Description
Natsume Sakasaki leads the unit Switch within NEW DIMENSION, weaving a complex persona from significant past experiences and ongoing development. Born into a family of fortune-tellers, he maintains this tradition alongside his idol activities, frequently delivering mysterious pronouncements and behaving enigmatically. Despite this demeanor, he diligently pursues both paths, conducting experiments to realize his ideals and fuse innovative idol performances with his fortune-telling practice.
His appearance features golden eyes and distinctively asymmetrical red hair. A long red streak extends to his shoulder on the left side, contrasting against shorter hair elsewhere; portions are white, though red predominates. During earlier school years, he frequently wore a white lab coat over his uniform, later adopting standard attire without a tie and accessorizing with a pentagram necklace.
Layered contradictions define Natsume's personality. He cultivates an image of cool detachment, often speaking cryptically and ending sentences in katakana as a self-described "good luck charm" meant to create auditory dissonance. This masks deep-seated protectiveness toward those he cares about, including Shu, Sora, and his fellow Five Eccentrics seniors. He pushes himself to physical extremes for their benefit, though this monomaniacal focus sometimes leads him to neglect their emotional states, resulting in intense remorse and self-punishment afterward. He struggles with emotional honesty, obscuring vulnerability behind violence or evasion, yet genuine concern manifests through quiet support for others in distress.
His background profoundly informs his behavior. As a child with health issues, he underwent crossdressing under an old protective tradition, a topic he finds unpleasant when referenced by Tsumugi Aoba, who knew him during that period. This shared history contributes to Natsume's initial discomfort around Tsumugi, compounded later when Tsumugi aligns with Eichi Tenshouin's unit Fine during the war period.
The war deeply impacted Natsume. Shielded from direct combat by senior Eccentrics, he witnessed their successive downfalls from the sidelines. This bred intense frustration and guilt over his perceived inability to fight alongside them, forging a driving need for agency and revenge that fueled his later fixation on defeating Eichi. He channeled his helplessness into writing a script for a "happy ending" – the Eccentric Party Night – representing an idealized reunion. The script ultimately burned, symbolizing the irreversible collapse of that dream. His subsequent anger stemmed from both the Eccentrics' suffering and his own exclusion and desire to prove his capability to protect them.
Natsume harbors specific resentment toward Wataru Hibiki after Wataru joins Fine, viewing it as a betrayal. Despite this, he continues to regard Wataru as "Nii-san," understanding his reasons while lamenting the strategic complication it creates.
Gradual development occurs over time. By his second year, he begins managing emotions more healthily, slowly allowing others into spaces he previously guarded, such as secret rooms he created across campus for isolation. He installs hidden cameras in these areas, reflecting both his vigilance and lingering need for control. His relationship with Switch members Sora Harukawa and Tsumugi evolves, with Tsumugi noting Natsume's underlying care despite pretentiousness and Sora perceiving his essence as "beautiful, sparkly, and jewel-like."
Additional traits include academic disengagement due to self-directed advanced study and a preference for freedom; proficiency in baking; an aversion to swimming stemming from fear of ridicule; enjoyment of games paired with intense competitiveness; and wearing distinctive perfumes peers often note. He rejects conventional education as "brainwashing." His name etymology (夏目逆先) combines "summer eye" with "inverted future" or "reversal," hinting at themes of transformation and obscured perception within his narrative.
His appearance features golden eyes and distinctively asymmetrical red hair. A long red streak extends to his shoulder on the left side, contrasting against shorter hair elsewhere; portions are white, though red predominates. During earlier school years, he frequently wore a white lab coat over his uniform, later adopting standard attire without a tie and accessorizing with a pentagram necklace.
Layered contradictions define Natsume's personality. He cultivates an image of cool detachment, often speaking cryptically and ending sentences in katakana as a self-described "good luck charm" meant to create auditory dissonance. This masks deep-seated protectiveness toward those he cares about, including Shu, Sora, and his fellow Five Eccentrics seniors. He pushes himself to physical extremes for their benefit, though this monomaniacal focus sometimes leads him to neglect their emotional states, resulting in intense remorse and self-punishment afterward. He struggles with emotional honesty, obscuring vulnerability behind violence or evasion, yet genuine concern manifests through quiet support for others in distress.
His background profoundly informs his behavior. As a child with health issues, he underwent crossdressing under an old protective tradition, a topic he finds unpleasant when referenced by Tsumugi Aoba, who knew him during that period. This shared history contributes to Natsume's initial discomfort around Tsumugi, compounded later when Tsumugi aligns with Eichi Tenshouin's unit Fine during the war period.
The war deeply impacted Natsume. Shielded from direct combat by senior Eccentrics, he witnessed their successive downfalls from the sidelines. This bred intense frustration and guilt over his perceived inability to fight alongside them, forging a driving need for agency and revenge that fueled his later fixation on defeating Eichi. He channeled his helplessness into writing a script for a "happy ending" – the Eccentric Party Night – representing an idealized reunion. The script ultimately burned, symbolizing the irreversible collapse of that dream. His subsequent anger stemmed from both the Eccentrics' suffering and his own exclusion and desire to prove his capability to protect them.
Natsume harbors specific resentment toward Wataru Hibiki after Wataru joins Fine, viewing it as a betrayal. Despite this, he continues to regard Wataru as "Nii-san," understanding his reasons while lamenting the strategic complication it creates.
Gradual development occurs over time. By his second year, he begins managing emotions more healthily, slowly allowing others into spaces he previously guarded, such as secret rooms he created across campus for isolation. He installs hidden cameras in these areas, reflecting both his vigilance and lingering need for control. His relationship with Switch members Sora Harukawa and Tsumugi evolves, with Tsumugi noting Natsume's underlying care despite pretentiousness and Sora perceiving his essence as "beautiful, sparkly, and jewel-like."
Additional traits include academic disengagement due to self-directed advanced study and a preference for freedom; proficiency in baking; an aversion to swimming stemming from fear of ridicule; enjoyment of games paired with intense competitiveness; and wearing distinctive perfumes peers often note. He rejects conventional education as "brainwashing." His name etymology (夏目逆先) combines "summer eye" with "inverted future" or "reversal," hinting at themes of transformation and obscured perception within his narrative.