 Natsume Sakasaki |
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As the son of a renowned fortune-teller, Natsume takes on fortune telling as well as idol activities. He tends to utter mysterious words and behave enigmatically, but he is also diligent in his work. He conducts experiments in pursuit of making his ideals a reality. Natsume sings with an sweetly mischievous voice, with performances that are sharp and sophisticated.
Natsume is the leader of Switch at NEW DIMENSION. He is refining his craft to achieve successful life both as a fortune-teller and as an idol. He is searching for new ways to deliver original directions that have not been done before to have beside his fortune-telling.[2]
Hello♪ NEW DIMENSION所属、『Switch』の逆先夏目だヨ。『Switch』のリーダーを務めていル。『Switch』は三人の魔法使いで結成された『ユニット』でネ。ライブを観に来てくれたラ、ボクたちの魔法がどんなものなのかわかると思うヨ……♪ それト、ボクは占いも得意なんダ。機会があったらみんなのことを占ってあげよウ♪[2]
Tsumugi夏目くんとはちいさいころ同じアイドル養成スクールに通っていて、夢ノ咲学院で再会したんです。それから色々あって、『Switch』として同じ『ユニット』で夢を追いかけています。ふふ、夏目くんっていつも気取ったイメージでしょう？ でも、結構かわいいところもあるんですよ〜♪ 俺や宙くんのことが大好きみたいで、いつも気にかけてくれてます！[2]
Appearance
Natsume is a young man with average height and build. He has golden eyes and red hair which is asymmetrically cut, growing a streak on the left side that goes down to his shoulder, while keeping the rest of his hair at average length. Some of his hair is coloured white, but most of it is red.
Natsume is a young man with average height and build. He has golden eyes and red hair which is asymmetrically cut, growing a streak on the left side that goes down to his shoulder, while keeping the rest of his hair at average length. Some of his hair is coloured white, but most of it is red.
He wears the school uniform without the tie, with a long necklace with a pentagram symbol on it, and with a black shirt underneath. Before the events of the main story, he wore a similar outfit as his school uniform, except that instead of the school's blazer he wore a white lab coat.
Personality
While he may come off as mysterious and aloof, Natsume's actions say otherwise. He's a good conversationalist, and hard-working. His ability to talk allows him to get along well with most people should he wish it, ensuring him capable of building connections.
In order to protect his image, Natsume presents himself as cool and uninterested, coming and going as he pleases—however, he has a tendency to butt into situations should it concern the people he cares about (such as Shu or Sora). He will also push himself to the brink, even if it may be at detriment to his own health, if he believes the result will be of use or protect the people he cares about. However, his monomania can cause him to disregard the outside world, including the people he intends to help, so he can become out of touch and forget about the emotional state of others. Often, he later expresses extreme remorse through constant apologies and sometimes to the point of physical self-punishment.
At times, he loathes to show his emotions in an honest way, and instead of being straightforward he will instead attempt to obfuscate, or mask it with violence. Despite this, either with the help of people like Sora or Tsumugi or through his own will and/or actions, these feelings often make themselves known in the end, even if he entirely refuses to acknowledge them afterwards.
Even if his words are harsh, Natsume is a genuinely kind person. He often offers help to people in need of it, even if they have wronged him in some way or he isn't familiar with them. He tends to worry over people in privacy, and attempts to help and boost people's spirits even if from a distance. He is very aware of his surroundings, so even if he doesn't show it outwardly, he will many times take notice if someone is struggling.
Though he turns out to be generally friendly once you interact with him, Natsume dislikes letting himself be truly understood. He will dodge his feelings, and decline requests from peers to participate in any activities, even if his true desires say otherwise. He shuts himself away in secret rooms in order to isolate himself, and when invaded he expresses visceral discomfort. However, over the course of his second year he has come to gradually open up, and slowly allows people into his spaces.
Most of the time, Natsume will attempt to resolve things from a distance and act cool in the face of hardship, in order to hide the fact that he may be affected. Nevertheless, he possesses a reckless streak and can lash out at others and take impulsive risks due to this. He dislikes not having the upper-hand in situations, such as Tsumugi and Anzu being immune to his magic, and so he becomes taken aback or frustrated.
Just as how he dances around his positive emotions, when he believes his feelings to be a burden to his loved ones, he will keep it to himself and ignore any attempts made by others to truly understand him. In spite of this, when pushed and provoked enough, his true feelings will shine through. Eventually, however, Natsume is able to work through them with the help of others, and he will reflect on them with a sense of regret.
Over the course of his second year, Natsume has improved himself considerably and can deal with his emotions in a healthier manner. However, a part of him prioritizes his image and desire to look good, so for the most part he still attempts to act cool and composed. Regardless, he has and is still in the process of opening up, and genuinely wants the best for others.
Etymology
Natsume's first name, 夏目, contains the characters of "summer" (夏) and "eye" (目), hence meaning "eye of summer" or "summer eye". His family, or last, name (逆先) contains the characters of "inverted" or "wicked" (逆) and "before", "ahead", or "future" (先), so this can be interpreted as "wicked future" very directly, and "reversal" once translated. All together, this means that his name could mean "reversal of the eye of the summer".
Family
- For more information, see Natsume Sakasaki/Family.
Trivia
- During the "Ensemble Stars!" era, Natsume was one of the additional definitive main characters introduced into the game and storyline.
- Natsume made his "Ensemble Stars!" game debut in the company of Tsumugi Aoba and Sora Harukawa, presenting to audiences as Switch for the first time on August 18, 2016.
- His late entry to the series makes him one of several characters to be revealed after the game's release, also notably including Leo Tsukinaga, and the idols belonging to Valkyrie, MaM and Eden.
- His sentences always end with katakana; he explained the reason being as a type of "good luck charm" that yields a sense of discomfort through distorting his pronunciation at the end of his sentences. Scars are created on the heart through having sounds caught by the ears.[3]
- Natsume's autograph consists of his first name written in Roman letters. The individual letters overlap each other partially, and it features a star at the end.
- Tsumugi mentions that Natsume used to crossdress as a child. In a tweet, Akira revealed this was the result of an old Japanese tradition to protect young boys with weak constitutions.[4] Natsume seems to find the topic unpleasant whenever Tsumugi brings it up.[5]
- He skips class a lot. The reason for this is that he's a quick learner and is able to study the materials of a year ahead of his classmates, but he also insists on wanting to spend his time freely without feeling restricted.[6]
- Sometimes he speaks in a different font,
like this. When he speaks in this manner, he's "casting a spell," or, in other words, speaking his honest feelings.[3] He does not end his sentences with katakana when speaking this way, as he applies distortion to the entirety of the sentence; it is described to be slightly "unpleasant to the ears", so his words are not forgotten. - He appears to wear perfume at school, as Makoto and Sora remark he gives off different fragrances depending on the day.[7][8]
- He can bake.[9]
- He can't swim.[10] He fears he will be looked down upon if any of those around him know, so he makes an effort to avoid any situations that may involve swimming, including skipping P.E. class.[11]
- He has created many secrets passage around the entire campus, and has also been placing hidden cameras in places such as the secret room.[12]
- He loves all games, but he absolutely hates losing.
- He believes education is a form of brainwashing.[9]
- Sora's view of his 'color' is described to be "Beautiful and sparkly" and "Jewel-like".[13]
Commentary
Voice Actor Comments
"Natsume Sakasaki-kun is a bit of a contrarian, or is it perhaps a sign of ineptitude? Even with a side of his personality being like that, it's hard to hate him, and if anything, it makes him more endearing. Prepare yourself, once he hooks you, you won't be able to get away!" (Enstars!) [14]
"I believe Natsume-kun to be the brain of Switch. I feel he becomes Switch's compass, and operates it. Even if the three of them are looking in different, disconnected directions, they are moving towards the same direction; in fact, it's precisely those disconnected differences that bring them a sense of unity. It's a unique pattern, one that may be unlike any other. I find there to be something behind every word Natsume-kun says, or rather, he carries a sense of responsibility in every word he says, but those around him don't know how much he stays true to his words. I think that mysterious side of him is what makes him so appealing, too. It makes me want to know more about him, but maybe there are some things better left unknown (laughs). I also like fortune-telling, so I feel some sense of affinity with that." (Cast Interview: Switch (12/2016))[15]
"A new chapter?! Enstars Music?! What will happen to Natsume-kun?! I'm also looking forward to more than necessary!" (Enstars!!)[16]
Voice Actor Interviews
Main Scenario Writer's Comments
"I can't have him speak in small bit since he converts the ending of each of his statements into katakana, so he ends up come off as thoughtful. This is irrelevant, but when the font's to be changed, I add a note saying "this line is filled with magic" which I find pretty amusing (an inside joke)." (Akira's Official Works Comment)[17]
 Natsume Sakasaki
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| Sub Story • Management Story • Mini Event • Intimate Event • Greeting Event • Produce Course | ||
| Switch | Natsume Sakasaki • Tsumugi Aoba • Sora Harukawa | |
References
- ↑ "DREAM LIVE 4th Tour Prism Star!" Character Interview and Dialogue Pamphlet
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 Official Profile
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Natsume Sakasaki Sub Story 1
- ↑ Translation
- ↑ Element
- ↑ Rocket Start - Sparse Flash 1
- ↑ Wonder Game
- ↑ High Score Boys
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Intuition and Logic
- ↑ Pool
- ↑ Cruise - Preparing the Stage 1
- ↑ Rocket Start - Set Theory 2
- ↑ Summer Flowers - Secret garden 4
- ↑ Enstars! Official Profile
- ↑ B'sLOG - Cast Interview: Switch (12/2016)
- ↑ Commemorative Release Message
- ↑ Ensemble Stars! Official Works vol. 1