Kashima’s Twisted Reindeer Helmet: The Bizarre Antagonist of SAKAMOTO DAYS

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Summary

  • Kashima’s eccentric introduction sets the tone for a dangerous and unhinged antagonist.
  • The impact of contrast in Kashima’s characterization creates a sense of discomfort and foreboding.
  • Kashima’s twisted sense of justice stems from past experiences which led to his loyalty to “X”.

During episodes 7 through 9 of the anime SAKAMOTO DAYS, we delve into Shin’s past and find out how he acquired his psychic abilities. This is where we are introduced to the main antagonist, and another peculiar assassin is introduced who could be the quirkiest one so far.

Kashima is a character whose name fittingly refers to his habit of wearing a reindeer head as a helmet, and his eccentricity would be considered an understatement. Beneath the peculiar facade of this character lies something far darker – there’s a sinister and broken quality to him. So, who is Kashima, and why does he behave in such an unusual way?

How Kashima Is Introduced

The Spectre of a Total Maniac

The Lab arc begins with a ridiculous misunderstanding that leads to a group of men from a hidden laboratory within the Okutabi Science Museum, the place where Shin was raised and got his powers, kidnapping Lu from the Sakamoto Store shortly after she had an argument with him over wearing his apron to do more of the dirtier tasks around the place.

Despite the fact that the leader of the kidnappers, Tanaka, is told by his colleagues over and over that they definitely have the wrong person, he refuses to turn back, opting instead to parade Lu as “Shin”. The primary inspiration behind his mentally destitute idea is a visceral fear of their boss, a man who will kill for any mistake, or worse: have them used as experimental subjects in the lab.

This group enacted a hostile takeover of the laboratory, imprisoning the lead researcher, Shin’s father figure, Asakura, and forcing the remaining scientists to engage in research concerning supernatural powers. Tanaka’s fear of Kashima communicates that he’s a dangerous man, but what really sets off the warning bells is the fact that he is first shown wearing his purple suit and the head of a reindeer as a mask.

Up to this point, there have been all manner of eccentricities in SAKAMOTO DAYS, but this particular fashion choice is the one thing throughout the series that stands out as the ultimate indicator of a character’s general lack of sanity. Normal rules don’t work for someone like this, and when he lifts the mask slightly to threaten Tanaka, he reveals a body that is heavily modified and strewn with sutures.

The Impact of Contrast

Conflicting Pieces of Information Make For an Unsettling Experience

Building on the significance of Kashima’s introduction, there are interesting directorial choices made in the scene when he threatens to kill Tanaka if he’s lying about kidnapping Shin. Contrast is heavily at play in Kashima’s characterization, with the reindeer head creating dissonance from the “sensibility” communicated by his wearing of a suit. When he speaks, he has a monotonous, calm tone of voice that doesn’t fluctuate even as he threatens to murder someone, which is even more threatening than more bombastic efforts to appear threatening. The music choice is super interesting in this regard, as he has a calm, piano theme playing as he asks why the Shin before him looks nothing like the Shin in the picture.

The scene is dissonant because he’s calmly asking a straightforward question, but it’s a life-or-death situation for Tanaka, who is clearly terrified as the calming piano plays to the effect of an elevator jingle. However, when Kashima reveals his face, a sinister and anxiety-inducing piece of music plays instead as Tanaka and Lu are wheeled off, literally kicking and screaming, to their gruesome fate after Seba, equally aloof as Kashima, nonchalantly rats out his colleague to the discordant tune that replaces the piano.

Kashima puts the reindeer’s head back on and tells Seba that it’s imperative that he finds Shin as they cannot afford to disappoint him (“X”). He places his hand on Seba’s shoulder, squeezing it uncomfortably. The music changes back to the pleasant piano as Kashima says “I’m counting on you”, adding to the multiple pieces of conflicting information we get about Kashima when he’s first introduced, that, together with his demeanor, create a sense of foreboding, disharmony, and discomfort.

Kashima’s polite manner of speaking and apparent obsession with respect and manners directly conflict with his actions. Despite being a killer, he mourns the loss of his minions’ lives to Order members Shishiba and Osaragi, tearfully claiming that they have no respect for human life. His fashion choice reflects a sense of sensibility, with suits often being associated with professionalism, but he creates discord with the reindeer’s head, and body littered with the evidence of constant modification. His calm, low-register manner of speaking does nothing to sand down the sharp edges of his threats or his bloodlust, and the soundtrack augments this sense of whiplash by weaving together the calm and pleasant notes of a track you’d hear in an elevator, with the clashing, eerie swells you’d hear in horror movies. All together, contrast is what elevates the introduction of Kashima, who is strange as an antagonist because he’s unhinged.

The Connection to “X”

Kashima’s Twisted Sense of Justice

During his battle with Sakamoto in episode 9, Kashima recalls his first meeting with “X”, and we learn a little about his past. When he was younger, Kashima got very violent with a group of miscreants in his neighbourhood because they were torturing a cat, leading to him being shunned by the rest of the community. Kashima can have very intense reactions to perceived injustices, sometimes playing up the smallest transgressions to cardinal sins, and thus meting out punishment that can often be disproportionate to the transgression.

This is not to say that the incident from when he was younger was necessarily an incident of disproportionate punishment, but what constitutes his warped sense of justice, or anyone’s for that matter, is the belief that they are the chosen arbiters of said justice. After being shunned, he was found by “X”, who reassured him that he had done nothing wrong. The X-shaped sutures over his mouth show Kashima’s loyalty to the man who accepted his sense of justice instead of calling it “excessive” or warped, thus granting justification to Kashima’s most dangerous delusions.

SAKAMOTO DAYS is available on Netflix.

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2025-03-16 23:05