Maki Harukawa

Maki Harukawa (春川 魔姫 Harukawa Maki) is a character featured in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony and a participant of the New Killing School Life.

Maki has the title Ultimate Caregiver (超高校級の「保育士」 chō kōkō-kyū no "hoikushi" lit. Super High School Level Nursery School Teacher). She was raised in an orphanage, where she learned to take care of children.

Appearance
Maki is a young woman of common height with red eyes and long, dark brown hair that she chooses to keep in pigtails, which are held by two red hair ties. She has bangs, as well as two small strands of hair that fall at the sides of her head, the one falling at her right side being a bit longer. Maki also has a beauty mark under her left eye.

She dons a scarlet-colored sailor outfit accompanied by thigh-high socks of the same color, a black plaid skirt with a slight green tint, and brown ankle boots. Her accessories include a black bracelet, small, circular earrings, a white hairpin at the side of her head and a flower pin on her right shoulder.

Personality
Maki appears to have a very serious personality, as she doesn't really seem to smile much if at all. The only notable exception is the poster which shows her with a mysterious smile, having a finger over her lips, which is a sign of secrecy.

In general, Maki dislikes people and thus she is not very cooperative. She talks very little, so when she does, she states things clearly and she appears to be very confident about her arguments. Maki also has a sharp tongue, and sometimes talks in a sarcastic manner. While not the type to assertively act on her own, she is stated to have guts.

However, Maki is also good at taking care of others and she's very popular among children despite her unsocial personality and her dislike towards children.

Despite Maki's distant and unfriendly personality, it has been stated by Kaede Akamatsu that she is actually capable of deep love, something that children may have been able to see, explaining their attachment to her.

Ultimate Caregiver
Having been raised in an orphanage, Maki is very skilled at taking care of others, as she was ordered to take care of the younger children. She is loved by many children, even though she herself doesn't like kids. Kaede has stated that the children may be attached to Maki because they could see her true soul and capability of deep love. {{spoiler|In reality, Maki has no real talent in Caregiving and simply chose to use that as the cover story to hide her real talent since she really did have to take care of those younger than her when she lived as an orphan.

Ultimate Assassin
Maki's true talent is that of the Ultimate Assassin. Trained as a child under the threat of having her orphanage be targeted if she failed, Maki developed a proficiency with multiple types of weapons and powerful strength and endurance.}}

Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
Maki was an orphan and her talent was recognized while she was helping out at the orphanage that raised her. However, she did not choose to take care of children and doesn't even like children. She was simply made to help out.

Demo - Class Trial Ver.
Maki was seen in the hallway giving her short introduction to Kaede Akamatsu as the Ultimate Caregiver. She states that even though she's unsociable and hates children, they loved her. This is somewhat become a mystery to her, speculating that maybe because she took care of them well. Kaede commented that the children could see Maki's true soul and thinking that she's actually capable of deep love.

Kaede Akamatsu
After Maki reveals her title as the Ultimate Caregiver to Kaede, she states that she hates children despite the fact that they love her. Kaede, however, mentioned that the children could see Maki's true soul and that she is actually capable of deep love.

Trivia

 * Maki's given name, written 魔姫, means "demon princess".
 * Her last name, 春川 Harukawa, means "river of spring".
 * Maki, along with Kiibo and Kaito Momota, was the first new character revealed for Danganronpa V3 in November 2015. However, their names and talents weren't revealed until ten months later in September 2016.
 * She was originally speculated as a possible protagonist (and thus the first female protagonist in the numbered game series) before Kaede Akamatsu was introduced as the main protagonist.
 * Maki seems to be the only one who dislikes her talent and had been forced.
 * Maki's hairstyle is similar to one of Komaru Naegi's beta designs.
 * Maki's voice actress, Maaya Sakamoto, is married with Korekiyo Shinguji's voice actor Kenichi Suzumura.
 * In her love hotel scene, her fantasy includes her and a friend from the same orphanage as her. They have known each other for 10 years and when they were younger, her friend mentioned he wants to make a real family with her while they were playing house. Maki says she never noticed her friend is in love with her and she is confused by her own feelings as well, but she realizes she likes him too. She simply wants to stay close to him and asks him to promise he will always be with her.