Meme: Character Survey
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
An official height was never given, but I’d say he’s about average height for a Japanese teenage boy - fanon seems to claim around 5’8”, so I’ve been going with that. As for build… He’s not exactly very muscular, unlike some members of his canon, but he’s more svelte than anything, really, I’d say.
2. How old is he?
Seventeen, though depending on how you count his time aboard the Crucible and the Stella/Hawking, he could count as eighteen by now.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
He carries himself very well. He’s got a decent amount of self-confidence, really.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Well, considering that in his first year he climbed glaciers, swam in ice-cold water, and reportedly outran bears in order to collect cards, I’d say he’s fit at least.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Fairly graceful, usually.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
He’s rather handsome. Certainly not bad-looking, at any rate. Even if his hair is untamable - it’s untamable in a way that looks good on him. And he likes the way he looks too.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
His face is so pale. Like, seriously. Compared to the rest of his canon, his skin is almost ivory or something. Somehow, though, his black hair and coat manage to draw out what little color there is to be had there. (At the same time, he looks terrible in white because of this.)
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Black. Untamable in a way that manages to make it spiky. It looks good on him.
9. What color are his eyes?
Dark grey.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
Nothing physical.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
I’m not sure if I understand what’s being asked completely, but probably his neck and shoulders…
12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does he have six of the same suit?
Black. He loves his black. Black shirt, black pants, black shoes, his black coat from North School (that he never washes). Sure, he owns other things, but he never wears them. And you’ll never see him in white again. Ever.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
They fit well enough. And he has never had a more comfortable coat in his life.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
He wears the same thing all the time. It helps that it counts as a school uniform and one is supposed to wear a school uniform at Duel Academy.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Boxers, according to episode 105.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
He’s gone through puberty. His voice isn’t the deepest ever, but it’s not really high pitched either. He’s also got a slightly nasal quality, in a way…
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
Confidently, for the most part. Unless it’s about a particularly uncomfortable topic. …Or about Asuka.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
Other than “Manjoume-san da!”? None that I can think of. I mean, he obviously has a Japanese accent for what English is used, but…
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Japanese is his native language. I assume he also knows a decent amount of English at the very least though - it’s the language of business, and if his family is going to be at the top of the world, he has to be able to communicate with its leaders.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Not really.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
He’s fairly good at impromptu stuff.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
Generally, he’s decently eloquent.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
I’d say mostly book-smart. I mean, he did well enough to get into Obelisk Blue in his first year (you need to do well on the tests and go to an affiliated middle school for that), and was offered re-promotion to that dorm several times over the course of the series.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
You have to be able to think on your feet if you want to be a great duelist.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
More intuitive and practical than anything, though he fits logic in there too.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
He’s in his third year of high school. He also went to a private middle school, and I’d assume a private elementary school as well, considering his family.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
Dueling is his main interest, though he appears to have possibly wanted to be a detective when he was little.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Introvert, definitely. He’ll work with people when he has to, and he has the charisma to lead them when he wants to, but he doesn’t open up to people very easily. Especially in the aftermath of certain events.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
He’s very driven in his goal to be at the top of the dueling world. He’s also very stubborn. This is a good thing, in that when he fails he just gets back up and tries again until he succeeds, but at the same time it leads to frustration, which leads to a temper. When he’s annoyed, it’s obvious. He also often gets a little bit broody. But at the same time, on the less-common occasion when he’s happy and excited, he can get quite bubbly.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
He’s a bit more suspicious of new people than your average Manjoume, even if he tries not to show it. And as for new situations… it depends on what kind it is, whether he can ignore it or not, and whether it’s beneficial or not.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
React, for the most part.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Fight. That boy doesn’t tend to give up without one, and even after one has been lost, he just keeps coming.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks?
While he’s not adverse to sarcasm, besides that he doesn’t have the greatest sense of humor in the world. He doesn’t really like pranks or dirty humor or anything like that. (This did not help him to get used to the Ojamas.)
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
Nothing diagnosed. It could be argued that he’s suffering from the trauma of having to remember his time in the Hikari no Kessha (which he was conveniently able to forget in canon), as well as having anomaly after anomaly thrown at him, but what condition that would be considered is a good question. He deals with it by not talking about his second year at Duel Academy much and getting very pissed off at the worse anomalies.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
There was his going to North School, which is where he met Ojama Yellow and learned to use his own strength to get what he wanted rather than his family’s money. There’s his time in the Hikari no Kessha, which admittedly taught him how to ask for help when he needs it, even if he still doesn’t like to when he’s convinced it’s not important. There’s the point where Asuka managed to wake him up and get him out of there. In-game, there’s the work Oliver’s done to befriend him, which has helped him to come out of his shell a bit more, and there’s also the point in the jail cell where he was stuck with his clone - Joshua’s words have managed to convince him that running from it is what the weak would do, and he’s stronger than that (good luck getting him to admit this though).
14. What does he fear?
A situation where he just keeps failing at something important no matter how many times he tries again - it’s one thing to try again if you know you can do it with work, but completely impossible tasks… Also, being controlled again.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
His ultimate happy ending, he thinks, would be for him to become the most famous, powerful duelist in the Pro Leagues, and for Asuka to be happy with whatever she winds up doing with the rest of her life as well. It would make him even happier if she were to decide that she would be happiest marrying him, but if that can’t happen, he at least would like her to be happy.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
Let’s just say there’s a reason why he doesn’t talk about his second year much. (Some information has gotten out, yes, but he would have preferred that it not, really…)
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
My headcanon states: He never knew his parents. The day his mother found out she was pregnant, she and his father got into an argument - his father was shocked at the prospect of having a third kid, especially so long after their second, and had no idea how it happened. (He was even questioning whether the child could be of his blood, even though don’t worry, Jun is a completely legitimate child.) So he wound up going to work before they could make up, and he died in a car crash before he got home. His mother was distraught and fell into a depression, and that combined with her age caused her to die shortly after childbirth.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
He has two older brothers: Chousaku, a very influential politician, and Shouji, a top investment banker (or something like that). They’re… not the closest. They basically raised him, and they’ve always had high expectations, which usually he’s been able to meet. In his first year at Duel Academy, however, he started actually losing (to Judai, mostly, and Misawa once but), and his brothers didn’t like that. He has since then shown them that he can win with his own strength, and as of the end of episode 35 Chousaku, at least, seems to understand this. What many people don’t get, though, is that Manjoume really does want to help his older brothers. He does want to get to the top of the dueling world, and while yes this is mostly to fulfill his own goals, he doesn’t completely shun the family goal as well. He’s just going to do it in a different way than his brothers want. That’s all that differs.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
If there are, none are ever mentioned.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
You’ll have better luck getting a pig to sprout wings and fly laps around the moon than to convince Manjoume to admit it in these words, but to an extent, the Ojamas are sort of family-ish, taking a role that’s kind of between companions and pets. Kind of, anyway. At the very least, they’re always there for each other, even if the Ojamas annoy him to no end. And in the end, isn’t that what family’s about?
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Tenjoin Asuka. They went to the same middle school, but only knew each other in passing - in fact, Asuka didn’t really like him back then (though there are signs that he admired her, at least). Then they both wound up at Duel Academy and in each other’s classes… well, until Manjoume left, and then for a couple months until Asuka was forced to leave as well. They really actually became friends when Asuka was visiting for the week, and Manjoume had been asked by Saiou to accompany her and gradually convert her to the Light. Naturally, the opposite effect occurred, but. You don’t spend half a week hiding from a crazed mob together and not get at least a little bit close to one another, and he managed to come to terms with the fact that he’s got a massive crush on her.
The runner up is the ghost of Tenjoin Fubuki, who kind of saved his life.
6. Does he have other close friends?
Yuuki Judai. I don’t list him under best friends because Manjoume is a bit pissed off at him for throwing their latest duel (though he’s come around somewhat now that he sort of accepts that Judai was only trying to help), but their relationship is certainly more complicated than normal friendship, at any rate.
Honest, the spirit of the Duel Monsters card of the same name. Originally Fujiwara Yusuke’s partner, he was kind of left homeless when Yusuke died (same reason Fubuki did), but wound up being the one to completely free Manjoume from the Light’s influence, so Manjoume has kind of taken him in and offered him a home among the well spirits.
Arguably, Shou and Kenzan sort of count too, mostly in the sense that Manjoume often hangs out where Judai is hanging out, and those two are around as well.
In game, Sakuraba Neko, a fellow gamer, though she plays with pins instead of cards. They go exploring together sometimes. Also in game, Oliver Day, an all-around nice guy and a bit of an optimist who has managed to bring Manjoume out of his shell, somehow. And, though good luck getting him to admit this, Joshua Kiryu kind of counts, in a way.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
It’s not that he has trouble getting along with others (unless you flare his temper), but he just doesn’t let people in that easily.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Probably friends, really.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Single, but with a huge crush.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
Asuka isn’t a spouse, so I guess his crush on her counts? But he wouldn’t cheat.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
Asuka… and Asuka.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
The reason that Manjoume is so attracted to Asuka is her personality, intelligence, and how he just feels right around her, so…
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
No kids, and it’s too early for him to think of them.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
Judai is his rival, now and forever.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
I classify him as ‘uninterested with exceptions’. But to put him on that scale, he’d be about a 1, probably.
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
Not until marriage, and even then, not until both sides are ready. It’s not important to him at all. Really, in canon, he blushes deep red and looks away when Asuka reaches into her shirt - without opening it up and exposing anything, mind you - and his personality isn’t that different in this alternate universe. I just don’t think he’s really ready for that kind of thing. (The fandom will occasionally tell you that he’s a sex-obsessed maniac who would have no qualms with becoming a rapist. Those people deserve to go die in a fire.)
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
…Um… I… honestly have no idea, and it’s not something I want to think about, thanks. I don’t even think he would know anyway.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
GX characters don’t have canon birthdays. For my own reasons, I’ve always thought of him as possibly having a December birthday, which would make him a Sagittarius. (Late December, to put him on the line with Capricorn, would make sense for his personality.) And since he’d have to be 17 in October of 2006, that would put him as born in 1988, making him a Dragon. Which… also fits.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
Spirits exist. This much he knows for a fact, and has (somewhat grudgingly) accepted as a fact of his life. But Manjoume and religion… yeah, even if he was religious before his second year at Duel Academy, I think he’s more or less stopped by now.
3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
He tries to at least do the right thing for the most part, but if he’s stressed out, he’ll do whatever it takes to accomplish what he wants to do. (He stole someone’s deck and threw it in the river once. That was before he went to North School, so I doubt he’d do it now, but.)
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
At this point in his life, if he ran into a religious fanatic who started going on about stuff, he’d probably force them to shut up and go away. With people who don’t believe that spirits exist, he’d probably stay indifferent unless they got too much on his nerves.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
He doesn’t tend to change his opinion of someone after they’ve made a first impression (or at least it’s very hard to change it), and he’d have a lot of trouble trusting anyone who he learns has psychic abilities, but aside from that, not that I can think of…
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
His family is rich. Like, extremely rich. So he can do whatever he wants and not have to worry about how much it’s going to cost. Over time, though, he’s grown to get a lot of what he wants through hard work (though he’ll still toss x amount of money into, say, renovating Osiris Red and creating a private suite just for him).
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
You’re not going to get around the fact that his family is just that influential in his world. But at school… he started out as one of the snobby rich kids, then he got demoted to Osiris Red and was treated as lower than dirt for a while, and then he worked his butt off and is now hailed as one of the strongest duelists in the school despite choosing not to live at Obelisk again. This has been both a product of and a catalyst for him growing up a lot over the past couple years.
3. Where does he live? House, apartment, trailer? Is his home his castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does he share it with others?
At Duel Academy, he lives at Osiris Red, in the ultra fancy suite he had built. (No Genex Tournament means no Rei to come to Duel Academy and steal it from him.) My headcanon states that his family’s place is a large-ish mansion with several servants and a garden that their mother put her heart into before her death and that’s still taken care of by the gardeners to this day.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
New cards, for the most part.
5. What does he do for a living? Is he good at it? Does he enjoy it, or would he rather be doing something else?
He’s a student right now. But when he graduates, he intends to be a professional duelist, which he would enjoy.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Playing card games.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
I think he’s fairly normal when it comes to eating. He wouldn’t skip meals. He prefers more luxurious foods, but has gotten used to eating ‘lesser’ things. The only thing he won’t eat is carrots.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Black
2. Smell? Damp air during a storm
3. Time of day? Evening
4. Season? Summer
5. Book? …I honestly don’t know.
6. Music? Dvorak’s New World Symphony
7. Place? Duel Academy, if it counts?
8. Substance? Cards… kind of count…
9. Plant? …Maybe a willow tree?
10. Animal? Phoenix
END
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