Hiroko Hagakure

> *"Being the only one without any cool powers sucks, if I have to admit."*
>
>

**Hiroko Hagakure** was a contestant in the first season of Video Game All-Stars as a member of Team Squidbeak Splatoon.

## Personality

Hiroko is generally kind to those around her, being very approachable and open to listen to any of her fellow contestant's worries. She has an interest in fashion and feels inferior to other contestants, calling herself 'average', despite showing impressive physical strength at times. She tends to try and use her charm to her advantage in challenges as well.

## Season 1 - Video Game All-Stars Island

Hiroko starts off making small talk on the boat to the island in S1E1 - VGAS Kart Arcade GP, wondering what kind of person the host would be. In the race, she is close to winning due to getting a good start and not getting hit by many items, however Lilac manages to stay ahead of her. She is picked as the third member of Team Squidbeak Splatoon, suggesting that they choose Falco next, as she had a nice chat with him earlier and felt like he could add to the team. For the second part of the challenge, she agrees with the idea to split up to cover more ground, being able to score a few points to help the team, helping them to win. Later on she is asked by Rise to join an alliance, which she accepts

In S1E2 - The Legend of VGAS, she cheers her team on to help them climb the mountain, managing to get up herself and being one of the seven to move on to the second part of the challenge. When attacked by monsters, she helps the team by fighting them in hand-to-hand combat, then as Team Squidbeak Splatoon fight Ganondorf, she lands the finishing blow, winning for the team. She is disgusted when she finds later that K. Rool sent a Kremling to spy on her, then the resulting discussion with Falco, Lilac and Spyro results in her rethinking her alliance deal she made in the previous episode.

In S1E3 - Catch Em' Fast!, Hiroko is focused on trying to keep up the winning streak, getting involved when the contestants try to attack Sonic, even managing to land a hit on him before Eggman turns on her, forcing her to flee. She also focuses on gathering rings for her own safety, worrying she might be a target due to feeling average, eventually gathering the most, tied with Gundham, granting both safety when their team eventually loses. Because of her chat with Falco earlier, she regretfully flips her vote to eliminate Rise, seeming sad to see her leave.

In S1E4 - Getting The Cash!, she gets involved in a discussion with Lilac and Spyro about how they would recover from their loss, deciding all they could really do is keep trying their best to win. She sees Eggman dab later that morning, deciding to try it herself, offending him in the process. During the challenge, she is quick to make it to the bank, trying to use charm to get to the money, but not going anywhere. When Marisa blasts a hole in the wall to the safe, Hiroko takes the opportunity to take as much money as she can before running, joining the rest of the team. She stops Spyro when he tries to be the getaway driver, taking the wheel as she has experience. Later as the contestants get back to Banjo, Hiroko is angered when Mario harms Spyro, attempting to attack him to get revenge. She hands in the money she collected, being relieved when the team has enough to win.

In S1E5 - Blockheads, she is unaffected by the team swap, although much like the others, she is sad that Falco is moved onto Team Eggman. In the challenge, she digs down and finds diamonds, however she ends up falling in lava. After being brought back to the surface, she goes to a village to trade, growing aggravated when there is nothing she is looking for. This doesn't leave her with much time to make a good structure, so the team loses. When debating with her friends whether to vote for Marisa or Mugman, they see Mugman walk in, so they decide to vote for Marisa together.

In S1E6 - Short, Sweet, and Ink..., Hiroko spends most of the challenge hiding instead of going on the offensive, feeling that Lilac and Spyro have it covered. She is almost found by Eggman, but escapes before he can shoot her. Ending up by her teammates, they tell her to go somewhere else, as all three of them standing in one place would make them easy to spot. She agrees, going back into hiding somewhere else, where she remains until the end of the challenge. After the challenge, she meets Eggman in private to apologise for upsetting him before. He tells her that he didn't really care before proceeding to ignore her. She considers it a success before leaving him to it.

In S1E7 - SPACEEEEE!, she is a big help in building the ship to get up into space, then helps Lilac with finding a Metroid to bring to Banjo. Being successful, she is happy to have made it to merge, agreeing to stick with Falco, Lilac and Spyro to try and make it to the final four together.

In S1E8 - Star Return, she joins Lilac in messing around with low gravity in space before Banjo reveals the returning player. She is disappointed to see K. Rool, as he sent a Kremling to stalk her in the past. She struggles in the challenge, not knowing how to use an Arwing, so Eggman uses the opportunity to attack her ship, upsetting her. She votes for K. Rool after the challenge like everyone else, but when fights break out she tries to deescalate the situation.

In S1E9 - The Apocalypse, Hiroko supports Spyro when he opens up to her about his concerns about the game. When Banjo reveals the wasteland they would be competing in, she also comforts Mugman when he shows fear himself. During the challenge she takes cover in a hospital, barely avoiding getting taken down by zombies when they appear in the challenge. When Banjo gets bored and brings the five survivors into a fight, she tries to avoid the conflict, but is teleported out before Lilac or Mugman, not winning immunity. She goes along with Mugman telling them that Eggman is a bigger threat, voting out Eggman afterwards.

In S1E10 - Whodunnit?, she decides to train before the challenge by having a spar with Lilac, having Falco as a judge. In the end Lilac is deemed the winner, but Hiroko feels stronger from the attempt, so she gains a little more confidence. She tries to be the rational thinker in the challenge, looking for evidence over jumping to any conclusions. In the end she is unable to work out the culprit before Falco and Lilac, so she is unnerved by being one of three voting options, before remembering Mugman's deal, voting for him instead.

In S1E11 - VGAS Party, she spends the morning with the rest of the final four, having a good time playing Just Dance. The announcement of an automatic elimination makes her feel like she is going to lose, but she still gives the challenge her best shot. Falco and Lilac easily surpass her, but she ends up in a tie for last place with Spyro, having to battle him in a tiebreaker. She uses his aggressive play to her advantage, making an attack when he overshoots in the Bumper Balls minigame, eliminating him. Having seen him so sad to lose, she begins to feel guilty over his elimination, beginning to think he deserved to make it to the final three over her. She talks to Falco about this and he tries to help her feel better about the situation.

In S1E12 - Shortie Country, she observes the forest Banjo takes them to for their next challenge, getting nervous when it is revealed to be another automatic elimination, considering she barely survived the previous one. Her fears are confirmed as Falco and Lilac are much quicker to take off than she is, as she takes a careful approach. She ends up last to exit and is eliminated, but she admits to the others that she didn't expect to make it to the top three, much less finale, so she doesn't mind not making it because she had fun on the show.

In S1E13 - A Smashing Finale!, she is chosen to assist Lilac in the final challenge, helping her to win. As the contestants are about to go their separate ways she also gets Rise's phone number to keep in touch, then Lilac helps her get home.