Minatsuki Takami

Minatsuki Takami (鷹見 水名月, Takami Minatsuki) a.k.a Hummingbird, a Deadman previously secluded in G Ward and the younger sister of Yō Takami.

Background
Minatsuki was previously just an ordinary girl. One day, an earthquake happened while she was in a greenhouse. Her mother came, but much to her surprise and horror, she grabbed one of the plants and ran off, leaving Minatsuki behind. The entrance collapsed on her though, killing her. This eventually caused Minatsuki to become a warped liar (and gained her Branch of Sin powers) with a sadistic personality.

She lived with her father and brother from then onwards. Because of her twisted personality, she manipulated Yō Takami to think their father was physically abusing her, often resulting in her brother beating up his father in retaliation.

One day, she faked a sexual assault and Yō attacked his father once again. For reasons unknown, however, Minatsuki used her powers and killed her father. Not knowing of Minatsuki's abilities, Yō held himself responsible, nevertheless, she was sent to Deadman Wonderland not long afterward, and because of her powers, she was confined in G Ward.

Appearance
Minatsuki is a 17-year old girl with brown hair that was kept in two braided ponytails over her shoulders, but it was later cut off in a penalty game, brown eyes and a tongue piercing.

Once she was out of Deadman Wonderland, she grew her hair and she now keeps it in a small braid. She usually wears a yellow dress that reaches down to her knees. In her Carnival Corpse, she wore a light pink pantsuit with a long purple dress over it. She also wore white, fingerless gloves. She also wears handcuffs that are connected by a chain, but sometimes the chain appears to be severed. During her fight with Ganta, she used them to block Ganta's attacks.

Personality
When Ganta Igarashi encounters Minatsuki for the first time, she appears as an extremely shy and gentle girl who stands at odds with the place she is held in. This was also seemingly confirmed by her love for flowers. Overall, she displayed a very kind and caring personality. However, this reserved and quiet personality is just a disguise to hide her true nature and to deceive those around her into feeling secure. Her true nature is that of a sadistic psychopath so twisted that she becomes sexually aroused by witnessing others suffer. Later on in the series, it is shown that some of these nice personality traits weren't all farced though she does try to keep them hidden.

Minatsuki also appears to be a gifted actor, as she was able to convince Ganta that she was a kind individual during their first meeting, and even managed to switch back to her ruse when her brother Yo interrupted her battle with the Woodpecker. Despite having several flowers decorating her room, the primroses remind her of the day her mother abandoned her during the earthquake, while turning around to save the flowers she was tending at the time. Seeing this planted a seed of anger in the young Minatsuki, turning her into a compulsive liar, and possibly acting as the foundation for her jaded views and overall hatred of the world around her.

After losing her match to Ganta during the Carnival Corpse, she manages to form an estranged bond with her brother, and calms down considerably upon realizing that he genuinely cares for her well-being. During her punishment game, Minatsuki openly expresses fear at the idea of losing another piece of her body, angrily noting to herself that it isn't like her to react like that. Despite her grudging acceptance of those around her, she still lashes out from time to time. She seems to be particularly annoyed when people see her in a state of surprise undress, as shown when she almost attacked Ganta for walking in on her while her body was partially exposed.

Yō Takami
Yō is Minatsuki's older brother. Until the earthquake, they had a normal brother-sister relationship. Yō dedicated himself to protecting her, even going as far to attack their father when he believed he was sexually abusing her. After reuniting in Deadman Wonderland during her Carnival Corpse with Ganta Igarashi, she puts on a ruse in order to make Yō think she is innocent, which only momentarily works until he asks about their father's death. Going to her true personality, she uses Yō as a human shield and attacks him some, believing him to be a liar like she did everyone else. After she loses to Ganta, she forms a slightly estranged bond with Yō which, as the series progresses, turns into a more typical brother-sister relationship. This does not, however, stop her from occasionally lashing out at him and making jokes at his expense, which seems to irritate and surprise him at times. Yō does, however, tend to get on her nerves at times, such as when he offered to help her out of her clothes after her fight and joining the Deadman Wonderland Infiltration Squad, showing that while he knows she can protect herself, it's still in his brotherly nature.

Ganta Igarashi
Ganta and Minatsuki have a friendship that can be described as strange at times. Initially, the two tried to escape Deadman Wonderland, when in reality she was trying to injure him before the Carnival Corpse. After the fight and considerably calming down, she's shown to be able to hold civil conversations with him on a somewhat regular basis, though does occasionally snap at him, mainly when he saw her undressing or nearly naked. She was seen with Shiro and Chaplin Sukegawa trying to figure out a way to cheer Ganta up after Nagi Kengamine's death, though this was more on Shiro's part than hers. When Shiro came to ask her for advice, Minatsuki suggested throwing numerous random insults at Ganta, though whether or not she was joking is somewhat ambiguous. She seemed hurt when Ganta defended the Ninben, mainly Azami Midō, and declared that he couldn't be trusted. Some time afterward, after having a conversation with Shiro, she truly started seeing Ganta as a friend and, with the help of some of the other Deadmen, went to go rescue him. Ganta on the other hand, considers Minatsuki to be a friend right after the Carnival Corpse, even going as far as to try and stop her penalty game after losing. Throughout the series, while it's never explicitly stated, it's suggested that Minatsuki harbors some slight romantic feelings for him.

Prison Arc
In the anime, Minatsuki is seen eating a candy.

Deadman Arc
Minatsuki is first seen when she, Idaki Hitara, Masu and Chaplin Sukegawa went to meet Ganta Igarashi where she still appears as a shy and vulnerable girl. She accompanies the group to go see the Penalty Game for Kiyomasa Senji, in which he had his right eye removed. During these images, she kept her smile and acted like nothing important was going on.

The next day, she was assaulted by Masu, who wanted to eat her flowers. Ganta comes out of his room and offers Masu his breakfast in exchange for the flowers. He takes Minatsuki back in her room where Ganta sees her collection of flowers.

She later shows him the scars on her back, claiming that they were the result of abuse from her father. Ganta accidentally sees her chest, but she hastily apologizes before covering up her exposed body. Minatsuki claims that she does not wish to use her powers to harm others, earning a sense of sympathy from her visitor. Ganta asked her to escape with him, but during the attempt, they were caught by the guards, who seemed amused by the idea of the next match. She then told Ganta that they were paired up to battle each other in the Carnival Corpse.

When the Carnival Corpse first began, Ganta was reluctant to fight her, a notion she initially appeared to reciprocate. Minatsuki's behavior shifted once she tore out her earrings, revealing her Branch of Sin to him. Using the thin stream of blood extending from her ears, she used her Whip Wing attack to lash out at her opponent, shouting obscenities and playing mind games with him. Upon realizing the truth about his adversary, Ganta became enraged and attempted to attack, but Yō appeared in the arena disguised as a security guard and berated Ganta for attacking a girl while revealing Minatsuki to be his younger sister.

Although the prison guards attempted to remove him, the promoter allowed him to enter the arena, claiming that it would be good for the viewers to see a little bit of humanity. Minatsuki played innocent and apologized for her brutality, pretending that she regretted everything that had happened while taking cheap shots at Ganta with her whips. Realizing that his sister was not as innocent as she claimed, Yō confronted her about the death of their father, and claimed not to care about her powers, but Minatsuki responded by using her brother as a shield from Ganta's attacks. During this time she curses about her mother, revealing that she had been abandoned during the earthquake years ago, partially explaining her warped views and intense rage. Yō claimed he didn't know about this, only to be repeatedly attacked by his sister's whips. Ganta stands up for Yō, but Minatsuki reveals that her brother was only using him and insanely declares that everybody lies. Realizing the ineffectiveness of his attacks, Ganta managed to defeat her using the ricochet from his shots to hit her, and finishes her off with a head-butt.

After the Carnival Corpse, Minatsuki was taken to the medical care, where Yō and Ganta stood by her bed discussing the recent events. Hagire and Wretched Egg's fight creates a tremor, causing the whole room to shake violently. Minatsuki's bed rolled over to a class closet, causing it to collapse while posing the risk of Minatsuki being crushed. She started having a flashback of the previous earthquake, when her mother abandoned her, but Yō jumps in the way and stops the closet, protecting his sister while taking the full force of the blow. Yō asked Ganta to help him and Minatsuki asks if he's alright. Her brother assures her that it is nothing, but Minatsuki sees his injuries and insults him for lying. Yō rationalizes that he protected her because he's her brother, prompting her to pull the glass shards from his wounds. They start to clean up the room, with Ganta excusing himself shortly after. Yō laters asks her if she needs help taking a shower in her injured state, but Minatsuki angrily throws him out of her room, accusing him of having a sister complex as she boots him through the door.

Scar Chain Arc
While waiting for her penalty game to begin, Ganta walks in on her in state of undress, prompting her to threaten him with death. He quickly apologizes before telling her that he wants to stop her from losing more organs, but Minatsuki shrugs him off claiming that she already lost a piece of her stomach and one of her kidneys. While he seems horrified by the concept, she simply mentions that her brother had a similar reaction and supposedly went off to remedy the problem. Ganta mentions that Yō wants to buy her freedom with Cast Points, but she grumbles how he's only getting her hopes up for nothing. During her punishment after the match, Minatsuki feels a sense of fear towards losing a body part, quickly noting that's it's not like her. She seems relieved when the slot machine indicates she will only lose some hair, and quietly complains that the decency expressed towards her by Ganta and her brother was to blame for her change in behavior.

After Ganta joins the resistance movement, Scar Chain, Minatsuki is seen nursing her brother back to health after he was attacked by Azuma Genkaku of the Undertakers. Yō wonders out loud where Ganta is, but his sister chastises him for worrying about the Woodpecker when she had just spent the entire night taking care of him. After Scar Chain's first breakout attempt fails, the Takami siblings meet Ganta wandering the halls. Yō warns him not to fight Genkaku, but the group is interrupted by Senji, who tells the others that he is actively training Ganta to kill the Undertakers before getting angry at Minatsuki for wearing semi-revealing clothing. She responds by flashing Senji her underwear. She accompanies them back to Senji's room and learns that Ganta is trying to learn how to shoot his blood faster than the speed of sound. The Woodpecker complains that he's having trouble, but Minatsuki suggests he visualize his blood as water to make it easier to concentrate, before squeezing a juice-box in his face as a demonstration.

In the anime, when Ganta is on his way to confront the Undertakers after they captured Karako and Shiro, he's stopped by a group of them. Minatsuki uses her supersonic Branch of Sin to kill them, allowing Ganta to keep going.

Forgeries Arc
Following the mass escape of Deadmen, the Takami siblings check up in Ganta on his room. Seeing that Shiro wants to cheer him up, Minatsuki tells her to use insults to make him feel better, only further confusing the albino girl. Chaplin Sukegawa agrees to help out as well and takes Minatsuki and Shiro to the kitchen so they can prepare a meal for Ganta, although the results prove inedible even to Masu. She falls asleep (defeated by the meals) in the kitchen alongside Shiro and Chaplin, and is later seen watching in horror when the Forgeries are revealed to the public. When Toto Sakigami resurfaces, the G Ward inmates throw a party to celebrate Mockingbird's return and Minatsuki attends.

The next morning, she and the other Deadmen wake up to find a mask in their room, inscribed with an invitation to a Carnival Corpse event along with notes poking fun at their past misfortunes. She flies into a rage and joins her fellow Deadmen to confront the Forgeries. After she saves Senji from one of their opponents, the group is joined by Toto Sakigami. Minatsuki repeatedly strikes her victim while claiming that death is too good for them, her words spurring the others to finish off the enemy in a brutal fashion. As the battle draws to a close, the fighters are accidentally taken down by a gigantic blast from Ganta, leaving Minatsuki and several others passed out on the ground. Three days later, she is seen having her wounds treated by Yo. Although Ganta tries to apologize for the incident, she angrily declares that no one can be trusted in Deadman Wonderland, prompting her brother to kick him out.

When Azami Midō is found lying injured in G Ward, Minatsuki joins several others in attacking the Forgery, only stopping when Shiro intervenes. The group of Deadmen angrily declare that they won't let the Forgeries get away with bringing up their past insecurities, prompting Minatsuki to lash out angrily. Shiro calls the other Deadmen weak, because unlike Ganta, they can't put their pasts behind them and look towards the future. Shiro's words have a profound effect on the group, and the Deadmen begin to regret shunning Ganta. Minatsuki angrily curses herself, wondering if by considering him a traitor, she had also begun to think of him as a friend.

Revolt Arc
During Makina's operation to dismantle Deadman Wonderland, Minatsuki appears alongside Senji Kiyomasa, Chaplin Sukegawa, and Idaki Hitara to protect Ganta's group from the Complete Forgeries. While the two men engage their respective opponents, Minatsuki and Chaplin team-up to battle with Uzume Sumeragi. Minatsuki is surprised to see her opponent can fly using butterfly wing made out of blood, but her shock turns to rage when the enemy begins to mock them. Uzume places Minatsuki under a hallucination, during which she imagines herself as a child having her hair braided by her mother. Her mother attempts to kill her and beckons Minatsuki to join her in death, but she fights back with her Branch of Sin.

Still trapped by Uzume's power, Minatsuki and Chaplin do not realize that they are actually attacking each other. She eventually manages to break the hallucination, and brings Chaplin out of it by kicking her in the testicles before she can injure her too severely. Uzume becomes angered by their resistance and attacks them with her blood while calling them both ugly. Minatsuki combines her Whip Wing with Chaplin's attack, their mixed powers defeating Uzume with a single hit. Minatsuki simply comments that Uzume's face became ugly after struck down by their attack, and the two Deadmen leave her body lying on the ground.

When G Ward is attacked by the Deadman Wonderland Special Hunting Force, Minatsuki flees with the others. After the closing of Deadman Wonderland by the Japanese Government, she is seen talking with her brother and their fellow inmates while waiting to be transferred from the destroyed facility.

Return to Deadman Wonderland Arc
Following the abandonment of Deadman Wonderland, Makina plans to infiltrate the prison in order to stop Hagire Rinichirō and the Wretched Egg. Minatsuki joins the effort alongside several other Deadmen, and the group waits near the water to board a submarine commissioned by Makina. During this time, Eko Kaido compliments her beauty, but her brother Yo prevents any further flirtation by hitting him with his shoe. Upon their arrival, the group is attacked by the Wretched Egg. Although Ganta severely wounds her in the ensuing battle, Minatsuki and the others are seen watching in horror as the Wretched Egg's body regenerates the tissue and organs. Makina disperses the group into three smaller units. While wandering the remains of the prison, Minatsuki and Chaplin's group find a chorus block and a book with the name of Ganta's mother written on the cover.

She then carries the items back to Makina's location, getting into a small argument with Karako Koshio and displaying annoyance with Chaplin's usual antics. The group notices that Ganta's team hasn't returned yet, but soon make a much more disturbing discovery while analyzing one of the chorus blocks from the Mother Goose System. Makina tells her team that the substance inside is actually minced human flesh taken from the Wretched Egg herself, causing Minatsuki to react with terror and disgust. During her outburst, she begins to question what Shiro and her creators were doing, but the others remain silent as Yo embraces his distraught sister. The infiltration team reads the journal left behind by Sorae Igarashi, and learns a bit about Shiro's origins and the past she shared with Ganta's mother and Hagire Rinichirō.

Minatsuki later joins up with her brother and Karako in searching for Ganta and Senji, only to find the remains of a struggle where the others had encountered Toto Sakigami earlier. The sound of the violent battle on the floor above leads them to their comrades, but by the time they arrive, Crow and Woodpecker have already defeated the Mockingbird. Minatsuki compliments them on their victory and helps her companions bring the injured duo back to the submarine for medical treatment. She is later seen sitting beside his bed when Ganta wakes up, casually remarking that he was was out for over a day.

After hearing the truth about the Mother Goose System from Ganta, the group ventures into the bowels of Deadman Wonderland so that he can unlock the system. Before he triggers the switch, Hagire Rinichirō arrives in the guise of Toto, now badly injured from his wounds and barely clinging to life. Although he attempts to kill Ganta, Minatsuki fights alongside the other Deadman to protect him from Hagire's rage.

When Hagire was killed by Ganta, Shiro used this opportunity to destroy the Mother Goose System and regain her true powers, which she quickly displays by destroying half of island. As the building they were in starts to collapse on them, Senji and the others resurface to take the Deadmen back and escape.

Epilogue
After a short time skip, Minatsuki is released from prison and starts going to school. She returns home from school to be greeted by her older brother who asks how she did on the test. She jokingly thinks about quitting school. It then cuts to her doing school work in her room.

Abilities
Branch of Sin: As a Deadman, Minatsuki possesses a Branch of Sin. This allows her to freely control her blood outside of her body. To forcedly bring her blood out, she rips out one of her earrings.

Branch of Sin: Whip Wing (ウイツプ・ウイング, Uippu Uingu): Her Branch of Sin, which takes the form of long strands of blood resembling whips which extend from her hair, can deliver immensely quick blows or restrain her opponent/s. In the anime, Minatsuki can do what she calls "surpassing the speed of light" with her Whip Wing. This is likely a mistake and what she's actually referring to is a supersonic Branch of Sin.


 * Whip Wing, Peacock Peak's Union: A joint attack with Chaplin Sukegawa. Her whip grows in size and gains the attributes of Chaplin's Branch of Sin. The attack is powerful enough to defeat Uzume Sumeragi in a single hit.

Etymology

 * The name Minatsuki means "water" (水) (mi), "name, noted, distinguished, reputation" (名) (na) and "moon" (月) (tsuki).
 * Minatsuki's surname Takami means "hawk, falcon" (鷹) (taka) and "see, hopes, chances, idea, opinion, look at, visible" (見) (mi).

Trivia

 * In Chapter 32, Minatsuki's info card mistakenly reads Mocking Bird instead of Hummingbird.
 * Before Minatsuki's Penalty Game after her match with Ganta Igarashi, she reveals she had part of her stomach and kidney removed in the Too Bad for the Loser Gameshow. However, there are a few differences in the anime and manga:
 * In the anime, her body has a scar left by stitches just about where the left kidney would be.
 * In the manga, her body does not reveal any signs of surgery.
 * It has been somewhat of a running gag where any male character (usually Ganta) would see Minatsuki undressed, only to be either threatened or have flower pots thrown at them.

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Minatsuki Takami