App [Victory Road]
Sep. 30th, 2017 08:34 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
forsaintceciliaPlayer
Name: Otter
E-mail: themodestotter (at) gmail (dot) com
Preferred Contact: AIM: Otterbeans (But Email or PMing forsaintcecilia would be fastest)
Timezone: US Central
Current Characters in Victory Road: N/A
Character
Name: Kazuki Hihara
Series: La Corda d’Oro
Timeline: Post Manga End
Canon Resource Links: Here’s the Wikipedia page. HOWEVER, this canon is super duper obscure and old to boot, so… here’s a full history, because you’re probably gonna need it.
Just a warning: Kazuki is from one of those canons that is ridiculously huge in Japan. He’s originally from an otome (male harem datesim) game that as of now has 6 iterations, all of which he is in, a manga adaptation, an anime adaptation of the manga adaptation, drama cds, live concerts… Like I said, ridiculous. I’m mainly taking him from the manga/anime but I have also played a few of the games and listened to drama cds so if it’s alright I might slip in happenings from them on occasion too. But it’ll still mostly be manga/anime since that’s the easiest to keep up with. The extra fluff is just that: Fluff. None of it changes his basic character. If this bother you just let me know, and I’ll reel back a bit.
Starting off with some basic information: La Corda d’Oro is a male harem game/manga/anime, in which Kazuki is one of the dateable characters. The plot revolves around the player character, adapted as Kahoko Hino in the manga/anime, receiving a magic violin from a fairy and then being forced to participate in her school’s music contest. The dateable boys in the series are all participants in said contest, and all play different instruments. Kazuki is a third year and plays the trumpet. His bff is Azuma Yunoki, who is in the same class as him and plays the flute.
Kazuki is one of those characters that is completely unburdened by any sort of sordid past. He has a mom and a dad and an older brother that are all nice adjusted people just as he is very nice and adjusted. His childhood was totally normal. He was very energetic and quite the athlete. In middle school he was the fastest runner on the track team. However, he never had much interest in competition. Not because he felt unchallenged or superior, just that he didn’t have the drive to be better than others. He lacked a competitive spirit. He just wanted to have fun!
It was at that time that he discovered the trumpet. An upperclassman played it, and he was mesmerized by the instrument. When he got his first chance to play it, he immediately fell in love. Instead of having to focus his concentration, he felt like he could be free and let all his energy out into song. He then quit the track team and joined the orchestra club. He stills likes sports a lot (especially basketball!), and jogs every morning, but now he doesn’t worry about competition anymore.
It was pretty late in Kazuki’s life to get into music, especially compared to all the other contestants (aside from Kahoko of course). As a result, his music isn’t quite as refined as the others. For example, he’s not very good at overly technical pieces. However, he has a very likeable and accessible style that takes advantage of his energetic nature. He also likes to play familiar songs, like pieces from soundtracks, so he has appeal with the non-classical music crowd as well. When he was announced to be a participant in the contest, he was very happy about it, although he never showed any real interest in winning. Again, it’s just a chance to have fun to him, and to introduce more people to the joys of music!
Fast forward to the time of the contest, where the manga starts. Kazuki’s story arc focuses very heavily on his infatuation with the heroine. Kazuki, at first, was very big-brotherly towards Kahoko. When she struggled with the violin at the beginning, he was the one that told her to relax and just go with it, because “music is supposed to be fun”! She was often thankful for his good cheer and kind words, and he helped her out of a few sticky situations. As they met and spoke more and more, he became more and more smitten; he liked her honest nature, her music, and her attention.
This is run of the mill, considering that this is an otome we are talking about and it’s inevitable that all the guys fall in love with her, duh. Kazuki only stood out in being the first to realize that he’d fallen in love with her. For a while this made him even more cheerful than he was regularly, which was impressive considering his already extremely upbeat nature. But things don’t go so well for Kazuki.
Because of her magic violin, Kahoko began to feel guilty about her participation in the contest. After all, the rest of the contestants were people that had studied music for a long time and really worked hard for what they have. She was obviously upset, and Kazuki noticed. He’s an emotional guy and people around him being upset makes him upset too, especially for someone that he likes so much. But instead of letting him help her like usual, she ran away. He realized then that he was not as important to her as he would have liked to be. Later, a pep talk from him did encourage her to continue with the contest, but it’s still not quite what he wanted. He wanted her attention and was losing out pretty badly toLen other contestants.
His depression affected his performance in the third round of the contest and he did tremendously badly. He just couldn’t play the trumpet when he wasn’t happy. To rub salt in the wound, Kahoko already felt better thanks to Len, so there was no excuse for Kazuki’s behavior other than jealousy. When she came to check on him after his poor performance, he had a hard time explaining himself to her, and mumbled to himself, “why can’t it be me?” She reached out to see if he was alright, and he gently hit her hand away then ran off in a fluster and apologies.
He then went to Azuma with the most obvious use of the “I have a friend” gambit ever known to man, and said that his “friend” messed up bad and wanted to apologize to the girl he likes, and wondered if he should just tell her how he feels. Azuma replied saying that telling her his feelings may make him feel better, but what about her? Did she really need that in her life? This of course confused our very simple Kazuki, and he had to take some time to work it all out in his head and his heart.
Later, he decided to try and practice his trumpet in the park. There, he ran into Kahoko. She suggested that they play together, but he was unsure of himself, and told her he wasn’t up to snuff these days. Noticing that he was feeling depressed, she reminded him of what he told her when they first spoke: “music is supposed to be fun”! Here he had an epiphany and realized he didn’t have to force his feelings on her. He should just be who he was, and have faith that someday she might find his feelings on her own, and accept him.
(She doesn’t. She picks Len, because he’s the default love interest. Poor Kazuki never had a chance.)
His next big story contribution has more to do with Azuma-- After the contest is over, Kazuki found out that Azuma wasn’t planning to continue with music as a career. This was because he’s from one of those crazy old families that is famous for flower arrangement and he’s the third son and has to support the family and blah blah blah that’s another story entirely. But this concerned Kazuki a lot, because despite Azuma’s cool appearance, Kazuki knew he loved the flute. They grew distant because Kazuki didn’t know what to do, and Azuma was avoiding him.
During this time, Kazuki accidentally became an idol.
No, seriously.
His mother was asked by a co-worker to help out with a commercial shoot where they needed an amateur trumpet player. Kazuki didn’t want to, but she hassled him into it. At first they only meant to use his hands as he played, but the producer noticed that he was fucking adorable and a good fit visually, and suggested they use him for the full shoot. Easily bullied, Kazuki ended up being the model for the commercial. And of course, everyone saw it.
He got really popular at school, completely against his will. From this point on in the manga he spent half his time running the hell away from fangirls because they scared the crap out of him.
But this brought up the opportunity for him and Azuma to have another important encounter. After the commercial’s success, Kazuki was invited to go to an after party thrown by the producer, who turns out to be a cousin of Azuma. Azuma is there too of course, who had bullied Kahoko into coming with him. Azuma knew Kazuki would be there and since Azuma also knew Kazuki still had a raging crush on her, this was doing him a favor. At least, that’s what we’re led to believe. Azuma’s intentions are hardly ever clear.
Kazuki mentioned to the producer that Azuma is a friend of his, and he commented that Azuma had gone about his education in an undedicated manner by going to a school that concentrated on music. Kazuki loudly protested this, by saying that Azuma was wonderful, well liked by all, an amazing musician, and that there was no way all of that could be a waste. At the same time, Kahoko was trying to get Azuma to talk to Kazuki and make up, and Azuma overheard. He broke them up, and apologized to his cousin for Kazuki’s behavior, who apologized in turn for what he had said.
Azuma told Kazuki that he wasn’t sure about his future yet, but made up with him, saying that despite anything, he was glad that he was his friend. In the end, Azuma stood up to the matriarch of his family when he decided to continue on with his music education, and he winds up giving credit for this to both Kazuki and Kahoko.
That’s pretty much it… Nearly every detail of Kazuki’s part in Corda ever. He's kind a B-lister on the dateable boys roster, so he really doesn't get any more attention from the canon. as much as it saddens me.
How did he react to Kahoko confessing to Len, and vice versa? Unfortunately we don't really know. The manga and anime just kind of end there. However, I can't imagine him being terribly bereft over it. He matures a little over the course of the story, so I think he would just be happy that Kahoko is happy.
In the future, he plans to go to the Seisou affiliated college and become a music teacher! And this actually does happen, he shows up in Kiniro no Corda 3, a later installment of the game series, aged up as a teacher to the new player character. Hot. He is the sole character from the original cast to appear in later games.
Personality:
Personality wise… If you’ve ever heard the term “genki,” (Japanese for “good health” or “energetic,” denoting a sunny personality) that’s basically Kazuki in a nutshell. He’s got pep in his step. We’re not talking simple cheerfulness here… more like he could power a small city with his sheer enthusiasm for everything. He doesn’t do anything small; every part of him is loud and bright and exuberant. He almost always has a smile on his face, he loves being around people, and he enjoys life in an almost childlike fashion. Even the most simple things, like a sunny day, a gathering with friends, playing sports, or nailing a performance can make him very happy.
He's also very kind. When he sees people in trouble, he wants to help. He doesn't like to see people hurting or sad. For example, he stands as a pillar of encouragement for Kahoko during the earlier parts of the manga, and is probably the closest to him before she gets to know the other contestant better. He also stands up for his best friend Azuma when his family treats him poorly... And to good effect, as it gives Azuma the courage to stand up to his grandmother and continue to pursue music.
When he does get upset or depressed, he’s really obvious about. It doesn’t take a master of subtlety to understand what Kazuki is feeling. His heart is 100% exposed and on his sleeve. He slows down considerably, he stops smiling, spaces out, and hems and haws and sighs. But sometimes it takes time, or a nudge from someone close to him, for him to realize he's acting that way at all. When he first starts pining over Kahoko, Azuma has to point out to him that he looks a mess, and Kazuki is surprised that someone could tell... When he's been zoning out for days. You could say he's especially thick in that manner.
As you can see, he tends to get lost in his worries when he doesn't know how to solve them. His approach is straight-forward-- if a problem is too complicated to talk out in earnest, he may not be able to fix it at all without someone else's help. And he will ask for help, that doesn't bother him, but it may take time for that to happen.
But he rarely gets depressed for his own sake. Most of the time, he can take a hard time and still be perfectly fine (he never places well in the competition, but that doesn't get him down), and small mess-ups don't bother him. When he is sad, it's usually because he’s worried for someone else. Or if he’s having romantic issues, which he is clueless about in general.
His case of puppy love with Kahoko is a prime example of this. It doesn't take very long at all (much faster than the other boys, for sure) for him to become attached to her, smitten with her attention and kindness towards him, as well as her dedication in general. Even the smallest things, like eye contact, or their hands brushing, sends him all in a fluster. And it takes several volumes for him to finally admit to himself that he loves her.
Even then, he only admits it to himself. He thinks about telling her, but after getting advice from Azuma, and having a few days to think, he decides not to, because he doesn't want to burden her with his feelings when she has more important things to worry about. He vows to himself to do this best, with his music and as a human being, and if he's worthy of her, she'll notice him. Her happiness is more important than his romantic feelings. Then he cheers up almost immediately.
So you could say that he's naturally an emotional person, but not the best at picking up on his own vibes. He can tell right away when someone else is hurting, even if they're trying to hide it, like Kahoko often does, but doesn't realize it when he's in just as much pain. He has a lot of empathy for others, but little for himself.
Still, it's rare for him to be down. We're talking like, a 90%-10% split here, 90 being happy and 10 being sad. He's normally super cheerful nearly all the time, I promise. He's not a very complicated character at all. I don't even think he's ever been really angry in canon, and there definitely isn't an ounce of hate in his heart.
In conclusion, more than anything, he wants the people around him and the ones he cares about to be happy. He just wants to feel good and have a good time, and share music with anyone who will listen! Kazuki is a great person to go to if you’re feeling down because it’s nearly impossible to be upset around his completely genuine cheerfulness. Even Kahoko admits that he has a sort of “magic” about him; all doubts seem to fade in the presence of his smile.
My favorite trait of his are his rampant metro-sexual tendencies. He often wears hairclips/ponytails, never dons the same outfit twice (hell, he never even wears his uniform correctly), can go to 15 clothing stores in a row and still want more, and was bribed into going to that after-commercial party with limited edition hightop sneakers. Number one clotheshorse.
Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Breeder! Kazuki isn’t much for competition, he just wants everyone to have a good time. He doesn’t like to see others hurt either, so I don’t think he would like being a trainer.
Starter: A male Popplio please!
Password: Atomic Fireball
Samples
RP Sample: Victory Road Test Drive Meme
I accidentally said in a few of the threads that Popplio was using Bubble, like, the attack Bubble. Capital B. But when I checked Popplio’s stats online, it turns out he can’t even learn Bubble! Bubblebeam, yes, but he’d have to be at a much higher level than I intended in this sample. I just assumed from his Pokedex entries (that are all about blowing bubbles) that he’d be able to use the actual attack, but… Nope. I’m very sorry about that. I’ll be sure to check attack lists thoroughly from now on before saying a Pokemon can use a certain move.
Victory Road Sample:
“Honky Tonk! I think you should use Water Gun!”
Kazuki’s tone was unsure as he commanded his Popplio. He wasn’t a trainer, and avoided most battles, but sometimes a flock of angry Spearow decided that you needed to get out of their territory right now and you didn’t have much choice in the matter. Thankfully, his Pokemon weren’t entirely inept when he came to defending themselves. Honky Tonk took the order with a sharp bark, and blew a pressurized stream of water at the cloud of pissed-off birds.
Spearow were not the best fliers. Once they were soaked with water, their tiny wings weren’t able to keep up their weight airborne. A few of them dropped to the ground in a clumsy, controlled fall. They didn’t seem terribly hurt, but with their flock broken up, the rest that Honky Tonk didn’t hit gave up pursuit. They retreated back to the grove of trees they were perching in before Kazuki crossed their path.
“I’m sorry for bothering you!” Kazuki called back to the Spearow that were still trying to dry themselves in the tall grass as he ran back to the safer main-path. “That’ll teach me to not try taking shortcuts again, huh Honky Tonk?”
“…Honky Tonk?”
Kazuki glanced behind himself, and noticed that his Popplio was glowing with a sparkling blue light. That wasn’t normal. None of his attacks did anything like that either. What was going on?
“Hey!” Kazuki got down to his knees with a worried expression. Was something wrong? Did those Spearow hurt him somehow? “What’s going on here buddy? Are you okay?”
The blue light grew brighter, to an almost-white as it fully engulfed the Popplio. His body raised in the air a bit, and he began to change shape. He got bigger, his ears turned up, and he grew more frills that went down his body and tail. As the light subsided, Kazuki could also see that he had turned a much brighter shade of blue.
“Briiii--one!” Honky Tonk happily declared, and struck a pose. Kazuki clapped, beside himself with wonder.
“Dude! Did you just do that evolving thing everyone’s been talking about? Wait just a sec…”
He dug through his pockets for his Pokedex, and pointed it at Honky Tonk.
“Brionne, the Pop Star Pokemon,” it whirred in its mechanical voice, “A skillful dancer, it creates a sequence of water balloons as it dances, and briskly bombards its enemies. It cares deeply for its companions. When its Trainer is feeling down, it performs a cheery dance to try and help.”
“Pop Star Pokemon? Honky Tonk, that’s awesome!” Kazuki raised his hand for a high-five, and Brionne joyfully complied, with a flourish! He had just evolved, and he already felt like dancing! He stood up on his tail and wiggled his hips in time to a little song he began to sing.
“You’re a real star now! But… Hmm, buddy, you got way cuter! I wasn’t expecting that!” Kazuki thought he’d just turn into a bigger Popplio, maybe with a new cape or something, but he didn’t seem bothered at all that his male Popplio just turned into a very female looking Brionne. In fact, the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. There was nothing wrong with being a super-cute dude! “We should change our act a bit! Something that really takes advantage of that cuteness, you know?”
Honky Tonk nodded eagerly. Oh, he couldn’t wait to dance to some new tunes Kazuki thought up for him! They were going to be a better act than ever before!
“That settles it! When we get to the next town, we’re having your favorite Pokepuffs to celebrate! Congratulations, Honky Tonk!”
Name: Otter
E-mail: themodestotter (at) gmail (dot) com
Preferred Contact: AIM: Otterbeans (But Email or PMing forsaintcecilia would be fastest)
Timezone: US Central
Current Characters in Victory Road: N/A
Character
Name: Kazuki Hihara
Series: La Corda d’Oro
Timeline: Post Manga End
Canon Resource Links: Here’s the Wikipedia page. HOWEVER, this canon is super duper obscure and old to boot, so… here’s a full history, because you’re probably gonna need it.
Just a warning: Kazuki is from one of those canons that is ridiculously huge in Japan. He’s originally from an otome (male harem datesim) game that as of now has 6 iterations, all of which he is in, a manga adaptation, an anime adaptation of the manga adaptation, drama cds, live concerts… Like I said, ridiculous. I’m mainly taking him from the manga/anime but I have also played a few of the games and listened to drama cds so if it’s alright I might slip in happenings from them on occasion too. But it’ll still mostly be manga/anime since that’s the easiest to keep up with. The extra fluff is just that: Fluff. None of it changes his basic character. If this bother you just let me know, and I’ll reel back a bit.
Starting off with some basic information: La Corda d’Oro is a male harem game/manga/anime, in which Kazuki is one of the dateable characters. The plot revolves around the player character, adapted as Kahoko Hino in the manga/anime, receiving a magic violin from a fairy and then being forced to participate in her school’s music contest. The dateable boys in the series are all participants in said contest, and all play different instruments. Kazuki is a third year and plays the trumpet. His bff is Azuma Yunoki, who is in the same class as him and plays the flute.
Kazuki is one of those characters that is completely unburdened by any sort of sordid past. He has a mom and a dad and an older brother that are all nice adjusted people just as he is very nice and adjusted. His childhood was totally normal. He was very energetic and quite the athlete. In middle school he was the fastest runner on the track team. However, he never had much interest in competition. Not because he felt unchallenged or superior, just that he didn’t have the drive to be better than others. He lacked a competitive spirit. He just wanted to have fun!
It was at that time that he discovered the trumpet. An upperclassman played it, and he was mesmerized by the instrument. When he got his first chance to play it, he immediately fell in love. Instead of having to focus his concentration, he felt like he could be free and let all his energy out into song. He then quit the track team and joined the orchestra club. He stills likes sports a lot (especially basketball!), and jogs every morning, but now he doesn’t worry about competition anymore.
It was pretty late in Kazuki’s life to get into music, especially compared to all the other contestants (aside from Kahoko of course). As a result, his music isn’t quite as refined as the others. For example, he’s not very good at overly technical pieces. However, he has a very likeable and accessible style that takes advantage of his energetic nature. He also likes to play familiar songs, like pieces from soundtracks, so he has appeal with the non-classical music crowd as well. When he was announced to be a participant in the contest, he was very happy about it, although he never showed any real interest in winning. Again, it’s just a chance to have fun to him, and to introduce more people to the joys of music!
Fast forward to the time of the contest, where the manga starts. Kazuki’s story arc focuses very heavily on his infatuation with the heroine. Kazuki, at first, was very big-brotherly towards Kahoko. When she struggled with the violin at the beginning, he was the one that told her to relax and just go with it, because “music is supposed to be fun”! She was often thankful for his good cheer and kind words, and he helped her out of a few sticky situations. As they met and spoke more and more, he became more and more smitten; he liked her honest nature, her music, and her attention.
This is run of the mill, considering that this is an otome we are talking about and it’s inevitable that all the guys fall in love with her, duh. Kazuki only stood out in being the first to realize that he’d fallen in love with her. For a while this made him even more cheerful than he was regularly, which was impressive considering his already extremely upbeat nature. But things don’t go so well for Kazuki.
Because of her magic violin, Kahoko began to feel guilty about her participation in the contest. After all, the rest of the contestants were people that had studied music for a long time and really worked hard for what they have. She was obviously upset, and Kazuki noticed. He’s an emotional guy and people around him being upset makes him upset too, especially for someone that he likes so much. But instead of letting him help her like usual, she ran away. He realized then that he was not as important to her as he would have liked to be. Later, a pep talk from him did encourage her to continue with the contest, but it’s still not quite what he wanted. He wanted her attention and was losing out pretty badly to
His depression affected his performance in the third round of the contest and he did tremendously badly. He just couldn’t play the trumpet when he wasn’t happy. To rub salt in the wound, Kahoko already felt better thanks to Len, so there was no excuse for Kazuki’s behavior other than jealousy. When she came to check on him after his poor performance, he had a hard time explaining himself to her, and mumbled to himself, “why can’t it be me?” She reached out to see if he was alright, and he gently hit her hand away then ran off in a fluster and apologies.
He then went to Azuma with the most obvious use of the “I have a friend” gambit ever known to man, and said that his “friend” messed up bad and wanted to apologize to the girl he likes, and wondered if he should just tell her how he feels. Azuma replied saying that telling her his feelings may make him feel better, but what about her? Did she really need that in her life? This of course confused our very simple Kazuki, and he had to take some time to work it all out in his head and his heart.
Later, he decided to try and practice his trumpet in the park. There, he ran into Kahoko. She suggested that they play together, but he was unsure of himself, and told her he wasn’t up to snuff these days. Noticing that he was feeling depressed, she reminded him of what he told her when they first spoke: “music is supposed to be fun”! Here he had an epiphany and realized he didn’t have to force his feelings on her. He should just be who he was, and have faith that someday she might find his feelings on her own, and accept him.
(She doesn’t. She picks Len, because he’s the default love interest. Poor Kazuki never had a chance.)
His next big story contribution has more to do with Azuma-- After the contest is over, Kazuki found out that Azuma wasn’t planning to continue with music as a career. This was because he’s from one of those crazy old families that is famous for flower arrangement and he’s the third son and has to support the family and blah blah blah that’s another story entirely. But this concerned Kazuki a lot, because despite Azuma’s cool appearance, Kazuki knew he loved the flute. They grew distant because Kazuki didn’t know what to do, and Azuma was avoiding him.
During this time, Kazuki accidentally became an idol.
No, seriously.
His mother was asked by a co-worker to help out with a commercial shoot where they needed an amateur trumpet player. Kazuki didn’t want to, but she hassled him into it. At first they only meant to use his hands as he played, but the producer noticed that he was fucking adorable and a good fit visually, and suggested they use him for the full shoot. Easily bullied, Kazuki ended up being the model for the commercial. And of course, everyone saw it.
He got really popular at school, completely against his will. From this point on in the manga he spent half his time running the hell away from fangirls because they scared the crap out of him.
But this brought up the opportunity for him and Azuma to have another important encounter. After the commercial’s success, Kazuki was invited to go to an after party thrown by the producer, who turns out to be a cousin of Azuma. Azuma is there too of course, who had bullied Kahoko into coming with him. Azuma knew Kazuki would be there and since Azuma also knew Kazuki still had a raging crush on her, this was doing him a favor. At least, that’s what we’re led to believe. Azuma’s intentions are hardly ever clear.
Kazuki mentioned to the producer that Azuma is a friend of his, and he commented that Azuma had gone about his education in an undedicated manner by going to a school that concentrated on music. Kazuki loudly protested this, by saying that Azuma was wonderful, well liked by all, an amazing musician, and that there was no way all of that could be a waste. At the same time, Kahoko was trying to get Azuma to talk to Kazuki and make up, and Azuma overheard. He broke them up, and apologized to his cousin for Kazuki’s behavior, who apologized in turn for what he had said.
Azuma told Kazuki that he wasn’t sure about his future yet, but made up with him, saying that despite anything, he was glad that he was his friend. In the end, Azuma stood up to the matriarch of his family when he decided to continue on with his music education, and he winds up giving credit for this to both Kazuki and Kahoko.
That’s pretty much it… Nearly every detail of Kazuki’s part in Corda ever. He's kind a B-lister on the dateable boys roster, so he really doesn't get any more attention from the canon. as much as it saddens me.
How did he react to Kahoko confessing to Len, and vice versa? Unfortunately we don't really know. The manga and anime just kind of end there. However, I can't imagine him being terribly bereft over it. He matures a little over the course of the story, so I think he would just be happy that Kahoko is happy.
In the future, he plans to go to the Seisou affiliated college and become a music teacher! And this actually does happen, he shows up in Kiniro no Corda 3, a later installment of the game series, aged up as a teacher to the new player character. Hot. He is the sole character from the original cast to appear in later games.
Personality:
Personality wise… If you’ve ever heard the term “genki,” (Japanese for “good health” or “energetic,” denoting a sunny personality) that’s basically Kazuki in a nutshell. He’s got pep in his step. We’re not talking simple cheerfulness here… more like he could power a small city with his sheer enthusiasm for everything. He doesn’t do anything small; every part of him is loud and bright and exuberant. He almost always has a smile on his face, he loves being around people, and he enjoys life in an almost childlike fashion. Even the most simple things, like a sunny day, a gathering with friends, playing sports, or nailing a performance can make him very happy.
He's also very kind. When he sees people in trouble, he wants to help. He doesn't like to see people hurting or sad. For example, he stands as a pillar of encouragement for Kahoko during the earlier parts of the manga, and is probably the closest to him before she gets to know the other contestant better. He also stands up for his best friend Azuma when his family treats him poorly... And to good effect, as it gives Azuma the courage to stand up to his grandmother and continue to pursue music.
When he does get upset or depressed, he’s really obvious about. It doesn’t take a master of subtlety to understand what Kazuki is feeling. His heart is 100% exposed and on his sleeve. He slows down considerably, he stops smiling, spaces out, and hems and haws and sighs. But sometimes it takes time, or a nudge from someone close to him, for him to realize he's acting that way at all. When he first starts pining over Kahoko, Azuma has to point out to him that he looks a mess, and Kazuki is surprised that someone could tell... When he's been zoning out for days. You could say he's especially thick in that manner.
As you can see, he tends to get lost in his worries when he doesn't know how to solve them. His approach is straight-forward-- if a problem is too complicated to talk out in earnest, he may not be able to fix it at all without someone else's help. And he will ask for help, that doesn't bother him, but it may take time for that to happen.
But he rarely gets depressed for his own sake. Most of the time, he can take a hard time and still be perfectly fine (he never places well in the competition, but that doesn't get him down), and small mess-ups don't bother him. When he is sad, it's usually because he’s worried for someone else. Or if he’s having romantic issues, which he is clueless about in general.
His case of puppy love with Kahoko is a prime example of this. It doesn't take very long at all (much faster than the other boys, for sure) for him to become attached to her, smitten with her attention and kindness towards him, as well as her dedication in general. Even the smallest things, like eye contact, or their hands brushing, sends him all in a fluster. And it takes several volumes for him to finally admit to himself that he loves her.
Even then, he only admits it to himself. He thinks about telling her, but after getting advice from Azuma, and having a few days to think, he decides not to, because he doesn't want to burden her with his feelings when she has more important things to worry about. He vows to himself to do this best, with his music and as a human being, and if he's worthy of her, she'll notice him. Her happiness is more important than his romantic feelings. Then he cheers up almost immediately.
So you could say that he's naturally an emotional person, but not the best at picking up on his own vibes. He can tell right away when someone else is hurting, even if they're trying to hide it, like Kahoko often does, but doesn't realize it when he's in just as much pain. He has a lot of empathy for others, but little for himself.
Still, it's rare for him to be down. We're talking like, a 90%-10% split here, 90 being happy and 10 being sad. He's normally super cheerful nearly all the time, I promise. He's not a very complicated character at all. I don't even think he's ever been really angry in canon, and there definitely isn't an ounce of hate in his heart.
In conclusion, more than anything, he wants the people around him and the ones he cares about to be happy. He just wants to feel good and have a good time, and share music with anyone who will listen! Kazuki is a great person to go to if you’re feeling down because it’s nearly impossible to be upset around his completely genuine cheerfulness. Even Kahoko admits that he has a sort of “magic” about him; all doubts seem to fade in the presence of his smile.
My favorite trait of his are his rampant metro-sexual tendencies. He often wears hairclips/ponytails, never dons the same outfit twice (hell, he never even wears his uniform correctly), can go to 15 clothing stores in a row and still want more, and was bribed into going to that after-commercial party with limited edition hightop sneakers. Number one clotheshorse.
Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Breeder! Kazuki isn’t much for competition, he just wants everyone to have a good time. He doesn’t like to see others hurt either, so I don’t think he would like being a trainer.
Starter: A male Popplio please!
Password: Atomic Fireball
Samples
RP Sample: Victory Road Test Drive Meme
I accidentally said in a few of the threads that Popplio was using Bubble, like, the attack Bubble. Capital B. But when I checked Popplio’s stats online, it turns out he can’t even learn Bubble! Bubblebeam, yes, but he’d have to be at a much higher level than I intended in this sample. I just assumed from his Pokedex entries (that are all about blowing bubbles) that he’d be able to use the actual attack, but… Nope. I’m very sorry about that. I’ll be sure to check attack lists thoroughly from now on before saying a Pokemon can use a certain move.
Victory Road Sample:
“Honky Tonk! I think you should use Water Gun!”
Kazuki’s tone was unsure as he commanded his Popplio. He wasn’t a trainer, and avoided most battles, but sometimes a flock of angry Spearow decided that you needed to get out of their territory right now and you didn’t have much choice in the matter. Thankfully, his Pokemon weren’t entirely inept when he came to defending themselves. Honky Tonk took the order with a sharp bark, and blew a pressurized stream of water at the cloud of pissed-off birds.
Spearow were not the best fliers. Once they were soaked with water, their tiny wings weren’t able to keep up their weight airborne. A few of them dropped to the ground in a clumsy, controlled fall. They didn’t seem terribly hurt, but with their flock broken up, the rest that Honky Tonk didn’t hit gave up pursuit. They retreated back to the grove of trees they were perching in before Kazuki crossed their path.
“I’m sorry for bothering you!” Kazuki called back to the Spearow that were still trying to dry themselves in the tall grass as he ran back to the safer main-path. “That’ll teach me to not try taking shortcuts again, huh Honky Tonk?”
“…Honky Tonk?”
Kazuki glanced behind himself, and noticed that his Popplio was glowing with a sparkling blue light. That wasn’t normal. None of his attacks did anything like that either. What was going on?
“Hey!” Kazuki got down to his knees with a worried expression. Was something wrong? Did those Spearow hurt him somehow? “What’s going on here buddy? Are you okay?”
The blue light grew brighter, to an almost-white as it fully engulfed the Popplio. His body raised in the air a bit, and he began to change shape. He got bigger, his ears turned up, and he grew more frills that went down his body and tail. As the light subsided, Kazuki could also see that he had turned a much brighter shade of blue.
“Briiii--one!” Honky Tonk happily declared, and struck a pose. Kazuki clapped, beside himself with wonder.
“Dude! Did you just do that evolving thing everyone’s been talking about? Wait just a sec…”
He dug through his pockets for his Pokedex, and pointed it at Honky Tonk.
“Brionne, the Pop Star Pokemon,” it whirred in its mechanical voice, “A skillful dancer, it creates a sequence of water balloons as it dances, and briskly bombards its enemies. It cares deeply for its companions. When its Trainer is feeling down, it performs a cheery dance to try and help.”
“Pop Star Pokemon? Honky Tonk, that’s awesome!” Kazuki raised his hand for a high-five, and Brionne joyfully complied, with a flourish! He had just evolved, and he already felt like dancing! He stood up on his tail and wiggled his hips in time to a little song he began to sing.
“You’re a real star now! But… Hmm, buddy, you got way cuter! I wasn’t expecting that!” Kazuki thought he’d just turn into a bigger Popplio, maybe with a new cape or something, but he didn’t seem bothered at all that his male Popplio just turned into a very female looking Brionne. In fact, the thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. There was nothing wrong with being a super-cute dude! “We should change our act a bit! Something that really takes advantage of that cuteness, you know?”
Honky Tonk nodded eagerly. Oh, he couldn’t wait to dance to some new tunes Kazuki thought up for him! They were going to be a better act than ever before!
“That settles it! When we get to the next town, we’re having your favorite Pokepuffs to celebrate! Congratulations, Honky Tonk!”