Saya Takagi

Saya Takagi (高城 沙耶, Takagi Saya) is one of the main characters in Highschool of the Dead. Saya is a genius, and her high level of intellect is her major contribution to the group, though it often causes her to be stubborn and arrogant. She usually stays out of combat, preferring to think of strategies to help the others fight. In the anime, Saya is voiced by Eri Kitamura.

About

 * Saya first made her escape with fellow classmate Kohta Hirano. She is the daughter of an influential Uyoku dantai politician and her family is deeply involved in Japan's politics. A self-proclaimed genius, Saya's knowledge and deductive capabilities have allowed the group to escape from harm on multiple occasions. She was the first to conclude that "they" respond only to sound. Despite coming from a prestigious family, she despises her parents whom she thought had given up on her in the crisis. It was before their escape from the mansion that she managed to make up with her parents. Other than Rei, she is the only one who has a history with Takashi Komuro since they were children and is hinted to having deeper feelings for him, though she denies this. Slightly self-conscious, she detests the fact that people neither address her by her first name nor look her in the eyes while speaking. The only exception to this is Kohta, with whom she has a strange friendship. Saya has grown very attached to Alice and acts like a mother figure during the crisis. She does her best to keep Alice's innocence intact and will severely scold anyone who would dare attempt to tarnish that to the any degree.

Appearance
Saya has long pink hair which she mostly keeps in two pony tails on either of her head. Her hair also has two thin, long bangs at the sides, two thin strands of hair over the left side of her forehead, and a spiky larger portion of hair covering the right side of her forehead. Saya has fierce orange eyes and furrowed eyebrows. She wore contacts at the beginning of the series, but because her contacts dried out she has worn glasses ever since. Saya's physique is slender, however according to Morita she has bikini model sized breasts. Unlike the other female students in the group, Saya's attire has varied more from the school uniform and she has not worn it since leaving Rika's appartment.

History
Before the main events of the story, it is shown that Saya has been childhood friends with Takashi since kindergarten and possibly may have feelings for him. However, Takashi seemingly does not return these feelings, leading one to believe that Takagi is in fact the only female member of the group in Takashi's age range who he is not involved with on a romantic level.

Personality
Saya tends to be a very mean and somewhat impolite person, despite being born into a high-class family. Being a genius, Saya always considers herself right and because of this can be considered stuck-up. Despite being this way, Saya has been shown to be a very caring person and looks out for the rest of the group, mostly Takashi. Saya also considers herself to be a mother figure or an older sister figure to Alice and will scold anyone who tries to ruin her innocence. Amongst fans, she is considered a Tsundere, because of her crush on Takashi, and treats him nicely, but treats others in an unfriendly way.

Summary
Saya is first seen in the hallway of the school when she finds Kohta and tells him to leave with her just as the outbreak is starting in the school (In the anime, Saya is first seen on the stairs with Takashi where she criticizes him for his regrets about Rei). As she and Kohta travel through the hallways, Kohta wonders who will save them, and Saya explains that nobody will since the police and Self Defense Force are probably dealing with the outbreak as well (this was originally in an omake chapter, but it was incorporated into the anime storyline). The two then enter the arts and crafts classroom to find supplies. Saya gathers many tools, including the gas-powered nail gun which she gives to Kohta and asks if he knows what to do with it. A group of them enters the classroom, and Saya hides behind Kohta as he shoots and kills them with the nail gun. They leave the classroom to continue their escape from the school. Later, Saya is seen conducting an experiment in which she is throwing wet towels at one of "them". From this, she determines that "they" only respond to sound. Kohta complains about having to walk long distances as Saya begins leading the way through the halls, and she says she is "such a fatass" and that he can't complain until he's old enough to drive. As they near the faculty room, they encounter another group of them. Kohta fights them, but he has to change magazines, and Saya is confronted by one of "them". She trips and falls down and momentarily panics, but then she pulls a power drill out of the bag, thrusts it into its head, and drills until she is covered in blood and there is not much left of the head. The other members of the group arrive and fight the remainder of "them" and then begin pleasently introducing themselves. Saya gets angry that they acting so friendly and gets very defensive when they try to calm her. Saeko makes her look into a mirror, and she sees her bloodstained clothes and then begins to cry.

In the staff room, Saya is seen by Kohta taking her contacts out and putting on her glasses. She seems a little embarassed by this. The group has a discussion about what is going on outside, during which Saya points out that the disaster is actually a pandemic. The group then decides to leave the school to find their families. As they make their way to the front doors, Saya informs the others that "they" only react to sound and are strong enough to "rip a door off its hinges". The group fight their way to the bus and get on it, along with Shido and some other students. When Takashi is harassed by another student on the bus and Kohta begins to raise the nail gun to defend him, Saya holds him back, not wanting the situation to get out of control. After Rei attacks the student, Shido says they need a leader, and then appoints the position to himself. Saya and the others are very unhappy, and Rei leaves the bus, followed by Takashi.

Later, Saya is seen sitting on the bus in deep thought. She wakes up Kohta, who is sleeping in the seat next to her, and says that they should have moved away from the city and that densely populated areas would be most dangerous. She goes on to speculate about whether the Self Defense Force has secured certain areas and army bases from "them". She begins to think about how they can survive, and, when she mentions that she wishes Takashi was there for her to talk to, Kohta says she likes him, which she quickly denies. Saeko and Shizuka join them, and the group decides to leave the bus. They tell Shido they are leaving, but he won't allow Shizuka to go. Kohta grazes his cheek with the nail gun, then holds him there while exit the bus.