Sayaka Maizono

**Sayaka Maizono** (舞園 さやか *Maizono Sayaka*), is a student in Hope's Peak Academy's Class 78th, and a participant of the Killing School Life featured in *Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc*. Her title is **UltimatePop Sensation** (超高校級の「アイドル」 *Chō kōkō-kyū no "aidoru"* lit. Super High School Level Idol).

## Appearance

Sayaka is 5'5" and weighs 108lbs. She is considered very attractive, as she has a large fanbase of both boys and girls. She wears eyeliner and blush, which suggest she wears makeup to help keep this appearance. She has long, dark blue hair, which she holds in place with several clips. Her eyes are also dark blue.
Her school uniform is a traditional seifuku-style Japanese school uniform comprising of a long sleeved white shirt with a blue sailor collar and a pink bow, a blue tartan skirt, black thigh-high socks and brown, buckled shoes. Her school crest is visible on her undershirt and on her sleeve.

Sayaka's idol clothing is a sleeveless pink and white dress with a pink ribbon and ruffles at the bottom, which ends just above her knees. She also wears an intricate matching ribbon on the right side of her hair and white knee-high boots. Her hair is tied into two pig tails with pink clips on her bangs. In her official art, Sayaka wears her stage outfit, which consists of a ruffled, collared pink and white dress, a pink bow on the front and knee-high white boots. She wears a black see-through armband on her right arm and a thin white arm band and a fluffy white bracelet on her left arm. She also wears a large pink bow over a white headband and she has multiple star hair clips.
She wears light pink lacy underwear.

## Personality

Seeing as she's an idol, Sayaka has a cheerful, sweet, and supporting personality. Despite her idol career, Sayaka actually enjoys cooking.

Sayaka develops a bond with Makoto Naegi, whom she considers her friend, assisting him on every occasion in Chapter 1. However, she tends to hide her feelings when she is under great pressure by putting on her public persona. She also cares greatly for her band members, and would not hesitate to do something if anything were to happen to one of them, including things that could hurt others. When pushed to her limit, Sayaka will do anything even if it's a risk. After she watched Killing Among Loved Ones, she only thinks of how she could escape from the Academy, even planning to betray Makoto.

Sayaka mentions that she often finds herself focused on a particular person, but pushes these thoughts out of her mind to commit herself further to her idol career.

Sayaka has an amazing intuition, as she can easily tell what people are thinking. She often joked about being psychic, only to admit that she was kidding later.

## Talent and Abilities

### Ultimate Pop Sensation

As the Ultimate Pop Sensation, Sayaka is said to have a mesmerizing voice and amazing dancing skills. Because of this she is an exceptional performer, and has gained many fans and admirers all over the world. This is actually what led Hope's Peak Academy to approach her.

### Extraordinary Intuition

Sayaka has amazing intuition, and often knows what people are thinking, even when it isn't obvious. She claimed this was due to psychic powers she joked about having. During Sayaka's School Mode ending, Makoto has flashes of events from the main story involving him and Sayaka, who also seems to remember said events. This seems to imply that Sayaka really does have a limited amount of psychic ability.

## Free Time

During Free Time Events, Makoto can choose to talk to Sayaka in order to learn more about her. If he gives her a present that she likes and chooses the correct response during their conversation, their friendship level will increase and she will disclose something about herself. Each successful Free Time conversation adds a page to Sayaka's Report Card in the e-Handbook menu, and grants either a skill that will give him an advantage during class trial battles, or an increase in Skill Points.

1. Kitty Hairclip
2. Eternal Friendship Necklace
3. Love Affair Ring
4. Rose In Virtue
5. Cherry Blossom Bouquet

### Skills

Becoming friends with students grants Makoto special skills which can aid him during Class Trials. Becoming close with Sayaka grants the following skill:

## Quotes

*Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc* (English)

**Prologue:**

* "Hi, I'm Sayaka Maizono. I look forward to getting to know you!"
* "I'm psychic. Kidding! I just have really good intuition."

**Chapter 1:**

* "I know how I look, but I've actually built some pretty good muscle jumping up and down on stage!"
* "Like I said, I'm psychic. Come on, I'm just kidding! Seriously, I just have amazing intuition."
* "And to thank you for helping me out, I'm going to become yourUltimate Assistant! Yup! I'm your assistant now! I'm going to help you out as much as I can, so let's get out of here together!"
* "I may not be the best assistant in the world, but I'll give it everything I've got."
* "Well, better to have than have not! At least we don't have to worry about surviving like wild animals."
* "Yeah! It sounds like you two are so close now you're fighting like sisters!"
* "Everyone just calm down, please! We need to stop and think about what to do from here."
* "So I just...want to be able to protect myself no matter what happens."
* "Like I said, I'm psychic. Come on, I'm just kidding! Seriously, I just have amazing intuition."
* "If I've got you on my side, I guess I don't need a weapon after all!"
* "I've never really done it before. I don't have a lot of time to just...do nothing."
* "I... My dream is... I've always wanted to be a star, as long as I can remember. I grew up without a mother, you know... And my dad worked really late every night. I was always home alone... I was just a kid, ya know? So I was really lonely. But that all changed when I saw a pop star on TV for the first time. She was so pretty, like a princess. And she could sing, and dance... But more than anything else, there was her smile. Looking at her smile, I could feel my loneliness melting away. I decided that's what I wanted to be someday. I wanted to give that kind of encouragement to others. Eventually, that became my dream. I did whatever it took to reach that dream. I mean it. Even some things that...weren't so pleasant. I honestly believed that as long as you kept chasing your dreams, someday they had to come true. But to that, you can't take off your eyes off of your dream, not even for a second. Even if sometimes it's a bad dream... Whether you're awake, whether you're asleep... To make your dream a reality, you have to keep your gaze fixed on it no matter what. In that world, if you lose focus for even a split second, you get left behind. You have to keep on swimming against the current, without even taking time to breathe. That's the kind of world my dream lives in."
* "Oh no, don't get the wrong idea. It's super fun! But...that's exactly what scares me. I enjoy every single day I wake up and get to do what I do."
* "Everyone in our group is amazing. We're rivals in a way, but they all mean so much to me. We've been performing together since we were young, so they're all like family to me. Without them, I would have given up on my dream a long time ago. To work together, and fulfill our dreams together, has brought me so much happiness... But that's the thing that scares me the most. If the world gets tired of us, then what happens? What happens to us? Then the dream dies, those wonderful days come to an end, and everyone goes their separate ways... So that's the reason I decided to come to Hope's Peak. Well...they say that if you graduate from here, success is basically guaranteed. Which means I could keep on performing with my best friends, for ever and ever. At least, that's what I thought. I really did believe that, but... ...now we're trapped here, with no way out. They're probably waiting for me... While I'm in here, the world out there is forgetting about me. Minute by minute, we're all disappearing. But still... I can't afford to be stuck in here!"
* "...If Makoto's going, I'm going with him. It's not safe to walk around this place alone."
* "Yeah...I'm fine. Actually, no...how could I possibly be fine? What did we do to end up like this...? Why are they doing such terrible things to us...? I want out! Let me out of here right now!"
* "Why...? Why is this happening to me? To kill, or be killed... I just can't take this anymore...!"
* "Can I...can I believe what you said? That you'll help me get out? No matter what it takes...? Makoto... You're the only one I can trust. So please... No matter what happens, please always be there for me. I need you on my side..."
* "Thank you, Makoto. Hearing you say that, I feel like I can keep going. I can get through this...as long as you're here with me. Like you said, I'm your assistant."
* "Like I said, I'm psychic. ... What if I \*wasn't\* just kidding...?"
* "Oh, and about what I said before... When I said I was psychic, it really was a joke. Honestly, I'm just very perceptive."

**Free Time Events:**

* "Having you by my side really makes me feel a lot better. If you weren't here with me, I just don't know what I'd do. I'd be lost... I hate that we had to meet again under such awful conditions, but... I'm relieved you're with me."
* "I'm that crane, you see. I've come to return the favor. Here, let me make you a cloak..."
* "Maybe, but still... I'm sure you'll help me find my way out, just like that crane. You'll save me. It's just intuition, I know, but I still believe it. I believe in you. Besides, my intuition always turns out to be right. Cuz I'm psychic. Ehehe. Kidding, kidding!"
* "You and I are more than just classmates... We're friends. We've been friends since middle school, in a way."
* "Let's just say... there's someone I'm interested in. But I need to put those feelings aside for now. Getting out of here is all that matters."
* "Let's get out of here together, Makoto. No matter what... Please don't turn your back on me, okay? I want you to know something, Makoto. And I want you to know that I mean it- I can't fake my feelings... I'm... really glad you're here."
* "Yeah, you're right. We need to work together and do our best... Hehehe!"

**TMNT X Pokemon:**

* "Ritsu, you are amazing! With our careers combine, we'll be mega famous!"
* "I know what could cheer you up. A song!"
* "(chuckles) You are so fun to be around with, Mikey! You should have a stand-up comedy or something! Now that would be amazing to see!"

## TMNT X Pokemon

Sayaka is very cheerful and likes to sing. As being part of Ritsu's singing group, she wants to show off her skills to her adoring fans. But when it comes to battle, she can become a Damsel of Distress and gets kidnapped in some way

## Trivia

* Two of Sayaka's songs (Negaigoto Ensemble and Monochrome Answer) were released on bonus discs with the anime. They are both performed by her voice actress Ōmoto. A third unnamed song of hers is also featured in the *Hope's Peak Academy: School Festival* Drama CD.
* In *DISTRUST*, the beta version of the game, Kyoko Kirigiri was killed in the first chapter instead of Sayaka, whereas in *The Demo*, Yasuhiro Hagakurewas killed. Both were in order to avoid spoiling the events of the full game.
	+ In *Danganronpa Reload Guidebook*, it was mentioned that when demo version was complete, some staff members commented that it might have been good to go with the beta version's scenario.
* Her death is similar to that of Nancy Spungen, who died in a hotel bathroom with a fatal stab wound to the abdomen. Nancy at the time was the girlfriend of Sid Vicious of the Sex Pistols - one of the bands Leon mentioned that would inspire his future punk band.
	+ Kazutaka Kodaka, mentioned in an interview at Ritsumeikan University that her death was based on the shower room death scene from Alfred Hitchcock's movie, *Psycho*. He was inspired by how a death scene got more famous than the main character.[6]
* Sayaka's English voice actress, Dorothy Elias-Fahn, also voices Chihiro Fujisaki and Alter Ego, as well as Tsumugi Shirogane in *Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony*.[7]
* Sayaka says in her Free Time Events, in response to Makoto's answer 'crane', that she's the crane he rescued at that time during middle school and that she wants to weave clothes for him. This is actually a reference to a popular Japanese folktale, Tsuru no Ongaeshi or "The Crane's Return of Favor". In the story, a crane which was saved by a man disguised itself as a woman and devoted herself to help him make a living by weaving beautiful fabric for him to sell. However once the man realized that it was the crane who sustained him, she was already gone. The story is somewhat similar to chapter 1, where Makoto learns only during the class trial that in her dying moments, Sayaka used whatever power she had left to clear him of suspicion.
* A younger sister of Sayaka's was planned to be introduced as part of the Warriors of Hope's Hit List in *Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls*. This idea, however, was scrapped once the game's developers realized that Sayaka having siblings would be inconsistent with her back story mentioned in the original game.
* In the original game, Sayaka is the one who discovers that the kitchen is restocked everyday by Monokuma, however, in the anime, they changed it to Chihiro.
* In a series of tweets from Kazutaka Kodaka during Valentine's Day of February 2013, he tweeted "in-character" as several of the *Danganronpa*cast, including Sayaka.[8] The tweet translates into this:

“*I brought cookies! They’re handmade! …Hmm? Did I make any for anyone else? Of course not, you. That was a silly thing to ask.*”[9]