Saki Nikaido

Saki Nikaido (二階堂サキ,) was a former biker who conquered the entire Kyushu (九州, Kyūshū) with her biker gang Dorami. She's currently the self-appointed leader of the idol group Franchouchou. She died in a game of Chicken against a rival Biker Gang driving over a cliff.

She is titled as the Legendary Kamikaze squad leader (伝説の特攻隊長, Densetsu no Tokkō Taichō)

Appearance
Saki has long blonde hair with orange and green highlights pulled into a high ponytail with bangs that are mostly swept to the left with a single orange highlight and orange eyes. Like the other zombies, Saki has blueish-grey skin and red eyes, along with scars on her left cheek, left arm and right leg, as well as bandages covering her torso, upper left arm, entire right arm and left leg. As a zombie, her hair is noticeably messier and duller in color. She lets her hair down while sleeping.

Her casual outfit consists of a maroon and white jacket over a white top and a navy blue knee-length skirt. She also wears her shirt with a red tie. To sleep, she wears a long-sleeved, oversize light blue top with orange pants. As an idol in episodes 1 to 6, Saki wears a golden top with the word "弐" ("two") written on it, along with an orange skirt with white frills. With the use of make-up, she and the other zombies manage to get their skin looking like that of a normal human. Saki, like the others in Franchouchou, also uses contacts to achieve the golden eye color she had as a member of the living.

Personality
As a former biker gang leader, Saki has a tough and rebellious attitude as she calls Sakura Minamoto a goody-two-shoes and outright stating that she has no respect for those who don't have guts. This also makes Saki very intimidating. However, after a successful performance, Saki begins to take being an idol very seriously and becomes leader of Franchouchou. In addition to this newfound seriousness, she can be mischievous and teasing as she warms up to her zombie friends. Saki also occasionally shows a soft side, as seen in episode 6 where she comforts Ai Mizuno and in episode 9 when seeing her old biker gang. She expresses her fondness of her Tamagotchi and going to Drive in Tori when she was alive. When threatening someone, either seriously or leisurely, she often follows up with saying, "I'll kill you".

Character concept
Although she was a young girl, she was designed to be "pretty". And unlike the usual outfit, I think one of Saki's charms is that he likes to wear things that are easy to wear. In the Saki era, there were no people with hair colors like this, but since it's an anime, they used the "fusion of modern and nostalgia."

== Curiosities<!--

Episode 1
After their successful death metal performance in a death metal festival, all of the zombie girls regain their senses, she wakes up along with Yūgiri.

Episode 2
Saki doesn't like the idea of become an idol to save a city she doesn't really care about, and is more concerned about conquering Japan. Saki does end up agreeing to preform, and is impressed with how "alive" she looks with the help of makeup. She doesn't help with the performance, and like the others, lets Sakura go at it alone. However, she get distracted when Tae Yamada's head flies off. While showing it to the crowd, Sakura losses her temper at Saki for not even trying to protect their zombie identity. Sakura's outburst grows into a rap battle, where Saki is taken back by her words. After the concert, Saki comes up to Sakura telling her that she's gained her respect.

Episode 3
Lily Hoshikawa suggests that their idol group needs a leader and Saki steps up to the role.

Episode 4
Saki is being told that Kōtarō Tatsumi will be taking to the girls to a hot springs for budget negotiations, in which Saki is excited to be taken to a real bath, but Kōtarō forbids everyone from using them, which leaves her upset.

After the girl's sponsored performance, Saki decides to sneak into the bath against Kōtarō's instructions, taking the reluctant Sakura and the interested Junko Konno with her. Upon taking time to refresh, the girls ends up getting seen by their sponsored executive, where further chaos ensures as she tries leading the trio back to their rooms, to the point she ends up crashing into the frightened executive.

In the end, Saki is upset that the news broke out of their incident.

Episode 5
The group gets dragged into making a commercial for a restaurant that Saki was a big fan of when she was alive. After a success, they decided to participate in the Gatalympics, a sports competition Saki seems fairly fond of. However, all of them expect Kōtarō fail.

Episode 6
Saki tries her best as the group leader to comfort Ai and help her make up with Junko after their fight. When Ai goes off on her own after an argument regarding Junko and their upcoming performance, Saki starts searching for her and finds Ai scared at the sound of lighting. When taking shelter in a park, Saki talks to Ai on how while she doesn't get idols and fans, she knows how one needs guts and comrades when facing any problem. When Ai reveals how it was lighting that killed her, Saki is surprised and comments that such an event is legendary. Saki comforts Ai as she express both disdain over such a legend and resolve to face it.

Episode 9
Saki stops a public altercation between Franchouchou and the remnants of her former biker gang, Dorami, whose current leader, Maria Amabuki, is challenged by the rival gang Korosuke to a chicken race towards a cliff at Kagamiyama. Maria accepts the challenge in defiance of her mother, Saki's friend and former Dorami boss Reiko Kirishima, who retired from the gang for a normal married life following Saki's death during the same race in 1997. Saki takes Maria's place using Reiko's motorcycle, which she destroys in an explosion after jumping over the cliff a second time. After Saki returns unscathed, Reiko punches and scolds her for her recklessness, regaining Maria's respect. Saki and the rest of Franchouchou celebrate Reiko and Maria's reconciliation by performing an idol concert for both gangs.

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 * Saki was revealed to be only 18 when she died in 1997.
 * Her first name, Saki, is written in katakana (サキ), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (咲), it could possibly mean "bloom."
 * Her last name is a name of a clan of Japanese samurai that ruled the Iwase District of Mutsu Province during the Sengoku period during the Kamakura era. The founder was Nikaido Yukimasa and they lived in the Sukagawa Castle.
 * Saki died three months after her eighteenth birthday.
 * Saki sports probably most athletic figure in a group. Showing great agility several times during course of show.

Trivia
Saki: "And to be honest? Right now? I am hot as hell!"
 * Action Girl: She is one of the most physically abled of all the girls. She's able to knock down Takeo, an 8-foot-tall giant of a man, and in the past fought off twenty or so Korosuke rivals alongside Reiko without much of a scratch. She also has a really good fastarm, as seen when she throws a baseball at Kotaro when he provokes her.
 * Ascended Fangirl: In life, she used to hang out with her gang at "Drive-in Tori", a popular chicken restaurant, and grew up watching the Kashima Gatalympics. Small wonder she was in Tears of Joy when she learns that Franchouchou is slated to perform at a commercial for the former, and later gets to participate in the latter.
 * Bare Your Midriff: In Episode 10 she wears a revealing sports bra on a cold mountain.
 * The Big Gal: She can knock down a man five times her size with a flying kick. During a flashback in Episode 9, we see the aftermath of her and Reiko taking down 20 or so rival gang members between just the two of them.
 * Biker Babe: She was once a captain in Kyushu's toughest all-female biker gang during the 90s.
 * Catchphrase: "You wanna die?"/"Want me to kick your ass?"
 * Cheshire Cat Grin: Saki is a born troublemaker, and she's wearing one of these whenever she's causing some.
 * Dare to Be Badass: Her M.O. is this. Even in life, she was an unfettered thrillseeker often seeking challenges, and one of those even cost her her life. She never loses this trait as a zombie, and repeats the same stunt she did previously, only this time surviving it.
 * Death Glare: She has a tendency to pull this face when someone tries to pick a fight with her. More often than not, she will intimidate the instigator.
 * Defeat Means Friendship:
 * Sakura one-upping her in an impromptu rap battle where the former basically tells her to screw herself the entire time earns her Saki's respect. Prior to that, Saki spent most of the episode either antagonizing Sakura or treating her like some pushover.
 * Pulls one on several biker delinquents after they witness her jumping off and surviving the crash that killed her the first time she attempted it.
 * Exposed to the Elements: In Episode 10, Saki wears a sleeveless cropped top in the snowy mountain.
 * Fatal Flaw: Being a reckless unfettered thrillseeker cost Saki her life as she jumped off a cliff and died in a fiery explosion.
 * Fearless Fool: She certainly is hot-headed and brave, but this trait of hers ended up being her Fatal Flaw, because she was so determined to win the game of chicken against the rival gang that she just kept speeding on and fatally crashed. She does get a second chance as a zombie... and she does the exact same thing all over again. She survives this time thanks to her undead nature, even though there was no guarantee that she would've survived the crash intact enough to keep functioning.
 * Gamer Chick: Aside from her fondness for Tamagotchi, her profile mentions she was a fan of arcades.
 * Hidden Depths: Despite being a delinquent Biker Babe with designs to take over the country, she shows a great deal of gentleness towards children and awareness of social norms, knowing full well that her rough and violent attitude towards her gang won't fly when trying to be the most beloved idol group in the nation.
 * Hot-Blooded: When something piques her interest she gets very intense about it. As she says herself, "When I go in, I go all in".
 * I Just Want to Be Normal: Defied. Living or dead, Saki's never had any idea of what "normal's" supposed to be, and has never understood what other people see in it.
 * Image Song: Saki gets one in Episode 9, which is known as "Tokkou Dance ~DAWN OF THE BAD~", which has Saki leading a 90s punk rock song about achieving what you want in your life, by relying on the friends who are on your side.
 * Instant Expert: "Expert" might be going a bit far but it should be noted that of the six fully awakened zombies, she is the only one not known to have any background in singing, dancing or any form of entertainment whatsoever. She nonetheless takes to performing as an idol quite handily, vocally holding her own just fine and not yet displaying the same level of difficulty coordinating dance with the group that Lily or Junko have at varying points.
 * Japanese Delinquents: She fits the bill of a bike gang captain in a school jersey and very long skirt, complete with Trrrilling Rrrs.
 * Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Saki is brusque, blunt, and has no respect for pushovers. However, she does show a soft side, such as, generally, warming up to Sakura after proving that she isn't as completely gutless as she appears and defending her fellow zombies from Kotaro's antics, as well as, specifically, sharing a moment with a young, new fangirl, and despite laughing over Lily's overly-macho birth name and her manner of death, wholeheartedly accepting her for who she is.
 * Jerkass Has a Point: As scathing as it is during their rap battle, Saki makes a fair point that Sakura's obsession with getting her memories back probably won't do her any good, since being a zombie means she can't return to her old life anyway. However, Sakura retorts that it's still better than sitting around doing nothing.
 * The Lost Lenore: Downplayed and Parodied; she mourns her Tamagotchi's death since she herself has been dead for over twenty yearsnote, and even then, she's merely annoyed by it.
 * Mama Bear: A non-maternal variety. Do not mess with her crew if you don't wanna die.
 * Ms. Fanservice: Downplayed, but she's willing to wear a sports bra on a cold mountain and is considered attractive.
 * Multicolored Hair: She has blonde hair with orange and green streaks.
 * Muscles Are Meaningless: She is skinny, but that doesn't stop her from beating up 20 bikers in life, and kicking an 8-foot tall man off his feet, sending him flying. Not that it really matters as a zombie.
 * The Nicknamer: She loves to give nicknames. She always calls Lily "Shrimpy" (" Chinchiku " in Japanese, "Squirt" in the English dub), much to her annoyance. She refers to Kotaro as "Shades", Yugiri as "Sis", and uses various egg-related terms on Sakura.
 * Non-Fatal Explosions: Completely averted in regards to the manner of her actual death, but played straight when, as a zombie, she tackles the same challenge that killed her. Though she does say it  really  hurt.
 * Not So Above It All: Normally, she's just as annoyed with Kotaro as the rest of the girls, and the first to get physical whenever he goes a step too far in belittling them. In Episode 5, she becomes a whole lot more agreeable with him when she discovers he's booked appearances for them at Drive-In Tori and the Gatalympics, engaging in Ham-to-Ham Combat with him over their shared enthusiasm.
 * Number Two: Leaving aside it being her number in Franchouchou, this was pretty much her role in Dorami, as captain of the gang's special attack unit (the English translation incorrectly identifies her as the gang's overall leader).
 * Odd Friendship: With the gentle Sakura, borne from witnessing firsthand her competitive side, not to mention the fact that they're both natives of Kyushu.
 * Oddly Visible Eyebrows: Has a large bang over the left side of her face, but her eyes are still visible underneath.
 * Peek-a-Bangs: The left side of her face is covered by her hair, though her eye is still visible.
 * Pet the Dog: In Episode 6, she comforts Ai after realizing she has a crippling Fear of Thunder borne from her manner of death.
 * Pintsized Powerhouse: Five feet tall, and has no problem delivering a flying kick to a man who easily towers over her, or taking on a rival gang with only Reiko at her side.
 * Proud Beauty: When wearing makeup to hide her zombie appearance: she's attractive, she knows it, and wants to flaunt it.
 * Rapunzel Hair: She has a ponytail that goes all the way to her legs.
 * Rugged Scar: She has a stitched up scar on her right cheek and arm and left leg as a zombie, giving her a tough and surly look befitting her past life as a biker gang captain.
 * Sarashi: As a zombie, Saki has bandages around her limbs and her body, and some end up like this. It's not clear if this is just for fanservice or actually functional; she didn't have them pre-mortem, suggesting they might be functional.
 * Shout-Out: Her given name is a reference to  Sukeban Deka 's Saki Asamiya.
 * Supporting Leader: While Sakura is the main protagonist, Saki is the one who takes up the mantle of The Leader among the girls, owing to her past experience as a bike gang captain.
 * Take Over the World: Downplayed; she wants to take over all of Japan, and she figures that if she can't do it with her old biker gang now that she's a zombie, then cooperating with Kotaro's zombie idol project is her best shot.
 * Tears of Joy: Played for Laughs twice in Episode 5, when she revisits Drive-In Tori, her favorite restaurant in life, and learns she'll get to participate at the Kashima Gatalympics.
 * Technicolor Eyes: Golden eyes when alive or in makeup.
 * Tomboyish Ponytail: She's easily the most tomboyish girl of the group with her rough demeanor and her past as a captain of a biker gang, and she usually wears her hair in a ponytail.
 * Tranquil Fury: She is capable of doing this when she's not in Large Ham mode herself, or some would-be delinquent is trying to pick a fight with her. As someone who has fought at least  20  girls, she is basically saying "Don't pick a fight you can't win".
 * Violence Is Not an Option: When Saki butts into a generations-long dispute involving the remnants of her old gang, she resolves to settle it "like an idol" rather than with violence, agreeing with Kotaro that her old methods could only hurt her band's image.
 * You Got Guts: She only respects people who show "guts", which she thinks Sakura doesn't have since she keeps sucking up to Kotaro's bizarre demands without question. When Sakura proves her wrong by challenging her to a rap battle and demonstrating that being a zombie idol is Crazy Enough to Work, the two become friends.
 * You Remind Me of X: After she takes a liking to Sakura, Saki notes that her egg-shaped head looks a lot like her dead Tamagotchi.