| Sayoko Mishima | |
|---|---|
| Japanese Name | 三嶋 沙夜子 |
| Romanized Name | Mishima Sayoko |
| English Name | Sayoko Mishima |
| Profile | |
| Gender | Female |
| Hair Color | Black (manga)[1] Brown (anime/OVA) |
| Eye Color | Brown |
| Occupation | College student (sophomore at the beginning of the story) |
| Hobbies | Artist (early manga) Fashion model (anime only) |
| Relatives | Toshiyuki Aoshima (cousin) |
| Media | |
| Manga Debut | Chapter 5 "Those Whom Goddess Hath Joined Together, Let No Woman Put Asunder" |
| Anime Debut | Midsummer Night's Dream (OVA) Ah! You're a Goddess? (TV) |
| Japanese Voice Actor | Junko Asami (OVA) Mamiko Noto (TV) |
| English Voice Actor | Belinda Bizic (OVA) Karen Neill (TV) |
Sayoko Mishima (三嶋 沙夜子 Mishima Sayoko) is one of the series' supporting characters and occasional antagonists, particularly early on in the series.
Styling herself as the "queen" of Nekomi Tech, Sayoko is one of the college's richest and most popular students, but her title is undermined by Belldandy's sudden appearance on campus, as she unintentionally steals away much of her attention. Thus, Sayoko often attempts to humiliate or out-do Belldandy through various means, including attempting to pry Keiichi away from her.
Appearance[]
Sayoko's full body, winter outfit
Sayoko is a tall[2] and glamorous light-skinned woman with waist-length brown hair that has bangs hanging on the left side with chest-length hair strands on both of her shoulders and dark brown eyes.
Her usual choice of clothing is a women's power suit in various different colors, short cut to reveal the lower half of her legs. In the TV series and OVA, she is most commonly seen wearing a white collar shirt underneath a beige suit jacket that covers her neck, high-heel shoes, and a white ribbon tied into a bow around her neckline. She is also known to wear uniquely patterned dresses during formal events and more revealing clothing during beauty pageants and other performances.
Due to years of ballet and dieting, Sayoko has a nearly flawless figure, which she is rather proud of. Her beauty and wealth have made her wildly popular around the Nekomi Tech campus to the point where male students flock to her in the hopes of winning her acceptance, even presenting her with jewelry, flowers or other frivolous gifts, and women are shown to express jealousy and even depression in her presence, especially when comparing themselves to Sayoko's gorgeous appearance, money and influence. This high level of fame around town has gained her the title "Queen of Nekomi" as well as the hearts and admiration of several men.
Personality[]
While normally calm and pleasant to those around her, Sayoko greatly enjoys flaunting her appearance and money while basking in the warmth of admiration she receives from her many admirers. She appears to thrive on these things to the point of intense jealousy whenever a rival appears, as was the case when Belldandy first appeared on the NIT campus, stealing much of the attention and praise that was once her own. During times such as these, Sayoko will often dwell on her frivolous losses and seethe in anger, even plotting ways to take vengeance on the people she believes are responsible for her so-called misfortune. Her love of being Queen of the NIT Campus is so great that she has even joined hands with a Demon named Mara in order to regain the popularity she believes is rightfully hers, even scheming to get rid of Belldandy or humiliate her.
Sayoko's obsession with Belldandy appears to stem from her own pride, since she continues to compete with the goddess multiple despite repeatedly failing. It eventually gets to the point where she cares more about defeating Belldandy than having the adoration of the men on campus.[3] Sayoko has even tried to win Keiichi Morisato away from Belldandy, but her attempts to do so have little success due to his devotion to the Goddess. Even with Mara's help, this task has proven near impossible to achieve.
She's also prideful in the sense that she is only willing to defeat Belldandy through competition and hard work, something that Belldandy particularly likes about her. [4]
Having come from a wealthy family, Sayoko seems to have been spoiled to the point where she sees herself as entitled to get whatever she desires. Despite her self-centered and materialistic views, Sayoko displays loneliness and a deeper sense of awareness at times, occasionally feeling useless and empty regardless of all the attention she receives. As the series progresses, she begins to display a thirst for the companionship of someone who isn't only attracted to her because of her money and looks. She seemingly develops feelings for Keiichi, noting to herself that having him around gives her a strange sensation, and makes her feel less lonely.
History[]
Born as the heiress to the wealthy Mishima Conglomerate, Sayoko was blessed with wealth and beauty at a young age where she gained many admirers and she gained immense popularity while attending the Nekomi Institute of Technology, in which she has won the title of "Campus Queen" during the college's annual beauty pageant at some point.
At some point before the series begins, Keiichi asked out Sayoko on a date to a museum, but Sayoko painfully rejected the offer, telling Keiichi that museums are only for old people and that he should grow taller before asking her out again.
Synopsis[]
Introduction Arc[]
While taking a stroll across the Nekomi Tech Campus, Sayoko basks in the glow of admiration from the male students, only for several boys to divert their attention to Belldandy, who innocently waves to the cheering crowd. Sayoko notes that her "supremacy" has been put in jeopardy since the arrival of Belldandy as she watches her walk by, taking note of Keiichi Morisato, whom she vaguely remembers from his ailed attempt to ask her on a date. Thinking that she can use him to get to Belldandy, she decides to approach him. After luring Belldandy away with a false message from a teacher, Sayoko seizes her chance and approaches Keiichi, her presence surprising him. He remembers asking her to the museum once when he first started college only to be shot down instantly, making him suspicious as to why she would suddenly be speaking to him now. Meanwhile, Belldandy finds out that Professor Kakuta never called for her and wonders who it could have been, only to receive a strange premonition.
A wet Sayoko with Keiichi Morisato
Sayoko lies and tells Keiichi that she couldn't tell a good man from a bad one when she rejected him and tries to gain sympathy by claiming to have been abandoned and betrayed by many men since then. She assures him of her sincerity, inwardly scoffing that no man has ever seen through this act before. Sayoko leans on him and questions whether or not he hated her for rejecting him, her close proximity flustering Keiichi. Before she can push him further, someone accidentally dumps water on her from the window above, stopping her advances. Keiichi comments to himself that it must be the work of the System Force again. Grumbling that today just isn't her day, she leaves, telling him not to forget their conversation. She gives Belldandy an evil smile as the Goddess walks past her, vowing silently to steal her boyfriend and humiliate her so badly, she'll leave the campus in disgrace.
Belldandy senses Sayoko's desire to separate her from Keiichi and warns him that she is in grave danger. She explains that the System Force becomes more active depending on the strength of the force trying to break them apart, thus if Sayoko continues, she could be in grave danger. As they discuss the ramifications of her actions, Sayoko is seen talking to another girl about the situation. Sayoko boasts that she can easily turn a man like Keiichi into her lovesick slave in less than three days, betting her BMW as collateral with her friend. As the two women agree to the terms of the wager, Belldandy feels the System Force grow stronger. In the following week, Sayoko renews her efforts to win Keiichi over, her requests including rides in her BMW, invitations to dinner, and even attempts to invite him over to her house. Each attempt fails miserably thanks to the System Force causing her misfortunes, such as breaking her car engine, inciting a dog attack, and blasting her away with an unusually powerful wind gust. Although Belldandy manages to shield her from harm using magic, the couple begins to worry for her safety.
Despite constant interference from the System Force, Sayoko manages to hand her invitation to Keiichi, but the divine power responds by creating a blizzard over Nekomi. While she understands the danger posed by the snowstorm, Sayoko remains bitter that he didn't even have the courtesy to call her, only to receive a visitor at the door. While surprised he was able to make it, she is about to declare victory over Belldandy, only to find out that Keiichi brought her along. He hands her a cake made by Belldandy to apologize for everything that happened, but Sayoko is touched that they came all the way to her house for something so minor. She inwardly admits that Keiichi and Belldandy's relationship might be beyond her ability to spoil. Sayoko then invites them to stay a while and eat with her, admitting defeat for the moment. As the tension lifts, Belldandy notices the snow has stopped. The next day at school, Sayoko gives her car to her friend without complaint, humorously replying that the engine is broken.
Family Problems Arc[]
After having his monthly budget confiscated by Toraichi Tamiya and Hikozaemon Otaki, the duo offers Keiichi Morisato a job at the art lab to make easy money. He and Belldandy head there only to run into Sayoko, who reveals that the job requires Keiichi to model nude for the female art students. He outright refuses at first, but Sayoko reminds him that he needs money, her knowledge of his predicament arousing suspicions from the couple. It is then revealed that Sayoko manipulated Tamiya and Otaki into taking his money so that she could force Keiichi into this desperate position. He shyly hides behind a statue, but Sayoko calls him a sore loser and has the other girls forcibly remove his clothing. Keiichi seems to enjoy the attention, but Belldandy becomes jealous and prompts him to change in the other room. While away from prying eyes, the Goddess uses her magic to project the illusion of a muscular male body around him so that he won't be forced to expose his own body. As Keiichi poses for the art students, they tell him to put on underwear so that they won't be so distracted. Sayoko is fooled by the magic and remains surprised that he had the courage to pose nude, although she ponders several strange feelings she is having despite having drawn nude figures before. Belldandy uses empathy to sense her emotions, concluding that Sayoko favors Keiichi, but is unable to fully read the Campus Queen's mixed emotions.
Sayoko suddenly remembers why she did this to begin with and rudely asks Belldandy to take her turn modeling, hoping she will humiliate herself by betting embarrassed. She also threatens not the pay them otherwise, knowing that she won't refuse the conditions. Keiichi tells Belldandy not to worry about their finances, but the Goddess agrees to do it, much to his shock. He begins to like the idea of seeing her nude, but quickly dismisses it, instead becoming worried about what will happen. He tries to watch only to discover that he cannot turn or change position. Sayoko and the others find the couple's modeling to be completely awe-inspiring, but Keiichi worries that the sketches will be put on display. The next day it is revealed that the pictures they drew had been changed into something unrelated due to interference from the System Force.
At the beginning of summer vacation, Sayoko and her group join the Auto Club during their beach getaway under the excuse that the Art Club wanted to use the Auto Club as their subject matter. Keiichi is bothered by her presence, but Sayoko tells him not to be so mean while wrapping her arms around Keiichi's neck, making him blush. She claims that they only wish to capture the glistening sweat of summer in their art. Belldandy becomes concerned that the System Force will activate and prepares to raise a force field, but her concern only grows when nothing happens. As the NIT students enter the guest house where they will be staying, Sayoko expresses her dissatisfaction with the lackluster accommodations, while Keiichi is unsurprised. Later on, Sayoko and Keiichi head down to the beach in their swimsuits, the former attracting a lot of attention due to her beauty, while he hopes that Belldandy catches up soon. She claims not to have seen any swimwear in Belldandy's luggage and she is about to proclaim herself the victor, when the Goddess joins them wearing only a cloth. The attention immediately gravitates towards Belldandy as men start speaking to her in different languages, some of them trampling Keiichi in order to reach her. He calls out to her, eliciting a surprised reaction as she realizes she was standing on top of him the entire time. Sayoko criticizes the fact that she stepped on him without realizing it, calling her unfit to be his girlfriend, and causing Belldandy to apologize and run off in shame. While she wonders if the statement was a little harsh, she sees the absence of he Goddess as the perfect chance to steal Keiichi's heart, only then realizing that she herself was also standing on his back.
The next morning, Sayoko schemes to invite Keiichi on a walk when he gets back, but she notices Belldandy wandering the halls alone and follows her out of curiosity. The Goddess then casts a spell on a piece of paper, but Sayoko sees nothing on it and assume it is just a blank sheet and steals it. That night while walking with Keiichi, she hands him the blank sheet of paper, but Keiichi can see Belldandy's writing on it, and heads off to the place she told him about on the note. When he reaches the designated meeting place, Belldandy tackles him in a loving embrace, causing them both to fall into the water. She expresses joy that he still wants her to remain with him, and they agree to be together forever. They then go swimming together to make up for lost time. Upon returning to the guest house, Keiichi falls ill due to his wounds worsening after exposure to the sea water. Sayoko tells him it was a bad idea to go swimming with injuries, while Belldandy swiftly apologizes for it.
On the day of the Nekomi Tech School Festival, the Auto Club is hosting a beauty pageant to determine the Campus Queen with Otaki as host. The contestants first up for the swimsuit contest are Sayoko, Urd, and Belldandy. Despite the presence of the two Goddesses, Sayoko is confident that she will be voted Campus Queen again this year, squealing when Urd suddenly feels her breasts. Otaki jokingly tells Urd not to bother trying for bonus points, but Sayoko is much less amused. She angrily asks what Urd was doing just now, but the Goddess claims to have been checking her breasts, proudly announcing that her own are larger. Sayoko angrily proclaims that there's more to the contest than breast size, vowing vengeance for the humiliation she just suffered. Urd senses her hostile emotions and proclaims she will regret trying to defy the Goddesses, much to Belldandy's dismay.
After finishing with the swimwear contest, Otaki announces that the next phase will involve the girls wearing motor club uniforms, but Sayoko protests on the grounds that they haven't even gotten to the talent portion yet. He reminds them that the Auto Club is responsible for coordinating the contest this year, with Sayoko noting to herself that the entire group is insane. After dressing the contestants up in mechanic outfits, Otaki tasks the girls with fixing several broken motorcycles using instructions prepared by the Auto Club. Sayoko notices that the Goddesses appear confident and calls a time-out for a bathroom break, during which she seduces a member of the club into telling her which one is the easiest to fix, learning that bike 18 is relatively simple. When the contestants are told to pick a number, Sayoko notice Belldandy chose 18 and begs to trade cards with her, the Goddess agreeing due to her kind nature. Urd angrily tells her sister that there must be something different about 18 if she wanted it that badly, but Belldandy remains unconcerned, pointing out that Sayoko has an unlucky star above her head. As they begin the repairs, Sayoko accidentally picks out the wrong piece and Urd struggles to even recognize the parts, but Belldandy uses her magic to discover where the flow of energy is disrupted.
Otaki then announces that the bikes that were easier to repair are the slower ones, while the harder ones are much faster. He explains that the service stands at the festival each have pieces of a picture hidden inside their products, and that the contestants must travel around and collect them, piecing together the puzzle and bringing the person in the picture with them to the stage. Sayoko takes off first and does reasonably well in the competition. She plans to stop for something to eat at the next checkpoint, but Urd casts a spell to keep the food from running out in order to slow her progress. When the girls finish assembling their pictures, they realize that Keiichi is the person they need to find, racing off after him in mob form. Keiichi panics, but becomes surprisingly happy as the girls start fighting over him. The motorcycle Belldandy fixed remembers her kind touch and senses her desperation to save him, moving extra fast and allowing her to grab Keiichi and return to the stage first. Belldandy is then declared Campus Queen, with Urd and Sayoko coming in second and third place respectively. Sayoko vows to win next year, but she decides to take what she can get for now.
After Keiichi wins a night a high-class hotel for himself and Belldandy, but Sayoko hears about his plans, also learning from his Auto Club friends that he doesn't have something nice to wear. She approaches Keiichi and offers to let him borrow her father's suit if he takes her to dinner instead, but he refuses immediately, riding away on his motorcycle to escape her clutches. Despite allowing him to run off, she formulates a scheme with her knowledge of his plans. The next night while Keiichi and Belldandy are enjoying dinner in the hotel's dining hall Sayoko attempts to stir up trouble. Urd responds by bringing a turkey dinner to life and forcing it to attack her, shocking everyone present. Angered by her sister's actions, Belldandy animates her own meal, and the two dinners fight. Sayoko believes it is some kind of puppetry and tries passes her knife over the turkeys in an attempt to cut the strings, but finds nothing, the living food turning into giant monsters as the battle continues. Keiichi and Belldandy run off and decide to eat at home instead. Urd cleans up the mess and meets them at home, leaving behind a traumatized Sayoko, who is in denial that what she witnessed was magic.
On New Year's Eve, Sayoko joins Megumi Morisato, Toraichi Tamiya, Hikozaemon Otaki and Satoko Yamano in crashing Keiichi's celebration at the temple. Urd prompts them into playing a game of "Life Suguroku Special", claiming that the predictions listed in the spaces on the game board will happen in real life, but Sayoko dismisses the statement as a crock. As they play through the game, the fortunes come true, albeit not always in the way most people would expect. During Sayoko turn, she receive a prophecy saying that she will strip and dance for them, but she refuses to believe to believe it, much to Urd's amusement. A spider than crawls down her back, causing her to jump up and remove layers of clothing in an attempt to get rid of it, indirectly proving the prediction correct. After Belldandy wins, the Goddess goes to Keiichi and kisses him on the lips. A disappointed Sayoko mutters that Keiichi was the only prize she wanted.
While preparing to take her last exam for the semester, Sayoko happens to stumble upon the limp for of Keiichi, who happens to be wearing a girl's school uniform and wig. T Keiichi she found happens to be a duplicate made by Belldandy to help while trying to escape the antics of his Auto Club buddies the previous night, but Sayoko remains unaware of this and helps the fake. She correctly guesses that the disastrous makeover was a product of the Auto Club's hazing before helping the duplicate find the exam room, remembering that they both had the same test scheduled for that day. Although Keiichi manages to sort out the mess, he gains a reputation as a crossdresser.
New Rivals Arc[]
The first day of the new semester, Sayoko and the Art Club attempt to attract new members, only to be overshadowed by the Auto Club. The next day she notices that a Freshman playboy named Toshiyuki Aoshima is trying to win Belldandy over from Keiichi Morisato, but she decides to help out for a change. Sayoko reveals to Keiichi that Aoshima is her cousin and explains his method of getting girls to sleep with him, much to Keiichi's horror. As he rides off to save Belldandy, Sayoko describes herself as being too proud to win his heart on the rebound, this being the reason why she decided to lend them a hand this time.
After being blasted through the ceiling of a hotel while trying to pursue Belldandy, Aoshima finds himself questioning what type of power she has, only to be interrupted by Sayoko. She claims to have the same suspicions, so the two cousins team up to discover the truth. They spend the day stalking Belldandy and Keiichi with a video camera in hand, but their plot is foiled by Urd, who continually follows them around causing all sorts of trouble. The troublesome duo finds it bizarre that she was seemingly able to find them anywhere they went, but Sayoko shrugs it off, saying they should hurry and get the tape analyzed by the parapsychology club on campus. Aoshima attempts to produce the footage only to learn that the tape is missing, only angering his cousin. They follow Keiichi and the others back to the temple, but Aoshima ends up losing himself while spying on Belldandy in the shower. Sayoko takes over for him only to get them caught, which results in the Goddess washing them away with a powerful water spell. The next day they kidnap Keiichi with help from the S&M Club, but by the time Belldandy comes to the rescue, Urd has already saved the day. Keiichi then tells her to catch Sayoko and Aoshima before they have their video tape analyzed, so Belldandy flies after them by enchanting a broomstick. She admits to being a Goddess when asked by Sayoko, but they refuse to believe it and have the tape analyzed anyway. Urd then reveals she edited the footage to make their magic look like cheap special effects, puzzling Aoshima and Sayoko even more.
Sayoko making a flashy reappearance in chapter 75, having been absent in the prior thirty chapters.
Etymology[]
- The name Sayoko means "sand" (沙) (sa) and "night, evening" (夜) (yo) and "child" (子) (ko).
- Sayoko's surname Mishima means "three" (三) (mi) and "island" (嶋) (shima).
Trivia[]
- Sayoko is quite rich, coming from a wealthy family: she has her own apartment and an expensive car (Mercedes-Benz SLR McLaren, appeared in TV Series), and gets to throw lavish parties with very important people.
Gallery[]
- ↑ Dark Horse's release of Chapter 15 has a colored page showing Sayoko with black hair
- ↑ She is seen standing eye-level with Urd during the "Miss NIT" Pageant in episode 9 of the anime.
- ↑ Sayoko in Chapter 75: "Those adoring gazes are my energy source! And yet... it feels kind of... pointless. I know it's summer break, but still... she [Belldandy] hasn't been around at all. I miss the tension! Let's see some sparks fly!"
- ↑ Belldandy in Chapter 82: "No, I know the truth. If I'd done that [given up], the one who'd be most disappointed... would have been Sayoko herself. She'd rather win it her own way. That's the heart of Sayoko's personality. And it's the best thing I like about her, too."