TV-Series
Description
Ayame Sarutobi, almost universally referred to by the nickname Sacchan, is a former elite kunoichi of the Oniwabanshuu, the shogunate's secret ninja force, who now works as a freelance assassin. After the Oniwabanshuu was disbanded, she transitioned into this new line of work, taking on assignments that involve eliminating criminals or dealing with situations beyond the reach of the law. To supplement her income, she also holds a part-time job at the Kunoichi Café.
Sacchan is a tall, slender young woman with long, light purple hair and a distinctive beauty mark located just below her right eye. Her most defining physical feature is her thick, dark-red glasses. She suffers from an extremely severe case of myopia; without her glasses, she is practically blind, unable to distinguish a living person from an inanimate object. This condition is a running source of comedy, as even with her glasses on, she has a tendency to mistake other characters for her obsession, most famously confusing a Kagura dressed in Gintoki's clothes for the man herself. In combat, she is a master of various ninja tools, particularly the kunai throwing knife, which she can throw with deadly accuracy even without her vision fully corrected. Her most unusual weapon of choice is natto, the sticky fermented soybeans she loves to eat; she uses its extreme viscosity to trap and immobilize her enemies.
Sacchan's personality is a study in extreme contrasts, swinging wildly between two distinct modes. On the one hand, she is a consummate professional in her work as an assassin. In this killer mode, she is cool-headed, serious, and driven by a strong sense of justice, taking down targets who evade the law without hesitation. On the other hand, the moment she is in the presence of Sakata Gintoki, she transforms completely. She becomes a loud, screeching, and obsessively infatuated masochist who openly revels in the verbal abuse and physical violence Gintoki directs her way. She has dubbed this her lovestruck-pig mode, and in this state, she is utterly single-minded, often abandoning her professional priorities to stalk him. She takes great pride in her stalking abilities, hiding in improbable locations around the Yorozuya office and following Gintoki's every move, to the point where he is no longer surprised by her sudden appearances.
Her obsessive love for Gintoki began with their first encounter. After botching a mission and fleeing from pursuers, she crashed into Gintoki's room and lied that they had spent the night together. Despite seeing through her deception, Gintoki ultimately saved her, an act that ignited her intense and warped affection for him. This dynamic defines her role in the story, as she frequently inserts herself into the Yorozuya's adventures, either by stalking them or by being reluctantly dragged into their chaotic affairs. She considers Shimura Tae and Tsukuyo to be her primary romantic rivals, leading to frequent comedic clashes, though a genuine bond of friendship and respect underlies these conflicts, especially in more serious moments.
Beyond her comedic obsession, Sacchan has deep and significant connections to other characters. She was trained from childhood by the father of Hattori Zenzou, another Oniwabanshuu ninja, making them longtime acquaintances who have a competitive and bickering relationship. Despite their constant squabbling, she deeply respects him and they have fought alongside each other in critical moments. Her loyalty to the shogunate is also profound; she and Zenzou secretly swore to protect the Shogun, Tokugawa Shigeshige, a vow that becomes the centerpiece of her character development during the Shogun Assassination arc. In this serious storyline, she sets aside her lovestruck antics to fully embrace her role as a protector, demonstrating her immense skill and unwavering dedication in life-or-death combat. This arc highlights that beneath the screaming, stalking, and masochistic exterior, Ayame Sarutobi is a deeply capable and loyal ninja whose professional pride and sense of duty run as deep as her infamous infatuation.
Sacchan is a tall, slender young woman with long, light purple hair and a distinctive beauty mark located just below her right eye. Her most defining physical feature is her thick, dark-red glasses. She suffers from an extremely severe case of myopia; without her glasses, she is practically blind, unable to distinguish a living person from an inanimate object. This condition is a running source of comedy, as even with her glasses on, she has a tendency to mistake other characters for her obsession, most famously confusing a Kagura dressed in Gintoki's clothes for the man herself. In combat, she is a master of various ninja tools, particularly the kunai throwing knife, which she can throw with deadly accuracy even without her vision fully corrected. Her most unusual weapon of choice is natto, the sticky fermented soybeans she loves to eat; she uses its extreme viscosity to trap and immobilize her enemies.
Sacchan's personality is a study in extreme contrasts, swinging wildly between two distinct modes. On the one hand, she is a consummate professional in her work as an assassin. In this killer mode, she is cool-headed, serious, and driven by a strong sense of justice, taking down targets who evade the law without hesitation. On the other hand, the moment she is in the presence of Sakata Gintoki, she transforms completely. She becomes a loud, screeching, and obsessively infatuated masochist who openly revels in the verbal abuse and physical violence Gintoki directs her way. She has dubbed this her lovestruck-pig mode, and in this state, she is utterly single-minded, often abandoning her professional priorities to stalk him. She takes great pride in her stalking abilities, hiding in improbable locations around the Yorozuya office and following Gintoki's every move, to the point where he is no longer surprised by her sudden appearances.
Her obsessive love for Gintoki began with their first encounter. After botching a mission and fleeing from pursuers, she crashed into Gintoki's room and lied that they had spent the night together. Despite seeing through her deception, Gintoki ultimately saved her, an act that ignited her intense and warped affection for him. This dynamic defines her role in the story, as she frequently inserts herself into the Yorozuya's adventures, either by stalking them or by being reluctantly dragged into their chaotic affairs. She considers Shimura Tae and Tsukuyo to be her primary romantic rivals, leading to frequent comedic clashes, though a genuine bond of friendship and respect underlies these conflicts, especially in more serious moments.
Beyond her comedic obsession, Sacchan has deep and significant connections to other characters. She was trained from childhood by the father of Hattori Zenzou, another Oniwabanshuu ninja, making them longtime acquaintances who have a competitive and bickering relationship. Despite their constant squabbling, she deeply respects him and they have fought alongside each other in critical moments. Her loyalty to the shogunate is also profound; she and Zenzou secretly swore to protect the Shogun, Tokugawa Shigeshige, a vow that becomes the centerpiece of her character development during the Shogun Assassination arc. In this serious storyline, she sets aside her lovestruck antics to fully embrace her role as a protector, demonstrating her immense skill and unwavering dedication in life-or-death combat. This arc highlights that beneath the screaming, stalking, and masochistic exterior, Ayame Sarutobi is a deeply capable and loyal ninja whose professional pride and sense of duty run as deep as her infamous infatuation.