23 | Sayaka Maizono

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.

Ultimate Pop Sensation Height 165 cm Weight 108 lbs Birth Date ♋ July 7 Chest Size 33 in Family Unnamed father Unnamed mother † Affiliation Unnamed Idol Group Hope's Peak Academy Class 78th Previous Affiliation Black Root High School Sayaka was raised solely by her father, as her mother had passed away. Because her father worked long hours every day, Sayaka spent a lot of time alone at home. The only thing that kept her from feeling lonely was the idol live show she watched on television. The idol girls' smiles were a source of strength for her, and she became determined to become an idol herself so that she could give that same strength to others. However, it is noted that she was so determined to achieve her dream that she made multiple sacrifices and did bad things to follow through and do so. Sayaka and Makoto Naegi both went to Blackroot Junior High, though were unaware of each other's character because they weren't in the same classes and social groups. On one occasion, Sayaka saw Makoto nurse an injured crane back to health after it got lost and stuck in the school pool. This action touched Sayaka, and, after that incident, she wanted to get to know Makoto more. Unfortunately, they ended up graduating middle school without interacting with each other, and then went to different high schools. Sayaka was later scouted for Hope's Peak Academy's Class 78th, where she met Makoto once again. It is shown that Sayaka posed for an idol photobook on at least one occasion, which was revealed when a copy was traded to Teruteru Hanamura by Nagito Komaeda. It appears to contain photos of her in revealing outfits, and is likely to be one of the "bad things" that Sayaka did to achieve her dream.

During the Tragedy, Jin Kirigiri, the Headmaster of Hope's Peak Academy, planned to seal the school building and let the students live forever inside the Academy in order to protect them from the destruction. The class agreed to his plan, and they sealed the building together. Sayaka is seen talking with Makoto as the rest of the students begin to seal the school. After Makoto trips over a piece of paper, she tells him to be careful, as it would be extremely hard to help him should he get injured. Makoto assures her that the Tragedy would be over soon, to which she agrees. The students lived peacefully inside the school building for a year without knowing that the Ultimate Despair members were already in their midst. Sayaka was among those who were chosen to attend Hope's Peak Academy as part of Class 78th. Her, along with her fellow classmates, ended up being trapped inside the school, completely unaware that at the time that they had already been memory-wiped of their two years of school life together. After losing their memories, Sayaka and Makoto were the only two students who still remembered each other since they attended the same middle school. Due to their previous familiarity they became close, and Sayaka assigned herself as an assistant to Makoto. The students soon became forced into the mutual killing incident, in which the only way to escape was to kill a fellow student. As an incentive to murder, the students were each given a DVD featuring a video from Monokuma which implied that their loved ones were in danger. Sayaka's DVD showed the other members of her band apparently either dead or unconscious.

The DVD deeply traumatized Sayaka, and she began devising a plan to murder Leon Kuwata and make it appear that Makoto was responsible for his death. She had Makoto promise he would do anything it took to help her escape, and he took an ornamental golden sword from outside the gym and kept it in his room for defense. In the evening, Sayaka knocked on Makoto's door, appearing frightened, claiming that someone had tried to get into her room. Because she felt unsafe in her own room, Makoto agreed to switch rooms with her, and the pair traded room keys. Appearance: At the beginning of the Killing School Life in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, Sayaka appears to be young high school-aged teenager, but due to the memory loss she is two years older than she believed. Sayaka is a slim girl of average height with a pale complexion. She has long, dark blue hair flowing past her waist, the hair framing her face cut shorter at elbow-length, with bangs swept to the right. Two thin hairclips can be found pinned on her bangs to her right, another pinned on the left side of her face. Her eyes are round and dark blue, likely enhanced by makeup. Sayaka is considered very attractive, Makoto mentioning that she has a near doll-like beauty. She wears a white seifuku school uniform with a blue sailor collar and sleeve cuffs, both striped with two white lines. With this, she wears a light pink ribbon tied in a large bow at her collar and a short, pleated, blue-green plaid skirt. Her legwear consists of navy thigh-high socks, the edges striped with a white line, and dark brown Mary Janes with silver buckles. Her school crest can be found printed in gold on her collar flap and her left sleeve.

In her official illustration art, Sayaka wears a lolita-style, sleeveless, sparkly, pink idol dress with a white collar and ruffles at her waist, hem, and front placket, a pink ribbon tied in a bow at her collar, with white knee-high boots. Her accessories consist of a pink headband adorned with a right-centered large pink bow decorated with white lace and ribbons, a translucent, ruffled black armband on her right arm, a studded white armband on her left, a fluffy white wristband on her right wrist, and thin, sparkly, white hairclips positioned the same as worn in her school years, the first clip on the left adorned with a star. Her hair is styled into low twintails held in place with white hair ties. Personality: Sayaka has a cheerful, sweet, lighthearted, and supporting personality, expressing a kind demeanor and pleasant disposition, although it is unknown if this is only because of her status as an idol. 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 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 to achieve the goals she sets out, however risky her actions may be. 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. She 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 on.

She enjoys cooking, reading and playing Othello. Talent and Abilities: As the Ultimate Pop Sensation, Sayaka is said to have a mesmerizing voice, exceptional performance and amazing dancing skills. Because of this, she has gained over 100 million fans and admirers all over the world who call themselves Sayakers. This is actually what led Hope's Peak Academy to approach her. 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. Relationships: Her Father Her father is the only family Sayaka has left, however, Sayaka states that her father was never really around the house much, due to him staying late at work. Because of this, Sayaka was often lonely, and didn't know her father very well. Her Idol Group Sayaka is very close to the girls in her idol group, as they are the ones who helped her achieve her dreams. They are the people she cares about most which are confirmed by the fact that they became her Captives. When seeing the motive video, Sayaka tried to devise a plan to frame Makoto for murdering Leon Kuwata because she assumed they were dead. Satomi Aoba and Ayaka Haneyama are two of the girls in Sayaka's idol group and very good friends of hers. So far, out of the four girls in Sayaka's idol group, only their names have been revealed.

Makoto Naegi: Before the events of the first game, Sayaka and Makoto went to the same middle school but never talked to each other due to being in different social circles. However, she became interested in Makoto after seeing him nurse an injured crane when it got lost and stuck in the pool at their school. She wanted to get to know him more, but unfortunately, both of them ended up graduating without ever contacting each other. In the game, Sayaka eventually had a chance to talk with Makoto and befriended him. Mutual attraction formed between the two and several parts in the game hinted that she actually has feelings for him, even going so far as to act as his "assistant." However, after she received her "Motivational DVD" from Monokuma, she fell into despair. Makoto tried to comfort Sayaka and switched rooms with her when she was scared. This move was later revealed to be part of Sayaka's attempt to frame Makoto for the murder of Leon. Monokuma had not yet told the students that if a student "graduates" the other students are all executed, so Sayaka could not have known that framing Makoto would result in his death. Whether she would have stuck with her plan after learning this is unknown, since her plan backfired, and she was killed by Leon. Leon Kuwata: Though the two are not seen interacting much during the killing game, as a womanizer, Leon quickly developed a strong interest in Sayaka and apparently planned to approach her at some point. In his second Free Time Event, he asks Makoto if he knows "what type of guy Sayaka's into." In relationship charts featured in the art book, Leon admires how cute she is and considers her a "pure-hearted girl", which is a type he is into. Sayaka takes a note of that she is his type with a slight smile and blush.