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I see. Our hatred... and the words "everything is in vain"... … Everything I've done, it's all lies. I was stupid, clumsy, and weak.. Like a plague, I drove everyone to ruin. what. It was like that after all. It was all because of me. Azusa was able to be happy because she was free from me. I just wanted to deny that truth to the end.
Saori Joumae (錠前サオリ in Japanese) is one of the characters in the 2021 roleplay game Blue Archive who studies in Arius Branch School (or Arius Satellite School) and wields an Assault Rifle. She is the leader of the Arius Squad, a squad of elite members of Arius handpicked by Beatrice, the student council president of Arius at that time. A master at guerilla tactics, she is fit for every mission, be it easy or difficult. Her murderous demeanor is one to be aware of. However, she appears to have another side to her...
Saori played as the one of the main antagonists during the third chapter of the third volume of the main story, the "Treaty of Eden", where she and the Arius Squad incited a war between two of the greatest academies, Trinity General School and Gehenna Academy. However, she and the squad later ran away after receiving defeat due to being afraid of being killed by Beatrice for failing their mission. The fourth chapter is when she became a protagonist, requesting the help of the Sensei of Schale, the main character of Blue Archive, in rescuing one of her friends who got captured by Beatrice. Here is where she learned her mistakes and strived to be a better person, in which she proved to have accomplished throughout the second and third chapter of the final volume, "Where All Miracles Begin".
Appearance[]
Saori's appearance is a tall beauty with blue eyes and blue hair, basically wearing a mask, and a mercenary look wearing a tank top and leggings that show off her abs.
Personality[]
As the leader of an elite unit, Saori possesses the main traits of a leader: strategic, fierce, and responsible. She backs this up by her strong and hard-working front, going through any task given to her no matter how grueling or deadly. Despite her cold-hearted looks however, she actually has a soft side to her that can be seen whenever she tries to protect her friends from the Arius Squad, namely Atsuko Hikari, Misaki Imashino, and Hiyori Tsuchinaga, from the hands of Beatrice. It was revealed that Saori took care of the three ever since little, training and helping them grow in hopes of finding new light through the harsh environment of Arius under Beatrice's rule. It was only due to Beatrice's enforcement of certain "truths" that Saori developed the cold-hearted front she's known for today. It's also thanks to these "truths" that Saori began believing that life, including hers, is meaningless. She also has a habit of keeping her pain onto herself, not wanting to bring others down although it ended up doing the opposite of what she wanted.
After rescuing her friends and defeating Beatrice with the help of Sensei, Saori wanted to take responsibility for forcing her friends to suffer all these years and give herself to Sensei for any punishment that was deemed necessary for her. However, Sensei told her to instead live her life the way she wanted. Although she was confused at first, this was, as she said it herself, the first time she felt she had a reason to live. Afterwards, she spent her days as a part-timer in the Black Market. However, since her whole life was spent training and protecting her friends while being secluded in Arius, she didn't know how real life works, requiring her to ask for Sensei's help in simple things such as reading and signing contracts and understanding holidays like Valentine's.
Deals a percentage of ATK as guaranteed CRIT.DMG to 1 enemy.
Normal
Immediate Firing
Increases CRIT.DMG every 25 sec for 16 sec. Deals a percentage of ATK as guaranteed CRIT.DMG to 1 enemy.
Passive
Training Result
Increases CRIT.DMG.
Sub
Leader's Sense of Responsibility
Increases ATK when there are 2 or more current/former Arius students in the unit, including self and variants.
Trivia[]
The quote "Vanitas Vanitatum et omnia Vanitas" comes from Ecclesiastes 12:8 which translates from Latin to "Vanity of vanities, all is vanity." This quote circles around Arius Satellite School due to Beatrice instilling it to all the students' minds, alongside the hatred towards Trinity, which was supported by the fact Arius was known for interpreting the ancient scriptures differently.
She is one of the few characters in Blue Archive who wields two different firearms. In her case, they're an assault rifle (primary) and a pistol (secondary).