Yuriko Takagi

Yuriko Takagi (高木百合子, Takagi Yuriko) is Saya Takagi's mother and the wife of Souichiro Takagi. It is indicated by Saya that Yuriko is also a genius, and she is where Saya gets her intelligence from.

About
Yuriko was once a Wall Street stockbroker, and she later married Souichiro Takagi after she was impressed with his charisma and political skills. She acquired a large fortune while trading stocks, and thanks to her business connections, the Takagi family fortune rose significantly when she married Souichiro. She is very faithful to her husband and loves her daughter very much. She is also very skilled with guns, since she had training to protect herself from muggers in New York.

Appearance
Yuriko has long, light purple hair and eyes of matching color. She wears her hair down and has it much shorter in the front and pushed to either side of her face. She has a slender figure and dresses in a style which resembles the typical aristocratic attire which consists of a thin red dress, a white cloth wrapped around her arms and mid to lower body, and a silver necklace with a small charm on the front and lipstick.

History
Before meeting and marrying Souichiro, Yuriko was a highly successful stockbroker on Wall Street. On her way home from an overseas vactation, she met Souichiro at a party, and the two got married the next day. Since then she has used her financial talent to substantially increase the Takagi fortune.

Personality
Yuriko is a genius, like Saya, but unlike her daughter she is calm and reserved rather than loud and arrogant. She is extremely loyal and slightly submissive to her husband Souichiro, and she tends to stand back silently while he interacts with others; even when he was trying to take the guns away from Kohta. She loves Saya very much and will do whatever she can to ensure her daughter gets what is best for her; even if that means staying behind and potentially sacrificing herself so that Saya and the others can escape.

Plot
Yuriko is first seen when the group is stuck at the rope fence and are about to be overwhelmed by "them". She and a group of men from the Takagi house arrive wearing firefighter uniforms and armed with pressurized water cannons. They quickly blast all of "them" back while Yuriko helps the group across the fence. When they are all safe, Saeko Busujima bows to Yuriko and thanks her for saving them in their time of need (In the anime, Shizuka Marikawa is the one who does this). Yuriko removes her helmet and says that she wanted to help her daughter and her friends. Upon seeing that it is her mother, Saya runs over to Yuriko and hugs her.

Later at the Takagi house, Yuriko gets into an argument with Saya. Saya tells her she is always right and angrily walks off, meeting Takashi Komuro in the hallway and yelling at him before running down the stairs. Yuriko then walks up to Takashi and says she really upset her. She asks him if he has ever seen this side of Saya and notes that they have been friends since kindergarten. Takashi says yes and then compliments her on the house. She asks if he finds the house of the leader of an ultra-nationalist group a little frightening. He admits that he does a little, and she smiles and tells him she likes boys who are honest. He asks her if they are overstaying their welcome, and she says no. She then changes the subject and tells him that Tokonosu is getting its water and electricity from the dam at Okunako. She tells him that, since everywhere is filling up with "them", the workers will have to abandon the water and power plants, and without maintenance, the plants will stop running. She says that they will go in a bus with anyone who has the will to survive and take full responsibility of water and electricity for the city. She tells Takashi that he and the others all have a great will to survive, and they have done well to survive this long. Before Takashi leaves she asks if he will do a favor for her by trying to persuade Saya to listen to her.

Yuriko is later seen standing outside of the Takagi house awaiting the arrival of her husband Souichiro. After he gives his demonstration, she walks up to greet him. She then accompanies him as he goes to investigate a situation which turns out to be some of his men trying to take the guns away from Kohta Hirano. As Souichiro starts to question Kohta, Yuriko tries to tell him that Kohta is in Saya's class, but he already knows. She stands by as the group comes to defend Kohta, and Saya tells her father he has been protecting her.

Yuriko is next seen standing with the group when Rei Miyamoto confronts Shido and then decides not to kill him. As Shido and his followers are banished from the mansion, Takashi looks a little upset, and Yuriko asks him if he thought that was wrong. He tells her he doesn't like it, but he wouldn't know what to do if he were in Souichiro's position.

After the E.M.P. blast, the barricade fails, and "they" soon gather in large numbers outside of the gates. One of Souichiro's men brings a gun case to Yuriko, and she pulls out a sub-machine gun and a Luger PO8. Then she rips her dress up her thigh to her waist, revealing a thigh holster with a handgun in it. She offers a gun to Souichiro, but he says he has no use for it. She gives the Luger to Saya, who asks her why she has a gun. Yuriko explains that when she was at Wall Street, she took a self-defense course for executives. She remarks that she may even be a better shot than Souichiro. She asks Kohta to teach Saya how to shoot it, and he happily agrees.

When "they" break through the gate, Souichiro tells Takashi that it is time for him and the others to leave. He also tells Kohta that he is entrusting Saya to him. When Saya questions him, Yuriko slaps her, saying that her and Souichiro have a role to play. She tells her that having her in the care of Takashi, Kohta, and the others is the one thing they want for her as her parents. She further says that it kills them inside to do this, and asks Saya to not make it any harder. She yells "just go!" and then hugs Alice Maresato and tells her to listen to the others. Saya tells both of her parents that she loves them and runs off, and Yuriko smiles back at her as she runs.

As they fight "them", Yuriko tells Souichiro that they are going to be pushed further and further back. Souichiro tells her she is a good woman, and then leads her and the surviving men into the battle. As Souichiro fights with his sword, Yuriko stands at his back fighting with her sub-machine gun. When the group escapes, Souichiro asks her if they have gone. She says yes their daughter is in the company of friends who care about her. He tells her he regrets nothing as they continue to fight. Both Yuriko's and Souichiro's fates are unknown. It is also a slight insight into their relationship when Souichiro respectfully tells Yuriko she is "one fine woman".

Trivia

 * It is implied that she is fluent in English since she lived in New York.