Chigusa Kisaragi
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Chigusa Kisaragi (如月千草 Kisaragi Chigusa) is the mother of Chihaya Kisaragi and Yuu Kisaragi, as well as a recurring character in the universe of THE iDOLM@STER. She is voiced by Akiko Hiramatsu (平松晶子 Hiramatsu Akiko).
Character Description
Chigusa is the mother of Chihaya and Yuu, having once been a very kind woman until the accident that took Yuu's life. Afterwards she became a bitter shell of herself, being described by Chihaya as "a middle-aged woman who had exhausted her efforts to be a mother", constantly taking her anger out on her husband as well as actively neglecting her surviving child. Her interactions with Chihaya were limited when they lived together and mainly consisted of Chigusa ranting about her husband, who she eventually divorces around the time Chihaya moved out. She was so negligent of Chihaya during this time that she wasn't even aware of how much she loved to sing.[1] While Chihaya has long given up on restoring her relationship with her mother (with the exception of the anime canon), she still cherishes the memories of when her mother was nicer.
Media Appearances
THE iDOLM@STER Character Master
Chigusa appears in Chihaya's short story from the Character Master guide, titled "Wings of the Heart" (心の翼 Kokoro no Tsubasa). In it, there's a scene of her fighting with her husband before turning her anger on Chihaya.[2]
THE iDOLM@STER anime
The anime is the only time Chigusa appears, now having a name and voice. She is seen calling Chihaya a number of times throughout the second half of the show for unknown reasons, though Chihaya always ends up upset afterwards. When Chihaya goes into her depressive state in episode 20, she greets Haruka Amami and hands her Yuu's sketchbook. When Haruka askes why Chigusa doesn't give it to Chihaya herself, she says their relationship is too far gone for her efforts to matter. After the events of episode 20, Chihaya tries to reconnect with her and calls her for Christmas. In the movie, Chihaya considers inviting Chigusa to her concert. The end credits show an image of Chihaya writing a letter to her while abroad.
THE iDOLM@STER ONE FOR ALL
While she doesn't appear in this game, the events relating to Yuu's accident as well as Chigusa's involvement in Chihaya's abuse are discussed in length. After Yuu passed away, she became very negligent of Chihaya, leading Chihaya to feel very isolated and cut off from her. Chihaya reflects on her mother and how she used to be kind prior to everything, but eventually succumbed to the guilt of Yuu's death and became angry with both her and her father. She talks about a time where she saw her parents highly distressed, which led her to ask Chigusa why she doesn't just divorce her father. She claims Chigusa snapped and said that Chihaya is the reason they stayed together. This led Chihaya to regret ever being born, and Chigusa never apologized to her afterwards.[3]
Trivia and Fan Culture
Trivia
- The second kanji in her first name is highly debated between being 千草 and 千種. The former Chihaya has in her phone in the anime while the latter was used in the ending credits for the show.
- Akihiro Ishihara mentioned in an interview that the reason why Chihaya shares the same Chi (千) character in her name as her mother, to remind that Chihaya was born out of her parents' love and her relationship with her mother before Yuu's death wasn't bad.[4]
- Chihaya is still legally dependent on Chigusa as discussed in One For All given her age as a minor, and rants to Producer about how she wishes she could have someone else sponsor her apartment.
- Chigusa used to give Chihaya a kiss on her forehead to help her sleep, a memory that Chihaya holds closely.[5]
- Chihaya has also mentioned her mother taking her on a snowing trip, her giving Yuu and her presents on Christmas, as well as taking her to see dolphins at the zoo.
Gallery
Chigusa arguing with her husband in a flashback from the anime.
