Sayaka Maizono

Sayaka Maizono is a character from the Danganronpa fandom.

Character
Sayaka Maizono was a student of Class 78th and a participant of Killing School Life in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, as well as its anime adaptation, Danganronpa: The Animation. Her title was the Ultimate Pop Sensation. As a result of giving in to the first motive and her desire to rejoin her pop group, she orchestrated the first case, in which she planned to kill Leon Kuwata and frame Makoto Naegi for it. However, she ended up being killed by her intended victim instead, becoming the first victim of the franchise.

While she doesn't appear in Danganronpa 2: Goodbye Despair, Makoto references her when he explains the meaning of the password to the ancient ruins to Hajime Hinata, saying that 11037 was a clue a friend left for him in times of need.

Sayaka doesn't physically appear in Danganronpa Another Episode: Ultra Despair Girls, but she's mentioned when finding and handling a Hit List enty of one of her idol group's members. Komaru Naegi also reveals to be a huge fan of her.

Sayaka has more cameos in Danganronpa 3: The End of Hope's Peak Academy than her other deceased classmates, all of them with speaking lines. A poster of Sayaka in a bikini promoting her album is shown in the fourth episode of Despair Arc, when Nagito Komaeda uses it to get Teruteru Hanamura to help him. In the eleventh episode of Future Arc, she appears in Makoto Naegi's nightmare, with a lethal bloody injury from a knife, referencing her death. She reminds Makoto of his failed promise to save her and help her escape the academy and, alongside Kyoko Kirigiri, tells him he should've been the one to die. In the eleventh episode of Despair Arc, she's seen along with the rest of Class 78th who barricade themselves inside Hope's Peak Academy. During this time, she hangs out with Makoto, asks him if he's alright after he trips, and reminds him that medical help will be hard to come by now, so he should be careful. She also appears in Nagito's illusionary world in the OVA, Super Danganronpa 2.5: Nagito Komaeda vs. the World Destroyer, where she and Makoto appear to be dating.

Although she doesn't appear physically in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony, she appears through Tsumugi Shirogane's cosplays, much like other characters from the main games (excluding Mukuro). Just like them, Mukuro, Izuru, Monokuma, and Usami/Monomi, she also appears physically in the non-canon bonus mode, Ultimate Talent Development Plan.

Fanon
Sayaka is a major base-breaker character among the ones introduced in the first game, as well as of the whole franchise in general.

The fact that she orchestrated the first case and attempted to frame the player character for her crime, doubled by the fact that she's the first person to die and, as a result of being a victim rather than a culprit, doesn't get to explain herself; has made plenty of fans dislike her. Some Naegiri shippers may also not like her for getting in the way of their ship and are thus glad that she died.

However, she also has a huge number of fans who defend her actions and/or prefer Naezono over Naegiri. There are also many others in the fandom who like both Naezono and Naegiri and choose to ship Makoto, Kyoko And Sayaka, creating the polyship, Naegirizono. Those who defend her point out that Sayaka (along with Leon) committed her crime without the knowledge of Class Trials, unlike later culprits of the franchise. Furthermore, they claim that Sayaka wouldn't be seen as so unsympathetic had she attempted to frame anyone but the protagonist, as a result of player's immersion being toned down had it happened to anyone but the playable character.

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Trivia

 * Sayaka's English voice actress, Dorothy Elias-Fahn, also provides the voices of Chihiro Fujisaki in Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc, and Tsumugi Shirogane in Danganronpa V3: Killing Harmony.