Karen Kisaragi

Appearance: Karen is a short, slender young woman with a fair complexion, short, brownish-green hair that falls just above her shoulders and is slightly curled; notably, two of her bangs cross over each other on either side of her eyes. She has blue-green eyes behind her thin white glasses.

She wears the standard uniform of Hope's Peak Academy: a white dress shirt, a brown jacket, a long navy-blue skirt, and black shoes with short white socks.

Background: Karen's early life was described as average; her father was an executive at an American oil company in a Japanese branch, and her mother was his secretary. By the time she was in her teenage years, she decided to follow in her mother's footsteps and become a secretary herself, but she didn't work for her father's oil company. She started small at a local Japanese fish restaurant when she was 16, then climbed the ranks and learned a lot as she progressed in her career. She was hit on often by the men, both her co-workers and her boss alike, but she remained undeterred and told them off firmly. Because she was well-known in the business world, Hope's Peak Academy heard of her exploits and invited her to their Ultimate Talent Program, to which Karen happily agreed.

Personality: Beyond Karen's background, she is a collected and reserved individual who exhibits introverted and extroverted personality traits in equal measure. Usually, when something bad happens, another good thing happens to her, and vice versa. She is well-mannered and polite, while she also doesn't hesitate to speak her mind when necessary. At times, depending on her mood, she either focuses on facts and results-based thinking when approaching situations or relies on her emotions, always thinking she's right. In a way, she is selfless, caring about the well-being of others, but she's also easily manipulated because her job requires her to be open-minded.

With her secretary skills, Karen is more than proficient in her job, given the duality of her introverted and extroverted tendencies. At work, she is a great communicator and thoughtful speaker, being capable of minimizing conflict and articulating her facts with thorough research and deduction. She can prioritize and organize her tasks in her head with incredible speed and carry them out while identifying risks and emergencies along the way. All the while, Karen doesn't mind using slang or going outside her professional behavior to connect with others. She understands rapport is important in building trust, and she uses it to her advantage to ensure a win-win situation for everyone around her.

However, Karen isn't without flaws, especially when she panics when she fails at something major. In fact, Karen usually goes into a hysterical state when there's extreme pressure on her, which makes her want to lash out and hurt others around her. She is unaware of this state, but when she finishes, she doesn't remember anything before. Moreover, Karen isn't brave, and she cowers in fear when threatened. She's even afraid of things like rats or people who look like they could kill her with one punch.