Yuki Takeya

**Yuki Takeya** (丈槍 由紀, *Takeya Yuki*?) is the main protagonist of the *Gakkou Gurashi!* series. She is a former senior student at Megurigaoka Private High School and a member of the School Life Club, where she, as the most cheerful and optimistic person, comes up with club activities and brings comfort among the club despite their surroundings.

## Appearance

Yuki is a young woman with straight, short, bubblegum pink hair which reaches down to her lower chin, and she has pink (with a tint of red) colored eyes. She usually has a bracelet on her left wrist, accessorizes her hair with black hair clips, and is usually seen wearing a black cat-cap; which is her trademark. She is fairly short with a petite build. She has fair skin that is prone to blushing.

Yuki is usually seen with her school uniform, which has some variations from Yuuri, Kurumi, and Miki's. Though the notable difference is only in the colors. Being that it consists of a white short-sleeved shirt with a blue purple-ish necktie, a red ribbon hanging from it, and a blue skirt. Yuki also wears mid-length, pink and white frilled socks with white shoes that are green at the tips. She is usually seen wearing her backpack wherever she goes.

Post timeskip, Yuki has now grown out her hair to knee length which she keeps in a ponytail and now only wears one hair clip instead of several. She dresses in a similar manner to Megu-nee.

## Personality

Yuki is a very energetic girl who can sometimes be overly optimistic and positive, as she always tries to see the best in people and things. She tries her best at everything, as the word "lose" doesn't exist in her dictionary. She is very bright and cheerful and is usually seen with a smile on her face. She is also childish, naive and an airhead, to which she often relies on others to help her. Due to this attitude, she has developed a very carefree and innocent personality and can often easily accept other people's faults, and Kurumi has stated that she almost never worries, as Yuki herself has said that it would be fine if they had manga even if their food ran out, but in a comically sense.

Yuki has a very understanding personality despite her naivety, and she is also a very caring person who will try to help others, often listening to their problems and comfort them. Her presence, is also enough for others (particularly Kurumi), to feel safe. She never doubts her friends: always believing in them and never leaving them alone, caring for them deeply. Yuki also often performs silly actions, something that Kurumi comments it being Yuki's "adult-like" act; though Yuki denies this. Although she has a childish personality, the other girls don't mind this, since her efforts have saved them various times since she was the one who gave them the feeling of warmth and cheerfulness when everything was so terrifying. She is also very innocent and funny, as she is someone who brightens everyone's spirits. As a senior to Miki, Yuki absolutely loves being called senpai, and takes great pride in that Ruu Wakasa, someone younger than her, learned some "bad" (according to the others) habits from her. As a student, Yuki often slept at her classes, much to her teachers annoyance. Though, her friends who were her classmates greatly cherished her and saw her a close friend, despite their different personalities.

When the outbreak occurred, Yuki was the first one to realize what was going on. She was absolutely terrified, which later made her create her own delusions; that her classmates were still alive and well, and that the outbreak never occurred. It is also stated in the manga that Yuki created the delusions to brighten the mood, especially since Yuuri and Kurumi seemed so tired and sometimes fought late at night before, and when Yuki would question about it, they would always reply with "nothing". After creating the delusions, Yuki became more cheerful, the others noticed this but didn't do anything about it, as they only wanted her to be happy. Though her teacher Megumi Sakura concluded that it was her fault that her time had "stopped". Slowly, she seems to come to realize the truth of her surroundings but still acts oblivious. However, in a situation where she's attacked by the zombies, her "delusions" will fall apart and she'll start to panic. Despite almost always having her spirits up, Yuki has her own moments of weaknesses and is seen crying when in a stressful situation. She mentioned that there are a lot of people who are better than her, people who worked so hard; and she thinks why it had do be her who survived. But because of her friends in the School Life Club, she thinks that she can be here.

Later on, she works up her courage to do more things, including fighting the zombies in the school to help her friends, even though she isn't very experienced in it. But due to her relying on the others all the time, she wants to help them as much as possible. After leaving the school, Yuki has seemingly abandoned her delusions, but she sometimes has delusions about Megumi, but this only happens when Yuki feels unsure about situations. Her cheerful and bright personality also remains, but she has grown to be slightly more mature and responsible.

## History

She was the first one to realize what was going on when the outbreak occurred when Yuuri, Yuki, and Megumi were of the rooftop. Yuki was very afraid and even started to scream. They then opened the door to let Kurumi in, along with her senior who was badly injured. Yuuri and Megumi then started to blockade the door to stop zombies from coming in. When Kurumi's senior, now zombified, tried to attack her, Kurumi picked up a nearby shovel and killed him, crushing his heart and brain, to which Yuki looked in horror. Soon after, Yuki stopped Kurumi as she had continued to hit him with the shovel even though he was dead, and cried in her arms. That was the day Kurumi and Yuki met, as Yuki already knew Megumi and Yuuri before.

While expanding their safe zone, it began to rain and her teacher, Megumi Sakura, sacrificed herself to save the girls, by locking them in the broadcasting room. As a self-defense mechanism, she suffered a mental breakdown resulting in Megumi's sacrifice. She created an "illusion" (or to her, more precisely, "delusion") as if the pandemic had never occurred and started seeing Megumi, as well as her fellow classmates, mostly her three friends she usually was seen around when they were alive.

It's also shown, in the anime, that whenever Yuki "interacts" with Megu-nee when her delusions begin to break, she talks to her at the door where she got bit and became a zombie.

## Story

### Chapter 1

After waking up, Yuki was introduced. Conducting her normal routines, she runs into her teacher, Megumi (nicknamed "Megu-nee" by her students). Then she runs off towards the School Life Club room. Along the way, she begins to explain why she loved school.

Arriving at the School Life Club room, she greets Kurumi and the two heads towards the school roof. Now at the roof, Yuki greets Yuuri (preferably called "Rii-san") by hugging. They now are helping the Garden Club out and Yuki and the others begin the garden work. During a break, Kurumi and herself got into a water fight. Splashing water at each other, Kurumi wins the battle. Yuki runs inside to change her clothes. Back inside her classroom, she speaks to another classmate then shuts the window.

### Chapter 2

After being awoken by Kurumi, Kurumi and Yuki heads to the School Life Club room to eat breakfast, curry, with Megumi and Rii-san. Yuki then asked if the School Life Club was like the Track and Sports club, considering that they've been doing these "chores", as Kurumi calls out, lately. Luckily, the School Life Club had a second article that prevents Yuki from calling their "club activities", "chores". Afterwards, departs for a one-on-one study session with Megu-nee. Sometime later, you see that Yuki was sitting in a messy room. Yuki looks up, gets up, then writes something on the board. In the evening, Yuki returns to the School Life Club room to have dinner, okonomiyaki. Discussing about why do they need math, Rii-san suggests that she and Kurumi should study together. The two deline but it was for the sake of graduating together, boosting up Yuki morale.

### Chapter 3

Interrupting Rii-san's inventorying and Kurumi's reading, Yuki announces that they shall conduct a test of courage! After claiming that Kurumi was afraid of ghosts, Yuki heads out to tell Megu-nee about it. At night, Yuki (chanting), Rii-san (carrying a radio), and Kurumi (with her shovel) are walking down through the corridors. Soon, stopping in their tracks, Kurumi wonders why Yuki wasn't tense. Yuki explains that there is no one inside the school to jump out at them. Rii-san plays the radio and off they start. At the stairwell, Megu-nee was waiting. Yuki shouts a greeting at her, but was told to be quiet.

After setting the rules, Yuki calls up Megu-nee from being left behind. At the school store, Yuki had the opportunity to look around; picking up some chips and candy bars, Yuki found a package of inflatable balloons that inflate twenty times their size. At the library, Yuki spots Rii-san picking up some books, claiming that she must be studious. That was until Rii-san told her that those books were for her. Running off to checkout some manga, Megumi finds her, telling her to not run in the library. Spotting a zombie, Megumi quickly pulls Yuki out into a dead end and tells her to stay put and remain quiet while she will get help. Some time later, Kurumi and Rii-san finds her; Megumi peeking out spots the others and Yuki asks of them if they could do this again next year.

### Chapter 4

Yuki, looking out the window, tells Kurumi-chan that it is raining. She also tells her that the sports club is running inside to shelter against the rain. A thought later, the two realize that they left their laundry out in the rain. On the rooftop, Yuki peeks out, asking Rii-san if the laundry was okay and the three starts collecting the laundry. While so, Yuki calls out Kurumi. Kurumi looks up to only see Yuki playing with Rii-san's bra. During lunch break which consisted of hardtacks and a drink, the group, along with Megu-nee, talks about the school under a blackout. Yuki claims to have love blackouts, until realizing that hot water would be out of the equation. This made Yuki realize that they should go camping since they won't be needing any electricity for that anyways. At the end of their discussion, Yuki thanks Megu-nee for everything she's done for them. At night, in a classroom, in a tent, Yuki says that the atmosphere changed quite a bit. Then wonders what to talk about now. Thinking about it, Yuki realizes something scarier than a horror story, their graduation. Talking about the fact that they'll have to leave Megu-nee behind, the discussion gets shifted over to Megu-nee, herself. A bit of discussion later and Yuki hears Megu-nee walking up to the door. Quickly, Yuki hides under her covers and waits for Megu-nee to pass along. Afterwards, the three get out and laugh.

### Chapter 5

Yuki was tearing up. Megu-nee appears behind her and tells her to not worry, but that they shall do club activities together! Waking up, Yuki walks over to the School Life Club room and asks Kurumi about Megu-nee. She replies that Megu-nee was in the teachers' room. Still half-asleep, Kurumi escorts Yuki over to the restroom. While Kurumi and Yuki were heading to the restrooms, Yuki explains that she loved school during the night. This was because it was quiet and the fact that their was no one else inside the building at the time. Along the way, Yuki and Kurumi spots a zombie. Kurumi, acting quickly, tells Yuki that it was a delinquent and they should make a run for it, to the restroom. Inside the restroom, Yuki tells Kurumi that she was scared. Noting that Kurumi was going to go out and get someone. Yuki tries to remind her that no one was allowed to walk out on their own. Kurumi counters that, tells her to keep the door lock, and that she'll be back quickly.

From that moment, Yuki recalls when Megu-nee told her the same thing. Waiting in the restroom stall, Megu-nee appears and asks her why she was outside by herself. Yuki answers and Megu-nee starts walking off to find Kurumi. Tugging on her dress, Yuki asks Megu-nee if she was a burden to everyone else. Replying that she wasn't, Megu-nee walks out. Sometime later, Kurumi opens the door to the stall Yuki was in and Yuki runs out to hug her. Asking where Megu-nee was, she soon realized that Megu-nee was still outside somewhere. After being restrained from going out and find her, Yuki, suddenly, collapses, forgetting what already had happened.

### Chapter 6

Yuki was at her limit! Megumi and Yuki were discussing about themselves. Yuki began to believe that the others, including Megu-nee, are better off without her. However, Megumi tells Yuki that she also have some good points. That being the smile she wears. Yuki argues that this doesn't make her feel helpful at all. Megumi explains that someone has to simile otherwise everyone would be wearing a frown and that wouldn't make any sense at all. Yuki thinks about it and agreed. This brings Yuki's spirits up and the two continue discussing.

When Yuki wakes up, Rii-san and Kurumi were glad that she was okay. Suddenly, Yuki asks about Megumi's whereabouts. Rii-san and Kurumi look at each other and were about to tell her what happened. Before they could however, Yuki spots Megumi by greeting her. They eat breakfast and Yuki tells them that she wants to do another test of courage. Unfortunately, Rii-san tells her that they can't anymore since the school store ran out of supplies. From this, they begin to plan about an outing (field trip). Yuki gets up to tell Megumi about this but was shot down after Kurumi had said that Megumi was stuck at a meeting. Instead, Rii-san had suggested that they write letters.

Yuki and Rii-san are writing letters. A moment later and Yuki became discouraged due to her poor handwriting. Rii-san fixes this by telling her the people that would be happy for receiving a letter by balloon.

Before they fly their letters, Yuki had hoped that Hatoko-chan to do her best. Kurumi interrupts and began to question why she got to name it. Thus Kurumi had called the pigeon "Arnault". The two began to argue, but Rii-san compromises by naming it "Arnault Hatonishiki". Now that the name of the pigeon was settled, the three release their letters!

## Abilities

Yuki, who still had her delusions, didn't have any real experience in fighting zombies , as she called the zombies for either "ghost" or "delinquents". However, she has priven to be good at reading maps and she has a Quick thinking.

After slowly realizing her surroundings, she is willing to fight them for her friends' sake though she was never actually seen fighting them, she seems to know how it works. After leaving the school, the others stated that Yuki had become more reliable, and Kurumi also said that Yuki has always been a good help, to which the others agreed too. Though Yuki doesn't have any real abilities in killing zombies, her friends and Megumi sees her cheerfulness as a positive thing.

## Appellation

* Main Characters
* Supporting Characters

 Kurumi Ebisuzawa | * Kurumi-chan
 Yuuri Wakasa | * Rii-san
* Yuuri-san

## Relationships

### Yuuri Wakasa

Yuuri acts like a big sister towards Yuki and the rest of the club. They can freely talk with each other about various topics, and like Kurumi, Yuuri also worries about her quite a lot, but Yuuri still lets her roam around the school almost freely, the only exception being when it's late. They both care for each other, and Yuuri deeply cares for Yuki, and is protective of her as a friend, as she almost started a fight with Miki due to her lack of understanding towards Yuki's delusions. However, Yuuri can also be slightly "strict" with her, especially when it comes to her studies, but not in a very serious way as she only wants to help her. Yuuri only scolds Yuki if she (subconsciously) want to do something dangerous, like going outside as the stars were pretty, since Megumi said so.

Yuuri is also aware of her "delusions" but chooses to play along as she only wants her to be happy. Yuuri is also very understanding of her delusions and says it's best for her to remain glad in the situation they are in. Though Yuki is generally childish, she is able to pick up on when Yuuri is depressed and has been seen comforting her several times, giving her someone to talk to about her problems. Yuki is also very supportive of her as she knows that Yuuri is the one who takes care of the resources and therefore wants to help her out as much as possible. Since Yuki reminds Yuuri of her younger sister, Yuuri is also very protective of her as a friend. Yuki considers Yuuri as one of her closest friends.

### Kurumi Ebisuzawa

Kurumi is one of Yuki's closest friends as they have been by each other's side since the outbreak occurred. Kurumi likes to tease Yuki sometimes, and Yuki also sometimes teases Kurumi for being afraid of ghosts, much to her chagrin. But they both care for each other deeply, and Kurumi can be very protective of Yuki sometimes, as she sees her as someone she needs to protect due to her air-headed nature. Yuki relies on Kurumi's strength when they are in the school, as she always is near her. Despite their different personalities, they get along very well, feeling very comfortable being with each other, and they can also talk about various topics with each other. Yuki cares for Kurumi and her well-being very much and became very worried when she didn't come back to her as she accompanied her to the restroom in the school. When Kurumi did come back, Yuki was very happy and ran into her arms.

Yuki became very saddened when Kurumi became infected and didn't leave her side even though she was told to not stay too close to Kurumi by Yuuri as it could be dangerous. She said that she wouldn't want to lose Kurumi as she is very precious to her; and when she recovered, Yuki became overjoyed. Yuki often encourages Kurumi and wants her to participate in activities, even after coming to Isidore University, to which Kurumi comments Yuki on being a *really* interesting girl. Even though they had started becoming closer friends with the girls in the Fallen Crew, Kurumi and Yuki never lost their bond and are still, share a very close bond. She cares for Kurumi very much and is also affectionate with her, as she is very happy to have Kurumi as her friend and doesn't want her to carry the burden she has all by herself, and wants her to be happy. She is very protective of Kurumi as well, and Yuki has stated that she will protect Kurumi at all costs, as well as that she won't forgive anyone who tries to hurt Kurumi.

### Miki Naoki

At first, Miki felt odd towards Yuki because of a lack of understanding of her "delusions". There were times when Miki tried to make Yuki "grow" out of her delusions but later stopped since she understood that her warmth is something rare, especially in the situation they were put in. Even though they have different personalities, where Yuki is the childish and cheerful one whilst Miki is the mature and calm one, they get along well. Yuki calls her "Mii-kun," while Miki calls her "senpai" or "Yuki-senpai.", much to Yuki's happiness. Though Miki wasn't particularly fond of the nickname "Mii-kun", she later came to accept it into a good one.

Miki had quite a hard time accepting her delusions tried to talk her out of her them, but Yuki always cared for Miki nonetheless and stated that she was very happy when she joined them. Yuki never acted cold towards Miki even though she tried to talk her out of the illusions and research them. Later, after Yuki told her the reasons, Miki started to see Yuki as someone close to her who would always brighten everyone's moods, starting to smile more genuinely when in her presence; becoming friendlier towards her after this incident. And even though she was bashful about it at first, Miki never doubted her and would deny it when Yuki stated that she herself was "dumb" to understand everything. Miki sometimes teases Yuki by saying that she doesn't feel dependable, and Miki also thought that Yuki could be childish sometimes, but recently, she started viewing her as a more reliable person.

Yuki was also the one who technically "saved" Miki, because she was the one who heard her when Miki was in the mall. Yuki cares deeply for Miki, and they feel very comfortable with each other as Yuki even cried in her arms; as Miki is the only one has seen such a side of Yuki's and Miki told Yuki about her close friend Kei, likewise, not telling it to anyone but her, showing that they trust each other very much as well. Yuki, as her senior, wants to help her as much as possible, even stating that the more things she left back to her, the better would it be. Like the others, even though they became better friends with the other girls in the Fallen Crew, Miki and Yuki still share a deep friendship and trust between them. According to Yuki, even if they butted heads at times, they always made up in the end, no matter what; signifying their friendship.

### Megumi Sakura

Megumi was Yuki's Japanese teacher and despite being a student, Yuki calls her "Megu-nee". They were on very good terms and cared for each other. Yuki liked Megumi a lot, and Megumi always comforted Yuki when she was sad. Their friendly connection is great to the point that they call each other by their first names. (Note: in Japan, it is common for students and teachers to call each other by last names, which shows that the two had a close bond.) Even before the outbreak, Yuki was very fond of Megumi, and Megumi also helped Yuki with her studies after school.

After Megumi's sacrifice, Yuki refused to accept her death which later caused her to have a mental breakdown and begin to see illusions of Megumi, often talking to the door that she had been infected outside of. The Megumi from Yuki's delusions protects her; and this may be that Yuki is unconsciously aware of the situation around her, thus imagining a person to protect both her and her fantasy. This manifests itself in Megumi, a person who Yuki saw as a protector. After leaving school, Yuki has seemingly abandoned her delusions of Megumi. However, when Yuki was feeling down, she made an illusion of Megumi again since she wanted to be comforted and a bit of advice, but this happened only because Yuki was feeling down. Occasionally, she will have small delusions about Megumi when she feels unsure and someone to rely on, which shows how dear Megumi was, and still is for Yuki.

## Analysis of Yuki's mental illness

Although the exact diagnosis for Yuki's delusions and hallucinations isn't yet revealed in the manga, there have been many speculations, both in-universe and out about the nature of her disorder. Although Naoki Miki speculated that she's schizophrenic, or possibly dissociative, Yuki seemingly doesn't possess any attributes of either except for a heavy disconnect with reality. Yuki's delusions are most likely a result of PTSD (*post-traumatic stress disorder*) after seeing the zombie apocalypse unravel in front of her eyes before the beginning of the series.

## Gallery

*For all images with Yuki Takeya in them, see Category:Yuki Takeya*
### Volume Covers

Volume 1Volume 2Volume 3Volume 4Volume 5Volume 6

## Quotes

“*I'm in love with school lately.*”—Yuki, Chapter 1
“*Uh... I mean, I just want to say I love you all.*”—Yuki to Kurumi and Yuuri, Chapter 1
“*Curry~!*”—Yuki's reaction to curry
“*Let's go on a test of courage!*”—Yuki to Kurumi and Yuuri, Chapter 3
“*I'll stay here with you. I don't... Want to lose you...*”—Yuki to Kurumi, Chapter 21, page 20
“*Miki-san, what's your dream?*”—Yuki to Miki, Chapter 25
“*A camera? Can you Instagram with it?*”—Yuki to Yuuri, Kurumi, and Miki, Chapter 25
“*But, you know, I don't want to leave you alone after we all graduate.*”—Yuki to Miki, Chapter 25
“*Don't worry. It'll be alright, okay?*”—Yuki to Yuuri, Chapter 28
“*I always end up letting everyone else do the hard work. It's my turn, this time.*”—Yuki wants to fight for the others., Chapter 28
“*Let's all do our best, okay?*”—Yuki to Yuuri, Miki, and Kurumi, Chapter 30
“*It's sad that nothing can last forever, but I think it's better that way.*”—Yuki, speaking in the broadcasting room, Episode 12
“*If you bottle up your sadness too much, you'll forget what's really important.*”—Yuki, to Kurumi, Yuuri and Miki, Episode 12
“*I will tie you up and bring you back!*”—Yuki to Kurumi, Chapter 52, page 33

## Trivia

* Yuki's birthday is April 5th.
* Yuki (由紀?) is read the same way as the word for "snow".
* Yuki states that she was in class 3-C.
* Before the outbreak, Yuki didn't seem to be very good at Japanese.
* Yuki made an appearance as a support character in the *Nitroplus Blasterz: Heroines Infinite Duel* "mega-crossover" fighting game, which was released since December 2015.
	+ When summoned, Yuki and a small horde of zombies would temporarily spawn in the battle, continuously running across the screen. If Yuki ran into the opposing player, she would trip herself and (minorly) injure the opposing player then get trampled by the other zombies. If the zombies ran into the opposing player, the opposing player would get trampled by the zombies.
* Yuki is the only character to wear a different style of her school's uniform
	+ If the colors of Yuki's uniform were inverted, they will match the other girls' uniforms ([1]); conversely, if the colors of the other characters uniforms were inverted, something similar happens ([2]).
		- This was believed to be a form of symbolism. Yuki's school uniform has an **inverted** palette from the others; thus she has an **inverted** personality and mindset from the others.

## References

1. ↑ Chapter 36, page 10
2. ↑ Chapter 2, page 27
3. ↑ Chapter 13, page 14
4. ↑ Chapter 36, page 14
5. ↑ Chapter 4, page 2
6. ↑ Chapter 29, page 22
7. ↑ Chapter 50, page 15
8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Episode 3
9. ↑ Chapter 31, page 14
10. ↑ Chapter 33, page 9
11. ↑ Chapter 14, page 20
12. ↑ Chapter 31, page 17
13. ↑ Chapter 5, page 26
14. ↑ Chapter 43, page 23
15. ↑ Chapter 55, page 12
16. ↑ Chapter 56, page 16
17. ↑ Chapter 16, page 20
18. ↑ Chapter 23, page 6
19. ↑ Chapter 32, page 13
20. ↑ Chapter 46, page 12
21. ↑ Chapter 13, page 4
22. ↑ Episode 6
23. ↑ www.animenewsnetwork.co.uk
24. ↑ www.crunchyroll.com/