History Characters / AKB0048

* AscendedFanboy: Pretty much all of the understudies started out as fans of AKB before being recruited.

* {{Fangirl}}: The Drama CD reveals she's crazy about Mayuyu Mark 3. It makes a CastingGag, considering Chieri's voiced by the real-life Mayuyu.

* {{Deuteragonist}}: By season two her part of the plot is on equal footing with Nagisa and Chieri's.

* {{Fangirl}}: The Drama CD reveals she's crazy about Mayuyu Mark 3.
** CastingGag: Which is pretty hilarious considering Chieri's voiced by the real-life Mayuyu.

** ContractualPurity: While it is never outright stated in the show, it's hinted that Yuka is prohibited from being romantically involved with her boyfriend while a member of 0048 because idols are supposed to be "fresh" and keep themselves clean for their fans.

The main stars of the cast aren't the members of AKB0048 proper, but these girls. The Understudies are the young idols-in-training who were selected to become the next generation of AKB0048 after passing the auditions and surprisingly grueling combat tests. Friendship and rivalries go hand in hand as the trainees not only work together to put on performances of their own but compete with each other for positions on the official idol group.

* TheApprentice: All of them are students to AKB0048. The few who are selected to become Understudies are the apprentices of individual AKB0048 memebers.
* [[AscendedFanboy Ascended Fangirls]]: Pretty much all of the understudies started out as fans of AKB before being recruited.

* IdolSinger: What the girls aspire to be and their motivation for joining AKB0048 in the first place. It comes as as a bit of a shock when they find out that it isn't all about singing and dancing though.

Nagisa Motomiya is a young girl from the planet Lancastar who fell in love with AKB0048 after seeing one of their guerrilla concerts on her entertainment banning world. Curious about the world and more ambitious then she realizes, Nagisa finally ran away from home with her friends to join the group despite her father's stern rejection. Although not as gifted as some of her fellow Trainees and frequently plagued by self doubt, Nagisa dreams of succeeding Yuko Oshima and becoming the Center Nova, the lead singer of 00. She has a big heart and is always on the look out for her friends.

* WideEyedIdealist: She wants to sing and dance with all her friends as AKB0048 members and vehemently rejects Chieri's initial eat-or-be-eaten mentality. Mellowed down in Next Stage, when she realizes that even though things in 00 aren't as extreme as Chieri made them out to be, there is competition and she can't avoid it.

Chieri Sono is the heiress of the Zodiac Corporation, one of the major military contractors in the galaxy. She was a fan of AKB0048 since her childhood and is the one who introduced the group to Nagisa and her friends. Some years later, after learning of Zodiac's connections with DES, Chieri ran away from home to join AKB. Although she's the most talented of the understudies, at first she was unable to make her kirara glow which made her feel inferior to Nagisa. She eventually regains her self-confidence when she finds her radiance, and starts to become very popular.

* ArchnemesisDad: Her rich, powerful, DES associated father forbid her from joining AKB0048, causing her to run away.

* TheRunaway: Like Nagisa, she was forbidden to try out for AKB0048 and resorted to bailing on her home and dad to follow her dream.

Orine is a childhood friend of Nagisa and Yuka and like them wants to be a member of AKB0048. Unlike them, however, she is not a middle school student. Her parents were killed in an accident and with no other family she was forced to drop out of school to support herself by working in a factory. Despite her hard life, Orine is the sweetest girl around; friendly, gentle, and loving to her friends and co-workers. When she passed her audition, she quit her factory job to join AKB.

* BreakTheCutie: After receiving some extremely threatening hatemail, poor Orine is very nearly broken. And then gets better within the same episode when she learns the boy is a fan of another member of AKB0048 if anything else, and before that she had lost her parents to a Dualium Mining incident.

* WrenchWench: How she starts off. A depressing example as she wasn't one by choice but worked full time at a factory to keep food on the table. Once she joined AKB0048, this aspect disappeared entirely.

The lovable loser of the group. While many of the girls have some sort of stake or bone to pick with the DES, Makoto isn't one of them. She grew up as an ordinary, if fretful, girl with only her love for AKB0048 keeping her going. While it doesn't help that the universe seems to get a kick out of physically abusing the poor girl, her negativity and tendency to panic over the smallest things often make Makoto her own worst enemy.

The passively quiet girl named Suzuko is the brain of the trainee group. She is lifelong fan of AKB0048 who has committed God only knows how much knowledge and trivia of the group to memory. Unlike the others she joined AKB not to be an idol singer, but to work her way up to a management position where her skills could be of better use. This desire for a supportive role rather than a center stage one is evident in her nature; rarely does she take the lead in anything, instead acting as a supportive friend to those who need a helping hand. When she does take the reigns though, watch out as she can be a force to be reckoned with.

* MsExposition: Has a vast amount of knowledge concerning AKB0048's operations and frequently gives lectures to the other trainees to bring them up to speed.

Most girls would not have bothered stowing away on a space ship to try and get into AKB0048 after failing their first audition, especially if they were under aged. Most girls aren't Sonata Shinonome. The rambunctious redhead is always ready with a sharp smile and a sharper remark, ready to leap into action whatever it may be. It doesn't take long for the naivety of her age to show though, all ten years of it.

* YouKilledMyFather: She originally joins the AKB0048 to get revenge on the DES for killing her father.
** CharacterDevelopment: She learns to let go of revenge as her motivator.

** RipTailoring: Which she then reveals more of by ripping even more clothes to get a cooler and more fashionable look.

Megumi is a trainee of the 76th Generation and the only one to become an Understudy. This puts her at odds with the new 77th Generation whose strong work ethics gives them a higher role and more prominence in AKB0048 at the 76th Generation's expense. She acts bitter and condescending towards the younger girls until having to actually work with them. After that her role is greatly diminished, to the point that she doesn't even show up at all in half the episodes and only having a few lines in the ones she does. Her one noticeable feature is her crush on Sae Miyazawa the 10th.

The Successors are the idols of AKB0048, who lead the fight for entertainment against the DES with their songs and guerrilla concerts on planets that have banned music. Upon becoming a successor, a girl gives up her name to take on that of the original [=AKB48=] member she is succeeding. Although the Successors number in the double-digits (and hypothetically could have up to 48 members) most of them are only minor characters, with the nine listed below being the more important secondary characters who act as mentors for the understudies.

* [[IdolSinger Idol Singers]]: ''The'' idol group of space. They all went through the same grueling auditions and carefully cultivate the image they present to the public. Being a great singer isn't a must, as the individual idols find ways to shine without having to be onstage.

The cool and confident captain of AKB0048. Leading the Successors in their fight to bring entertainment and joy to the galaxy, Takamina is one of the most popular and respected members of the group. Also the shortest. A whopping 148.5 cm tall (4 feet 9 inches) she is a head shorter than almost everyone except Sonata. With hard work and dedication to the group she is a shining example and role model for the younger girls. That is, until she stumbles upon a secret that she personally takes as a big slap in the face and a sign that she has outstayed her welcome in the group.

* [[{{Deuteragonist}} Triagonist]]: By season two her part of the plot is on equal footing with Nagisa and Chieri's.

The {{tomboy}} of the Successors. Sayaka has a forceful personality and likes to fight as much as she likes to sing. Naturally she utilizes both during AKB0048's guerrilla concerts to great effect. She is one of the Successor most likely to show up to coach the new trainees, offering dieting and fashion tips, setting up training and work out days, and so on. She is most often seen hanging out with fellow Successor, Sae Miyazawa.

** WhipItGood: Which she uses to tangle enemy weapons and shock their bearers into submission.

The last Center Nova. The 13th Generation Acchan was the idol of idols. A passionate yet quiet young woman who could be surprisingly shy. Once she got on stage though, was she a sight to behold. As the Center Nova, she led the performances with a radiance that outshined all her peers, inspiring them, or in Yuko's case, prompting a desperate game of catch-up. Then she just disappeared on day in the middle of a concert, sometime before the 77th Generation was recruited. Her disappearance is a big influence on AKB0048, both on the group as a whole and on certain individual members.

* BlunderCorrectingImpulse
* ReasonableAuthorityFigure
* RetiredBadass: [[spoiler: Four years ago, she was a successor who took up the name Mariko Shinoda. She's since graduated and become AKB0048's producer.]]

* CampGay
* DudeLooksLikeALady
* SternTeacher

!!! Chef Papa ([[ExactlyWhatItSaysOnTheTin Chef]])

* TheAtoner: [[spoiler:After being revealed as TheMole as she didn't [[WhatHaveIDone know Zodiac's actions would be so brutal]] she rejoins AKB0048 as a trainee]]
* {{Meganekko}}
** TheGlassesComeOff: When she's serious.

* [[spoiler:KilledOffForReal]]: [[spoiler:Killed by a mysterious sniper when Chieri was singing for him. Most likely by the DES since they finally realized he was a pro-entertainment backer and decided he needed to die for it.]]

A student in AKB0048: Heart Type Operation. [[spoiler: She is actually a spy for the DES forces, attempting to steal the uniforms so she can destroy them in the name of DES forces]]

* BitchInSheepsClothing: She may look nice and friendly on the outside and one of AKB0048 most ardent fans but she secretly works to undermines them.

* GoodParents: Though he initially comes off as a hardass and FantasyForbiddingFather who won't even let his daughter sing in her room, it becomes clear that this is caused not by any kind of ideology he holds, but because he's afraid she'll become a target for the DES. After she leaves and becomes an idol, he refuses to condemn her decision and [[spoiler:gets imprisoned for it]], and after Nagisa sees how much trouble she caused her parents by joining AKB0048 and she starts hesitating in pursuing her dream, he tells her in no uncertain terms that he wants her to do so and expects nothing less from her.

* HappilyMarried

----

A direct descendants of the original Tomomi Itano. Tomochin's entire female family line has made it their mission to succeed their matriarch, with the last Tomochin being the current one's elder sister. Their commitment to carrying the Tomchin name has even led to the family to selectively marry those who would best preserve the look of Tomomi Itano. This particular Tomochin is one of the most quiet of the Successors, and it's revealed that all her quirks are deliberately modeled after her ancestor.

* HeroicBSOD: After going to rescue [[spoiler: her father who had been imprisoned by the DES because his daughter was a 0048 member Nagisa finds him unwilling to leave with her, which she takes as a rejection of herself. Then she finds her home in complete disrepair and can't bring herself to face her mother and all the misery she caused.]] The stress is enough to make her lose her voice.

* TheSpeechless: Becomes this during the concert on Lancastar after [[spoiler:trying to break her father out prison for refusing to make her leave 0048, only to have him refuse to go with her then riding by her house and seeing that her mother's garden has become neglected and run down. The psychological stress of realizing she was responsible for her parents' misery turned her voice into a mere whisper.]]

* MissFanservice: Sure Kojiharu is consider to be the official face of fanservice but Yukirin seems to outdo her in the anime and card game, large buxom body, her poster being her wearing a fanservicey bikini to Kojiharu's more modest poster and being a victim of one of Sonata's surprise attacks as they were all bathing, not even Nyan Nyan had a bath scene.

->'''Voiced by:''' Sachiko Kojima (Japanese), Allison Keith (English)

* [[spoiler:TheAtoner]]: [[spoiler:After being revealed as TheMole as she didn't [[WhatHaveIDone know Zodiac's actions would be so brutal]] she rejoins AKB0048 as a trainee]]

* [[spoiler:TheMole]]: [[spoiler:For Chieri's father]].

->'''Voiced by:''' Haruka Ishida (Japanese - Characters/AKB48TeamB), Genevieve Simmons (English)

->'''Voiced by:''' Mayu Watanabe (Japanese - Characters/AKB48TeamA), Creator/EmilyNeves (English)

->'''Voiced by:''' Sumire Sato (Japanese - Characters/AKB48TeamA), Creator/CarliMosier (English)

->'''Voiced by:''' Amina Sato (Japanese - Characters/AKB48TeamK), Creator/MonicaRial (English)

* TokenMiniMoe: Sonata should be too young to even be in the group, but thanks to Tsubasa's "AscendedFanon" seal of approval she became the only preteen of 00.

* TokenMiniMoe: Sonata should be too young to even be in the group, but thanks to Tsubasa's "SureWhyNot" seal of approval she became the only preteen of 00.

The last Center Nova [[spoiler:before Chieri became the new one at the end of the series]]. The 13th Generation Acchan was the idol of idols. A passionate yet quiet young woman who could be surprisingly shy. Once she got on stage though, was she a sight to behold. As the Center Nova, she led the performances with a radiance that outshined all her peers, inspiring them, or in Yuko's case, prompting a desperate game of catch-up. Then she just disappeared on day in the middle of a concert, sometime before the 77th Generation was recruited. Her disappearance is a big influence on AKB0048, both on the group as a whole and on certain individual members.

* NiceGuy: Nagisa's most earnest desire is to be friends with everyone and for them all to succeed together. This puts her at total odds with Chieri, the girl she's trying most to befriend.

->'''Voiced by:''' Sumire Sato (Japanese - Characters/AKB48TeamA), Carli Mosier (English)

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/YuiHorie (Japanese), [=Margaret McDonald=] (English)

The last Center Nova. The 13th Generation Acchan was the idol of idols. A passionate yet quiet young woman who could be surprisingly shy. Once she got on stage though, was she a sight to behold. As the Center Nova, she led the performances with a radiance that outshined all her peers, inspiring them, or in Yuko's case, prompting a desperate game of catch-up. Then she just disappeared on day in the middle of a concert, sometime before the 77th Generation was recruited. Her disappearance is a big influence on AKB0048, both on the group as a whole and on certain individual members.

* PosthumousCharacter: Essentially all her appearances and development are shown through flashbacks or given from stories the 00 members members tells each other.

* DisappearsIntoLight: The fate of all idols who become the Center Nova.
* IceQueen: In Heart Gata Operation, she is just as cold as Chieri off stage.
* PosthumousCharacter

* {{Fangirl}}: Everything Yuko did, all her work and dedication to reaching Center Nova, was really done in order to spoiler:be with Acchan, her hero and idol. All she ever wanted was to be able to perform alongside her.]]

* RealLifeRelative: Her English VA Juliet Simmons is Kanata's VA Genevieve Simmons' sister.

* TheResenter: She isn't, though Takamina believes she has every right to be. While Kanata is certainly frustrated by her lack of progress, she isn't bitter at those who pass her.
* RealLifeRelative: Her English VA Genevieve Simmons is Sonata's VA Juliet Simmons' sister.

* SchoolUniformsAreTheNewBlack: Nagisa considers her school uniform her classiest set of clothes and wears it even after she's left school for good. This annoys Yuka who later tells her not to wear it to their first handshake event.

->'''Voiced by:''' Creator/TohruOokawa (Japanese), Creator/ChrisAyres (English)

* TakingTheBullet: In the middle of their first battle, Nagisa saves Chieri from a rampaging robot only for it to be not quite down and out. Seeing it take a bead on her, Chieri jumps in the way, taking the bullet instead. [[spoiler:At which point it's revealed the bullet was a paintball, the robot was one of 00's, and the entire firefight was a SecretTestOfCharacter and part of their final audition.]]

* SelfDuplication: Chieri can do this [[spoiler:after awakening as Center Nova at the end of the series.]]

* RoseHairedSweetie: The sunny lead has dark pink hair with a bow on the side.

* SelfDuplication: Chieri can male multiple copies of herself to give individuals a very up close and personal concert after [[spoiler:awakening as Center Nova at the end of the series.]]

* GoodParents: Though he initially comes off as a hardass and FantasyForbiddingFather who won't even let his daughter sing in her room, it becomes clear that this cause not by any kind of ideology he hold, but because he's afraid she'll become a target for the DES. After she leaves and becomes an idol, he refuses to condemn her decision and [[spoiler:gets imprisoned for it]], and after she sees how much trouble she caused her parents by joining AKB0048 and she starts hesitating in pursuing her dream, he tells her in no uncertain terms that he wants her to do so and expects nothing less from her.

* AnimalEaredHeadband: Naturally the cute little girl of the group likes to wear these, the it seems to be more of a really small hat on the side of her head. Sometimes replaced with a regular headband or hood that gives off the same effect.