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.

(Manga) *
Saya, Kohta, Saeko and Shizuka walk away from Onbetsu bridge and eventually meet up with Takashi and Rei, who are riding towards the bridge. Takashi tells Saeko he is glad to see her, and Saya gets angry, asking,"What about me?" The group decides to go to Shizuka's friend Rika's house, and when Saya says she wants to take a shower there, Kohta smugly says "yeah", and she kicks him. When they get to Rika's house, they encounter a group of "them", and Saya gives Takashi a crowbar to fight with.

Later that night, Saya is in the bathroom at Rika's house bathing with Rei, Saeko, and Shizuka. She is sitting next to Saeko and wonders why they all have to bathe together. Saeko sprays water on her and then tells her she has a nice voice when Saya screams. After the girls leave the bathroom, Saya is seen sleeping on a couch. Later, she appears to be having a strange dream in which there are three Kohta-like figures who are saying, "Takagi-saaan." When Takashi leaves to save Alice, Saya wakes up to the sound of the motorcycle and walks outside to investigate. When she realizes what is happening, she quickly wakes up Shizuka and then starts to gather supplies. She helps load the supplies onto the humvee, and the group leaves to pick up Takashi and Alice.

The next morning, Saya is sitting on the roof of the humvee with Kohta and Alice, who are singing renditions of "Row, Row, Row Your Boat", as they cross the river. When Kohta sings a gun parody version, Saya becomes very angry, telling him he shouldn't teach a child that kind of song. They reach the other side, and Saya and the other girls go behind the humvee to change their clothes. Unlike Rei and Saeko, Saya does not change back into her school uniform. They reach the road and decide to go to Saya's house first, since it is the closest. As they approach her house, they encounter increasing numbers of "them", and they get the humvee stuck against a rope fence in the road. Saya points out that all of "their" guts are making the tires slide. When she sees that the others are all fighting, she decides to help them, so she jumps out and picks up Takashi's gun. Kohta asks if she can use it, and she says she knows how because she is a genius. As Saya is loading the gun, Saeko smashes the face of one of "them" standing next to her, covering Saya in blood and bile. She snaps and yells out that she is not shy, not timid, and not a coward. She then asks how she could let herself die when her house is only a little farther. Just as Saya and the others realize the fight is hopeless, Saya's mother and some others from the Takagi house arrive wearing firefighter uniforms and blast all of "them" away. When Saya sees her mother, she is overjoyed and runs over to hug her.

At the Takagi house, Saya is seen having an argument with her mother. After the argument, she is walking away angrily when she sees Takashi. He addresses her as "Takagi" which causes her to yell at him to call her by her first name and not to bow his head like "any other guy would". She walks away from him even angrier than before. After calming down, she enters the garage and finds Kohta tinkering with the Ithaca. She tells him to have fun now because they will be leaving soon. When Kohta questions her, she tells him about the difficulties of securing water and electricity. Her family has decided to go to the plants and take full responsibility. Matsudo enters and tells Kohta he shouldn't be playing with a gun. When Saya questions him, he tells her he is working on the humvee. Matsudo leaves and Saya tells Kohta he should take the guns to the adults, since they are in charge there. Kohta says they should discuss it with Takashi.

Saya and Kohta enter Rei's room, where the rest of the group is gathered, and Saya says she wants to talk. She tells the others that she probably wont be with them when they set out again. She begins to criticize her parents and says they are great but they deserted their own daughter. Takashi grabs her by the front of her shirt and lifts her up in front of him, telling her to stop. He tells her that they all feel the same way, and she is better off since she knows her parents are alright. Saya understands and tell Takashi to let go of her. Saya's father arrives and they witness his beheading demonstration. She and her father then briefly exchange angry looks with each other. When Kohta and Saeko get in an argument about swords, Saya tells him to calm down, but he gets angry and leaves. Saya then seems to get annoyed by Takashi and leaves as well.