Konoko

SPOILER WARNING; it is assumed you have played the game before reading this page.

Konoko's game model (TCTF outfit)

Konoko's set of fly-in portraits

Character notes from the manual Bio Data: Orphaned at the age of 3, the woman now code-named Konoko has been raised as a ward of the World Coalition government ever since. Her upbringing has been overseen by a legion of scientists and TCTF personnel, and she has been trained in the most advanced combat and counter-terrorism techniques. Strengths: Master of hand-to-hand combat, expert marksman. Special Moves: Rising Fury Punch, Devil Spin Kick, Twister Kick Weaknesses: Emotional attachment to the Shinatama SLD. Description: Konoko has been raised by the TCTF for as long as she can remember. She knows that she is somehow "different" from other people, but she is anxious to prove herself to Commander Griffin and the rest of the TCTF.

Mai Hasegawa, code-named Konoko, is the protagonist controlled by the player in the 2001 third-person action game Oni. She has black hair with purple highlights, and stands about five and a half feet tall. Her age is not given in the game's material. She works as a TCTF agent, a police officer who fights technological crime. She is one of only two prime Daodan symbiotes, giving her considerable strength and stamina.

Konoko's story

Childhood

Mai's mother Jamie died while Mai was very young, perhaps while she was still an infant. As the manual indicates, Mai was then separated from her father at the age of 3. Because she did not think about her parents for so long, she seems to have forgotten about any life before she was brought to the TCTF.

When she was 7, the TCTF implanted in her a prototype Daodan Chrysalis developed by her father. Although this was done without her knowledge, as mentioned in the manual, she knows she is different from others somehow.

TCTF agent

At the start of Oni, Konoko was working under the orders of Commander Griffin. She received mission data from Shinatama, an SLD, and her Chrysalis' development was monitored by the SLD as well as the scientists working for the TCTF, including Doctor Kerr. However, she had not been assigned any missions before the events of Oni.

After completing her training, Konoko was assigned her first mission: a rendezvous with an undercover TCTF operative working in a Syndicate warehouse. Upon discovering the agent's dead body, she found a datapad linking the warehouse to the Musashi Heavy Manufacturing Concern, a suspected Syndicate front.

Following the lead on Musashi, Konoko led a team to investigate the company, but were quickly ambushed by Syndicate forces. While Konoko and her team were trapped within the building, Syndicate forces, under the command of Barabas, attacked a nearby research facility.

Upon reaching the research facility, Konoko had her first battle with Barabas; however he and his boss, Muro, escaped. Konoko pursued Muro to the Vansam Regional Airport, during which time Muro found out about Konoko's neural link to Shinatama, and sent Barabas to abduct Shinatama from the TCTF Regional HQ.

Konoko managed to enter the TCTF Regional HQ as it fell under attack from Syndicate forces. Despite gaining assistance from the besieged TCTF personnel still alive after the attack, Konoko was unable to stop Barabas from capturing Shinatama, and fought him for a second time on the roof of the HQ, as Shinatama was carried away in a Syndicate helicopter.

Going rogue

When Shinatama is kidnapped from the TCTF HQ, Konoko decided to rescue Shinatama personally. Griffin, on the other hand, opposed her decision, stating that he had already sent a strike team to retrieve Shinatama. In spite of this, Konoko disobeyed his orders, and went to the Atmospheric Processor where Muro had taken Shinatama.

While Konoko was able to reach Shinatama, she had been badly damaged by Muro. It was at this time that Konoko learned from Shinatama that her actual name was Mai Hasegawa, and that the SLD had been constructed to monitor the development of a "Chrysalis" inside her. Griffin, fearful of Konoko's unbridled development as a symbiote, ordered Shinatama's self-detonation in order to kill Konoko. After escaping from the blast, Konoko was declared a rogue agent by Griffin.

Konoko next went to the Regional State Building in order to gather information about her past, but the data was stolen by the ninja Mukade right before she could obtain it. Konoko pursued Mukade through the nearby rooftops before cornering him and recovering the disc.

When reading the contents of the disc, Konoko learned of her parents, particularly her mother Jamie Hasegawa -- maiden name Kerr, thus making Doctor Kerr her uncle. Upon locating Kerr in a prison-like TCTF facility, he informed her about the nature of the Chrysalis and revealed that her brother was Muro. Shortly after this, Kerr gave his life to save Konoko's.

Looking for revenge, Konoko infiltrated TCTF Regional HQ and confronted Griffin, with the player choosing whether to kill him or spare him. She then traveled to Muro's Mountain Compound to determine what his plan was, and to stop it. Learning that he was about to send a signal for the world's ACCs to reverse their air-cleansing process, she could only think of one alternative: to sabotage the signal. Shortly after Konoko defeated Muro in combat, the ACCs received the faulty signal, and many of them were destroyed.

At the end of Oni, the casualties are beginning to mount from the polluted air making its way into the cities, but Konoko looks forward to the use of her father's work, the Chrysalis, to save mankind from the crisis.

Name

References

Loquacious Shinatama

CHAPTER 08 . AN INNOCENT LIFE is where Konoko first learns her real name. It is spoken by Shinatama, but at that moment Konoko may not be able to absorb much of what Shinatama tells her.

The Disc

CHAPTER 11 . DREAM DIVER is where Konoko learns most of the information about her parents, Jamie Kerr and Professor Hasegawa. She and her brother Muro are not referred to at all in Hasegawa's diary, except for the newspaper article headlined GRAD STUDENT DIES / MURDER OR MERCY: "Jamie Kerr Hasegawa, environmental activist, top grad student, mother of two".

Science Prison

Konoko is referred to as "Hasegawa, Mai" in a console there. The readout relates mostly to experiments performed on Mai at some point in time.

After scanning Mai, Kerr discloses that Muro, Mai's enemy, is indeed her brother. He does not, however, make any statement as to Hasegawa's fate or whereabouts, nor does Muro in their final confrontation.

Meaning

Katakana
	"Ko-no-ko"
	"Ma-i"

"Konoko"

"Kono" means "this" in Japanese, and "ko" means child (or "great", "price", or "sin"!) (source). Hence, "Konoko" literally can mean "this child" to a Japanese speaker, and is often used in this manner.

Although we don't know who in the TCTF would have given this code name to her, her father was Japanese. Also, the TCTF Regional HQ seems to be in Japan, and Shinatama also has a Japanese name.

Despite any "added value" we assign to Konoko's name, Brent Pease admitted HERE that he had no meaning in mind when he created the name.

"Mai"

According to this site, Konoko's true name translates as 'dance' or 'linen robe'; most commonly, "mai" is used in everyday Japanese with the meaning "dance".

In-game appearance

Here are the seven outfits sported by Konoko in Oni's chapters, with details about the occurrence and the internal naming:

Outfit
ONCC name	konoko_generic	k3	k4_A	k4_F	k4_G	k4_L	k4_K
Worn in Chapter	0, 1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8	2	6, 12	9, 10	11	13	14
Data file (*_Final)	level1, level3, level4, level6, level9, level10	level2	level8, level14	level11, level12	level13	level18	level19

It is interesting to draw the connection between these 3D models and the 2D renditions of Konoko (by Lorraine et al).

• konoko_generic is Konoko's trademark TCTF outfit, featured in the Main Menu and most of the promotional art. A slightly different version is seen in the AIC intro.
• The casual k4_K is also prominently featured in art: in THESE TWO "mission failed" screens, THESE TWO "mission complete" screens, as well as in the AIC outro.
• k4_F has a drawn version, too (known as Biker Konoko). As for THESE TWO images, Konoko's appearance in them is somewhere between k4_F and k4_G.

An eigth outfit, k4_D, is referenced in the AISA file for the two TCTF levels (CHAPTER 06 . COUNTERATTACK and CHAPTER 13 . PHOENIX RISING)

We do not know for sure what the k4_D suit may have looked like, just as for the hypothetical k4_B, k4_C, k4_E, k4_H, k4_I and k4_J.

Most probably they were a mix of biker gear and casual clothes (not unlike in the "mission complete" screens of Chapters 10 and 13).

Or maybe k4_D was another official suit that Konoko used to wear while at the TCTF HQ (either regular officewear or a uniform)?

There are other clothes-related trivia, like the unused KONOKOundress animation, related to UndressShirt and UndressPants meshes present in Airport (CHAPTER 04 . TIGER BY THE TAIL).

The "undress" bit may or may not be related to level0's shower* particles and/or to the Jail setup and all those other things that were cut from Chapter 4 (security guards, Tankers, more Muro).

          

Detailed chronology

Here are the same seven outfits listed in their order of appearance, by Chapter, with some semi-objective commentary.

For an elaborate rationale of Oni's timeline, please refer to the "Added Value" sections of the respective Chapters.

Chapter / Setting / Date	Outfit	Segue / Commentary
CHAPTER 00 . COMBAT TRAINING "Module 1-A" (TCTF Training Program Beta 6) Date: before Nov. 22		Konoko is "almost ready for field missions" and trains in some kind or "armored catsuit". No other female operative is seen wearing such a suit (for one, Karen is shown training in plain cop clothes). Still, it's probably standard-issue, not a unique piece, or she wouldn't be perceived as a "rookie" so easily. As Konoko's trademark suit, it gets a lot of screen time, but is actually worn into battle on only two occasions (see below).
CHAPTER 01 . TRIAL RUN "Syndicate Warehouse" (nondescript affiliation) Date: Nov. 22 (early afternoon)		Shortly after the training (which may have taken place in a virtual environment), Griffin goes ahead with "Phase Three" of his contingency plan against Muro, and sends Konoko on a "trial run" (a simple mission without much fighting expected). However, due to Konoko's zealous attitude, the "simple bust" draws off into a prolonged "Act 1", leading to an encounter with Muro and prompting his dramatic "counterattack" later on.
CHAPTER 02 . ENGINES OF EVIL "Manufacturing Plant" (Musashi Heavy Manufacturing Concern) Date: Nov. 22 (late afternoon)		After Griffin agrees to let Konoko investigate the Musashi lead, we see her ride her Bungie bike to get there, along with two of the TCTF agents from the warehouse operation. Once at Musashi, the due procedure is to walk through the front door and "ask first", therefore Konoko changes into an officer's suit, which she may have kept from her time at HQ earlier that day. The ornate insignia suggest quite a career as a desk cop.
CHAPTER 03 . PUZZLE PIECES "Bio-Research Lab" (Vago Biotech) Date: Nov. 22 (near sunset)		After realizing that Musashi is merely a diversion from Muro's assault on Vago -- and after defeating the Deadly Brain so that she can exit the Musashi facility --, Konoko slips back into the armored catsuit that she left at the TCTF van, jumps on her bike and speeds over to Vago (which is only 10 minutes away). Note: Her officer's suit is apparently left behind this time.
CHAPTER 04 . TIGER BY THE TAIL "Airport Assault" (Vansam Regional Airport) Date: Nov. 22 (evening, after dark)		Unable to stop Muro's escape from Vago, Konoko picks up her bike, somehow gets past the entrance gate, then catches up with Muro's van as it reaches the airport (by then, night has fallen and the airport is overrun by Strikers). Muro takes the long way to the VTOL that is waiting for him (supposedly the van can just drive there?) -- this is partly to distract Konoko from the van, partly to allow Kojiro more time to monitor her.
CHAPTER 05 . HOT PURSUIT "Airport Cargo Hangars" (Vansam Regional Airport) Date: Nov. 22 (late evening)		A direct continuation of the previous level. Konoko successfully plants a tracker on Muro's VTOL, but the tracking signal is apparently lost before the destination can be pinpointed. This conveniently allows Griffin to put Konoko's field missions on standby -- however, Muro's daring counterattack will throw her back into action and out of Griffin's subordination.
CHAPTER 06 . COUNTERATTACK "TCTF Headquarters" (TCTF Regional HQ) Date: Nov. 24 (early morning, graveyard shift)		The next night, Konoko is sporting casual biker's attire as she rides towards TCTF HQ. Perhaps she is on graveyard shift duty (in which case she's late), or she forgot something important at her desk (like what?), or she is just having one of her hunches. Witnessing the Syndicate attack, she is able to slide under a closing blast door at full racing speed. Don't try this at home!
CHAPTER 07 . A FRIEND IN NEED "Atmospheric Conversion Center" (exterior) Date: Nov. 24 (early morning)		Later that night, following Shinatama's kidnapping, Konoko defies Griffin's orders to stay put. Although not on a mission, she dons her TCTF armor, and does a daring glider stunt. Note: Karen is encountered as part of the "strike team" that Griffin sent ahead of Konoko. Karen's plain cop uniform tends to suggest that the armored catsuit is exclusively Konoko's.
CHAPTER 08 . AN INNOCENT LIFE "Atmospheric Conversion Center" (interior) Date: Nov. 24 (late morning)		A direct continuation of the previous level. Note: Konoko is entering the underground part of the ACC at about 8:30 AM (per time stamps in Chapter 7). A dark sky at this hour is a stretch even for Anchorage or Saint-Petersburg. Note: Then again, the time stamps in Chapter 8 are messy as well (Shinatama blows up @ 22:13:24:19, robots beaten up @ 22:15:10:00, TCTF reinforcements due @ 00:02:45:12 ???).
CHAPTER 09 . TRUTH AND CONSEQUENCES "Regional State Building" Date: Nov. 26 (early evening)		Upon going rogue, Konoko apparently has at least one secret stash or hideout that the TCTF doesn't know about (possibly some items were stashed at the ACC before the glider routine). That is how she is able to dish out so many clothes and accessories (biker's gear, laptop, gun), even though her usual living quarters are probably under close surveillance. More thoughts about the stash and/or hideout later on.
CHAPTER 10 . CAT AND MOUSE "Rooftops" (near the State Building) Date: Nov. 26 (late evening)		A quasi-direct continuation of the previous level. Following the rooftop chase, Konoko needs a safehouse where she can study Mukade's CD and dwell on her past a bit. There will be a 4-day gap between Chapters 10 and 12 (i.e., between recovering the CD and visiting Kerr). Apparently Konoko needs that much to make sense of the new data and to sleep on it. Or maybe Hasegawa's lab is in a completely different city?
CHAPTER 11 . DREAM DIVER "Dr. Hasegawa's Lab" (unspecified location) Date: Nov. 28 (late evening)		Supposedly Konoko starts by locating the lab where her father used to work N years back (somehow deserted and unguarded, maybe in an area that was lost to the BioCrisis a while ago?). Or perhaps she is hiding somewhere less exotic (such as in a sealed-off apartment behind police lines), and visits the lab in VR, using 3D scans that Hasegawa made? Either way, she conjures up some pizza (hence the "note to self" on Nov. 29).
CHAPTER 12 . SINS OF THE FATHER "TCTF Science Prison #112" (same city as TCTF HQ?) Date: Nov. 30 (early evening)		A day or so after perusing the CD and having a nightmare over it, Konoko sets off to infiltrate the high-security Science Prison where her uncle is kept. Apparently she infiltrates the security lobby from the roof, and then waits for a patrol to come around so that she can sneak into a corridor of death. Typical Konoko. This set of clothes appeared in Chapters 6 and 11, but can't survive Konoko's "acid bath", and so will not be seen again.
CHAPTER 13 . PHOENIX RISING "TCTF Headquarters" (TCTF Regional HQ) Date: Dec. 2 (late evening)		Following her ordeal at the Science Prison, Konoko has been off Griffin's radar for "over 48 hours". Whatever happened between the acid bath and Konoko's raid on the TCTF HQ, she seems to have healed, and also retrieved some fancy clothes and biker's gear from a secret stash or hideout (the jacket has been seen previously in Chapters 9 and 10, the rest is new).
CHAPTER 14 . DAWN OF THE CHRYSALIS "Syndicate Mountain Compound" (somewhere deep in the mountains) Date: Dec. 3 (morning? evening?)		Depending on her intel and transportation, Konoko may have traveled to Muro's secret facility immediately after Chapter 13, or the following night. She is wearing the same outfit as when confronting Griffin, except for the more casual pants and shoes. Perhaps she was planning to don the more combat-fitting biker gear upon arrival, but then had to abandon ship (unless she's crazy and jumped from a plane on purpose).

Development

Characterization

Even though Oni was inspired by Ghost in the Shell, Konoko seems to have been envisioned from the beginning as an aggressive, "gun in your face" action hero, unlike the impassive Motoko. An early story for the game explained Konoko's mindset this way: "Konoko vows to destroy the Syndicate that killed her parents." Over the course of the story, she feels more "betrayed", "guilty", angry and "paranoid" until she finally kills essentially everyone in the game. One hint at the earlier, unstable Konoko is found in her deranged look in the intro.

By contrast, the final game's Konoko is still emotional, but is also mostly in control of herself, even choosing to spare Griffin, if the player wishes. She also makes wisecracks while under pressure. Instead of a violent ending driven by her paranoia and need for revenge, we have an emotionally ambiguous ending where Konoko stops Muro's plan with a desperate, destructive action, without showing much of her feelings.

Konoko was also stated in this development data to have an IQ of 203. While a high IQ is not mentioned in the final game, her behavior at times indicates that she is still very intelligent (examples given in the more detailed discussion HERE).

Design by Okita

Early versions of Konoko vary quite a bit, as concept artist Alex Okita was probably trying different things. We are missing some of these concepts, but below are the ones we know of:

	Konoko's musculature and pose are quite reminiscent of the poster for Ghost in the Shell (right), the inspiration for Oni. Unlike Motoko, Konoko is not wearing shades, as it might appear at first glance, but rather has markings under her eyes indicating that she is a cyborg. (This was before Hardy LeBel's rewrite of the story.)
	A lost image which has been reconstructed from the 1998 trailer. Vaguely reminiscent of some of the sexier representations of Motoko (as on right).
	The cropped image that is part of the left montage and is labeled "Alex Okita's" is not in our possession. The style is quite different from Okita's other drawings, but it's not the only work of his which varies in style from the others. Also, the design of the glove matches the Okita character sheet on the right, which is part of a series with the two below this.
	These images may have been provided to AIC for animating the intro and outro. The first outfit is very similar to the one in the intro, and the second outfit is worn in the outro.
	Looking more familiar. The Konoko on the left has a similar face and hairstyle to the model in the 1998 trailer. The one on the right is wearing the police uniform from Chapter 2.

Design by Lorraine

"Shirow" is Ghost in the Shell's author, Masamune Shirow.

“	Lorraine McLees, Bungie artist, remembers the slight tug of war between the Chicago and Bungie West [offices]: 'Their vision of (Konoko) was more overtly -blam!- than ours. We specifically didn't want her to be just another Lara Croft, so we'd go back and forth with the California office. They'd send Konoko designs back with a bare midriff and the bottom of her breasts exposed, and we'd go back and re-clothe her. The funny thing is that the more we tried to de--blam!-ize her, the more sexy she became.'"	„
—Bungie.net

Lorraine produced the sketches of Konoko on the right to show her mastery of various animé styles. While she was made the art director of marketing in June 1999, Okita's designs for Konoko were already well in use by that point (for instance, the Konoko in the intro is Okita's design). The in-game model also appears to be based on Okita's art rather than Lorraine's, which is not surprising when one considers that Okita was one of the 3D modeling artists.