Shizune Hakamichi

Information

Image Gallery

Plot

"Strong willed and forceful, Shizune is definitely the leader type. She’s been the class rep, despite being deaf and mute, for as long as her class has had one, and generally takes charge in just about any situation she’s placed in. Shizune is known around the school as a fearsome taskmaster, and skilled manipulator, but also as a fair and just leader."

— Official Description

Shizune Hakamichi (羽加道 静音, Hakamichi Shizune) is the silent class representative of Class 3-3 at Yamaku Academy and president of the student council. She is deaf, and as such primarily communicates using sign language, but will resort to using pen and paper when her interpreter and best friend, Misha, is absent. She is the deuteragonist of Shizune's Route.

Appearance

• 
  Shizune's uniform.
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  Shizune's yukata.
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  Shizune's casual clothes.

Shizune has short dark blue-grey hair and matching eyes. She wears a pair of silver glasses that she is rarely seen without, thigh-high socks that match her hair, and black shoes with a strap decorated with a red rose. She also wears a gold wristwatch but it has never been explicitly shown.

As for outfits, she has three. She wears her school uniform most often and is described as tight on her. In casual scenes, she has been seen wearing two other outfits - both of which were described as “mature” and “well-thought-out” by Hisao. The first was a yukata she wore to the Tanabata Festival with Hisao and Misha, it was a vivid and deep red with a faded white floral design and a purple bow running through the middle. Paired with the yukata was a lightly bronze large hair pin of a decorative flower. It featured red jewels as petals and gave off a elegance and beauty that suited Shizune. The second outfit she wore was a long white and black dress, complete with a red belt running across her mid-section. The dress had three buttons along the center as well as black straps, which Shizune has tied into a bow behind her neck. She wore this when she returned home to Saitama.

Personality

Shizune has a serious and business-oriented appearance and naturally displays a high level of professionalism. She shows poise and leadership qualities such as punctuality, precision, and proactivity. Ironically, despite being the President of the Student Council, she doesn't like being a leader, but rather enjoys the responsibility it entails. That isn't to say she isn't passionate about her role as President, she is very diligent when it comes to student council work, and does not appreciate people around her slacking off or shirking their duties. She values the Student Council deeply and constantly seeks others to join it with a level of persistence that can be off-putting to some, as if every word she says has a hidden agenda behind it. She can also be blunt at times, but this is partly due to her deafness and perfectionist mindset as she prefers straightforwardness and direct communication to minimize mistakes.

Below the surface of Shizune's poise and focus lies a childish and playful girl with a fierce competitive spirit. She'll challenge and debate even the most minute topics, such as shaved ice flavors, with witty and clever rebuttals. She primarily does this for fun, but also to see what her opponent thinks and how they would argue with her. Every little contest matters to her.

Being deaf has a clear influence on Shizune's personality. She's is unable to hide her emotions very well, and instead wears them plainly on her face. She'll blush easily when being teased, and can become visibly excited during her competitive moments. She is also more analytical than most, often fidgeting with her glasses and staring at people with a blank gaze, almost as if she was plotting something; In reality, she's doing her best to fully understand the essence of a conversation within her limitations.

One of Shizune's deepest traits is her sensitivity to failure. She would attempt to hide any mistakes she made and fight her battles by herself until they become too much for her to bear. While she doesn't hide emotions easily, she does hide how events and relationships affect her deeply.

Plot

See Shizune's route for the full plotline.

Relationships

Family

Akira Satou - Shizune and Akira are cousins, and get along with each other. The two are mentioned to have a history together, but details are not known.

Lilly Satou - Shizune is not very fond of Lilly, another of her cousins, and the two often argue whenever they meet. Lilly describes Shizune as pushy, rude, and intimidating to others, while Shizune thinks Lilly is selfish and lazy. In the past, both were once in Student Council before Shizune "scared off" the rest of the members, leaving just herself and Misha. Currently, Shizune is the class representative of 3-3 and is more strict and driven while Lilly is the class representative of 3-2 and is more laid back and accepting. Regardless, the two respect each other’s freedom to choose how they live their lives.

Hideaki Hakamichi - Hideaki is Shizune's younger brother, and while the two get along, a strong sibling rivalry exists between them. Hideaki shares Shizune's competitive drive, and the both of them could make a competition out of anything no matter how small the stakes. Shizune upholds her older-sister role when it comes to taking care of Hideaki, but communication between the two is difficult as Hideaki does not know sign language. The siblings share some hobbies as well, such as fishing and board games which they are both proficient at.

Jigoro Hakamichi - Her father, who Shizune resents, and talks back to, even though he doesn't know sign language. She often imitates and enjoys making fun of him.

Students

Shiina Mikado (a.k.a. Misha) - Shizune's best friend and interpreter, the two are rarely seen without the other. Shizune had met Misha at the beginning of her freshman year and had been friends every since. At the time, Misha knew only a little bit sign language, but just enough for the two to become friends. During their friendship, Misha's sign language developed to fluent levels; and unbeknownst to Shizune, Misha had developed a crush and eventually confessed in the Student Council room, only to have Shizune turn down her feelings which causes serious conflict later in Shizune’s route.

Although Shizune does has a deep appreciation for Misha, she has trouble expressing it. All throughout her arc, Shizune notes that she doesn't give Misha enough credit for being such an asset to her. In fact, Misha's grades slipped due to her persistence to be with Shizune and help her, which Shizune has a heavy heart about. While the two rarely fight, the chosen ending in Shizune’s route determines whether or not Shizune and Misha continue to be friends after graduation from Yamaku.

Staff

Akio Mutou - As Student Council President and as an ambitious student, Shizune is on good terms with her teacher.

Yuuko Shirakawa - Shizune sees Yuuko often at the Shanghai as well as the Yamaku Library; she is a regular in both locations. As a result, the two have a mutual if not good relationship.

Etymology

• The name Shizune means "quiet" (静) (shizu) and "sound" (音) (ne).
• Shizune's surname Hakamichi means "feather" (羽) (ha), "add, increase" (加) (ka) and "road" (道) (michi).
  • Hakamichi (墓道) could also be translated as "Pathway to the Grave," with 墓 (haka) meaning "grave" and 道 (michi) meaning "road, way, street or path"

Trivia

• She is the only romanceable character who does not cry during her own route (not even in the bad ending).
• Neither Shizune nor Misha discuss Hisao Nakai's problem with arrhythmia, and the closest comes in Slow Recovery (Act 1) when with Misha, where he gives some hints about being hospitalized in the past, and nothing else.
• Shizune wears a watch on her right wrist, but it is never shown in-game.
  • It has golden hands and described as "delicate".
• In-game actions hint that Shizune is capable of reading lips, but this is never confirmed.
  • In the leaked beta for the game however, this is outright confirmed.
• Shizune refuses to throw things, even for festival games.
• Misha claims that Shizune never makes wishes. The reason for this is unknown, but Shizune appears to be embarrassed about it.
• Shizune can snap her fingers loudly that Hisao describes it as "cringe-inducingly loud" ("The Summit").
• Shizune has functioning vocal chords, being able to make slightly audible laughs and other sounds, but is "mute" and isn't known to make vocalizations while signing. (A common habit among deaf people)
• In the early drafting stages of the project, Shizune was given the name Rosa before it changed to Shizune a few months later.

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