Sayoko Shinozaki

Sayoko Shinozaki, 24 years old (25 at R2), is a kindhearted Japanese woman who serves as a maid to the Lamperouge siblings in their residence. She was originally Milly Ashford's personal maid, but was reassigned to Lelouch and Nunnally when they were placed under the Ashfords' care. She taught Nunnally how to make origami and assists in taking care of her whenever Lelouch is not around. The DVD releases for the series occasionally promote a segment called "Sayoko's Diary", which depicts her view of the daily life at the Ashford Academy, humorously skewed by her limited knowledge of the bigger picture behind the events that take place.

She is the 37th successor of the Shinozaki School (篠崎流|Shinozaki Ryuu) of martial arts, and is referred to on her official profile as a supermaid (スーパーメイド|suupaameido).

First Season
In the first diary segment, which takes place during the sixth episode, Sayoko meets Suzaku for the first time, and apparently has a hint of affection for him. When Sayoko hears Suzaku's voice with Lelouch, she tries to call him, but overhears them saying that they should not been seen together, so that nobody will know about their relationship. Sayoko thinks that Suzaku is romantically involved with Lelouch, which completely devastates her.

Near the end of the first season, Sayoko is recruited into the The Order of the Black Knights by Diethard Reid as a spy. In one of her diary segments, her recruitment process is seen to consist of an odd combination of quizzes, swordplay, and baseball, all of which she is able to pass with apparent ease in spite of her appearance. C.C. is the one who ultimately lets her in.

Second season
In the second season, she returns from the Chinese Federation, having escaped there with Diethard and Rakshata after the failed rebellion one year previous. She oversees the delivery of the glacier ships used to transport the one million Zero-dressed Japanese citizens in the eighth episode, where Lelouch reveals his identity as Zero to her. With the aid of a mask installed with a digital voice changer, she subsequently serves as a body double for Lelouch at Ashford Academy while he is away. Having spent years serving the Lamperouge siblings, she is able to play the part convincingly, but Rolo complains that she is too nice, a trait Shirley Fenette also picks up on. Though she is able to play the part somewhat convincingly, her aforementioned slanted viewpoint of his daily life leads her to believe that he is a womanizer, and she portrays him as such, to his dismay. Furthermore, she also openly displays her athletic prowess during one of Milly's festivals, another contrast with the physically unfit Lelouch. During the second battle of Tokyo, she leads a mission with Rolo to secure Nunnally, only to be apparently caught in the blast radius of the F.L.E.I.J.A. bomb.

However, both she and Nunnally manage to escape and wind up with Schneizel. Sayoko escapes and returns to Lelouch to warn him about Schneizel's plan. Jeremiah comments on her seemingly odd choice of loyalties (following a Britannian despite being Japanese), and remarks that she, like himself, seems to follow the path of chivalry. When the Avalon is boarded by the Black Knights, Lelouch orders her to release the UFN hostages under the guise of betraying him. She is later imprisoned alongside Rakshata, Nina, and Cecile but is later set free.

Trivia

 * Sayoko's ninja outfit, first revealed in the second OP of season two (episode 13), earned her the nickname 閃忍("Sennin") / 超昂閃忍 ("Chōkō Sennin") among otakus. The nickname stems from the oversized "scarfs" that resembled the ninja outfit of Takamori Haruka from the eroge 超昂閃忍ハルカ (Beat Blades Haruka). Beat Blades Haruka was released Feb 29th, 2008, whereas episode 13 originally aired on July 6, 2008.


 * Throughout the series, if one looks closely, they'll begin to notice that Sayoko never takes off her maid's hat. Even when hospitalized or in a suit, or even in her "ninja" outfit, she never removes it. (The hat is always on).