Today I want to talk about Atsuko and her hair. Atsuko seems to hide most her hair under her cloak, but it goes down to her hips, as seen in her swimsuit. To get the leotard out of the way, it's just her hair in a natural state; purple and straight. I say seems to hide, because her braids are loose and go down to her torso, so it's likely that she simply put her hair in front of her while wearing the cloak. Her braids are tied rather high up for an ending with orange ribbons, providing a unique color to the otherwise white, purple and silver-blue Atsuko.
Atsuko's hair in her swimsuit is in a ponytail that's tied at her neck so it is able to go down to its natural end length. It's also been touched by the sea breeze with how it's not perfectly in place.
While Atsuko's hair is relatively simple and relatively secure under her hood, the rest of her design is anything but. For example, her dark blue boots show an effective fighter, but the knee-high frilly socks with orange ribbons like in her hair show a delicate flower under the harshness. The cold and ruthless colors of the gloves and other dark blue accessories like her ammo pouches contrasts with the gentle and kind white of her cloak and sundress. A tragedy in a girl raised in a bad environment, and success in how she can find color even in a world devoid of it. Finally, there is a certain catchphrase that’s both on her gun, and the inside of her cloak. When all is in vain, what is the point in showing the world that all is in vain?
Swimsuit Atsuko is very expressive, having 33 total expressions in just one sprite. That might be a record, but also fits the story that Atsuko and her camera tells. There’s a lot of moments in life that you’ll capture in your head, from simple childhood memories of getting on a bus while drenched from rain, to great accomplishments like receiving a diploma, or even just having an animal cuddle up next to you. But I’m getting sidetracked. Atsuko’s outfit is very simple in how it’s all shades of white. It’s very pure, which makes sense for her, but also says that even if she’s been raised in a world of darkness, there’s light to be found in it after all. A very respectable mindset that probably helped the rest of the Arius squad whenever they had a particularly rough day. Whenever that happened, Atsuko was probably there with something silly or comforting for the rest of the group. One last thing with her swimsuit is that her necklace in the shape of a purple 3D cross is very reminiscent of her leotard’s outfit.
It might seem like a bold claim, but I’m certain the Arius Squad manages to clean their hair with surprisingly acceptable quality. Realistically, their conditions are only a bit worse than the Rabbit Squad in that they can’t guarantee anything other than shelter with food and water having to come from various sources. I’ll concede that I don’t quite know the Arius dynamic since I only have Hiyori and Misaki, which while both firsthand perspectives of living as the Arius Squad, are definitely going to tip the scales into it being a miserable existence. Atsuko seems like she manages to find the best out of the situation, and likely finds a way to have her and her squad have clean hair. The second surprise would be that Atsuko’s hair does have a scent to it, but it’s a faint amalgamation of flowers, almost like they’re a memory in your head.
link to previous entries (assuming I don't forget):
https://rentry.org/hair_archive