Character Development
Prompt: What do I think about his character development since season 1?
Warning: Spoilers from main chapter story.
Kei’s personality hasn’t changed much from the beginning as he was already a “developed” character. Since the start, he is protective, fair, has leadership abilities, is calm and collected, arrogant, straightforward, and MC’s shield…to name a few.
But there have been two major changes to his personality. At first, he didn’t trust any of the cast members, and he only saw Team K as a necessity to protect MC. Then, at the end of season 2 when Kei was leaving for America, we saw a more emotional side of him. Until then, his emotions were only reserved for MC. Even his team members were shocked by the way Kei interacted with them and thanked them. This showed them that he trusted them and considered them as teammates, rather than a team he has to carry to protect MC. Him going away to the US and leaving MC in the protection of the cast members, was his way of saying, “I trust you to protect the most important person in my life.”
The second change is showing his caring side openly. We know Kei isn’t the type of man to openly show his feelings to anyone (other than MC). If you can’t read between the lines, understanding him is hard; moreover, Kei wants to keep it that way. But there are times when he shows his care for the cast members – stopping Haseyama from turning Starless into a host club, letting Mizuki create Team B, letting Mokuren create Team C, Heath collapsing, Mizuki wanting to fight for Team B, and Kei letting him.
Gui seems to show more emotions now, but he’s still the confused, adorable, determined puppy we know from the beginning of the game. His character will develop more when his master fully enters the picture. Until then, we can enjoy seeing him question the other cast members and make them run out of patience. 😂 Only members of Team K can handle his questions since they’re used to them.
When Yakou first joined, his only goal was to bring down Sinju for what happened in the past. Yakou and Sinju were part of a training boy band, but Sinju left the company, and as a result, the company disbanded the group. The agency made it seem like Sinju left of his own volition, but the company threw him out. Why? Because Sinju was from a poor family and didn’t fit the group’s “princely” image.
Yakou wanted revenge; even when he learned the truth, he still didn’t back away. His versus with Sinju made him realize that his old friend is clueless and can’t understand his feelings. After winning the versus, he left Starless. When Yakou returns, we see a change in his personality; his goal is no longer to fight Sinju – he is over the past. His goal now seems to be pursuing his dreams, and part of his old dream of becoming a singer did come true.
Kokuyou hasn’t had a drastic personality change either, but I have noticed he doesn’t get angry as often. Oh, and he tends to handle being around Kei better than before. Maybe Kokuyou has come to terms with Starless also being his place, and Kei not trying to take over it. I guess you could say he has matured!
In the latest season (S5 ch8), he has opened up more to us (MC). In S1, Kokuyou didn’t want us to be around in Starless and was angry at Kei for allowing a stranger to come into the employees only area. But now, he is protecting us to the point where he missed a W show just for our sake.Â
Sin is also a developed character from the beginning. He’s still the same sus, quiet, mature, and handsome man he was in season 1. The only thing that has changed about him is his will to “trust” people enough to work with them (but only temporarily).
In S5 ch8, Sin for the first time shows that he is more ‘human’ than an untouchable giant. He loses our blackcard and gets tased, then whacked over the head. Despite messing up, Kei finds the card and returns it to Sin for safekeeping.Â
Takami is also a developed character, probably one of the most developed. We did see a slight change in his focus, though. Initially, he came to Starless to find information about Kei and wanted to use MC to achieve his goal. Slowly, he drifted away from that plan and is using other means.
In S5 ch8, he is willing to work with Kei in order to protect us, but in exchange for trivial information from Kei. Of course, he won’t do anything for free, but for once, he put aside his hunt for Kei’s past aside for our sake.Â
Rindou used to be very nervous and anxious, unable to cope with everything that was going on in his life. He seems to be a little more understand, relaxed, and confident now.
Before Rindou joined Starless, he was an idol, but something happened with a reporter and his stardom vanished (or as Donuts called it “he fell from his idol status”). Somewhere around this time, one of his sisters got hospitalized. Now Rindou didn’t have the means to pay for his sister’s treatment, and Haseyama agreed to pay for it as long as Rindou worked for him.
Around the time Kei came to Starless, Rindou was a huge mess. He couldn’t take care of his team in season one, and Maica had to step in as “co-leader” for quite a few chapters. At one point, Rindou couldn’t see the point of view of his teammates and almost ruled Team P with an iron fist. Throughout the seasons, he grew more mature, learned how to stand up, and developed a cool/calm composure.
I still remember in season 1 Haseyama made a very disgusting comment about MC, and Rindou nervously answered, “She isn’t like that.” If Haseyama made the same comment today, Rindou would stand up to him and pretty much ask him to keep his thoughts to himself and warn MC to be careful.
Also, Rindou finally met the reporter who ruined his career/life and had the daring to tell the reporter “You ruined my life” straight to his face. Saying this, Rindou is still too trusting and can’t sense danger…and considering the type of people who are in and around Starless, this could be VERY dangerous for him.
Maica’s character was kinda developed from the start as well, but there are noticeable changes in his personality. He is less aggressive now and is willing to show his softer side to others. He also openly shows his emotions and cooperates with others. I think his character development went hand-in-hand with Rindou’s development. Before when Rindou was a mess, it affected Team P, and this would irk Maica A LOT. Then, he stepped up as vice-leader until Rindou could piece himself back together, and after that happened, Maica also calmed down. He also got irritated fairly easily in season 1. He still does get irritated but has learned to maintain his composure more.
After what happened with the PI and finding out about the Black Card, Maica started to see the bigger picture about Starless not being just a show restaurant. He is not the type to get scared, but there are moments when he feels something along the lines of fear.
Sinju has yet to develop completely, but we see specific changes in him. He learned to speak his mind, clear misunderstandings, and not take everything thrown at him quietly. He has also matured slightly compared to season 1.
He has yet to learn to understand the feelings of people around him. Sinju has a very clueless and almost naive side to him, and this side prevents him from seeing how people are “suffering” due to his inability to see their point of view. In his mind, he isn’t doing anything wrong, but from their POV, he is insensitive. This was why Yakou got angry at him even after winning the versus a few seasons ago. I don’t know if Donuts will develop Sinju’s character in this matter because the innocent, clueless side is part of Sinju’s charm…but with Donuts, we never know what curve ball they will throw at us next.
Menou’s character is also fairly developed from the start. The only change I have noticed is he doesn’t get so into his character that even the audience is freaked out by him. I don’t know if Donuts intended to make Menou a developed character from the start, or they don’t want to give him any development.
Qu is yet another developed character, but we have seen a few different sides of him. His sassy side, where he taunts people, but this side is rare. His decision to take a stand for himself and leave Team P to join Team C. It wasn’t a stand, but he followed his desire to help Mokuren. And, of course, his sweet, caring, and supportive side, which he usually shows.
Since he is already developed, we need Donuts to give us more lore. We know he stayed with Maica’s family (grew up with him) and worked with Mokuren as a drag queen, but that’s about it.
Zakuro has not changed since he entered Starless. In fact, if anything, he is shown in a crazier light. In one of the main story chapters, Zakuro fell down the stairs and laughed like a maniac. The whole incident freaked Kasumi – someone who is very calm and composed – out. Seeing Kasumi like this even stunned Sotetsu. The next day, Zakuro seemed fine, even though Kasumi clearly saw he wasn’t okay.
There are a lot of theories floating around about this, including but not limited to Zakuro being a clone, having an evil twin, and Zakuro not even being Zakuro and being someone else. Also, some fans and some cast members feel like Zakuro is lying about his memory loss. Oh, and let’s not forget him trying to get Yoshino to go to some weird therapy session.
Mizuki’s character has developed more since the beginning. He was a childish, out-of-control, but sweet brat. He was never serious about his practice with Team P, considering his hatred towards Rindou. Why he hates Rindou, we have yet to find out. After the development of Team B, he seemed to settle down a little. Before, he didn’t care much about others, except Kokuyou, but after the creation of Team B, he started developing a caring side. Team B is like his family; if he senses a threat to his family, he will be ready to go to war.
Saying all this, in the recent B chapters, we see that Mizuki has a long way to go in terms of maturity. His possessiveness towards Team B tends to draw out his childish side. Rico has to step in and make the necessary decisions when this happens.
Kongou has yet to get a development. He’s kinda developed and has a fixed personality, but there is still scope for development. We noticed the first step in the last B versus, where Kongou doesn’t give in to what Mizuki wants. But what Kongou needs is to stand up for himself and for the things he believes in – for example, when Haseyama was going to punch Taiga, he took the hit in Taiga’s place. He needs to develop a side where he needs to put his foot down and not be passive about everything.
For the most part, Rico is still the same, but the one major development in his character is maturity. In season 1, he was very immature and almost bratty, but after Team B was created, he started to see that Mizuki wasn’t mature enough to be a dependable leader. This not only pushed him to become mature but to also be more flexible. His urge to protect Team B from Haseyama also helped with this character development.
Ran is also a developed character, so he has mostly stayed the same. In the beginning, we see Ran threatening people often but cutely, but now, he isn’t shying away from openly showing what he is like. We also learned he’s associated with (or is part of a) yakuza.