Kyosuke Kamijo

"I can't move my fingers anymore. I can't even feel pain. My hand is worthless!
[...]
I won't be able to use my hand again. It would take a miracle or some kind of magic to heal me." - Kyosuke Kamijo, Episode 4.

Kyosuke Kamijo
Japanese Name	上条 恭介
Voiced by	Japanese: Seiko Yoshida English: Marianne Miller Italian: Renato Novara Spanish: Cesc Martínez

Kyosuke Kamijo (上条 恭介, Kamijō Kyōsuke) is a childhood friend of Sayaka. He is a violin/guitar prodigy, but an accident left him unable to play ever again. Sayaka and Hitomi have crushes on him.

General info

Physical features

• Age: 13 - 14 (estimated)
• Eye colour: Grey
• Hair colour: Grey

Other

• Japanese pronoun: boku (僕)
• Known relatives: A father and mother (names unknown)
• School: Mitakihara Middle School

Story

" I don't want to listen to music anymore! How can I listen to something that I can never play?" - Kyosuke Kamijo, Episode 4.

• Episode 1: Madoka guesses that he is the reason Sayaka wants to go to the CD store.
• Episode 2: He is shown bedridden in the hospital when Sayaka comments that there must be many who would trade their lives for a wish and that life has been too easy for her.
• Episode 3: Sayaka visits him in the hospital twice. At the start of the episode, Sayaka gives Kamijo a CD by Dawd Ostrakh (a reference to David Oistrakh), and they share his headphones and listen to Rachmaninoff's "Vocalise" together. Kamijo fingers the notes as he listens and then he cries. Later, Sayaka tries to visit him but is turned away; the explanation given by Kamijo's family is that he isn't in good shape. Madoka and Sayaka then find a Grief seed embedded outside the hospital.
• Episode 4: Sayaka visits him in the hospital and tries to talk with him about music, but he accuses her of mocking his inability to play the violin anymore. He reveals that the current state of medicine is incapable of healing his left hand, saying that it would take a miracle or magic for him to play again. It is revealed at the end of the episode that Sayaka used her wish to heal his left hand, in exchange becoming a magical girl for Kyubey.
• Episode 5: Kamijo regains the ability to play the violin after Sayaka's wish repairs his hand. She claims it to be the "happiest moment of her life"
• Episode 6: Sayaka goes to visit him at the hospital, but is informed that he was discharged and didn't inform Sayaka. She goes to visit him at his house and she hears him practicing his violin. She is about to enter when she is confronted by Kyouko who criticizes her for making a selfless wish for his sake and speculate that she should've crippled him futher (unbeknownst to everyone yet, Kyouko did make a selfless wish herself, but it only brought tragedy).
• Episode 7: Kamijo returns to school, but still needs crutches.
• Episode 8: Hitomi speaks to Kamijo. It's still not known what she exactly told him.

Kamijo in Sayaka's flashback.

• • In the manga version of Episode 8, however, it does look like Kyousuke accepts Hitomi's feelings as they're seen holding each other's hands. The canonity of the manga is debatable, though.
• Episode 11: Kamijo can be seen at Sayaka's funeral, with Hitomi clinging to him. Their faces are severely silhouetted over, but the shape and style of both Kamijo's and Hitomi's hair is unmistakable.
• Episode 12: Kyosuke briefly appears while Sayaka and Madoka's souls watch over him (and Hitomi waits for him at the side) as he performs during an audition. As he plays Gounod's "Ave Maria", Sayaka and Madoka talk things over one last time, and are able to pass on. Later, Kamijo performs as a professional, and once he finishes his recital he whispers Sayaka's name.

Kyosuke in Wraith Arc

Kyosuke has a small role in Wraith Arc, first appearing in a handful of panels as Sayaka and Hitomi are walking home from school. The girls notice him which triggers the conversation Hitomi has with Sayaka concerning her feelings for him. He later appears in a flashback while Sayaka references the wish she made in order to become a magical girl. In chapter 2, Hitomi runs into him while walking through the city. They strike up a friendly conversation which Sayaka witnesses but is unable to overhear.

Kyosuke in The Rebellion Story

In Rebellion Kyosuke is still in a relationship with Hitomi, although his music practice is causing difficulties in their relationship.

Warning, this section contains spoilers about the movie.
It's eventually revealed the movie takes place in a witch barrier, and that Kyosuke and Hitomi were abducted from the real world. They return from the barrier unharmed, and at the end of the movie they greet a resurrected Sayaka.

Kyosuke in Portable

In Madoka Magica Portable, the player would be able to get some glimpses regarding Kamijo and perceive some of his feelings toward Sayaka. These observations, however, are not accurate enough to gauge what are Kamijo's exact feelings for Sayaka:

• When Kyosuke tried to contact Sayaka about him getting out of the hospital, he is unable to reach her. Sayaka is too preoccupied with being a magical girl and trying to get overcome the fact that her magical powers are too weak.
• When Kyosuke is discharged, he invites Sayaka to walk together with him to school, and then walk back home together. Unfortunately, Sayaka is too preoccupied with her own concern and duties.
• When Kyosuke asks Sayaka to go to the CD store together, Sayaka declines Kyosuke's offer as Sayaka senses the appearance of a familiar nearby.
• When Kyosuke goes to Sayaka's house, he is trying to deliver her a CD of a song he dedicated to her. He is horrified when he observes Sayaka's rotten body.

In Portable, it is possible to determine that Sayaka did not put enough effort to win Kyosuke's heart after contracting. Whenever the opportunity presented itself, Sayaka became neglectful to take advantage of it. In fact, Sayaka's concerns, worries, and responsibilities as a magical girl were a hindrance to maintain a relationship with Kyosuke.

In the Madoka PSP game, Kyosuke falls into despair and tries to commit suicide, because he knows he will never be able to play the violin anymore. According to Kyubey, Kyosuke has the characteristics of an artist who feels worthless as he has lost his artistic talent.

During the gag bonus scenario, Homura asks his thoughts for Sayaka. He says that she has been into superhero figures since her childhood and thinks he wouldn't be her type. He is embarrassed to say his feelings for her. When they start dating, Sayaka reveals herself to be magical girl in front of him by transforming. Kyosuke is amazed and impressed by her secret identity, but he feels guilty knowing that she used her sole wish for him. His enthusiasm for her magical girl duties prevents Sayaka from falling into despair like other timelines.

Etymology

• The kanji for "Kamijo" was initially 上條, but in the ending credits of episode 7 and after, it was changed to 上条. Both are common Japanese surnames with the same pronunciation and similar meaning, so that it doesn't seem to have any importance for the story. The change was also made in AT-X version of episode 4.

Trivia

• He is the violinist who appears with Sayaka in the OP.
• Ume Aoki explains in the BD/DVD episode 2 audio commentary that Kyosuke's hair is gray. Like many characters, his hair and eye color match each other.
• Some design documents indicate that he is a guitarist in another timeline, although this is shown in neither anime nor manga versions. There has been various speculation about the possible reasons for the change.
  • In the online freemium game, Kyousuke is a guitarist, and the witch's barrier is the disco-like version seen in episode 10.
• Eri Kitamura explains in an interview that even if Kyosuke and Sayaka started dating, it won't necessarily be true happiness for Sayaka.
• An article indicates that that from the very beginning Kamijo only considered Sayaka as his close friend and never had any romantic feelings for her. He never considered her to be a potential lover, and it is for this reason that he failed to notify Sayaka when he was discharged from the hospital. He was in such a hurry to get back to his normal life that he never had any thoughts of anything else. When Kyousuke goes back to school, he is already surrounded by other girls and friends, which is why he didn't say anything to Sayaka. He was already overwhelmed by a welcoming crowd. It never occurred to him that there could be something special between him and Sayaka.
• Gen Urobuchi's comment on Kyosuke in Guidebook:
  • I just do not feel that even if she hooked up with Kyosuke that girl would really be happy ever after. Most likely Kyosuke is a guy who will stand her up in dates and go to practice the violin.
  • Kyosuke, a man who could not notice that "Hm? this girl seems to have some feeling for me..." even after so much self-sacrifice from her is simply no good.

Gallery

Official art

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• Apricot +5.jpg

  Ume Madoka doujin "RKGKMDK" from COMIC1☆5, under Apricot+ alias

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  Ume Aoki's 4koma from the Madoka BD 2 fanbook

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  Article that explain about Kyosuke's feeling towards Sayaka.

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  Kamijo and Sayaka during childhood, from a magazine

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  Kamijo's family

Screenshots

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  Corrected hair color in the BD/DVD from the broadcast version, to show clearly as gray

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  Kyosuke in the hospital

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  Young Kyosuke playing the violin

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  Kyosuke playing the violin on hospital roof

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  A moment between Kyosuke and Sayaka from the PSP game.

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  Sayaka stops Kyosuke from committing suicide in the PSP game.