Sakuta Azusagawa

Sakuta's most iconic trait is his consistent deadpan face and manner of speech, regardless of his emotional state. He's rather stoic and will often voice whatever he has on his mind with a calm demeanor. Sakuta is a socially isolated and calm individual as a result of his ordeal with adolescence syndrome. While he states that he is not bothered by what people think about him or care about trying to fit in and be accepted by his classmates, he does admit that rumors about him are sometimes quite painful to hear and that his indifference comes from a feeling that it is pointless to try and go against the "atmosphere"—the social order of school, and tries to hide from it. Nonetheless, he states that he doesn't care if the whole world would hate him, as long as one person would need him, and isn't hesitant about defying social norms. Despite his reserved nature and somewhat anti-social demeanor, he's a very kind person who does show care and compassion for those he cares about, especially those who suffer from bullying or adolescence syndrome, like his sister and himself. Even if he doesn't mind if all the others hate him, as long as he only has one person on his side. Sakuta is also not afraid to show his more playful and lecherous side and will often make blunt and straightforward lewd remarks to the girls he interacts with, especially his girlfriend Mai and his female friends Rio and Tomoe. However, these comments are mostly jokes he directs at others, and are by no means ill-intended. All in all, Sakuta's personality can be summarized as being incredibly selfless, kind, and helpful, but also very snarky. He's often blunt, honest and straightforward with Mai, and he enjoys making lewd jokes that leave her flustered. Ultimately, they both love to tease each other, and they have very similar personalities: both are quick-witted, with a sarcastic streak, yet very kind and helpful, with an immensely good heart, and always do what's right. Sakuta is a young man of average height and lean build with brown hair and brown eyes, and he has three claw marks that go across his chest, which are a result of Adolescence Syndrome. At times, his scars open during moments of extreme emotion, such as when Kaede Azusagawa experienced her adolescence Syndrome. His school uniform consists of a white dress shirt, which is covered up by the standard light-brown colored blazer; on top of that he wears it unbuttoned, wearing a red tie and outdoor brown shoes as well as blue pants. Sakuta was part of a normal Japanese family until two years prior to the time of the first novel. On that day, his sister Kaede went to his room after being bullied online, and self-harm cuts suddenly appeared on her face and body. Kaede woke up the following day with no memories of her past. After her family went to the hospital, doctors confirmed that Kaede suffered from dissociative identity disorder. Despite Sakuta's efforts to interact with his sister over the following days, scars continued to emerge around her face and neck. Also, their mother started having a mental breakdown over the event. The day after witnessing the breakdown, Sakuta woke up with three deep cuts to his chest and was hospitalized. Doctors refused to believe Sakuta's account of his experiences and even blamed him for his own injury. Once he was able to walk again, he snuck out of hospital and went to Shichirigahama Beach, where he met and told his story to a girl named Shoko Makinohara. Upon asking her why she chose to believe his story, Shoko simply replied that she wanted to spend her life being kinder than before. Moved, Sakuta asked if he could live like she did, which she approved. When he was released from the hospital, Sakuta gifted Kaede a pen and notebook, saying that they would write her name in hiragana, referring to her as the current Kaede. Later on, as a way to sympathize with Kaede and to prevent further injuries, Sakuta threw his phone in the ocean. His hospitalization would later start the false rumor that Sakuta had engaged in violent activities that sent people to the hospital, which was dubbed the "Hospitalization Incident".