Danganronpa Hiyoko Saionji / Sandbox

Warning! All spoilers below are unmarked.

It's virtually impossible to list tropes for these characters without spoiling everything or creating Self Fulfilling Spoilers because of the large amount of surprising reveals and murderer/victim exclusive Tropes this game contains just like its predecessor.

Hiyoko Saionji

Ultimate Traditional Dancer

"I seriously love traditional dancing, Japanese candy, and Japanese food. And as much as I love these... I seriously love stomping on disgusting things!"

^{see her grown-up}

Voiced by: Suzuko Mimori (Japanese), Kira Buckland (English)

Played by: Ayumi Mizukoshi (Stage)

A rising star in the art of traditional Japanese dancing. Hiyoko is popular for her youthful appearance and grace but conceals an abrasive personality and a nasty mean streak which in turn conceals a genuine desire to protect those she cares about. She is the first victim of Chapter 3 after she walks in on Mikan staging a murder and is silenced by having her throat slit.

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Ambiguously Bi: Even if she can obtain a romantic ending with Hajime in Dangan Island, she also acts extremely clingy and affectionate around Mahiru, to the point that she outright drags Mahiru away to have a shower with her. The implications aren't lost on Ibuki. If you have the Man's Nut, you get a special cutscene, where she's very enthusiastic about them washing each other and asks Mahiru "From where to where do you want me to wash you!?"
Asshole Victim:
- Heavily downplayed to the point of near aversion, and even somewhat deconstructs the idea that being a brat means one deserves a brutal murder. Her bullying attitude, especially towards Mikan, was horrible and toxic, and her death isn't mourned as much as Ibuki's. That said, Sonia is still guilt-ridden over it and Hajime notes that Hiyoko was trying to change and didn't deserve to be murdered, if Hajime visits her cottage after her death he laments that all she wanted was to honour Mahiru and Sonia makes a sad remark that Hiyoko would have loved the theme park. In addition, as twistedly karmic as Mikan killing her might sound, this was Mikan killing for despair itself's sake, and beyond Mikan's very long line of trauma which rears its head in her rant during the trial, there's nothing so much as hinting that she killed Hiyoko for a reason beyond walking in on the murder scene, not to mention the fact that even if Hiyoko's treatment of Mikan was the reason for it, the worse thing Hiyoko did to Mikan was calling her rude names, the worse thing Mikan(granted while brainwashed, without the brainwashing Mikan was always decent to Hiyoko) did to Hiyoko, slice her throat while she was unable to defend herself and scared out of her mind.
- In addition unlike a lot of other Asshole Victims in the series, Hiyoko's death was because of her good features, that being her love for Mahiru and her desire to better herself as a person, as she was trying to tie her obi like Mahiru taught her to, but was killed by Mikan as she was trying to get to the full-length mirror. While Hiyoko isn't a nice person, throughout 2 she's shown to have plenty of genuinely endearing features and isn't so much a bad person as a deeply sad and troubled young girl, a victim of not only her family's abuse but the cruelty of Fuyuhiko and Peko's actions and the grief that came with losing Mahiru. Her death is never portrayed as anything else but a horrific tragedy that ended the life of a flawed Jerk with a Heart of Gold.
Bad People Abuse Animals: She's introduced squishing ants for fun, and later, she tries doing the same thing to a crab. Although she's not exactly a bad person its one of her less redeeming features.
Because You Were Nice to Me: Mahiru was willing to look past her abrasive exterior and try to be nice to her anyway, which resulted in the two developing a close enough friendship that Hiyoko was outraged that the other students could possibly think she'd murder her. She can show her nicer half to Hajime as well in her Free-Time Events.
Beneath the Mask: Hiyoko initially comes across as a rather vapid, egotistical, mean-spirited, and spoilt little brat with an overly cheery yet bitchy attitude. Beneath this however, she's a level-headed, self-loathing, sentimental, loyal and even at times sweet(when she's with Mahiru anyway) person who really just wants a friend but because of her past can't trust anyone, until she meets Mahiru, when she loses Mahiru she almost completely breaks as a result, showcasing that while flawed her whole selfish brat who couldn't care less about others is a façade and she actually does have a heart as well as a ton of internal issues that she hides because she doesn't want others to see her as weak.
Birds of a Feather:
- Her and Mahiru's parental situation makes them this, though the divide is more based around Saionji cherishing the very few people that can be truly relied on, while Koizumi had to learn early to rely on herself.
- She befriended Ibuki because they both have talents relating to music, even if they are different genres.
Blush Sticker: Like Fuyuhiko's to make her appear more child-like and cutesy. They suit her about as much as they do him when she starts showing her true colors.
Bratty Half-Pint: Even though she's just as old as the rest of the cast, she certainly appears this way physically, and her attitude more than qualifies her. In reality, Hiyoko only physically looks like a child because that's what she looked like when she entered the academy.
Break the Haughty:
- Chapter 2 was not kind to Hiyoko, to put it mildly. Firstly she's drugged and shoved in a closet by Peko and Fuyuhiko who proceed to beat Mahiru, Hiyoko's only friend to death, she wakes up to find Mahiru sitting in a pool of her own blood with a sorrowful look on her face. Then she's framed for Mahiru's death while her trauma over losing her is still very fresh with no one except Hajime believing her innocence (granted she didn't help herself but keep in mind she just lost her friend so she wasn't exactly thinking straight). After she's cleared she finds out that Mahiru died for a senseless reason and Fuyuhiko shows next to no remorse about it.
- Chapter 3 also put Hiyoko through hell. After chapter 2s events Fuyuhiko returns to the class again not showing much remorse over Mahiru until Hiyoko finally snaps unleashing all her rage and sadness over what he did to her, he commits seppuku as a result showing he is sorry but horrifying Hiyoko who blamed herself. This causes Hiyoko to try and improve herself but Nekomaru's near death brings back her past paranoia and then she dies alone and scared while trying to tie her kimono.
Brutal Honesty: Hiyoko will let everyone know how she feels about a situation no matter how rude her thoughts are, however this can sometimes be seen as a positive thing as she very rightly points out that a simple apology from Fuyuhiko is nowhere near enough to make up for Mahiru's murder, unlike the rest of the class that swept Fuyuhiko's actions under the rug.
The Bully: Snipes at everyone (except Mahiru), but particularly Mikan and Kazuichi because unlike the others, who tend to either ignore her or laugh at her antics, they react to her insults the most.
Cassandra Truth: During the second trial after the Twilight Syndrome Murder Case mystery is solved, Hiyoko dominantly accuses Fuyuhiko of being the culprit, and has his motivations accurate as well (killing Mahiru as revenge for his sister's death). He accepts the accusation she makes, implying that he has a role in the case.
The Chain of Harm: Everyone in her family but her father was jealous of her talent and abused and tried to murder her, which caused her to also treat others badly. She tries to break the cycle later on, only to end up dead before she could fully change.
Clingy Jealous Girl: A downplayed example, but she gets jealous when Mahiru dotes on Himiko in Ultimate Summer Camp.
Covert Pervert: While she'll still call Hajime a pervert, her only objection against taking her kimono off in front of him is if he doesn't know how to tie it back on when he says they should take their clothes off in Island Mode. She also is one of three people who actually like the ball gag gift(ironically so does Mikan) and asks Hajime to steal Sonia's panties in her first Free Time event. She gets extremely excited at the prospect of showering with Mahiru and offers to "wash her", as well.
Crocodile Tears: She has a tendency to fake crying at times, but actually genuinely cries other times, making it hard to tell which is which. To make things even more confusing, in her final Free Time event, she openly claims to have been manipulating Hajime by crying, but Hajime says there are still tears in her eyes.
Daddy's Girl: Her father is the only close relative she has whom she doesn't hate with a passion because was the only one who ever treated her kindly.
Dark and Troubled Past: Hiyoko grew in a very brutal world where she faced assassination attempts, a family that, besides her father, abused and resented her for her talent and was taken away from her father by her grandmother. Although it doesn't excuse her behaviour it's not exactly hard to see why Hiyoko ended up so bitter and unhappy when her life was full of abuse and fighting for her life.
Death by Irony: A non-execution example. Hiyoko gets murdered by Mikan, the one she most frequently abused. It's also ironic that the class bully died not because of her bullying of others but because she tried to grow out of that a rare example of an Asshole Victim who died because of her positive features. She also wasn't murdered due to her bullying of Mikan, Mikan merely killed her because Hiyoko walked in on her killing Ibuki.
Death of a Child: Subverted in that she only looks like she's around 10 years old, she's the same 17-ish that everybody else is.
Declaration of Protection: Surprisingly, she makes this in her Dangan Island ending, promising to protect Hajime and her father. In her final Free Time event, Hajime thinks to himself that he'll protect her, not that it does her any good, sadly.
Deer in the Headlights: A CG that shows the moments right before her death, Hiyoko is shown to be utterly terrified and just standing there her eyes and mouth wide open with fear. For all of her issues, it shows that her death was truly unfair as she died scared and unable to defend herself because of her tiny stature and messed up kimono.
Does Not Like Spam: Her character profile states that she doesn't like sour food. This actually ends up being important, as the culprit of Chapter 2 attempts to frame her by planting a lemon-flavored gummy bear at the crime scene, which the particular brand she eats doesn't have. She also really despises oily meat.
Dropped a Bridge on Her: Even by Danganronpa standards, her death is remarkably sudden and out-of-nowhere. Other than the initial shock of finding her body, not much focus is given to her during the investigation or trial, and you don't even find the murder weapon nor it is ever brought up by anyone.
Due to the Dead: In Chapter 3, Hiyoko takes the time to build a memorial in the dining hall for Mahiru after she is murdered, such as putting all the pictures she took up on a board so everyone can see them and placing rows of candles on an altar. Though the memorial doesn't look very...Inviting.
Establishing Character Moment: She's introduced as a seemingly cute little girl...who's casually crushing ants for fun, which gives you some idea of the contrast between her appearance and her personality.
Everyone Has Standards:
- While she is a bully, she seems to find murder despicable to such a degree that she has absolutely No Sympathy for the murderers' motivations. It makes sense in the 2nd trial where she is personally invested, but even after the 1st trial, she expresses nothing but pure contempt for Teruteru, the first culprit, even wishing she could have spat on his corpse. Notably, this isn't used to make her more sympathetic, due to the tragic nature of his motivation which everyone else at least tries to sympathize with a little although she's not exactly incorrect either considering Togami died as a result of Teruteru's actions. Her treatment of Fuyuhiko is however portrayed sympathetically as she's understandably pissed off about him causing her only friend's death and seems to be the only person in class 77 who took Fuyuhiko's actions seriously instead of pretending they never happened.
- In V3's Ultimate Talent Development Program, she actually stops picking on Mikan when Mikan seems to display masochistic pleasure at it, outright encouraging it and thanking Hiyoko for always acknowledging her, which rightly creeps Hiyoko out. She's equally horrified when Miu sexually gets off on being insulted and humiliated by her. In Ultimate Summer Camp, she is also disgusted by Toko's obsession with Byakuya, telling her she's creepy.
Expressive Hair: The bottoms of her pigtails have a tendency to morph in her different expressions.
Face Framed in Shadow: A telltale sign that she's showing her toxic mask is a shadow falling over the upper half of her face and her eyes taking on a certain intensity.
Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: She's so cute that she has legions of young male fanboys. But in terms of personality, she's mean spirited and can be rather cruel, although far from evil.
The Fake Cutie: She uses her cute appearance and childish mannerisms to gain popularity as a traditional Japanese dancer, but her personality is anything but cute. Although at times she can be genuinely adorable and sweet-natured (only if she's with Mahiru and Hajime sometimes in Free Time and Island Mode, though)
Foil:
- She and Mikan arguably serve as this to each other. Both of them went through traumatic childhoods in which they were mistreated by others, but whereas the latter responded to this by becoming a spineless doormat who's often too timid to hold a conversation without tears and desperately tries to appease others, Hiyoko became an abrasive bully in order to drive others away, as well as becoming one of the most distrusting members of the group. Both of them are extreme opposites, yet also fairly realistic examples of how people often respond to bullying growing up.
- She also serves as one to fellow blonde-haired brat Fuyuhiko Kuzuryu. Both have very cute appearances that contrast their abrasive and toxic personality, both are very wary of others, both had an abusive home life with only one person in that life looking out for them(Peko, and Hiyoko's father), both bullied Mikan, and lost the one girl they loved in the second trial which is why they tried to change. Fuyuhiko was more dangerous and more toxic than Hiyoko to the point of causing multiple deaths but unlike her, he managed to complete his arc and overcome his grief over Peko whereas Hiyoko's grief over Mahiru wound up killing her, something which Fuyuhiko never acknowledges.
Fountain of Youth: Downplayed. Hiyoko underwent a massive growth spurt while attending Hope's Peak, giving her a more mature-looking body. However, like her classmates, Hiyoko's avatar in the Neo World Program reflects the way she looked before going to the academy, reverting her to her former, childlike appearance.
Freudian Excuse: Though its factuality is disputable(although more likely than not that she was telling the truth as Hajime notes), the backstory she reveals helps explain some of her bullying ways. Many studies on bullying show that the bully is trying to recapture a sense of power and agency they lost from being mistreated by mistreating others.
The Friend Nobody Likes: To a much lesser extent than Nagito and Fuyuhiko prior to his development, but her attitude definitely doesn't win her any friends and when Mahiru dies, the evidence is placed at the crime scene to make it look like she did it and, despite that Mahiru was the only one Hiyoko liked, everyone except Hajime, Ibuki and, ironically enough, Mikan seems willing to believe she would do it. Hajime does note she was trying to change her ways during the third trial, but ultimately they are far mostly focused on Ibuki's death throughout (also partly because Ibuki's death has more evidence leading to the killer). That being said no one is glad after her death, in particular Hajime and Sonia have lines that show they genuinely miss her in spite of her flaws.
Friendless Background: A given considering how abrasive and mean she is as well as coming from a family that were both possessive and abusive towards her, in Free Time she says she doesn't need any friends and jokes about it, however her genuine happiness when Mahiru and Hajime befriend her shows she actually wanted a friend more than anything but let her trust issues get in the way of it.
Girlish Pigtails: Tied back with cute little kitty bows.
Good Is Not Nice: Is she ever. Hiyoko abhors the very idea of killing and is mostly just interested in keeping herself cozy until the situation is resolved. Her Jerkass Has a Point moments indicate that she really does want to help when things get bad, and she starts Chapter 3 off by building a memorial to Mahiru. None of this, however, stops her from being a Jerkass most of the time, and she gets killed before her attempt at growing out of this makes any significant progress. Though her Jerkass tendencies don't counter the fact that she never betrayed the class and was the only person in the class who held Fuyuhiko to account and actively did try to change, she's very much on the side of the class even if she's mean to them and utterly hates Monokuma.
Good Old Ways: Going with her preferred outfit and talent, her Free Time events reveal that she has a lot of respect for traditional Japanese customs and feels that they need to be kept alive although she doesn't disagree with the more progressive direction of her theatre. Of course, this is followed by her expressing contempt for those who like anything Western. In the Talent Development Plan, she also admits that she has disdain for contemporary pop idols. This also makes her love of Ibuki's concert more surprising.
Green-Eyed Monster: Her final Free Time event implies she's jealous of Sonia, and she tries to recruit Hajime into some Revenge by Proxy by targeting Kazuichi first. When he refuses, she just thinks he wants to cut straight to the 'main event' and go after Sonia directly.
Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: In most ways, this is largely averted with Hiyoko generally being a whiny bully, however it's not averted completely as unlike Junko (and similar to fellow blonde meanies Fuyuhiko and Miu), she does have a Hidden Heart of Gold and can be genuinely very sweet and adorable when she drops her toxic mask.
Hates Their Parent: Hiyoko implies that her mother was among the jealous relatives that abused her. As such, there is no love lost between them. Although she absolutely loves her father.
"She's all pride and no talent. She's such a waste of oxygen."
Heel–Face Door-Slam: In chapter 3 she is shown to be trying to become a better person for the recently deceased Mahiru, but she gets murdered before she can fully improve her attitude. Ironically the much more toxic Fuyuhiko, who caused two deaths and indirectly caused Hiyoko to end up in the venue, managed to finish his arc.
Hidden Depths:
- While Hiyoko initially comes across as rather vapid and airheaded, she's surprisingly intelligent, being the first person in the class who realises that they need to play the game or else they're all dead. She also correctly connects Fuyuhiko to Mahiru's murder by realising that he's the only person in the class who had a motive to kill her, while ultimately Peko was Mahiru's killer Fuyuhiko's hatred towards Mahiru is what caused it. She even accurately says that Fuyuhiko would be dumb enough to believe the game and that's why he did it, which is exactly what happened.
- She's also extremely passionate about her talent in spite of being forced into dance by her family and has a wide knowledge of the history of Japanese dance. She also states that she wants to protect the traditions of dance while also respecting the new direction of her dance theatre. In general, she's very passionate about Japanese culture which impresses Hajime.
- Hiyoko is rather self interested most of the time but she's actually very selfless towards those she cares about, vowing to protect Hajime, Mahiru and her father and in Island Mode says she'll stop crying from now on because she won't be able to protect Hajime/her father.
- Despite being raised in a traditional and strict family Hiyoko has some very untraditional interests. She's the only person in class 77 who loves Ibuki's heavy metal music and in Island Mode she loves horror movies because of the gore(ironically Mikan loves horror for the same reason), enjoys the rollercoaster and adores the haunted house. To put it simply Hiyoko is a tiny metalhead who loves thrill rides and horror movies, a unique contrast from her seemingly traditional appearance.
Hypocrite: She has very little issue bullying other people, most notably Mikan and Kazuichi though the latter is also a Jerkass, but complains that people are bullying her at the beginning of Chapter 2 when the others remark on her smelling bad due to not being able to take a bath (even though they're just asking questions rather than being outright malicious).
Hypocritical Humor:
- She tells Mikan that she has no right to privacy when she complains about being "Girl A" in Twilight Syndrome, but when it turns out that Hiyoko is "Girl B", a character who used the insult Hiyoko just made against Mikan, she says the game is "taking way too much creative liberty" (In the original Japanese) and "Short and foulmouthed...? That's like the complete opposite of me!" (in the English version).
- In Ultimate Summer Camp, she calls Himiko a runt, even though she's 9" taller than her ^note. When Mahiru points out that they're more like siblings than she is to them, they disagree, but start bickering like siblings.
- Also in Ultimate Summer Camp, she makes fun of Toko's smell, but Toko throws it right back at her, pointing out she can't even clothe and bathe herself.

I-Z

I Take Offense to That Last One: In Ultimate Summer Camp, Toko calls her ugly and says her mouth is a gutter when Hiyoko calls Toko "gutter girl", with Hiyoko saying she's not ugly. Toko naturally points out that she admits her mouth is a gutter.
Informed Kindness: In Chapter 3, Hajime notes that she's trying to be a nicer person, but Hiyoko's previous bullying behavior mostly stays the same up until her death as she continues bullying Mikan and when Akane, Nagito, and Ibuki caught the Despair Disease, she states that she hopes that they would kill themselves. When Sonia calls her out on it, Hiyoko says, in regards to the infected, that "I know...it can't be that easy...". However this is played off as dark humour instead of genuine. In many senses it's also almost completely averted, Hiyoko forgives Fuyuhiko when she could have easily avenged Mahiru and spent hours building a memorial, in addition, Hiyoko's a rare example of a bully character in the series who did attempt to change. Hajime's assertion isn't incorrect even if Hiyoko does retain some of her toxic elements to the bitter end and she died because she was a good person very deep down.
Insane Troll Logic: In Trial 2, when confronted on the footprints everyone saw her leave on the sand while fleeing the beach house, claims that the footprints are actually Mikan's based on how ugly they are.
Insufferable Genius: Constantly boasts about her talent and being better than everyone else (ironically her levels of self-esteem actually go into the negatives).
Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Probably the biggest jerk in the game besides Fuyuhiko prior to his development as she's a bully who needlessly torments the shyest student in the class and is verbally abusive to everyone besides Mahiru, but her extreme protectiveness of Mahiru and her father (as well as Hajime in Island Mode), her consistent anti-murder ethics and forgiving Fuyuhiko once he apologizes over Mahiru, shows that she truly has a good heart deep down. She also tried to improve her behaviour before her death. Even if she didn't fully develop she has plenty of positive features, she's genuinely passionate about preserving Japanese dance, openly praises Ibuki's music, is genuinely touched when the other students praise her memorial that she spent hours creating so Mahiru "wouldn't be lonely in heaven".
Jerkass Has a Point:
- After the first murder occurs, she's one of the few to keep her head on straight, and keeps bluntly reminding everyone that no matter how upset they are or how much they're freaking out, they need to investigate and solve the case if they want to live.
- While harsh about it, she's not exactly wrong for saying that Teruteru's actions were vile considering that they resulted in the death of Togami, severely harming the group and that the class had a problem with downplaying murder.
- The first time she insults Kazuichi is after he needlessly calls the entire class jerks making him an Asshole Victim. Also considering his treatment of Sonia in chapter 4 and 5, he arguably got worse without her to shut him up.
- Hiyoko has many faults but getting angry at Fuyuhiko for causing the brutal murder of her only friend, framing her for it, and spending the post-trial showing little remorse over Mahiru's murder, isn't one of those faults. When Fuyuhiko prostrates himself in front of the class in apology, she still calls him out that that's not good enough, and he agrees and attempts seppuku. Notably, after Fuyuhiko finally apologizes for Mahiru's death she begins to forgive him. Arguably she takes a better approach than the rest of the class that welcomed him back before he actually said sorry and changed as a person.
  - While everyone else is Character Shilling for Fuyuhiko at the end of the second trial Hiyoko rightly points out that there's "no reason to wait for him", harsh as that sounds she's not wrong, outside of not going along with Peko's plan Fuyuhiko was nothing but vile towards the class and that he caused the death of Mahiru. Hiyoko yet again showed herself to be the only person mature enough to realise just how vile Fuyuhiko's actions were while the rest of the class equated being injured with instant redemption.
- After the outbreak of the Despair Disease, she's the first to suggest quarantining the infected and possibly infected, pointing out that since they don't know how to cure the disease the most important thing is to prevent everyone from being infected.
- In addition calling Peko a toilet-clogging bitch wasn't incorrect considering that Peko did beat Mahiru to death and frame Hiyoko for it(admittedly Hiyoko didn't know that at the time but still), when Peko is exposed as Mahiru's killer and pretends to be Sparkling Justice Hiyoko refuses to listen to her excuses and angrily calls her out for saying that she did nothing wrong(Granted Peko didn't believe this at all but it doesn't make it any less horrible to hear).
- She's not exactly wrong when she calls out Akane for her reckless behaviour getting Nekomaru mortally injured by Monokuma.
Jerkass to One: "Crueler to One" type. She is unpleasant to everybody (except Mahiru), but Mikan and to a lesser extent Kazuichi gets the worst treatment due to reacting to it instead of laughing it off like everyone else. She also has a grudge against Fuyuhiko, though unlike with Mikan, this is rather justified.
Karmic Death: Played With but ultimately heavily downplayed to the point of near aversion. Hiyoko is killed by Mikan for witnessing the preparations for Ibuki's murder, and not as a form of revenge for the bullying, though the method Mikan uses is somewhat karmic — slashing her throat to permanently silence her and, to add insult to injury, Mikan ties Hiyoko's obi on backwards, which is how prostitutes used to wear their robes, as it made it easier taking them on and off. Mikan non-verbally calls Hiyoko a trashy skank, which was one of Hiyoko's favorite insults for Mikan. That being said nothing Hiyoko did to Mikan was remotely close to any of this, making it a severe case of Disproportionate Retribution(though Mikan only killed Hiyoko for walking in on her strangling Ibuki).
Kick the Dog: She openly states that she hoped those infected with the Despair Disease would kill themselves to spare anyone else the possibility of being infected as well although this comes across more like a dark joke than her genuine thoughts. When Mikan tries to comfort her after she starts crying in Chapter 2, she immediately switches to insulting Mikan like usual(although Mikan's "everything is okay now" is Innocently Insensitive considering for Hiyoko it wasn't, because Mahiru was still dead, doesn't make Hiyoko any less cruel or Mikan any less kind). In general her treatment of Mikan is this considering how needlessly mean it is.
Kids Are Cruel: Subverted, she looks like a kid and her introduction features her squishing ants just because, but she is actually the same age as everyone else. This makes her behavior come off as quite unsettling.
Kill the Cutie: A rather unusual example considering her unpleasant features but when she's being nice she can actually be very cute and is helped by her design. Just as she begins improving herself she's cruelly murdered and her corpse tied onto a pillar.
Kimono Is Traditional: Since she's a traditional dancer, she's always seen wearing one. Island Mode and Talent Development Plan reveal that she strongly dislikes any activity that poses a risk of getting hers dirty. However, it's later revealed that she doesn't know how to tie her obi by herself.
Little Miss Snarker: To the point where most of her dialogue is snarking at everyone and everything.
Lonely Rich Kid: Grew up in an extremely wealthy family but as a result of her abusive mother and grandmother she was very sheltered and her only real connection was with her father who she was taken away from. She doesn't actually make any friends until her late teens in Mahiru (and Hajime in free time, her sour personality is partially a result of her loneliness.
Manipulative Bitch: Big on Psychological Combat and Crocodile Tears, as she repeatedly demonstrates during her Free Time events.
Meta Guy: On rare occasions. She refers to Mikan's clumsy tripping as "fanservice", refers to Kazuichi as the sort of person who's one of the first to die in "kill 'em all" scenarios, and at the party after Hajime reassures Hiyoko that Byakuya physically searched everyone, not just her, Hiyoko bets that maybe Byakuya was "extra sticky" with her since "someone like her" is in "high demand" (she doesn't specify what she means, but it's obviously a reference to her "cute girl appearance").
Metal Head: The only person in the class who enjoys Ibuki's music, in the Talent Development Plan Ibuki even gives her a CD of her new album knowing Hiyoko would love it.
The Nicknamer: Prefers degrading and insulting nicknames, like calling Byakuya "Mr Ham Hands" ("Mr Porkfeet" in the original Japanese) or Mikan "Trashy Skank" and "Pig Barf".
Never Speak Ill of the Dead: Peko referring to Mahiru as "evil" has Hiyoko basically begging the class to execute her.
No Social Skills: To say that Hiyoko lacks tact and doesn't have much of a filter is putting it lightly.
No Sympathy: The day after the first trial, she halfheartedly concedes that Byakuya's death was "sad," but then says that Teruteru, as a murderer, was "human waste," that she enjoyed his execution and that she wishes they could have spat on his body. Mahiru is the only dead student she actually mourns for though it's understandable why she doesn't mourn for Peko and it's implied she mourned for Togami.
Not Helping Your Case: In the second trial, she spends much of the early discussion of the actual murder drawing suspicion to herself, such as falsely claiming that she never went to the beach house and that she doesn't know what gummies are.
Odd Friendship:
- You wouldn't expect the eccentric and rebellious bully to become enthralled by the stern and grounded Team Mom but Mahiru is pretty much the only person Hiyoko loves, perhaps because she's the exact opposite of Hiyoko in most ways
- Hiyoko also has a positive relationship with Ibuki, while both are eccentric and loud Metal Head's Ibuki is considerably kinder than Hiyoko and Hiyoko insults Ibuki throughout the game (Ibuki being Ibuki laughs it off), however Ibuki still deeply cares for Hiyoko and while Hiyoko hides it behind snarky insults it clear she cares about Ibuki too. Making it more heartbreaking that the two died together.
Older Than She Looks: Yes, she really is just as old as the other students. Subverted, however, when it turns out that she only looks so young in the game because that's what she looked like when she first entered the academy. Her real appearance is more in line with her age, though she was still likely around 17 when she entered Hope's Peak to begin with.
Only Sane Woman: Generally she's the complete opposite of this, being an eccentric bully who says insane stuff most of the time. However it's invoked twice. Firstly when she tells the class that they need to investigate Togami's murder instead of sulking and secondly when she's the only person who tries to get Fuyuhiko to apologize for Mahiru's murder instead of naively pretending that nothing happened.
Out of Focus: In a sense. Her actions are completely glossed over once she's killed, with far more focus being on Ibuki's murder than her own, which is treated as not as pressing due to having less evidence surrounding it.
Paper Tiger: She likes to insult and torment her classmates, but the second somebody retaliates, she starts crying.
The Paranoiac: Her mistrust of her classmates gets worse and worse throughout the story, to the point where in Chapter 3, she locks herself up in her hotel room and refuses to see anyone because they might kill her. This ironically bites her in the ass, because it's going to Titty Typhoon alone to fix her obi that she accidentally witnesses Mikan setting up the crime scene and is promptly overpowered and murdered, and nobody even knew Hiyoko was gone until they went back to check on Ibuki's body.
Pet the Dog:
- Mahiru is the only other student who Hiyoko seems to have any respect for, calling her "big sis" and acting very affectionate and clingy around her. She can potentially act this way to Hajime as well (although it is a bit more subtle than with Mahiru) if he completes her Free Time Events.
  - Out of everyone in class 77, absolutely no one took Mahiru's death more seriously than Hiyoko plus the fact that she doesn't just sweep Mahiru's murder under the rug and treats Peko and Fuyuhiko like what they actually were, was refreshing.
- In Chapter 3, she's one of the only students who actually enjoy Ibuki's concert and even compliments her song, which Ibuki wrote herself.
- It's implied her speech about how the class needs to investigate Togami's murder or else they'll die was made because she was genuinely outraged over his death and didn't want the class(admittedly very much including herself) to suffer the wrath of Monokuma
- She shows genuine sadness over Togami's murder although as usual she hides it behind snarky comments and insults Teruteru's death after.
- While calling out Fuyuhiko for his actions, she seems just as outraged by Peko's death as Mahiru's, implying she wasn't exactly glad about Peko dying even though she had every reason to be.
- She forgives Fuyuhiko during his welcome-back party and seems genuinely touched by his attempts to better himself. She also seems like the only person in the class who actually took his apology seriously considering she didn't blindly forgive him.
- During the Ultimate Talent Development Plan, she encounters Chihiro who is upset that he got a present from his dad despite not wanting anything. She tells him he should accept it and be happy and thankful for it still, which he agrees to.
- In Ultimate Summer Camp, when Kotoko insults Ibuki's music, she defends Ibuki and claims that she simply doesn't get Ibuki's style. She even calls Ibuki big sis while doing so.
- When she critiques Aoi's dancing skills and the girl asks her to help with her dancing skills, Hiyoko obliges her. She also does the same with Taka.
Picky Eater: She loves sweets and Japanese foods in general, but will only eat certain brands. This proves important in the second trial because a gummy is found at the crime scene, which is Hiyoko's Trademark Favourite Food, but a lemon-flavored gummy, which the brand she eats does not make. This helps Hajime clear her name and find the real killer. She also despises oily meat claiming that it's for stupid people, and loves fish.
The Pig-Pen: Due to how complicated her clothes are to take on and off, she doesn't remove them until she finds someone she trusts enough to help her. Unsurprisingly, this results in her becoming rather... pungent.
Psychological Projection: While accusing Fuyuhiko of being the killer in the second trial, she randomly adds "And I bet you're secretly very worried about your height!", making it pretty obvious that she's actually talking about herself. Granted Fuyuhiko started it by calling her a midget.
Pungeon Master: How the English dub handles a lot of her snarking.
"The Reason You Suck" Speech: Aside from calling out Fuyuhiko for causing Mahiru and Peko's deaths she also angrily states that he doesn't care about them dying at all, in her defense at this point he had talked to the group two times and barely acknowledged either of their deaths nor did he apologize and in post-trial very coldly calls Mahiru a bitch, of course, she learnt seconds later that the reality was he was completely torn apart with remorse and grief.
The Scapegoat: In the second trial, the evidence is planted at the crime scene to make it look like she killed Mahiru.
Sad Clown: Although she's a bully she tends to act in an eccentric and overly happy manner and constantly makes jokes(at the expense of others in particular Mikan), in reality she's a deeply lonely and depressed person with a ton of self esteem issues who hides this behind both an abrasive and eccentric image and this only grows after she loses Mahiru.
She Is All Grown Up: Near the end of the game, the survivors find a picture of her where she appears to be a young adult.◊ Her grown-up appearance is her real appearance, but because of the erasure of the main cast's memories, Hiyoko's avatar in the game proper is what she looked like when she first entered the academy.
She Knows Too Much: The reason why Mikan murders her, she walked in on her making the preparations for Ibuki's murder.
"Silly Me" Gesture: One of her sprites has her jokingly doing this gesture, except with both eyes shut instead of one.
Slashed Throat: How she's killed, although the murder weapon is never found or mentioned.
Slut-Shaming: She likes to hurl abuse at other girls like this, particularly Mikan, referring to her as a "trashy skank" and "dirty bitch" several times, but she also calls Sonia a slut during her FreeTime with Hajime as well.
Sour Outside, Sad Inside: It's clear behind her sunny yet extremely sour personality that Hiyoko is a deeply sad girl who just wants a friend but can't make any because of her trust issues and tendency to push others away, she finally does make a friend in Mahiru only for Mahiru to end up dead days later which only adds to Hiyoko's deeply routed sadness and self-hatred. While it doesn't excuse her behaviour it's tragic that Hiyoko never really had a chance to show others that she had a good heart deep down because of how often others hurt her and that her one chance of happiness was cruelly taken away from her.
Spanner in the Works: She ends up being this to Mikan in Chapter 3 as her sudden appearance at the Titty Typhoon while Mikan was setting up Ibuki's fake hanging led to her having to be hastily killed to make sure that she couldn't tell anyone about it. Said murder ended up leaving enough evidence around that Hajime was able to realize that the video he saw wasn't recorded at the music venue and had to have been done somewhere else, and additionally derails Mikan's attempt to frame Hajime for Ibuki's murder. Even in death she still inconvenienced Mikan, which is something she'd probably be proud of.
Stepford Snarker: A deeply miserable and depressed person who hides it behind constantly snarking at everyone around her.
Sweet Tooth: Doesn't see anything weird about eating candy for breakfast. Her Free Time events reveal that she's quite particular about candy; she prefers Japanese sweets over imported ones. This becomes important when Peko tries to frame Hiyoko - she drops a gummy so people find it and conclude Hiyoko was in the beach house, but she picks a lemon-flavoured gummy, which the brand Hiyoko eats doesn't make.
Tempting Fate: She teases Kazuichi by calling him a 'background character' who's doomed to suffer an early death. She is killed in Chapter 3, while Kazuichi is one of the survivors.
They Died Because of You: Says that Mahiru and Peko died because of Fuyuhiko. He agrees.
Thin-Skinned Bully: Despite how she likes to torment everybody, she'll start bawling when the tables get turned on her although she can certainly hold her own against the likes of Fuyuhiko. In Ultimate Summer Camp, she's a little thicker-skinned, but Kokichi was easily able to get under her skin after messing with her about her height change, which annoys her, but he says he is actually happy for her growing in height because "After all, you won't be able to use your childish looks as an excuse for your sad behavior anymore!" To which she gets pissed and calls him "You little shit!" and then threaten him when they get out of the simulation.
This Is Unforgivable!: She absolutely refuses to forgive those who murder others, but especially Fuyuhiko since he was involved in the murder of someone she absolutely adored and planned to frame her. However, she doesn't make any snide remarks after Fuyuhiko goes so far as to slit his own stomach open as penance, a sign that she is attempting to change for the better.
Tiny Tyrannical Girl: Is she ever, though she usually has to rely on her mouth and psychological tactics to bully others as she's pretty weak, physically.
Token Mini-Moe: In appearance only, since she's the same age as the rest of the cast and the "moe" aspect is deliberate on her part.
Took a Level in Kindness: This is implied to happen in Island Mode, even if you don't get her ending. She actually refrains from bashing Mikan and agrees with her that she also enjoyed the island life, suggesting that she's on better terms with all of her classmates. Also to a certain extent, she's far nicer in chapter 3, while she still insults others she does make an effort to spend time with them and accepts Fuyuhiko's apology. Hajime after her death correctly notes that while she was a brat, she still tried to grow as a person.
Trademark Favorite Food: Gummy bears. She only eats a particular brand too, which clears her name in Chapter 2 when the culprit plants a gummy bear with a flavor it doesn't have.
Troubled Abuser: Hiyoko's Free-Time Events reveal that her family has treated her miserably out of jealousy regarding her dance talent, and the only person who ever treated her kindly was her father. It goes a long way in explaining her cruelty towards others and while it doesn't excuse it, she genuinely didn't know any better.
Tsundere: Extreme type A example to Hajime during Free Time events and Dangan Island.
Uncleanliness Is Next to Ungodliness: Downplayed. While she isn't evil, Hiyoko is both rather stinky and one of the biggest Jerkasses on Jabberwock Island.
Ungrateful Bitch: She breaks down crying after she isn't suspected of having killed Mahiru anymore in the 2nd trial, but when Mikan, who she's been horrible to this entire time, makes a genuine effort to cheer her up, Hiyoko lashes out and spits insults at her like usually instead of being touched by the gesture.
Unreliable Expositor: Exploits this by telling Hajime that she's been bullied and targeted by her own family out of jealousy for her position, that her father went mad trying to protect her, and that she's been raised by her grandmother without having any chance to even see her parents...before laughing and leading him to think she was lying about all or part of it. That said, she shows visible anger when Hajime calls her by her last name (since she hates her family that much) and genuinely starts tearing up when mentioning her father, implying that at least some of it wasn't a lie.
Verbal Tic: Sometimes says wordsssss likeeee thissss if she's in an excited mood. It's especially noticeable in the dub where one of her voice lines is "SOOOOOOOOOO" which Kira Buckland really drags out.
Volleying Insults: Most of her interactions with Toko and Genocide Jack end up being this in Ultimate Summer Camp, except one, where Toko watched her practice her dancing and said that there was a "playful beauty" to it and that she could write poetry to her dances. Hiyoko's surprised that Toko can actually give out compliments.
Wardrobe Malfunction: Sort of. Hiyoko's been wearing the same traditional Japanese dancing clothes for a long time because the clothing is apparently so complicated she can't tie her obi by herself (which means if she were to take the clothing off she wouldn't be able to put it back on), which means she hasn't been able to bathe in a while. In Chapter 2, Mahiru agrees to help Hiyoko take her obi off and on. This helps clear her name in the second trial because she couldn't have showered Mahiru's blood off her if she cannot re-dress herself afterwards. This also ends up contributing to her death, as in Chapter 3, having trouble tying it on her own now that Mahiru is dead, she takes Sonia's suggestion to use the full-length mirror at the back of the stage, where Mikan was setting up the murder of Ibuki.
Womanchild: Has a very immature and childish personality and a love for childish things like gummies and playing pranks. Her child-like appearance and extremely high-pitched voice only makes it easier to forget that she's actually the same age as everyone else(and in terms of months she's actually older than very mature students like Mahiru and Peko).
Who Murdered the Asshole: Averted. She liked to insult everyone save Mahiru, especially Mikan and to a lesser extent Kazuichi. However, Mikan didn't kill her for everything she had done, but because Hiyoko walked in on her as she was killing Ibuki.

Sandbox / Danganronpa Hiyoko Saionji

Ultimate Traditional Dancer

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Sandbox / Danganronpa Hiyoko Saionji

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Ultimate Traditional Dancer

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