Hajime is a tall, young man with notably toned arms and a solid, well-built chest. He has green eyes with straight lines running across his pupils, resembling a prohibition symbol, as well as short, somewhat spiky brown hair with an ahoge that moves according to his emotions. He wears a simple white shirt with the emblem of his previous high school embroidered on the hem, a school badge on the left pocket, and a green tie that also bears the same emblem. He also wears dark pants and red-and-white sneakers. His height is 5'8" and weighs 147 pounds. His chest size is 36 inches. He likes Kusamochi and dislikes Sakuramochi. Hajime is a skeptic, realist, and pragmatic to the core, and he often times comes across as cynical due to his chronic overthinking tendencies. He is noticeably more skeptical of the group's peculiar circumstances than anybody else from the moment he steps foot on Jabberwock Island, owing to his habit of rationalizing everything that is foreign to him. He is reasonably concerned about the island's facilities in ways that no other students are, such as presuming the food at the supermarket and restaurant is poisonous, interpreting the comfort Hotel Mirai provides as a trap, and questioning the safety of crossing the cross-island bridges. His cautious nature leads him to appreciate Nagito's company while he explores the islands for the first time, yet at the same time, he is so appalled by Nagito's stress-free attitude, to the point that he suspects Nagito may have a traumatic history that contributed to his carefreeness.[48] He is likewise baffled when he realizes no other students exercise the same amount of anxiety or precaution as him,[49][50] and mentions how envious he feels of their ability to remain carefree and cheerful, like Kazuichi and Akane, and composed, like Sonia and Nekomaru] His initial stress, combined with the confusion caused by the mystery surrounding island, noticeably strips him from feeling genuine enjoyment from their supposed school trip, even finding the idea of swimming amidst their unknown predicament ridiculous. While he may be a realist, Hajime has moments where he wishes the group's circumstances could've been a mere dream, and he would've definitely enjoy some lazy sunbathing had it been a regular school trip. Ultimately, his paranoia causes him to feel alienated from his peers, prompting him to abandon all of his worries and self-doubts by joining the group at the beach, only for his fears to be well-founded after all when Monokuma emerges and turns their school trip into a killing game. Being ruled by logic, Hajime never denies that there are parts of him that desires an escape and that he has the potential to kill, especially since he cannot trust any of his classmates who are initially strangers to him. He even casually evaluates his own threat level, particularly from Nagito's perspective during the first investigation when the latter carefreely provides him with assistance, given that he could be the killer the group is seeking.[60] He also ends up choosing to play the Twilight Syndrome Murder Case, believing that logically, leaving it alone would only do more harm than good. This decision is influenced in no small part by Nagito's words, even as he insists otherwise. He states how he never thought about friendship, even finding them embarrassing and unattainable amidst their situation. Regardless, he does not detest the idea of warming up to them over time, seeing it as his character development when he can ultimately depend on them completely. Observing his classmates' ability to maintain high spirit in spite of the killing game instills Hajime with confidence, inspiration, reassurance, and a sense of unity. It helps him to gradually break free from his pessimistic and overly skeptical shell, even if his innate skepticism never fully disappears throughout the killing game. He rarely takes Monokuma's statements at face value, believing that the Tragedy is something Monokuma fabricated and doubting that he would let the remaining survivors off the hook so easily after the Graduation Exam. He is so grounded in reality that after each class trials, he is prone to feel anxious about the unknown and has difficulty in envisioning a clear future for him and his classmates, though he comes to learn that overthinking amidst the killing game is a complete waste of his time.[64] He admits that he feels scared even after fully committing to the forced shutdown sequence. Interestingly, Hajime's fear helps him to acknowledge that confronting death so suddenly and repeatedly makes it impossible for most people to move on swiftly. Nevertheless, he knows that the only way out is through, and ends up surviving the ordeal without actively doing anything harmful to others. Instead, he channels his anger toward Monokuma, their real enemy, and directs his energy to stay calm and composed throughout every investigation and class trials to survive not only for himself, but also for his classmates whom he gradually learns to open up and care for. Hajime is highly self-aware of his flaws, which saps his confidence and often causes him to be insecure and often sell himself short. He is pessimistic that someone like him could ever have a chance to be in the limelight, and states that he has never really put any thought of his future and dreams.[68][69] Moreover, he believes that Nekomaru overestimates his athletic skills when he recommends Hajime to become a rugby player, mainly because he has never seen a match, let alone played it. The Ultimate Team Manager himself, however, sees potential in him as he possesses calm judgment skills, a high degree of mobility, and a strong appreciation for teamwork, qualities that would make him a great rugby player. Despite being one of the most useful contributors in every class trials, Hajime claims that he's not good at "using his brain", and gets embarrassed when Chiaki argues by suggesting that he can be a puzzle games expert.[43] He may claim to have poor reflexes and is in no way a warrior type, but he does impress Peko with his resolve of prioritizing cooperation over fighting with their classmates. He is also highly aware that unlike the Ultimate Imposter, he is nowhere near as fearless and competent of a leader like them. Regardless, he is content with who he is and rather than fantasizing of becoming anyone other than himself, he is more focused on what he's supposed to do. Furthermore, he has a hard time believing that he is such an amazing person and friend as to deserve being granted the title of "Singularity" by Gundham or to exchange a Brotherhood Cup with Fuyuhiko, both of whom think otherwise. Hajime's biggest source of insecurity, however, is his lack of talent. Growing up talentless and ordinary bothers him so deeply that he desires nothing more but to have a talent he could take pride in, and ultimately be confident in himself. He comes to admire Hope's Peak Academy more than anyone and dreaming of attending it one day.[74] Unfortunately, the best he can manage is by attending its Reserve Course Department instead of the main course. During his enrollment, Hajime often spends his time yearning to one day pass through the main course's gate as one of its students. His melancholia is worsened by how he unwittingly becomes the brunt of countless gossips that criticize him for wasting his parents' money on the Reserve Course costly tuition fee. The Steering Committee then exploits his situation and admiration toward Hope's Peak by luring him into participating the Izuru Kamukura Project as a lab rat, albeit a successful one. Despite his craving for talent, Hajime is shown to be in a serious dilemma about whether to go through with the project. During this period, he befriends Chiaki, who positively influences his outlook on talent, helping him realize that he still can have hope and be confident in himself even without talent. He also listens to Chisa's words not to call himself lowly and to start believing in himself. His growth is exemplified by his use of the same advice Chiaki gave him when speaking to Natsumi, whose insecurities he strongly relates to. Unfortunately, his growth comes undone after learning from his physical confrontation with Juzo that Hope's Peak covered up the truth behind Natsumi and Sato's deaths. Enraged by how Hope's Peak dehumanizes the Reserve Course, he ultimately decides to proceed with the project so that he can become a talented person who can stand together with Chiaki and become someone she will be proud of. From Hajime’s perspective, his relationship with Nagito Komaeda is complex, deeply uncomfortable, yet uniquely understanding. He views Nagito with a mix of suspicion, frustration at his obsession with hope, and, in free-time events, genuine care for his well-being, ultimately representing a "bad side" of himself he fears.