what's the deal? | character analysis | seiyuu

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name	Sanjouin Chigusa
sex	female
date of birth	9-24
blood type	A
zodiac sign	libra

What's in a name?

A name is very important for determining or showing a character's personality. This is a significant tool used by writers everywhere.

Sanjouin Chigusa (family name first in Japan, in English speaking countries, it would be Chigusa Sanjouin):

"san" - three

"jouin" - Upper House, Senate (jou refers to something higher, or upper, also to sensitivity, emotion, and affection. "Jo'ou", which is quite similar to "jou", means "queen", which would fit Chigusa very well, since she often refers to herself as the wicked Queen, and the player as the princess)

"chigusa" - great variety of flowering plants

The Blue Haired Man-Woman

The first time the player sees Chigusa in the game, she thinks that Chigusa is a male, despite the rather low neckline on her lace up bodice (that's an understatement). Chigusa is an athelete, like Utena. She is rather manly looking, with her face long and drawn out like such males as Touga and Saionji. They both have long hair, so anyone could have thought at first glance Chigusa to be a male.

Date of Birth - Age

Although Chigusa appears grown and much older, she is actually in the same grade as Utena (8th grade), although her three year absence from Ohtori may have had something to do with it.

Blood Type: A

In Japan, a blood type is always mentioned on someone's profile. Like zodiac signs determine personalities and traits for us, so it is with blood types for Japanese (this actually dates back to 1916, when a medical study in Japan showed a correlation between personality and blood type). Blood type A is the most common in Japan, while blood type O is most common in America.

Blood type A reflects someone with a mild but intellectual personality. I believe this description fits Chigusa well; while she is calm and cool on the outside, she is intelligent and manipulative. She knows what she's doing. Blood type A people are called the "farmers"; that is, they're calm, obey the rules, value relationships with others, sensitive, cautious, and careful. Again and again, throughout the personality analysis of Chigusa, we see "sensitive" continue to pop up (her name, her blood type, even her zodiac sign). Although she's fairly calm, I'm not sure about the obeying the rules part (I'm sure she does to a certain degree). She does value *certain* relationships with others, these which are magnified and blown out of proportion by her extreme obsessiveness. But sensitive seems to suggest a weakness in the character. Chigusa is often referred to as Mikage's successor (the game occurs sometime between episodes 8 and 9). She does many things like Mikage, and she is weak, like Mikage.

The advantages: a person with an A blood type is often obedient, careful, sympathetic, empathetic, self-sacrificing, polite, disciplined, outwardly serious, willing to compromise, honest, and loyal. Chigusa is often portrayed as an aristocratic, sophisticated woman. Most of these traits pertain to this. I'm not sure about the self-sacrificing part ^^()

The disadvantages: blood type A people are usually depicted as worry-warts, hesitant to express emotion (we see this in Chigusa often), internally emotional (we see this also in Chigusa's conflicts, which will be explained further down), weak-willed (it comes back to the weak thing), taciturn (Chigusa seems the quiet type), stoic (she does seem unaffected by anything, except for the one thing that motivates her..), indecisive, introverted, anti-social, wishy-washy, nervous, and detached (see below).

Libra (Sept 23 - Oct 22)

Libras are: diplomatic, urbane, romantic and charming, easy-going...but also indecisive, changeable, flirtatious, and self-indulgent.

Libra, to many astrologers, is representative of the high point of the year and seasons, when the harvest of all hard work of the spring is reaped. There is mellowness and a sense of relaxation in the air, which reflexs on the Libra's persona. They are considered the most civilized of the twelve zodiacs, and often quite charming and good-looking (hmm...Chigusa is charming AND good-looking!). They have elegance, charm, good taste, naturally kind, gentle, lovers of beauty, musical and social harmony, and good impartial judgement. Their characters are well rounded and balanced, diplomatic and even-tempered. They are sensitive to the needs of others (sometimes almost to a psychic extent) of their surrounding people's emotional needs. Librans can also be flirtatious and shallow, two things not foreign to Chigusa. They are also indecisive (we also see indesicive come up many times with Chigusa). While they're timid, their sudden storms of rage can easily shock their companions.

Their love of pleasure can lead them to trouble; for example, Libra women can be extravagent, jealous, and careless. They're surprisingly energetic,though they hate dirty and coarse work. They're also full of curiousity.

We see Chigusa here described as easy-going; one who wears a peaceful mask on the outside. Inside, Chigusa is torn up with her emotions which remain strong for years. Libras are charming, good-looking, and flirtatious, while Chigusa is that very way. They are also elegant and civilized, which is how Chigusa appears: she "has an aristocratic, decadent air around her, that makes her appear even more mature that she is..."

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