimon is the president of the newspaper club for the Weekly Seirin. She's contantly running about chasing stories and claims to know just about everything that happens in the school, even if she chooses not to publish it. Her latest Intrepid Reporter goal is to learn Sae's secrets by getting closer to her and Misao, and Sae attempts to dissuade Ran by reminding her of the responsibilities the school paper imposes; including the fact it's so prestigious that it wins the annual national competitions. Ran immediately calls her second in command and quits on the spot.
• Secretly Selfish: Part of Sae's response to Kokai's accusation that she killed Ena. She explains that both she and Ena acted of their own free will; Sae chose to abuse Ena and Ena chose to die rather than live with it. When Kokai counters by claiming that her selfishness killed Ena, Sae's explains that everyone is fundamentally selfish and their actions are primarily motivated by self-interest. She proclaims that a holy man who cares for the poor only does so because of the sense of pride he gains from the act.
• Shameful Strip: Misao tries to defy Sae's demands to hang out to go home and have dinner with her parents, getting attacked by thugs in the process. Sae saves her and drags Misao onto a roof and violently shakes and screams at her until a dazed Misao finally apologizes for her disobedience. To prove her loyalty, Sae demands that Misao strips for her. She sits on a bench as Misao eventually strips down to her panties before declaring that she passed the test, kisses her, and warns her to never disobey in the future.
• Sigil Spam: The Nazo Corporation has a twelve-pointed star as their emblem and they slap it on everything. Sae has multiple necklaces and medallions with the star, as well as a throne with it printed on the back. They decorate their secret base with it on the floor and the key to access it is star-shaped. Jin has a bolo tie with the emblem, and even the Mysterious Baron wears the emblem as an "eyepatch".
• Stock Shoujo Bullying Tactics: Misao is victim to some of these early on; Kimura will dump trash on her desk or throw her uniform in the garbage. She'll loudly questions about bad smells when Misao is nearby. She and her gang pull Misao into the hallway and confront her about sitting next to Sae upon her return, demanding that she give her a seat she was assigned to.
• Sympathy for the Devil: At the end, Ran sympathizes somewhat with Sae after her death. She heard the insane story about the cycle of birth and death that Sae is locked into, and terrible as a person she was, it was still a cruel fate. Even Misao cries about Sae while visiting her grave, because horrible as everything was Sae helped her grow as a person.
• Take a Third Option: Kokai is being "tried" under Sae's Court and is given the option of submitting or being killed. He refuses both and attempts to shoot Sae with a home-built pistol. Unfortunately he misses and her costumed soldier comes to her rescue.
• Taking You with Me: During Sae's Court a battered Kokai grabs Sae from behind while trigging the fuse on a homemade bomb—fully intent on dying to kill her and avenge Ena.
• Third Wheel: Invoked by Ran. To learn all of Sae Maki's secrets she wedges herself into Misao and Sae's relationship, despite Misao's reservations and Sae obviously not wanting her around. Because Sae never reveals her Bitch in Sheep's Clothing nature around others Ran believes that her presence will protect Misao from Sae's abuse.
• Villainous Breakdown: Sae finally suffers a complete breakdown when Misao gives her the ultimatum of releasing Kokai and being her friend rather than master. Tears of Blood pour down her face and she screams for her Kigurumi Army and Jin in public. Worse is that her body starts to physical break down as Misao continues to reject her—but unfortunately the emotionally devastated Sae now wants to kill her.
• Villainous Rescue: Seiga performs a Dynamic Entry on his motorcycle during Kokai's "trial" during Sae's Court. Kokai attempted to shoot Sae but a costumed soldier saved her, as Kokai anticipated, so he arranged for the violent thug to intervene. Seiga doesn't care about Sae anymore, he just wants revenge on her bodyguard.
• We Do Not Know Each Other: Kokai's method of communicating with Misao about the situation with Sae. He doesn't actually speak to her in public at the school and arranges to meet in disguise at other locations, usually after confirming Sae has gone home on the train.
• Would Hit a Girl: Seiga prides himself as being equally violent against men and women, promising to beat Sae beyond saving. Misao confirms this reputation by looking him up online where people attest to his cruelty toward both sexes.
• Yandere: Sae is wildly in love with Misao, to the point where thinking about her makes her highly aroused, and abusively controls her at every moment. Forcing Misao to obey is how Sae expresses her love and she'll fight and kill anyone who stands in her way.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: After the school is given the first-hand evidence of Sae's violent nature Sae attempting to kill Seiga, she steps up to the podium. Sae sheds some Crocodile Tears, proclaims that she's innocent and that the photos are fake, and apologizes for whatever harmful behavior that caused somebody to lash out with a cruel prank. The school ultimately believes her based on her reputation.
• You Are Better Than You Think You Are: It's laconically brief, but Kokai tells Misao that she's getting stronger than when they first met. She was a timid girl crying when Sae wasn't around to see it, participated in two of his plans to get rid of Sae, and came up with their third strategy. Not only is it her plan, but Sae will know that she's responsible and directly working against her. They break into the school to arrange this new trap for Sae and he simply tells her "You've gotten stronger" before leaving.
• You Wouldn't Shoot Me: Near the end of "Sae's Court", Misao pulls Kokai's gun on Sae, threatening to shoot her. Sae marches straight up to Misao, telling her that she'd never do it, pushes the gun aside and tells Misao her her "objection" is "overruled".

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