Saeko Busujima

Saeko Busujima is one of the main protagonists in Highschool of the Dead. She is a student at Fujimi Academy, a member of the survivor group led by Takashi Komuro and the daughter of Master Busujima. Before the apocalypse, she was in her third year and was also captain of the Kendo Club at Fujimi Academy. In the group, Saeko is considered the most reliable of all fighters, and everyone can count on her combat skills to pull them through a tough spot if need be. Like Rei Miyamoto, Saeko is an athletic fighter and talented combat specialist whose forte is in melee attacks. She is one of the reasons why the protagonists have managed to survive as far as they have.

In the Fiction Wrestling Multiverse (FWM), Busujima is a professional wrestler currently signed to Apex Caliber Wrestling (ACW) on the Ignition brand. Meanwhile, without the involvement of her male Apocalypse Academy teammates, she’s signed to Anime Wrestling Federation (AWF) on the Freedom brand, and Women’s Wrestling League (WWL) competing in their developmental territory Women’s Developmental League (WDL).

Background

• Series: Highschool of the Dead
• Species: Human
• Age: 18
• Height: 5’9”
• Weight: 123 lbs.
• Companies: (Currently) APEX, AWF, WWL (WDL)
• Debut: 2013
• Status: Active
• Billed from: Tokonosu City, Japan
• Allies: Apocalypse Academy, Emmy, Dragon Kids (Max and Enrique)
• Rivals: Trish Warrington, Evil Beauty (Kendra Daniels, Eliza Hart, Allison Wilson)
• Twitter Handle: @PsychoSaeko

Personality

Throughout the series, Saeko is shown to be a very kind, caring, strong and reliable person, which is pointed out by other characters. She is also calm and collected as she almost never freaks out or loses her cool in combat, which is an almost frightening degree. As the second oldest of the group after Shizuka Marikawa, Saeko acts as something of a big sister to the group, often considering the feelings of other members of the group and ensuring their well being.

Saeko, following her familial samurai lineage, strictly follows what can be interpreted as Bushido code; her character, behavioral patterns, and frequent sayings (e.g “it’s a man’s decision after all”) provides evidence of her strict following of Bushido code. She is the opposite of Rei Miyamoto in many ways; while Rei gets very jealous whenever Takashi gets close to another girl, Saeko is more mature and doesn’t have a problem with it, even telling Takashi that girls can be weak sometimes.

However, later on, Saeko reveals sadistic tendencies while fighting “them”, often smiling whenever she’s in combat. It can be assumed that Saeko’s existential conflict manifests itself by cloaking her troubled. sadistic, malevolent, and violent nature with the facade of a well-mannered and cultured young woman. Her sadistic tendencies manifested four years before the story when she fought off a would-be molester. At first, it was self-defense, but soon she realized that she enjoyed causing pain and having control over somebody’s life. Ever since then, Saeko has grown to see herself as someone unworthy of love and even becomes something of a “death seeker” until Takashi snaps her out of it. After this, Saeko learns to embrace her violent nature, having realized that it’s essential for the group’s survival.

Despite her sadistic tendencies, Saeko does still have morals, as shown when she couldn’t bring herself to kill a pair of zombie children, something Takashi was able to do without any hesitation. Additionally, even after accepting who she is, she still shows a certain degree of self-hatred; when Rei states that she hopes she never gets used to killing “them”, Saeko states that she’s at least better off than her.

Personal life

Prior to The Outbreak in the Highschool of the Dead series, Busujima attended Fujimi Academy as she was in her third year and was also captain of the Kendo Club, considered to be one of the very best.

Throughout the upsurge, she grew close with her fellow survivors, especially Takashi Komuro, whom she developed intimate feelings for since. Considering that fact, she and Rei Miyamoto do share the same amount of feelings for Komuro as they tend to fight over him verbally. Now that Komuro and Miyamoto are officially dating, it is unknown what are Busujima’s current thoughts about it at the moment.

As a melee combat specialist, Saeko is physically strong and extremely agile, she is a master swordswoman highly masterful in the art of kendo she can perform forceful sword strikes of immense precision even with a wooden bokuto she can kill a living man with a single strike.

In wrestling

When Busujima steps into the squared circle, it is noted she prefers her wrestling style to be puroresu, technical and, when engaging such an environment, hardcore.

Finishing moves

• Bushido Code (Tiger Feint Kick to an opponent draped over the second rope) followed by a:
  • Diving Headbutt, sometimes while springboarding – adopted from Takashi Komuro; used rarely
  • Dragonrana
  • Frog Splash
  • High-angle Senton Bomb
  • Springboard Hurricanrana, sometimes into a pin
  • Springboard Somersault Senton
• Psycho’s Peak (Gory Neckbreaker)
• Sadistic Split (Inverted Leg Drop Bulldog into a split-legged pin)

Signature moves

• Argentine Backbreaker Drop
• Cross Armbar, sometimes while flying
• Death Valley Driver
• Demented Trauma (Over the shoulder Back-to-belly Piledriver)
• Double Knee Backbreaker
• Front Sleeper Hold
• High-angle Fujiwara Armbar
• Japanese Arm Drag, sometimes done repeatedly in succession
• Knee Drop, sometimes to back of the head of an opponent in the ring apron
• Knee Strike to the midsection, as a counter to an oncoming opponent
• Moonsault
• Multiple diving variations
  • Double Foot Stomp
  • High Knee
  • Leg Lariat – adopted from Kenshin Himura
  • Somersault Front Dropkick
• Multiple kick variations
  • Backflip
  • Calf
  • Football to the chest of a standing opponent, from the ring apron
  • Gamengiri
  • Running Big Boot, sometimes to a cornered opponent
  • Shoot
  • Spinning Heel
• Multiple Suplex variations
  • Bridging Northern Lights
  • Dragon
  • Exploder
  • German
  • Poison Island (Vertical dropped into a knee lift)
• Running Knee Strike to an opponent's head, sometimes from the second rope or behind the opponent
• Pendulum Lariat
• Pumphandle Side Slam
• Samoan Driver
• Shining Wizard
• Suicide Dive

Managers

• Shizuka Marikawa

Nicknames

• “Psycho”

Entrance themes

• “Tourniquet” by Evanescence (April 26, 2013)
• “Circus for a Psycho” by Skillet (June 7, 2013 – present)
• “Welcome to the Family” by Avenged Sevenfold (April 12, 2013 – present; used while as a member of Apocalypse Academy)