DJ Hankyo

## Hankyo Ogawa

> I witnessed N.E.X.U.S... morphing the United States into a mechanism powered by shattered spirits, shattered dreams, and depleted wallets. Corporations have long governed our existence, extracting much... and now they seek to claim our souls.
>
> ―**DJ Hankyo**

**Hankyo Ogawa** (ハンキョウ オガワ) also known as DJ Hankyo or simply code **AX017** (ゼロイチナナ, **Zero-Ichi nana**) is a secondary character in Cyberpunk Neon Genesis. She is commonly called **Neon** among her fans. In her younger days she was a professional mercenary - today she's the queen of the mercs. One of the last legends of Neo-Tokyo who's more than just handed-down stories. Unlike her friends from the good ol' days, Hankyo does more than get by - she runs the **Seventh Circle** club and by definition almost the entire Neo-Tokyo merc network. Neon became known as an electronic music DJ for combining elements of house music with funk, disco, techno, rock and synth-pop. Reviving music back into the world of Neo-Tokyo, Neon not only created unique pieces of music, but works of art that would later appear in films and video games from different corporations.

Nowadays, she is a popular modern pop superstar for her unique music that has taken center stage throughout the story line. Neon was born in Los Angeles during the height of its prosperity. While quite extroverted, Los Angeles' booming population at the time caused its side of the city to be quite claustrophobic. Even the everyday foot traffic and white noise outside her window was unnerving. Rather than facing the herds of busy pedestrians, she chose to seclude herself in her room where she found a passion for music through her computer. Synthesizers were her instrument of choice, after getting a start with a free tunes software.

This mysterious and enigmatic artist is the only one capable of putting Ryan Monroe in his place, in addition to having been his faithful lover during the first years of his music career. Despite her distress with large groups of people, she maintains a passionate and bubbly personality. However, this anxiety is the reason Neon has yet to perform live for an audience, preferring to stay on the video route and connect with Neo-Tokyo through digital means. Neon has a strong sense of service which she gets from her family. She also cares a lot for her teammates during missions, reminding them to take care and to stay alive because as she states, she hates making new friends.

## Appearance

Neon is a tall woman with long luminescent blue hair, pale skin, and light blue eyes. Her body has a very toned and slim build, with a slim waist and well-defined figure, especially in the stomach and arms. In contrast to this, she has an incredibly beautiful face, with very marked cheekbones and slanted eyes that stand out from her thanks to her delicate facial markings in the form of lower eyeliner whose color is white. Her lips are thin, hiding a pair of fangs. However, her eyes are covered by a black visor with a screen that emits the rhythm of her music.

Neon occasionally wears a pair of circular pink glasses. Despite her full-body clothing, in other outfits it is possible to see that she has thin claws and has marks on her skin along her back, very similar to pieces of metal with various inserts that are normally placed directly on the spine, in the cervical area or in the parietal area of the skull, illuminating the central nervous system of Neon. She sometimes has a dark suit and a blue neo-military style jacket, with neon light shoes and black combat gloves with light armbands. She always wears blue headphones.

She rocks a sporty outfit with black and blue running tights along with a pair of sneakers. She also wears a short dark blue vest that appears to act as electrical conduits for her powers. Her arms and face have light blue patterns that can light up with her radiant abilities. Most of Neon's body has advanced cyberware and chrome in order to have a music system and disks installed in her body that act as automated mechanisms.

## Background

Neon strives for perfection. Her intense, quiet concentration propels her forward with otherworldly concepts and impeccable attention to detail. She takes a cosmopolitan approach to life and finds inspiration in all corners of the world. At the beginning of creating it we wanted to base it on several classic pop artists and DJs that Koi liked so much, and those were Daft Punk, which was a French electronic music duo formed in 1993 in Paris by Thomas Bangalter and Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo. They achieved early popularity in the late 1990s as part of the French house movement. Personally from my perspective (Koi here, who writes this) Neon is one of my favorite characters on the list. I love her rogue demeanor and general way of being as a Neo-Tokyo music icon, she is charming but sassy and enforces her rules at the Seventh Circle nightclub. Neon is a talented and unique DJ. Powerful and ruthless, Neon acts of her own free will and generally forces everyone to follow her rules within the Seventh Circle nightclub.

The Seventh Circle nightclub was best be described as a cross between a country-western bar and a motorcycle guild hall. The sound system played a variety of pop music and rock, and the closest thing to dancing was the occasional brawl. But this was a pro's club. No one needed to prove themselves; their presence in the club was proof enough. Any brawls were strictly for fun. Although many people came to the Seventh Circle to hire mercs, a larger proportion posted messages on a marquee which circulated proposals throughout the bar. Those who did enter the bar do so at their own risk, and have paid the price in the past.

As the old saying goes "There is only one path in Neo-Tokyo worth walking: the one that leads to the afterlife." Once you make it here, sooner or later, everything else opens up to you. The Seventh Circle is an iconic bar where the who's who of mercs and first-rate dealers gather to kick back or conduct biz. It's also a major nerve center for the city. This is place where the biggest deals get cut and the job rewards have the most zeros tacked on.

The Seventh Circle was a former morgue converted into a bar and had three different areas, all inhabited by lonely drinkers and fighters who came here to enjoy the atmosphere and camaraderie. As one delved deeper into hades, each successive chamber became darker and more dangerous, and Seventh Circle filled with combat veterans who hired at the highest prices. Neon is something like the "top prosecutor" of the Seventh Circle, the queen of hades, no one dares to mess with her because they know they won't get out in one piece. Neon is known for his flamboyant, social personality along with his nonchalant and joking humor.

### Conceptualization

For Neon's physical appearance, we decided to go for a "70s British rock star look." Koi was inspired by one of David Bowie's characters, Ziggy Stardust, as well as other Glam Rock figures. Neon was going to have a more robotic appearance. Having a body reminiscent of molded plastic, braided cables, advanced cyberware. However, we wanted to give her a more lively and less mechanical image, as a lively actress of glam rock and DJ culture as well as cyberpunk style mixed together. We wanted a powerful and unique DJ, and at first Koi could imagine her as an anonymous DJ with a visor covering her face, along with a screen showing the waves of her music.

## Personality

> Greetings, mercs and fixers! I'm Neon! Your host. Provider of any and all, entertainment and diversions.
>
> ―**DJ Hankyo**

Neon is known for her flamboyant, social and outgoing personality. She has nonchalant, joking humor, and on top of that, she has all the attitude of a party host. She appears to be sarcastic and witty, often laughing at her own jokes and commenting in a very pompous and comedic manner. She also seems to maintain a very cheerful attitude towards almost everything. She has a very high opinion of herself and can be quite conceited at times, occasionally forgetting the feelings of others. Despite this, Neon is completely capable of being serious when necessary.

Neon is a mischievous, sassy, impulsive, selfish, and blatantly condescending woman, rarely showing empathy or remorse for those around her. She does not pay much attention to the opinions of others and the consensus of her friends does not concern her. Instead of authentically relating to others, she seems to participate in general activities only for her own amusement or benefit. She enjoys being mischievous. Neon primarily acts this way towards those she is in good terms with. Her antics range from an assortment of illogical, juvenile, and slightly inconvenient pranks. Neon is also fond of making the occasional low-brow puns. She enjoys making others laugh in general, as she also performs at the seventh circle nightclub as the host.

However, despite her apathy towards others and even her own life, Neon appears to have affection for those she considers her family or close friends, such as Ryan. She does not seem to hate Ryan and on the contrary, she often gives him cute nicknames and makes jokes with him. Furthermore, despite her sassy and mischievous personality, Neon can respect others and is one of the kindest characters in the story.

With her lively and optimistic approach to life, she stands out in any crowd and is always ready to add cheer to a party. Friendly and outgoing, Neon has a vibrant and energetic aura. A fan of violence and action, Neon is always there to create the best rhythms and pursue her dreams. Her personality can transform from a passionate idealist to a carefree figure on the dance floor. Neon seeks to connect emotionally with others. Few things are more important to this woman than having genuine, sincere conversations with the people she cares about. She believes everyone deserves to express their feelings, and her empathy and warmth create spaces where even the shyest spirits can feel comfortable opening up.

However, Neon's personality was not always so lively and cheerful, she reveals a cynicism about herself that borders on self-loathing, harboring deep regret for her past actions as an engineer and N.E.X.U.S. soldier. She briefly doubts whether she is different from the others who killed so many people in the war, and shows a deep guilt inside her. Additionally, when faced with an enemy stronger than her, Neon often displays a defeatist and pessimistic approach, believing that fighting can only make the situation worse. Some of Neon's other notable characteristics are her strong willpower and her lack of hesitation towards those who oppose her.

Neon has a stoic and straight-to-the-point temperament. She usually has a pleasant but calm and focused expression on her face; her smile occasionally has a sardonic tone. Having gone through several traumatic events, Neon gradually showed a more stern and expressionless side. However, she varies from expressionless to emotional throughout the story, as seen in her song "Alone", where she appears to be more lively and cheerful. After overcoming most of her traumas, Neon's true personality appears to be extremely relaxed, almost indifferent, and even somewhat lazy. She has a habit of sleeping despite not having to, and is often seen lying down playing video games.

Neon is a born leader. She embodies the gifts of charisma and confidence, and projects authority in a way that draws crowds behind a common goal. However, she is also characterized by an often ruthless level of rationality, using her drive, determination, and sharp mind to achieve any end she sets her mind to. Mentioned as a brilliant businesswoman, her ability to think strategically and maintain a long-term focus while executing every step of her plans with determination and precision makes her a powerful competitor in the world of entertainment.

> I don't think I made this clear enough: **YOUR OPINION DOESN'T MATTER TO ME**. Put your name on the contract or I'll make your dead, hollow body sign it for you.
>
> ―**DJ Hankyo**

No one is as delightfully volatile as Neon. She's a divisive media diva: loved one day and hated the next, her name is a fixture of tabloid headlines. She is a born superstar and the foundation of the entertainment sound. Neon can be seen as a cold-blooded, sinister and sometimes comical consolidation. She is very manipulative and amoral, although she has an unpleasant and exuberant, but deceitful and even downright cruel personality, as she enjoys playing with and tormenting others for her own entertainment and threatens them for her own benefit; Depending on the situation, she will convey this trait in a demanding or threatening manner, while in other cases she will demonstrate a more playful and humorous attitude. Despite this, she still has a soft side and has proven to be an icon in the community.

Given her manipulative stature, Neon is quick to hinder and trade with his victims through the use of his numerous contracts. These may involve doing simple, hard work, such as delivering mail, or exposing the member to intense dangers. When Neon doesn't get her way, her short-tempered side will show. A good example is when someone refuses to sign her contracts or disobeys her rules. Even when she is outwitted at her own games, she grants minor (sarcastic) praise to her opponents.

## Biography

### Early life

Hankyo Ogawa was born on December 31, 52,065 in Los Angeles, in the midst of the war of separation and times of repression by the NUSA. Los Angeles was a sprawling city in Southern California and the center of the country's film and television industry. Near its iconic Hollywood sign, studios such as Paramount Pictures, Universal and Warner Brothers offered behind-the-scenes tours. Neon was a rebellious teen, she knew stiff hierarchy of gang life was not for her and set out on her own, to become a merc. She was a new and successful mercenary in Los Angeles.

Neon entered dance and singing classes at a very young age as far back as she can remember. She grew up on the streets of Los Angeles as a young streetkid from the lower towns, with a huge passion for music and its rhythms. She became interested in combining rhythms and synthesizers, and participated in the first annual Los Angeles Youth Popular Singing Contest. Her impressive performance earned them a standing ovation from the audience, as well as a trophy and first place certificate. However, this success did not make her an instant star.

That same period of time in her high school, she met Ryan Monroe, the future rockerboy of Neo-Tokyo. The two became friends and recorded demos with others from the school. In later years, they formed a band, **"Darling"**, with Ryan on guitar, and Neon on drums. The duo took old songs from the human era to rebuild them, their first hit was "The Rush" with Neon as lead vocalist. The next song released by the small band was "Piggie Pie" with this time Ryan as vocalist. Together they released some songs over the next few years until eventually the two young people began a romantic relationship during their teenage years.

Soon Neon decided to experiment with drum machines and synthesizers, while also playing drums for Ryan. During their time in high school, teenagers also did mercs work, some suicide missions that risked their lives but which they had fun with in the end. Finally, at her 26th, she was working three jobs and had resigned to the idea that music might not work out for her, but she continued writing because that's what she was born to do. By then, she amassed over 500 songs, some of which became the basis for her debut album in the future. Neon may not have had a clear vision of what exactly her music would look like, but she knew how she wanted it to feel.

On the other hand, controversial rock frontman Ryan Monroe became a popular antihero in the decade, much to the chagrin of conservative politicians, leaders and concerned parents, ruffled feathers and scandalized the masses with his dark brand of glam-influenced industrial metal. and his frank social commentary. Self-proclaimed the "Antichrist Superstar", he promoted a disturbing vision of society centered on sex, drugs, violence, politics and organized religion, which propelled many of his singles to the highest reaches of the charts modern rock during the war of separation. Finally, one of Ryan's biggest hits powered by Neon was the song "Sweet Dreams (Are Made Of This)" late in the band when both young people decided to split up.

The separation of the young couple created a local scandal among the residents of Los Angeles, for some it was impossible that the couple had separated after their years of success as new age musicians. However, it was later discovered that things simply had not worked out between the two and they both took different paths in their careers. Ryan had been having an affair with David, an American record executive for Elektra Records. Ryan told Neon about his sexuality, which ended their romantic relationship.

> When someone asked Neon to choose between music and a relationship, there's only one answer ever: music. Music has permeated every part of Neon's life since childhood, and it's something she's held closely: an unwavering connection she's fought to foster.
>
> ―Cyberpunk Neon Genesis Wiki

She was a pretty typical punk. However, Neon was of Japanese descent and during this time her family suffered persecution by N.E.X.U.S security forces, until finally her mother was murdered and she was forced to enter the neo-military children's program under the control of the governor. Since then, she trained as a combat engineer from a very young age and after several years in uniform, she suffered an accident that would damage much of her body, and this forced Neon to have a full body mechanical conversion. Shortly after, she decided to desert and began working as a gunfighter in her hometown. It was a good life for Neon, as her unscrupulousness and sadistic thoroughness generated enough jobs to support her with weapons, equipment, drugs, and brutal one-night stands. This didn't change much when Neon decided to move from Los Angeles to Neo-Tokyo when her home was destroyed by the large earthquake of those years.

### Adulthood

Neon left NUSA society shortly after hearing recording artist Lizzie Moxie sing "Delicate Weapon". According to witnesses, her only comment was "This changes everything". She escaped on a ship to Japan, even though she did not know a word of the Japanese language. At some point, Neon began operating the Seventh Circle as a nightclub. Neon's reputation as a mercenary continued to inspire and influence others. As the "Queen of Hades", she was considered the top fixer of Neo-Tokyo. She continued to run the seventh circle by surrounding herself with experts in her field to move forward with her plans; She hired the best netrunners and bodyguards to accompany her during big concerts.

Neon's career as a fixer of the Neo-Tokyo mercs did not stop there, but rather escalated as her music became popular in nightclubs. She became a major icon over time, until she was finally struck out by Haikara Entertainment Studios and was selected to work for the city's entertainment corporation. Since then, Neon's music has spread throughout the city and she debuted at the end of the year with the full album of her and other collaborations. Lizzie collaborated with the DJ and music developer of Haikara Studios, Hankyo or also called DJ Eko, developing the musical themes for the opening of the series The Adventures of Cream and for the rebuilding of the Pokémon series Journeys, 「１ •２•３」 (One, Two, Three).

The Neon style became known throughout the entire metropolis, resembling the glam style. Glam rock was a style of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom in the early 1970s of the Human Era and was performed by musicians wearing outrageous suits, makeup and hairstyles, particularly platform shoes and glitter. Glamor artists drew inspiration from various sources from throwaway music and pop culture, sci-fi and complex art rock, and Neon was one of them.

## Powers and Abilities

### Abilities

Neon has strong athletic abilities, reflexes and strength. This, along with the advanced technology used in her mech suit, allows her to easily dispatch any neomilitary using powerful equipment, and even allows her to fight on equal terms with other stronger characters. Neon's athleticism is enhanced by her equipment, giving him increased strength and durability to a level that allows him to fight at strong levels and is capable of small movements of superhuman speed in battle, and her suit includes a cloaking device, a grappling hook and hologram technology, projectiles, sound cannons, a shield, heat bombs and claws. Following the rhythm of the music, Neon can create unique obstacles and fighting mechanisms through sound waves and other music-based abilities.

* ***Musical Mastery:*** Neon is a master in all forms of music/musical instruments. Using this ability, she gain immediate understanding and mastery at using any/all instruments, forms of music and able to produce any musical notes. Neon can replicate any song heard or described and have both perfect pitch and the ability to produce any note/tone with any instrument or its own voice regardless of its nature or difficulty.
* ***Musical combat:*** Neon is able to infuse music with physical attacks, using musical sound waves to influence and disorient opponents and strengthen attacks. Neon has the ability to change the mechanisms of the scenarios with her music, making her one of the characters with the most complex fighting mechanisms within the plot. Through the rhythm of her music she can make the stage rise or move, agitating and confusing her opponents as well as stunning them with the waves of music.
* ***Vibration Emission:*** Neon can generate vibration waves that can push targets, shatter them, and even cause earthquakes by shaking the ground or dislodging underground tectonic plates through her sound cannons.
* ***Voice Imitation:*** Neon has the ability to manipulate the tone of one's own or others' voices. This ability is used more in combination to imitate the voices of other people and impersonate them, effectively serving for espionage and stealth, or simply deceiving enemies by attracting them with a familiar voice, and also disorienting them with the use of various voices at the same time.
* ***Sound Illusion:*** Neon can create illusions based solely on different types of sounds, both existing and non-existent, and she doesn't need to use false and misleading images on her targets, she just wants to confuse their auditory senses, make them hear things that aren't really there.
* ***Singing Mastery:*** Neon have a smooth singing voice and can sway the emotions of thousands of listeners at a time or achieve impossible vocal achievements. Using this ability, Neon gains immediate understanding and mastery at using any/all forms of singing, she can replicate any song heard or described, and have both perfect pitch and the ability to produce any note/tone with her voice regardless of its nature or difficulty.

## Equipment

 **Projectile Launcher System** | The projectile launcher allows Neon to launch various powerful projectiles, dealing various types of damage, as well as causing explosions and applying status effects. But most importantly, it causes chaos and destruction

## Etymology

In Japanese, the word "echo" is written as "反響" (hankyō). The first character "反" (han) means "opposite" or "reverse," and the second character "響" (kyō) means "sound" or "resonance." When combined, "反響" (hankyō) specifically refers to the phenomenon of an echo, where sound waves bounce off surfaces and return to the listener. In katakana, the word "echo" is written as エコー, which is pronounced as "ekō". This is possibly a reference to Neon's abilities and ability to combine music, in addition to her attack equipment consisting of sound-based attacks.

## Trivia

* In Dante's Inferno, the seventh circle of Hell is full of violent souls. The Seventh Circle of Hell, the Circle of Violence, embodies three levels of souls who have committed acts of brutality. Each soul is assigned to a level of the circle according to the kind of violence that was committed while on Earth. The Seventh Circle of Hell, the Circle of Violence, embodies three levels of souls who have committed acts of brutality. Each soul is assigned to a level of the circle according to the kind of violence that was committed while on Earth. This is likely a reference to all the crimes the nightclub members have committed, or a reference to Neon as the top prosecutor in charge of those souls.
* The relationship between Neon and Ryan is positive despite their past experiences. Ryan often nicknames Neon as "Zuse". The nickname Zuse of Neon is possibly either a reference to the Zuse Z3, which was one of the first fully functional programmable computers, or its inventor: Konrad Zuse.
* Neon's favorite drink is black raspberry soda.
* Neon is specialized as a video and sound technician, capable of handling synthesizers, mixers and neural interfaces.
* Neon's favorite snack is chocolate chip cookies.
* Neon knows how to play the electric piano.
* Neon's favorite tea is raspberry.
* Neon's favorite season is autumn.
* Neon is Capricorn.
* Neon's favorite colors are pink and purple.
* Neon is dedicated to setting up the nightclubs of Neo-Tokyo with her music, especially Clouds and Haikara Studios. If there is a party, its music will always be present.
* The Neon DJ area is a main ballroom with an arcade. In a long hallway full of arcade machines is her booth, where she plays music.