.~*~.: ATONEMENT - home :.~*~.

Maya! Everyone's favorite reporter for Coolest, Maya's character charmed me the second I met her. Between her relentless cheerful disposition, her beloved Mr. Bunbun

, a gift handmade for her late father (who told her to hang onto it until he came home) before he went on the trip that would lead to his death, and kept by her until adulthood as a memento, and her unwavering kindness and optimism to the point of, upon her death, merely cupping the protagonist's face in her hands and telling the cast to move on and stay positive; to simply forget about her and move on. (This, of course, would not happen, which is why we even have Eternal Punishment to begin with.)

Oops, all spoilers! Unfortunately, why I like her so much has to do a lot with plot-sensitive points in the story. X'D

She's kind, gentle, funny (her room being a complete mess to the point where every single boy is offput by it, having a 'crazy' roommate who, honestly, is just as odd as her, as well as generally having a great sense of humor) and positive.. and attractive; all points which come together to make her settle snugly as my Top Favorite character from both games!

Eikichi is another one of my favorites! The narcissistic, self-aggrandizing rockstar (with no band, and no songs) was not only consistently the funniest character in Innocent Sin, but ended up being a lovable character who I found myself deeply relating to.

His self-confidence is carefully constructed, a front to hide how insecure he is from his background of bullying from his peers for being overweight as a kid, and the mistreatment he's been subjected to from his father. Eikichi is heavily implied to have an eating disorder, as he encourages the protagonist to simply not eat to lose weight, so the protagonist can "be like [him]".

His Shadow spits his own insecurities in his face, telling him the reason Miyabi; his childhood friend who's friends used to tease him for his weight, and who he's always had a crush on, was too ashamed to face him again (he'd lost weight so he'd appeal to her, as well as being sick from the constant bullying, and she'd gained weight on purpose out of the guilt she felt for bullying him for his weight) to the point she joined the Masked Circle and made a wish to Joker to be thin again was his fault; His story focusing around what the cycles of being bullied and becoming a bully can do to you and your loved ones, and I felt myself deeply touched by that, as someone who had a long history of being ostracized by their peers, punching not only sideways but downwards as a way to deal with the insecurities that came with that.