To describe Sasaki in a sentence: she’s someone who’s skilled at computers but inept at living. In a word: a shut in.
The intention was to include a slightly more humorous character to alleviate some of the story’s grim atmosphere, but additionally to portray the high technology – low humanity themes in a slightly different light to more extreme embodiments such as Scratch or Baby Face.
Unlike the latter, Sasaki only has very minor cybernetic enhancements (see the hands and neck), and in spite of the strong focus on her VR headset it remains separate, a tool rather than a part of her being. At the same time I like the idea that it’s a part of her character while remaining detached, a barrier emphasised by the clash of high tech equipment alongside messy hair and ragged clothing. Sasaki might be seen as a bridge between the reader and today’s externalised technology over to the outlandish cyborgs populating the story – an uncomfortable middle ground between real and fantasy.
In terms of the design I’d envisioned Sasaki resembling a spider, an exaggerated number of lenses and cameras attached to the headset with cables and wires sprouting at odd angles like legs or webbing. As you can see I kept the eyes in but cut the cables down to a minimum; while it would have been aesthetically impressive it didn’t make much sense logically – even now we have extensive wireless technology so why would they need additional hardwiring in the future?
Growing Branch 