| “ | Trust me, Juno. There are some mysteries you don’t want to solve. Some things… some things are just personal. | ” |
—Cassandra[src]
Cassandra Kanagawa is the twin sister of Cecil Kanagawa, the daughter of Croesus Kanagawa, step-daughter of Min Kanagawa, and the former star of various Kanagawa programs.
Early Life[]
Cassandra's backstory and motivations differ between the different versions of Juno Steel and the Case of the Murderous Mask. In the updated canonical version, she wants to pursue her lifelong dream of producing a stream unlike any other, taking the audience all over the galaxy to every inhabitable planet there is. Her father always refused to fund this dream because he thought it wouldn't make any money. In the original (no longer canon) version, Cassandra wanted out of her family's life altogether but was not allowed to leave, again for the fear of losing the money her shows made for the family.
In both versions, Cassandra and Juno Steel used to be drinking buddies.
History[]
(This section reflects the current canon version of Juno Steel and the Case of the Murderous Mask)
Following the death of her father, Croesus Kanagawa, Cassandra greets Juno Steel and Rex Glass by disguising herself as a ghost and trying to fool Juno into thinking Grimpotheuthis had come to reap his soul. Juno figures it out immediately, however, and she drops the act, thinking herself very funny. She and Juno greet each other as old friends, and Cassandra leads Juno and Rex to the scene of her father's death.
Cassandra becomes on edge when Juno attempts to interrogate her about the murder, before showing him her alibi. She has security footage showing herself outside the mansion at the time of Croesus' death. Juno and Rex then move on from the crime scene to talk to her twin brother Cecil, who reveals that that footage in fact shows himself disguised as his sister so that he could go out on the town without drawing the ire of his stepmother, Min.
When Juno and Rex find Cassandra again, she is holding her stepmother at gunpoint, convinced she has stolen the production schedule bearing her father's signature that provoked her into a deadly confrontation with him. Cassandra reveals that Croesus promised her he would finally fund her documentaries, then presumably went back on his word and decided to give the slot to Cecil. Min films her confession and has her dragged off to the prison the Kanagawas own and operate, Hoosegow.
After Cassandra's arrest, Juno accuses Min of forging the production schedule in order to provoke Cassandra into attacking her father, thus getting both Croesus and Cassandra out of her way and leaving her only with Cecil and his money-making ideas. Min tells Juno that he will never be able to prove this but still threatens him should he decide to pursue that angle of the case any further.
Later, it is revealed that Juno had his secretary Rita bust Cassandra out of Hoosegow and take her safely off of Mars. Cassandra is now presumably wandering the galaxy, avoiding both her family and the Martian authorities.[1]
Much later, Juno Steel calls Cassandra to ask for money, but she hangs up on him. Him and Rita track her down to Lono, an asteroid city for the rich and famous. There, she is filming her documentary series Other Lives. She initially brushes Juno off, but when she sees how much he's changed to be an actually nice person, she helps him by getting him a job on Lono.
Personality[]
Cassandra has a strong-willed personality and a rebellious attitude. She is stated to have had an impulsive streak between the ages of 15 and 25. Her sense of style what she and her lawyers claim is unique, but there are a few hundred small-town rock stars with acid-washed hair and serrated teeth that might claim she had stolen it from them.
Cassandra has a strong passion for a project she has been dreaming about for a long time. She wants a stream show, where she travels across the galaxy, showing people on Mars the different ways people have found to be people. When her father seemingly tricked her about this passion project and does not even answer to her accusations, she pushes him, which accidentally leads to his death.
When Juno points out that it was a mistake but not murder, she replies: “Does it count as a mistake if you don’t regret it, Juno?”.
Cassandra seems deeply troubled and conflicted.
Abilities[]
Cassandra can presumably do a believable impersonation of her brother Cecil, as he states they've been switching places with each other for years. She is also said to be the one who does the prosthetic to make Cecil's metal arm look like flesh when he impersonates her.
She also seems to be a somewhat talented show creator.
Relationships[]
Juno Steel[]
Cassandra and Juno are old friends. Juno becomes more depressed than usual when he realizes Cassandra is the one who committed the murder, pointing towards the fact that he cares about her and doesn't want to think she'd do such a thing or to have to put her behind bars. Juno goes so far as to organize her prison break in the midst of his between-seasons slump.
They hung out together as friends, and she has shared her dreams and desires about her visions for a galactic show with him. It is implied that they both consumed addictive or at least harmful substances together, since Juno remarks that his liver did not enjoy the their time together. They both seem to do better when they meet again during the first episode of the series.
Cecil Kanagawa[]
Little is known about Cassandra's relationship with her twin. He calls her documentaries 'silly' at one point, and she refers to him as a 'snake' when she realizes he's proved to Juno he did not commit the murder. However, it is said that he filled in for Cassandra on her other shows to help her prepare for the documentaries and that she designed or built part of the disguise he used to sneak out and escape his grounding, so they were at least on speaking terms and willing to help each other despite their seemingly rocky relationship. Cassandra's plan after accidentally killing their father seems to have been to send her brother to prison in her place, but this is likely not indicative of their relationship as a whole, considering the poor mental state Cass was in after seeing her father die and the lack of options that she had.
Min Kanagawa[]
Cassandra's relationship with her stepmother is strained and very negative. Min gaslights Cassandra into thinking that she hallucinates and sends her to prison in order to avoid having to produce her documentaries, which Min was convinced would not make any money. Most of Min and Cass' interactions point to the conclusion that Min was emotionally abusive towards Cassandra.
Croesus Kanagawa[]
Cassandra and her father had a complicated relationship. She states that he "cheated everyone," including herself. He consistently refused to fund her dream and was more focused on his collection of artifacts (such as the Death Mask of Grimpotheuthis) than his daughter's concerns. However, it seems that in the end, he genuinely did intend to give Cassandra what she always wanted, before his wife set up his death.
Episode Appearances[]
| Episodes Featuring Cassandra Kanagawa |
|---|
| Season 1 |
Season 2
|
| Season 5 |
| Bonus/Other |
Trivia[]
- Co-Creator Harley Takagi Kaner and actor Leslie Drescher have both cited rock-and-roll artist Joan Jett as an inspiration for Cassandra's voice.