Maki Harukawa

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

Maki has the title Ultimate Child 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.

Early Life

 * <bighttp://aminoapps.com/p/k2yybq

Creation and Development
Maki's birthday (February 2) coincides with Japan's national holiday, the day before the beginning of spring. A special ritual holds during this day to cleanse away all the evil of the former year and drive away disease-bringing evil spirits for the year to come. This special ritual is called mamemaki (豆撒き).

This is a joke to her given name kanji (魔姫), which means demon princess. Maki's first name is a reference to the ritual mamemaki, while her last name, Harukawa referenced to the Spring (春 haru) season.

Name
Maki's given name, written 魔姫, means "demon princess" while her last name, 春川 Harukawa, means "river of spring".

Alternate Fates
In Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (Demo Version), Maki was seen in the hallway giving her short introduction to Kaede Akamatsu as the Ultimate Child 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 think that she's actually capable of deep love.

Appearance
Maki is a young woman of common height with a rather slim physique, although she does possess some muscle. She has red eyes and long, dark brown hair that she chooses to keep in pigtails held by two red scrunchies. 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 shirt 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 dark grey wristband, 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.

Despite her cute appearance, Maki is described as a hostile misanthrope of few words. She is very aware that she comes across as unfriendly and prefers to be alone. In general, she dislikes people and thus she is not very cooperative and can be stubborn. She talks very little, so when she does, she states things clearly and she appears to be very confident about her arguments. She is cynical and negative with a sharp tongue and sometimes talks in a cold sarcastic manner. While not the type to assertively act on her own, she is stated to have guts and willing to take action when it suits her. She has no problem blaming Kaede Akamatsu coldly and rudely multiple times.

Despite her distant and unfriendly personality, Maki is good at taking care of others. She is very popular among children, even though she dislikes them. According to Kaede, Maki is actually capable of deep love, something that children might be able to see, explaining their attachment to her. She also shows a more caring side when she accepts gifts and is invited by Kaede to spend time together.

Maki doesn't want to alert people around her about her true talent as the Ultimate Assassin, to the point that she always stayed in her Research Lab after the room became accessible in Chapter 2. She does this for the sake of preventing unnecessary shock and panic in the group. She also appears to have trouble trusting others and making friends. At first, the only people she trusted were her love interest, Kaito Momota, and Shuichi Saihara, and she begins to open up and develop with their support. It is stated that she hated herself so much before and distanced herself from others because she believed she didn't deserve to have friends.

As the Ultimate Assassin, Maki becomes much more violent, intimidating, and unafraid to threaten others, demonstrating her confidence in her abilities. She carries a knife around with her (as seen in her sprites), and is shown attempting to strangle Kokichi Oma a few times. At times, she seems downright ruthless and cold.

Ultimate Child 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. 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 (超高校級の「暗殺者」chō kōkō-kyū no "ansatsusha"). 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. She is also capable of using numerous weapons without difficulty.

However, Maki's talent as the Ultimate Assassin is a fabrication made by Team Danganronpa, as well as her fake talent. Due to that fact, it is unclear whether Maki is a professional assassin or a child caregiver in the past.

In other languages
Maki's talent as it appears in official translations of Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.

Relationships

 * Love Interest:

Kaito Momota
At first, Kaito had many disagreements with the Ultimate Child Caregiver. He was frightened when Maki suggested that he take on the Monokuma Kubs while in the Exisal form, and was angered when she pushed the blame for dividing the unity between the students onto Kaede. Maki also blamed Kaito several times during the first trial, calling him suspicious and an idiot quite frequent. Interestingly, at one point, Kaito correctly guessed with his intuition that Maki looks like a person who can fight.

Despite their earlier disagreements, Kaito later strongly believed in Maki's innocence during the second trial, as he always does with people he wants to believe in. Maki was surprised and a bit confused by this sudden trust in her, and appeared to be unwillingly touched by Kaito's faith in her. After Maki was revealed to be the Ultimate Assassin by Kokichi, Kaito was very doubtful and believed Maki isn't that kind of person. Afterwards, he continued to constantly spend time with her, wishing to "take off her mask" and even nicknaming her "Maki Roll" ( in the Japanese version) to her displeasure. She appears to be annoyed by him, but doesn't seem willing to chase him away.

Kaito then began dragging her to Shuichi and his training regime even though Maki massively overpowers them in the training, stating it was a waste of time, that she's easily bored of the exercise. Despite that, in the next night Maki seems to have taken the training more seriously after Kaito told her that it was for her to "defeat her enemy". Despite her initial irritation with Kaito skipping out on training, she goes with it, aware he's most likely not feeling good. However, as shown when Kaito hugged her out of fear after Tenko's demise, she was unbearably embarassed (although this was only because she was coincidentally the person closest to him at the time), resulting in her punching him. He was still shown to care for her even after this.

Maki soon started to show more care for Kaito during Chapter 4 and began to open up to him and Shuichi more and more. She even began to have romantic feelings for Kaito, apparent when she got jealous when Kaito appeared interested in Tsumugi's sensitive neck and later when Kaito chose to team up with Shuichi over her in the virtual world. She is also furious when Kokichi knocked down Kaito following Gonta's execution, even going as far as to make threats, and was shocked when Kaito suddenly began coughing blood. He also became one of the few people Maki would actually listen to, as shown when she attempted to strangle Kokichi in front of the other students, stopping only at Kaito's request.

In Chapter 5, the two join in the group effort to take down Kokichi, who was believed to be the mastermind at the time. After Kaito was kidnapped by Kokichi, Maki continued to watch the hangar where he was imprisoned in, with Tsumugi even pointing out to Shuichi that she must have feelings for Kaito. When Maki attempted to kill Kokichi by shooting him with a poisoned arrow, Kaito purposely took the hit to prevent her from doing so, and it is implied that he wanted to avoid her becoming the Blackened.

Kaito later commited the deed himself, and confessed to it during the Class Trial despite Maki tearfully begging him to stop. He stopped Maki from carrying out her threats to kill the Monokuma Kubs, and requested that she not cry for him before saying his farewells to her. Just before Kaito got executed, Maki confessed her feelings to him. While he made no mention of liking her back, he complimented her for her development and stated that she must be finally able to love herself now after falling for a guy like him. During their voting time, Maki had no choice but had to vote for Kaito as the culprit still due to his final words before his execution started. Kaito eventually became the only one of Maki's companions that she had any genuine care for. Kaito is the only person who Maki truly cares after his upcoming death and is the only one who made Maki cry for the first time in the Killing Game.

It's shown that Maki still remembers Kaito dearly after his demise. She feels thankful to him for saving her and the other students, and decides not to cry anymore, as Kaito requested. Although at first devastated after being told that her feelings for Kaito were a mere fabrication, she decided that this was not true and her feelings for him have always been real.


 * Ultimate Academy for Gifted Juveniles:

Shuichi Saihara
The two got along well after the events of Chapter 2 after Kaito brought Maki to their training regime. This resulted in the three doing exercises together, although Maki outmatched the two boys at everything they did. Shuichi seemed impressed with Maki's skills, and the three began to meet up nightly to do these exercises. Maki threatens Shuichi into hurting him or killing him sometimes since she has trouble trusting him. She also frequently told Shuichi to get a grip, since he's a detective.

Maki assisted Shuichi during Chapter 3's investigation, helping him creating hypotheses and finding clues. She noticeably becomes more vocal, occasionally asking if he wants to die at his surprise, to which she follows up that she was just joking. When on the discussion of Tenko's last moments, Shuichi and Maki work together to lie about Tenko dying instantly, so she wouldn't be able to kill herself inside the cage, therefore together steering the trial into the right direction again. Shuichi told Maki that she helped him a lot with the investigation, although Maki only said that she found him surprisingly reliable during the investigation.

During the events of the virtual world in Chapter 4, Maki does make a point to remind Shuichi that he's a person before he's a detective, which he's touched by, despite her telling him he's more reliable during a murder case than daily life. Nonetheless, it's apparent the two have grown quite close to each other, with her asking if he's okay, making sure if he and Kaito aren't fighting when Shuichi forcibly logged him out to test something.

In Chapter 5, however, she does secretly go behind their backs, betraying the promise she agreed to, as she and nobody else should try attempting to kill Kokichi, Maki decides on her own to break into the hangar, torture him and attempt to kill him, only thwarted when Kaito takes the second arrow on Kokichi's behalf. During the trial, she repeatedly attempts to steer the crime into her own fault, threatening and insulting Shuichi when he continues trying to solve why Maki couldn't have killed Kaito. Despite the betrayal and attitude towards Shuichi and the others during the trial, Maki doesn't seem to be apologetic for this, or had the time to apologize, since they all had to mourn Kaito for a short time before Keebo began destroying the school.

After Kaito's execution in Chapter 5, Maki and Shuichi went to their normal training spot and had a short, but emotional conversation about the events that had transpired, being joined by Tsumugi and Himiko to train together and mourn Kaito. They resolve to put an end to the killing game, which they end up surviving together.

During the Love Suite Event, Shuichi had the role of a kid from the same orphanage of Maki. Maki says that despite Shuichi and her being together for 10 years, she still didn't understand him. Shuichi is confused and Maki explains that he came to the orphanage a little before he entered elementary school. Shuichi agrees absentmindedly. Maki then again says that she really doesn't know everything about Shuichi. He then asks her what makes her think she doesn't know everything about him. She then blushes and Shuichi is confused at this. Maki says that Shuichi before used to play house with the other kids and it became difficult for her. She then asks Shuichi when he wanted to make a real family with her instead of a pretend one. Maki then goes silent and Shuichi asks whats wrong. Maki then gently held Shuichi's hand and says that she knew something was strange. Maki says that she wants to create a real family with Shuichi and not a fake one. Maki then asks Shuichi to promise her that he'll stay with her. Shuichi then nods his head as his answer

Kokichi Oma
Maki despises Kokichi, even attempting to literally strangle him to death twice, only to be stopped by Kaito. He exposed her identity as an assassin, accuses her of driving Ryoma Hoshi to suicide by showing the tennis player his motive video, and spends most of the third chapter informing his colleagues not to interact with the murderer. He constantly refers to her with terms such as "killer girl" and "murder girl" instead of her name.

Kokichi seems disturbed whenever she's around, and gets irritated with Kaito when he insists on bringing her along, commenting that they don't need to "cooperate with a murderer." He also sneeringly keeps pointing out her familiarity with murder methods and corpses whenever she uses her knowledge to help with cases. She mostly stays silent after Kokichi throws taunts her way, but she tends to lose her self control, attempting to hurt him or just telling him to be quiet. She also often glares at him, which sometimes frightens and silences him. Although everyone else was shocked and afraid of Maki's reveal to be an assassin, Kokichi seems to be the one most upset by it.

During the fifth chapter, after Kokichi captures Kaito, she seriously attempts to kill him with a poisoned crossbow. Maki spends the entire chapter referring to Kokichi exclusively as "the son of a bitch", which is remarkable because she otherwise never swears. Eventually, Maki realized that Kokichi wasn't the mastermind all along and regretted how she led the one she loved into killing Kokichi and Maki took the blame for it.

Kaede Akamatsu
After Maki reveals her title as the Ultimate Child 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.

Despite Kaede's kindness towards her, Maki is shown to be somewhat distrustful of Kaede, openly showcasing her dislike for her on several occasions. She pushes the blame for the students falling out in Chapter 1 on Kaede and does not appear saddened when Kaede is executed.

However, Maki seems to have a somewhat better relationship with Kaede in the Ultimate Talent Development Plan, to such a point where Kaito wonders how since they were so close. Despite she calls her relationship with Kaede an “arrangement” she is usually seen with her, a clear sign that her friendship is almost to Shuichi and Kaito’s, promising that she will find a way to make Kaede plays the piano to the children of her orphanage. At the same time, Maki still tends to be cold towards her - an example is when she offers herself to accompany Chihiro Fujisaki to Gundham Tanaka to ask for a proper burial for a deceased bird found by the latter who, surprised by the kind deed, is brief by Kaede who says that behind the caregiver's edgy surface there is a really sincere person, which Maki replies with a cold but embarrassed way, scolding Kaede that she has no need to come with them, much to the pianist’s dismay.

Tsumugi Shirogane
In the beginning, the two didn't talk much and barely interacted with each other, not sharing any common points of interest. Despite this, however, they still considered each other as fellow survivors after Kaito's execution and joined her and Shuichi in the courtyard along with Himiko to carry on the Ultimate Astronaut's will.

After Tsumugi was found out as the Ringleader behind the Killing School Semester by Shuichi however, Maki turned incredibly hostile towards the Ultimate Cosplayer, threatening to kill her on many occasions as the final trial continued. In the end, like the other survivors, she viewed her as her enemy and vowed to stop her and the killing game even if it cost her her life.

Korekiyo Shinguji
Maki is one of the few female students who does not meet Korekiyo's criteria as his sister's "admirable friend" and thus she is not a potential murder victim for him. Due to her being an assassin and generally very unsocial, Korekiyo thinks she doesn't believe in "the power of love".

Free Time

 * Main article, including full dialogue: Free Time Events/Maki Harukawa, Hotel Kumasutra

Quotes

 * -|DRV3=


 * -|Extra=

List of Appearances

 * -|Games=
 * Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony (Demo Version)
 * Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony
 * -|Manga=
 * New Danganronpa V3: Minna no Koroshiai Shin Gakki Comic Anthology
 * New Danganronpa V3: Minna no Koroshiai Shin Gakki Comic Anthology Volume 2
 * New Danganronpa V3: Minna no Koroshiai Shin Gakki Comic Anthology Volume 3

Trivia

 * Maki, along with K1-B0 and Kaito, 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's hairstyle is similar to one of Komaru Naegi's beta designs.
 * Maki's Japanese voice actress, Maaya Sakamoto, is married to Korekiyo Shinguji's Japanese voice actor Kenichi Suzumura.
 * Maki's English voice actress, Erica Mendez, also voices Nagisa Shingetsu.
 * In a poll hosted by MyNavi, fans voted Maki the 9th most popular Danganronpa V3 student.
 * In her Love Suite 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.
 * The nickname given to Maki by Kaito, "Harumaki" (ハルマキ), is a type of (春巻き). In the English localization, this was changed to "Maki roll", a type of  wrapped in.

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