When I found Sadako at the End of the World, I was unaware about the legend of Sadako herself and the story behind her ominous presence and her chilling powers. Instead of looking forward to a terrifying read, I chose to purchase this book because I was enchanted by the beautiful cover artwork and the description of the story on the back cover. I love found-family stories, and I especially love redemption arcs, and I could tell that this book was destined ot have both of those things.
I started and finished reading this book in one sitting. At first, I thought I knew where the story would end up, but I preferred the actual ending to my own imaginings regarding it.
The story features Sadako, who has been summoned into an apocalyptic world by two little girls, Ai and Hii, who watched her tape. They immediately fall in love with her and treat her as one of their little friend group, despite her long locks of black hair hiding her face, her dirty white gown, and the supernatural cause of her appearance. Through the use of a slate, Sadako informs them that she will only a week, and the girls want to find a way to keep her around. The three of them decide to go on a little trip together to find more people. However, the two sisters are unaware that Sadako is there to kill them by the time a week has passed. Her curse can only be broken once there are no more people in the world left for her to curse, and so, she hopes that now, in this apocalyptic world, she will finally have the chance to free herself from the nightmare she has been forced to live through for so many years.
Throughout their journey, the three friends meet a handsome young hairstylist, an elderly woman who was once an actress, and a ghost living in a well. All three of their new friends pass on by the time the story concludes at the end of the week, presumeably because of the curse of Sadako's very presence. Ai, who is the eldest of the sisters, has figured out that Sadako needs to take their lives away too if she is going to be free, and the three friends move on to the afterlife together, and Sadako is finally able to rest in peace.
From there, we get to see the entire friend group in the afterlife, where they are doing their hair and having fun. Sadako finally gets a real haircut, but it all grows back a moment later, showing that Sadako has finally accepted the curse she was forced to live with for years, and has grown to appreciate everything that she has endured as a pathway to her own happy ending.
The story is touching and wholesome. I didn't find it scary at all. In fact, I found it to be comforting in a sense. It showed that the end is not the scary part of life. Rather, life itself is what can be frightening, but it is how a person endures a trial that defines the true nature of their character. Sadako was going to kill Ai and Hii anyway, but by the time the story ended, it was clear that she didn't want to. She loved them, just as much as they loved her. They became a family, along with all of the other people that they met throughout the course of their journey together. It was only fitting that they should leave the broken world to enter a happier one, where they will finally be at peace, away from the shattered reality that was all they had ever known.
I also found the story to be quite humorous. The tone never felt grim, despite how grim the circumstances were. Ai and Hii had been on their own for quite some time, but they were still cheerful and curious about everything that crossed their path. This curiosity was reflected in Sadako's own desire to want to curse more people, though this urge seemed to be almost innocent in its entirety. She was, after all, a child too.
All in all, I really liked this book. I'm glad that I got the chance to enjoy this beautiful story. It's definitely good for people who are easily frightened by scary characters such as Sadako, because this book can show them the same character in a warmer, more realistic light.