Teruhiko Sawatari

Teruhiko Sawatari’s real name is Teruhiko Sakoda, but due to family circumstances he uses his mother’s surname and is widely known as Teruhiko Sawatari.

He was originally a reclusive shut-in before enrolling at Takahara Academy, where he finally opened up and found his calling in medicine.

He later qualified as a doctor and became the school doctor of Takahara Academy.

His personality is defined by a quiet sense of responsibility, especially toward the children under his care.

As the academy’s physician, Sawatari was responsible for the health and treatment of the students and staff.

He was deeply involved in the academy’s secret and advanced medical procedures, including radical brain transplantation surgeries.

One of his most shocking acts was transplanting the brain of the academy director into Manaka Mikura’s body.

This operation is a key example of how far he was willing to go medically to preserve certain individuals.

When the Japanese Self-Defense Forces attacked Takahara Academy, many adults and children were killed or surrendered.

Sawatari did not surrender to the Self-Defense Forces and instead chose to remain behind at the ruined academy.

He took care of the students who stayed, doing his best to keep them alive in harsh conditions.

To support them, he even created a vegetable field in the academy courtyard, turning the devastated school grounds into a makeshift farm.

About five years before the main story begins, Sawatari was in Asakusa, a district in Tokyo.

During this period, he carried out another major brain transplant, moving Haruki Takehaya’s brain into the body of Takehaya Kiriko.

Kiruko was unaware of Sawatari’s real name during their earlier connection to these events.

His identity as “Sakoda” was only later revealed by Robin Inazaki in episode 32.

These surgeries show that Sawatari is not just a regular doctor but a specialist in extremely advanced, morally gray neurosurgery.

He operates at the edge of science and ethics, often prioritizing survival and specific individuals over conventional morality.

After the events at Takahara Academy, Sawatari eventually left and established a new life.

He opened a small clinic on the former site of the Takahara Academy Nara Facility, setting up a medical practice in the ruins.

This clinic served as a health hub for survivors and people passing through the area.

Here, he continued his quiet, almost hidden life as a rural doctor while the world outside collapsed.

In episode 54, Sawatari encounters Maru and is immediately stunned by his appearance.

Maru looks almost exactly like Tokio, one of the academy’s special children, which triggers Sawatari’s suspicions.

Based on his medical knowledge and past involvement with the academy children, Sawatari deduces that Maru is likely the missing child born between Tokio and Kona.

He further reveals that Maru is not an only child and that he has a twin brother named Yamato.

This revelation is crucial to understanding Maru’s origins and the deeper connection between the academy’s “heaven” and the ruined outside world.

Sawatari’s knowledge ties together multiple threads of the story and exposes hidden family links.

Later, Sawatari learns of an approaching man-eating creature called Angelus, which is nearing a town.

Determined to protect the people there, he decides to personally hunt and kill Angelus, despite the enormous risk.

His attempt fails, and he is absorbed and taken over by Angelus, becoming part of the monster.

However, Sawatari had anticipated the danger and prepared a last resort.

He had hidden hand grenades inside his own body before confronting the creature.

After being absorbed, he detonates them, self-destructing from within Angelus and sacrificing his life to destroy or severely damage the monster.

His death is an act of conscious, premeditated self-sacrifice, showing how far he has come from his days as an isolated shut-in.

By the end, Teruhiko Sawatari is not just a controversial surgeon but a protector who gives his life to shield others.