In Garouden: The Way of the Lone Wolf, Saeko Izumi, voiced by Aya Endō, is the woman Juzo loved and ran away from.
When Juzo was training under Master Socihiro Izumi, he used to live with his teacher and his daughter, Saeko.
Saeko and Juzo were very close. Saeko, who was always told by her father that she should marry the strongest man, did not mind the idea of marrying Juzo.
However, before Juzo could prove himself and marry Saeko, an incident changed their lives forever.
Saeko and Juzo’s past
One day, when Saeko returned from school, she found a robber at her house. She was home alone with him, and he sexually assaulted her.
When Juzo came home and realized what had happened, he lost control and ended up using the martial arts techniques he had learned to kill the robber.
Saeko witnessed everything, and the look on her face scared Juzo. Unable to bear it, he ran away.
While Juzo became a fugitive, Saeko was sent to Tokyo by her father, who believed that staying home would be difficult for her after the traumatic incident.
She eventually returned to live with her father, but she still blames herself for Juzo’s departure.
Saeko believes that Juzo’s journey to inherit the Takemiya style from her father came to an abrupt end because of her, and she doubts that he will ever return.
Juzo’s return
Saeko’s father asks Himekawa to be his practice partner, resulting in Himekawa living with Saeko and her father.
As Saeko spends more time with Himekawa, she grows close to him. He recognizes her inner strength, which stems from her past experiences.
Saeko, in turn, recognizes Himekawa’s prowess as a fighter and starts dating him. However, she has not completely moved on from Juzo.
Seven years after leaving Saeko, Juzo comes to realize that Saeko was not scared of him and did not hate him for killing the robber.
In fact, she was grateful to him for it, which is why the look on her face unnerved Juzo, prompting him to run away.
Saeko never wanted him to leave. She wanted to stop him, but she was too shaken to call after him. Juzo regrets not staying with Saeko back then.
Juzo then returns to confess his feelings to her, only to find out that she is now dating Himekawa.
However, Juzo does not lose hope, as Saeko wants to be with the strongest man. Juzo can win her heart by defeating Himekawa.
It is evident that she values strength above all when her father is defeated. She openly admits that she would not have been upset even if he had died, as long as the fight was good.
After making it clear that she was hurt when Juzo left her, she asks Juzo whether he can win against Himekawa. Juzo’s confidence and determination to win for her satisfies her.
During Juzo and Himekawa’s fight, she cheers for Juzo, but he ultimately loses. Despite this, Saeko applauds Juzo and watches him get arrested with tears in her eyes.
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