Ritsu Sakuma

Weak to sunlight, Ritsu lacks energy during the day and is often spotted taking catnaps here and there. He is lighthearted and lives his own way, and he is also an acute observer who utters harsh words occasionally. He cares deeply for his loved ones and at times is deeply jealous. His singing voice is quiet and luscious, and his performances are flowing and light. 
Ritsu is a member of Knights at NEW DIMENSION. In order to live in the same world as everyone else, Ritsu's challenging himself to work during the day. He's currently researching how to express his uniqueness while taking advantage of late-night interactions, like midnight livestreams on social media.
==Appearance==
Ritsu stands at average height with red eyes and a fair complexion. He has mid-length black hair with bangs and side bangs that frame his cheeks. He has a tiny speck of hair and a stray bang sticking out of his head. At school, he wears his school blazer unbuttoned over his gray sweater. His white shirt is untucked with a messy collar. He wears brown dress shoes and loose plaid pants.
On stage as a member of the unit Knights, Ritsu wears a dark blue coat with white sleeves and a ruffled tailcoat over a white shirt. There’s a vertical blue line on his sleeves. The sleeves have a blue cuff, with a gold accent to them. His white shirt has a black vertical line in the middle, accented with gold. His shirt collar is blue, accented with gold as well. On the shirt’s collar, there are swirly gold patterns. Where the buttons would usually be, are golden frog closures. On his jacket there are black epaulettes. The rope on the epaulettes are golden. From his left epaulette are two golden strings, which lead to a blue banner with the fleur de lis symbol on it which is pinned on the right side of his chest. On the back, he wears a cape which is blue on the top end and white on the underside. There is a golden accent on the blue half of the cape. His pants are dark gray, with light gray vertical lines on them. He wears a thick belt with four golden buttons on them. There are golden lines on the side of his belt. Attached to the belt are two golden ropes. His boots are white, with the tip and the bottom being black. There is a black vertical line going down the shoe, with gold shoelaces. Under the shoelace tie are two black belts with a straight vertical gold buckle. Ritsu wears black fingerless gloves.
==Personality==
Though he may seem cold and uninterested, Ritsu is a playful and intelligent person at his core. Energy isn't something that comes naturally to him, and he is instead quietly passionate, and likes to tease others, enjoying their reactions.
At the start of the year, Ritsu tended to distance himself from his classmates and idol activities, which he viewed as laborious and boring because of the previous fractured state of Knights. He was reluctant to make friends due to this, and clung only to his childhood friend, Mao, who worried over Ritsu's antisocial nature. However, as the year goes on, Ritsu begins to open up and form important bonds with his friends and unitmates. He is very loyal and affectionate to the select few he is truly comfortable with.
Ritsu can be blunt and harsh to a fault, but is very intuitive and often picks up on others' emotions. He regards psychoanalysis as a 'bad habit' of his, yet is very adept at it. At times, he can be very clingy, and loves it when others praise him. He can be violent, especially towards his older brother, and doesn't hold his tongue often. Despite this, he can get very protective of his loved ones, to the point of being possessive, as seen with his interactions with Mao, though he gets better at learning to rein in his jealousy later on. 
Ritsu has abandonment issues largely stemming from Rei's absence last year, which contributes to his clingy and possessive tendencies, yet also his habit of distancing himself from others as a whole. He shares Rei's aversion of sunlight, and becomes more active and 'alive' at night. They also share a habit of jokingly regarding themselves as older and wiser than their juniors.
He loves music and is known for playing the piano. His songwriting reveals a much deeper and more wistful side of him, something that he almost never reveals to others, preferring his smug and sleepy persona. Somewhat surprisingly, though, he tends to keep things to himself to avoid burdening others. As it stands, Ritsu values his friends very much, and is willing to put effort into his idol work (or at least that which interests him).
==Etymology==
Ritsu's name 凛月 means "cold moon." “Saku” (朔) in his last name refers to the first day of the lunar month, which begins with a new moon. “Ma” (間) refers to an “interval of time.”
==Family==
==Trivia==
*Ritsu's autograph consists of only his first name, rendered in Roman letters.
*Ritsu had to repeat his first year at Yumenosaki as he's often late for school or sleeps during class, ruining his attendance record.
*Ritsu has low blood pressure.
*Ritsu serves as Knights' strategist.
*Despite how strange (and disgusting) his pastries look, they actually are delicious. Rei seems to say that Ritsu has a bright future for "grasping the concept of black magic at a young age" because of the pastries, much to Ritsu's delight.
*Just like his brother, Ritsu suffers from chronic pain. It is also possible that his "laziness" and constant need for sleep is due to Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (Myalgic Encephalomyelitis) as he shows various of the symptoms (including the 3 core symptoms) of this illness. 
*Ritsu is childhood friends and neighbors with Mao, and often uses Mao as an emotional crutch because of this as he was his only friend growing up.
*Ritsu possesses a high level intellect and often finds himself mentally criticizing the actions of others without meaning to. However, he is also surprised by the intelligence of some people in Yumenosaki, as he was so used to him and his brother being so much smarter than everyone else growing up, especially around Mao, who he calls "dumb yet cute." 
*Like his brother, Ritsu often jokes that people should let him drink their blood as payment whenever he does something troublesome for them, which tends to freak others out. 
*When it's really sunny out, Ritsu has to use a specially made umbrella to help protect him from the bright rays. 
*In the Ensemble Stars Knights course livestream, Leo refers to Ritsu as someone he can rely on but is "a bit of a handful."
*He designed a mug for Cafe Cinnamon as a collaboration with his circle CRAFTMONSTER. A real life version of this exists and is for sale at Cafe Cinnamon.
==Voice Actor Comment==
"Each character has their own very unique personality, and I was very conscious of trying to draw out his charming points as best as I could during the recording sessions. During daytime, he always appears lethargic, not wanting to have anything to do with other people, and somewhat distant, but I wonder if it's not simply because he doesn't quite understand interpersonal communication, and maybe he's bewildered, not knowing what he should do.
Thus, I would be very happy if the players would look beyond his aloofness and notice the straightforwardness and childishness hidden inside. He's very honest about his feelings, and I mean this in a good way, so I hope you will regard him from the point of view of an adult." (Enstars!)
"This is a game where you can meet the Ritsu you've known until now and the new Ritsu. Please continue to accompany him as he walks towards the future."Commemorative Release Message (Enstars!!)
"" (Road to Show Comment)Ensemble Stars!! -Road to Show!!- Ritsu Cast Comment
===Voice Actor Interview===
*Ensemble Stars!! -Road to Show!!- Official Cast Comments (2/4/2022)
==Sources==
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Category:Characters
Category:Student
Category:2nd Year
Category:Knights
Category:Tea Club
Category:Class 2-B
Category:Virgo
Category:Student !!
Category:Class 3-B !!
Category:3rd Year !!
Category:FLAVOR
Category:CRAFTMONSTER
Category:La Mort (Unit)
Category:EVIL NUM+ (Unit)