Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! - Nightcord at 25:00 / Characters

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Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! Characters
Main Units: Leo/Need | More More Jump! | Vivid Bad Squad | Wonderlands X Showtime | Nightcord at 25:00 | Virtual Singers
SEKAI: School | Stage | Street | Wonderland | Empty | Seven Deadly Sins

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A mysterious group of online friends centered around a talented young musician wracked with trauma and the people drawn to her by her music. As they are mostly active during night, they have coined the so-called "25th hour" in which they meet in the chat program Nightcord. Drawn into a world of emptiness formed from the thoughts and emotions of "that girl", the members of Nightcord are tasked by Miku with saving them from the brink of annihilation.

General

Color-Coded Characters: As a whole, the unit is associated with the color violet.
- Kanade: Turkish Rose (purpleish)
- Mafuyu: Chetwode blue
- Ena: Sorrell Brown
- Mizuki: Light Orchid (pink)
Darker and Edgier: Compared to the other units. N25's story touches on topics such as depression, suicide, and self-worth, and much of their story after the introductory story involves their struggle to slowly heal from their traumas together as friends. On the aesthetics side, this is complemented by the Empty SEKAI, which is much bleaker compared to the lively and colorful SEKAI that the other units go to, and their song choices feature dark and moody themes and lyrics.
Driven to Suicide: While none of the members actually go through with it, each member experienced the feeling of wanting to "disappear" throughout various points in the unit story, which is how they and their "feelings" ended up being absorbed into Mafuyu's SEKAI.
Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: While most prominent with Mafuyu, every single member had sported this look at least once, particularly at the lowest point in their lives where they want to "disappear".
Dysfunction Junction: Easily the most screwed up group in the game. Kanade and Mafuyu both suffer from severe levels of depression, Ena is later revealed to have crippling self-esteem issues, and even Mizuki, otherwise the most cheery and upbeat member, struggles with bullying and discrimination due to their Ambiguous Gender Identity. This is reflected in their corresponding SEKAI, dubbed the "Empty SEKAI", an almost-featureless white void with a stage in it that is heavily implied to be a manifestation of Mafuyu's mental state.
Exactly What It Says on the Tin: They are a music group that meets at 25:00 in the Nightcord messenger.
Flower Motifs: They're each depicted with flowers in their 2022 birthday cards.
- Kanade: Crocus and Daphne Odora
- Mafuyu: Cape Daisies and Japanese Rowan
- Ena: Kalmia and Nemophila
- Mizuki: Balsam, Bottle Gourd and Hypericum
Four-Temperament Ensemble:
- The extroverted and cheerful (kinda) Mizuki is Sanguine.
- Stubborn and highly opinionated Ena is Choleric.
- Broken Ace Mafuyu is Melancholic.
- Soft spoken introvert Kanade is Phlegmatic.
Gameplay and Story Integration:
- Kanade and Mafuyu's 3D models are unique in that they can't actually smile, even when put into songs where other characters does smile, reflecting the two as the most depressed character in the game.
- Both Kanade and Mafuyu's skills for their ColorFes cards reflects their story and situation pretty well:
  - Kanade gives a score boost depending on the player's health and further gets an increase every time the life bar increases. In other words, Kanade performs better the more someone is "saved" (healed), fitting with her desire to compose a song that can save someone.
  - Mafuyu gives the highest score boost in the game... which drops in effectiveness as soon as anything other than a Perfect is recorded, reflecting the expectations everyone have for her and the burden to be perfect at all times as The Ace.
Image Song: Kuyamu to Kaite Mirai and Twilight Light.
- The individual members also have image songs:
  - Kanade: Kanade Tomosu Sora, Tricologe, Samsa, and 25-Ji no Jounetsu
  - Mafuyu: Jackpot Sad Girl, Saisei, Bug, and Engeki
  - Ena: Close to Gray, Nomad, I nandesu and Watashi wa Ame.
  - Mizuki: IDSMILE, Lower, kimi no yoruwo kure and Kitty
- While not performed by them, they also received two unit album songs in the form of limbo and Unpoison, both sung by Hatsune Miku.
Meaningful Name: Each member of the group has a surname that references different times of the day:
- Kanade Yoisaki: Night
- Mafuyu Asahina: Morning
- Ena Shinonome: Dawn
- Mizuki Akiyama: The moment right before sunrise
Mirror Character: Each member is connected to one or more VIRTUAL SINGER that reflects an aspect of their characterization:
- Kanade: Hatsune Miku and Megurine Luka
- Mafuyu: Hatsune Miku, Megurine Luka, Kagamine Len, and KAITO
- Ena: Kagamine Rin
- Mizuki: Megurine Luka and MEIKO
Officially Shortened Title: The group members call themselves "Niigo" for short, which means "25" (said as two-five rather than twenty-five). This is localized as N25 in the global release.
Real Name as an Alias: Each member plays with this trope differently with their Nightcord handles.
- K downplays it by using the initial of her given name, Kanade.
- Yuki subverts it by deriving "Yuki" (snow) from a possible meaning of her given name, Mafuyu (winter).
- Enanan plays it the straightest, simply adding some repetition to her given name, Ena.
- Amia averts it, taking a name based on her favourite character from an anime she used to watch; at most, it could be said to have some auditory similarity to her family name, Akiyama.
Retcon: And Now, The Ribbon is Tied reveals that Ena and Mizuki met before Nightcord at 25:00 was formed, as well as that Mizuki was the one who helped Ena realize that her art had worth. This reveal contradicts earlier information, as early event stories suggest that Mizuki and Ena met later, along with Kanade being the one that helped Ena come to this realization about her art. Following complaints about the contradictions in the story, especially as it creates a major problem and contradiction in how Ena acts^Explanation, the writers made a statement claiming that Chapters 5 and 6 of the event will be rewritten to make it clearer that while Mizuki became the first to physically find Ena's art, Kanade was still the first one to make Ena felt like her art has worth. Essentially, the order of events still got retconned (Ena met Mizuki first instead of Kanade), but the end result is now consistent with the story and how she acts towards Kanade and Mizuki.
The Runt at the End: Nightcord at 25:00 is listed as the last group of the game, and they differ from the other main groups in quite a few ways:
- Nightcord at 25:00 is already well-established by the time their main story started, unlike the other four groups which come together during their main stories.
- Only one of their members regularly goes to school, with that character being Mafuyu; Kanade does online schooling, Ena attends night classes, and Mizuki regularly skips school, only showing up for some supplementary classes.
- They only start with one Virtual Singer, Miku, unlike the other groups, which start with at least two.
- Their SEKAI existed for quite some time before the main story, unlike the SEKAI of other groups which are implied to have appeared either during or shortly before the events of the main story.
- Their SEKAI was not born from the collective feelings of the group (like Vivid BAD SQUAD) or the group's viewpoint character (Like Wonderlands × Showtime), as it was born from Mafuyu's feelings. Kanade, the representative of the unit, is tasked with saving Mafuyu.
- While all the other group's main story began with a flashback to a happy or inspiring moment in the past, N25 began with a shot of Kanade burying her face in her knees, the room she's in a mess, muttering to herself that she must compose a song that can save someone while a soft music box plays in the background, establishing the Darker and Edgier nature of the unit's story.
Talking Down the Suicidal: The climax of N25's main story is basically the rest of the group trying to talk Mafuyu down from "disappearing". This is also a somewhat unique example as all of them had previously considered "disappearing" too, which is part of the reason why Mafuyu ends up listening.
When It All Began: The Someday, From the Depths of Despair event gives a flashback on how Kanade and Mafuyu first met online 2 years ago, and thus, how N25 was first formed. And Now, The Ribbon is Tied event is also a flashback event featuring how Mizuki and Ena eventually joined them.

Kanade "K" Yoisaki

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/kanade_3rd_anniversary.png

Right now, all I can do is keep on making music...

^{Debut Appearance}

^{Childhood Appearance}

Voiced by: Tomori Kusunoki
Birthday: February 10 (Aquarius)
School: Online School
Year: ???^note
Hobbies: Listening to music, watching movies, anime, looking at art
Unique Skill: Measuring time with her senses alone
Favorite Food: Cup ramen, canned food
Disliked Food: Anything that smells funny
Bad with: Direct sunlight, household chores

Kanade suffered a traumatic experience that has left an important person to her in despair because of her music. In order to make better songs, she started "Nightcord at 25:00", where she's in charge of composing songs.

All-Loving Hero: Kanade always treats other people with kindness and tried her best to make them happy, even to strangers, such as when she gave Ichika - who at that point was a stranger - the last CD that she'd been looking for because she saw Ichika really wanting it. To her N25 friends, Kanade is devoted and loyal, weathering through their outbursts and anger with seemingly infinite patience while giving them praises and love in return. Even with Mafuyu's mother, Kanade tried her best to see things from her perspective and avoids making any judgment despite knowing what her parenting had done to Mafuyu, and after she sees through Mafuyu's mother for who she really is, Kanade didn't have an outburst despite her disbelief and anger, instead declaring that she'd never leave Mafuyu's side. However, because she always gives her love for other people, Kanade had little to no love left for herself, often neglecting her health and needs as long as she can "save" others and make them happy, to the point that her friends need to remind her to take care of herself more; it took a long time before Kanade finally realized that her friends wants to see her happy too, that she deserves the same love and care that she had given so selflessly to other people.
Athletically Challenged: So much so that it's a Running Gag. Justified, due to her shut-in lifestyle and lack of nutrition.
The Atoner: A big part of why Kanade is so driven in composing songs that can save someone, to the point of becoming a Hikkikomori and Workaholic, is because she sees it as a form of atonement for putting her dad into a coma.
Bad Bedroom, Bad Life: She is heavily implied to be depressed and has, by far, the messiest bedroom of anyone in the cast, with an unmade bed, composition sheets strewn everywhere, stacked cardboard boxes, used mugs and bowls of cup noodles on her table... just see for yourself◊. It doesn't help that, while Honami keeps the rest of the house somewhat tidy, she explicitly stays out of Kanade's bedroom to let her work in peace.
Big Damn Heroes: In Happy New Year! Lion Dance Robot's New Year's Show, N25 happens to be present for the last show of Wonderlands×Showtime's "tour" of New Year's shows. When Robo-Nene shuts down in the middle of playing music for the emotional last scene, Kanade salvages the ending by improvising on a nearby piano, playing an appropriate song just based on the few seconds she heard before the malfunction.
Broken Bird: The incident that hospitalized her father traumatized her. Now all she can think about is how to make songs that could save somebody.
Character Catchphrase: "I hope my song can save someone."
Character Development: Her initial reason for trying to compose a song that can save someone is purely driven by self-interest, as she sees it as a form of penance and to have something to live for after her father got hospitalized. As the story goes on and she gets to know the members of N25 more, this eventually changes as she truly wants support all of them and make them happy, and in Carnation Recollection she finally manages to compose a song that made Mafuyu genuinely smile not by wanting to "save" Mafuyu, but by realizing that she truly cares about her and wants to see her smile. By the time of Immiscible Discord, it's clear that Kanade had grown to love and care for Mafuyu more than Mafuyu's own mother, which is why in Saying Goodbye to the Masked Me Mafuyu chose to run to Kanade's place, showing that Kanade had managed to touch Mafuyu's heart and "saved" her from her mother by giving Mafuyu genuine care and love that she desperately craves.
Child Prodigy: She's had a natural flair for composing music since she was in elementary school, to the point where companies preferred her music to her father's, who has years of experience under his belt. The Tone Played on That Day also showed that Kanade learned how to compose her first song — which was made for her father's birthday — by simply observing her father's work and then trying things out herself; she even managed to improvise on the spot when she forgot what to do next when playing the song.
Cope by Creating: Admits to Honami in "Beyond the Screen" side story that whenever she feels depressed and wants to "disappear", she copes by composing songs.
Cute Clumsy Girl: Because she is a Hikikomori who rarely has any real human contact with anyone, Kanade is quite clumsy and helpless in doing anything that doesn't involve composing songs or making cup ramen. Just look at when she's trying to offer a visiting Mafuyu some tea!
Mafuyu: Kanade, why don't you put those down for now? I'd hate to see you drop those cups.
Mafuyu: You should bring that teapot closer to yourself. If you don't, you'll spill the tea.
Mafuyu: Kanade. You don't need to hold the kettle in one hand and the teapot in the other. You'll burn yourself.
Mafuyu: If you pour too much, it'll spill out...
Kanade: (Was I having that much trouble...?)
Daddy's Girl: Admired her father, who was a composer, and shared his interest in music. Unfortunately, Kanade's talent when she created her own music, while her father was in a rut, contributed to his mental breakdown.
Dark and Troubled Past: Her father was a composer who came down on hard times from being told his music was "old-fashioned". Kanade trying to help him with his music made him realize how talented she is, which further worsened his mental state. He eventually collapsed and had to be hospitalized. He survived, but has lost his memory.
Death Glare: She gives one hell of a glare in Immiscible Discord to Mafuyu's mother once she realizes that the woman didn't actually care about Mafuyu's feelings at all.
Determinator: Once she sets up her mind on something, Kanade will make sure that she'd see it through no matter what and devotes everything to it, like saving Mafuyu. Mizuki says that giving up or quitting is probably not an option for Kanade, and it's part of the reason why Ena and Mizuki admires her.
- This is best exemplified in Immiscible Discord. the moment she meets Mafuyu's mother and realize what kind of parent she is, Kanade becomes absolutely determined to NOT leave Mafuyu's side no matter what Mafuyu's mother says because she knows that music is one of the few things that Mafuyu actually wants in her life, and she's not going to leave her alone when Mafuyu needs people who actually cares about her as a person — and NOT for her achievements — by her side.
Driven to Suicide: Kanade has attempted this twice, both times of which are shown in the main story: The first is after she read her father's diary, where she thought about starving herself to death, but thankfully stops after finding her mother's music box and remembering her father's words telling her to keep creating music. The second is after Mafuyu told Kanade that her song had failed to save her, with the exhausted Kanade going to the Empty SEKAI to finally find peace a few days later; thankfully, Miku managed to talk her out of it by reassuring Kanade that she still has a chance to save Mafuyu.
Expository Pronoun: In Immiscible Discord, Kanade at first refers to Mafuyu's mother in her head as Mafuyu no okaa-san (Mafuyu's mother), but when she finally realize that the woman doesn't actually care about Mafuyu at all, she would refer to her in her head as kono hito ("this person"), showing that Kanade had lost any sense of respect towards her as a parent.
Fan of the Underdog: She's a fan of Ena's art and sees a deeper meaning in her creations, despite Ena otherwise being declared a mediocre artist by the professionals in the story. It was Kanade's love for Ena's art that "saved" her and made her feel that her art is meaningful.
Foil: To Vivid BAD SQUAD's An.
- Both are a Daddy's Girl, and had a close relationship with their fathers, with both fathers having an occupation as a musician, the difference being the genre they specialized in.
- Kanade's father is still in the hospital with no memory of who Kanade is, so he isn't able to support the endeavors of his daughter and her group. An's father is around to aid Vivid BAD SQUAD in their goal every step of the way.
- Kanade's relationship with her father is currently strained due to his memory loss rendering him unable to recognize her as his daughter at all, while An still has a close relationship with her father.
- Kanade's mother had passed away from illness before the events of the story, while her father is just starting to recover from his collapse as of Carnation Recollection. An's mother is unseen, but still alive and Happily Married to her father.
- Kanade is treated as the unit leader for N25, but the unit's motivations largely revolve around Mafuyu and her desire to "disappear". An serves as VBS's motivator due to her desire to surpass RAD WEEKEND driving her to partner with Kohane and later join up with the BAD DOGS, but Kohane is treated as the unit leader.
- Kanade has a quiet Sugar-and-Ice Personality, while An is a cheerful Nice Girl.
Forgets to Eat: Often gets so wrapped up in composing music that she forgets to eat. Even when she does remember, sometimes it's only once a day, as revealed in an area conversation between her, Miku, and Luka.
Geek Physiques: Being a shut-in who rarely leaves her room, Kanade has absolutely horrible stamina and physique. She gets exhausted just from walking between her house and a nearby family diner that N25 frequents, can't withstand being out in the sun for too long, and even finds squeezing a wet towel an arduous task. This gets elevated to absolutely comical levels in the SEKAI's Game Season web series, where she is somehow convinced to execute a playthrough of Ring Fit Adventure, a rather physically intensive Exergaming game.
The Gift: Kanade is a very talented composer, someone who is described as being "loved by music". In the main story, Kanade who was still in Junior High managed to compose a song good enough to beat her father's and used in a commercial pretty much on the spot, and in Insatiable Pale Color she managed to similarly compose a song just for Ena in a few minutes. The rest of N25 members were similarly all entranced by her music, and it's a big part of why they agreed to join her circle.
Gone Horribly Wrong: She was inspired to write music by her father, whose songs could make anyone happy. Her attempts result in an incident that left her father unable to produce music anymore.
Guilt Complex: Entirely blames herself for her father's condition.
Heroic RRoD : She frequently works herself to exhaustion and often just passes out on her chair instead of going to sleep on her actual bed. Taken to the extreme in the Someday, From the Depths of Despair event story. Two years ago, Kanade ended up passing out in her kitchen after she worked for a whole day without sleeping or eating. Thankfully, her grandmother had asked the housekeeping agency to check up on her, and Honami had heard Kanade fall, so they were able to quickly call an ambulance; If not for that, it wouldn't be a stretch to think that Kanade would have ended up like her father.
Heroic Self-Deprecation: Kanade tends to downplay everything she does and often thinks that she had yet to save anyone, having very low self-esteem in herself and thus thinking that she doesn't deserve to be happy. However, both Ena and Mizuki admits that without Kanade, they probably wouldn't have found the strength to keep on going long ago, and in the main story she's the main reason why Mafuyu ends up not committing suicide.
Hidden Depths: Secret Distance reveals she's surprisingly scared of ghosts.
Hikikomori: She attends school online and is typically holed up in her room with the lights off to work on music while subsisting on cup ramen. She occasionally goes out to shop and visit her father in the hospital.
Holding Hands: Seems to be a running theme between her and Mafuyu, with it happening thrice thus far: in chapter 18 of the main story (as shown in the 2D MV of Gunjo Sanka), chapter 5 of Mirage of Lights, and chapter 8 of Guiding a Lost child to What lies Beyond.
Idol Singer: In the alternate version of Shibuya introduced in the April Fools' Day 2022 event, she becomes a composer and singer for the idol group YUME YUME JUMP!, performing alongside the group's other trial members Shizuku, An, and Shiho. It turns out she's ill-suited for the role of an idol due to her hikikomori lifestyle and encountered muscle pain a week into training with her group, but in the end managed to push through to their debut event thanks to the encouragement she received from the others.
Innocently Insensitive: Had a rather tragic one in her past. When she was in junior high, Kanade never really realized that she had a talent for music, and as such always downplayed the songs she made to help her father as "not that good" because she's practically just trying things out without rhyme or reason. However, her songs in actuality were better than what her father made, even after he toiled for days trying to make something better than something she came up with on the spot, and it played a part into why her father eventually collapsed from all the stress.
It's All My Fault: Believes that her father falling into a coma and being hospitalized was her fault.
Joshikousei: During the 2023 April Fool's Day event, she's seen wearing the uniform for Miyamasuzaka Girls Academy (with an open, long-sleeved, dark-colored sweater over it). This is the only time she's seen wearing a school uniform, as she exclusively takes online classes in the main story.
The Leader: Downplayed. While she doesn't actually do much in the way of leadership, she's still treated as the face of the group and was the reason N25 came to be in the first place due to her songs influencing each future member in some way. She's also the one who asks them to join her.
Limited Wardrobe: In contrast with every single character that's not a Virtual Singer, Kanade almost always wears the same sweats-shorts combo in every single untrained cards she's in. A 1-koma◊ shows her having multiple pairs of the same sweats, supposedly because they're comfortable and dry quickly, and a Q&A with the developers reveals that Kanade has 7 of the same jersey/sweats which keeps on increasing.
Living Emotional Crutch: Kanade serves as one to Mafuyu after the event of the main story; as long as Kanade is there to keep on composing songs that could save her, Mafuyu can curb her desire to disappear and keep on looking for herself for just a little longer.
Locked Out of the Loop: One of the few characters that is explicitly unaware of Mizuki's due to her being in online school and a hikkikomori.
Mascot: Less so than Leo/need's Ichika, but she's treated as the representative of her group in the advertising alongside Miku, Ichika, Minori, Tsukasa, and Kohane.
Meaningful Name: "Kanade" means to "to play music". In Carnation Recollection, her father reveals to her that they named her Kanade in hopes that they could play music as a family.
Minor Living Alone: Her mother had already passed away, while her father is hospitalized, leaving Kanade home alone. Someday, From the Depths of Despair reveals that Kanade's grandmother often checks on her, and she actually wanted to stay with Kanade, but couldn't due to her ailing age.
- This becomes a boon in Saying Goodbye to the Masked Me, as Kanade could take Mafuyu in without trouble after the latter ran away from home, and they'd been living together ever since.
Missing Mom: Her mother had passed away from illness.
Morality Pet: A downplayed example, but she's one to Ena. While Ena has a Hair-Trigger Temper and often butts heads with Mafuyu and Mizuki, she consistently treats Kanade nicely and is much more openly kind to her instead of being a Tsundere. This might be because Kanade was the first person to recognize her for her art and even invited her to join N25, which makes Ena greatly respect and admire her. A good example of this is Ena's reaction when she find out that she's not muted on Nightcord:
Ena: (to Mizuki) Come on now, if you could hear me then you could've at least told me about it!
Ena: (to Kanade) Sorry about that K. I interrupted your work huh.
My Greatest Failure: Her song was one of the contributing factors to her father getting hospitalized.
My Greatest Second Chance: The idea that Mafuyu can only be saved by one of her songs. She takes this chance very seriously, and devotes everything to it.
Oh, Crap!: She experienced a massive one in Immiscible Discord. When they finally meet, Kanade tried to be reasonable and sees things from Mafuyu's mother's perspective at first, assuming that all of her forbidding actions were born out of genuine worry for Mafuyu. But as the conversation goes on and all of her attempts to make Mafuyu's mother sees things from her daughter's perspective failed, Kanade slowly realized with dawning horror that unlike her parents who loved her unconditionally, Mafuyu's mother certainly doesn't.
Older Than They Look: Despite being 17 years old, she's sometimes mistaken as being a year younger thanks to her looks; for example, Minori called her "Kanade-chan" upon meeting her because she thought Kanade is the same age as her.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: The fact that Kanade wears something other than her usual jersey in her untrained card art for Immiscible Discord is the first sign that Kanade is facing a most extraordinary circumstances that she felt the need to dress differently: namely meeting with Mafuyu's mother, alone, to have a chat regarding Mafuyu's involvement with N25.
The Paragon: Ena and Mizuki deeply admire her for her kindness, selflessness and driven nature, making them feel like they're not alone and that there is someone who understands them or is just like them out there.
The Promise: In the climax of Nightcord at 25:00's unit story, she promises Mafuyu that she'll never stop making music until she succeeds in writing the song that will save her.
Properly Paranoid: In Immiscible Discord, Kanade went alone to meet Mafuyu's mother because just in case the meeting goes badly, she'd only know her face and Ena and Mizuki would still be able to safely stay by Mafuyu's side. Come Saying Goodbye to my Masked Self, it's clear that her fear was well-founded because Mafuyu's mother utterly loathes Kanade and blames her for everything that happened with Mafuyu.
Running Gag: Whenever Kanade is outside, attention will usually be given to her absolutely horrible physique, becoming the butt of many a joke in relation to it, like in this official 4-koma.
Secretly Selfish: Her one-track obsession with making a song that will save someone stems from a desire to save herself, as she feels she has no other reason to keep living, though as time goes on she slowly starts to realize that she genuinely cares for Mafuyu and the rest of N25 and wants to see them be happy.
Self-Care Epiphany: In Let's Enjoy Together! Spojoy Park!, Minori made her realize that she's allowed to be happy because her friends would naturally want to see her smile and enjoy herself, which also doubles as a realization that everyone in N25 actually cares about her and sees her as their friend.
Ship Tease:
- She's primarily teased with Mafuyu, due to Kanade making it her purpose to save Mafuyu and how close they become through this. Kanade went from wanting to "save" Mafuyu to wanting to see Mafuyu smile and happy in Carnation recollection, takes care of her when she was sick in Mirage of Lights while promising to never leave her, and refusing Mafuyu's mother request while reiterating that she'd always stay by Mafuyu's side in Immiscible Discord. By the time of Saying Goodbye to the Masked Me, they'd grown so close that Mafuyu chose to run away to Kanade's place, and they've been living together ever since.
- However, she also has some moments with Honami. While she's is technically just Kanade's housekeeper, whenever Honami visits, she not only cleans Kanade's home, but also cooks, bring snacks and flowers with her, and brews tea; Kanade for her part takes one of her few rare breaks whenever Honami visits, taking the time to actually chat and relax with her. When Kanade describes her relationship with Honami in a 4-koma, Mizuki remarks that they sound more like a couple who've been married for 20 years. They were also the central characters of the 2023 Wedding-themed event, wherein they attended a bridal exhibition and had to wear wedding dresses and say vows to each other as part of the experience.
Silk Hiding Steel: Kanade might usually be a demure, soft-spoken girl with Geek Physiques who never gets angry at anyone, but in Immiscible Discord, not only did she stands her ground against Mafuyu's mother when they're meeting one-on-one, she also gives the woman one hell of a glare, told her that she couldn't trust her to take care of Mafuyu, and finished it off by saying that she'll never leave Mafuyu's side no matter what Mafuyu's mother says. Holy shit.
Strong Family Resemblance: Carnation Recollection shows a flashback of a young Kanade with her parents, and present-day Kanade looks exactly like her mother, minus the Motherly Side Plait.
Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Kanade seems cold and quiet at first, but lets down that exterior to those she is well-acquainted with, such as Honami and the members of N25.
Supporting Protagonist: Zig-zagged. While there is no real protagonist of the N25 storyline due to the Ensemble Cast nature of the story giving every member an equal amount of focus, she technically plays second fiddle to Mafuyu, who is not only the creator of the Empty SEKAI, but also the character Kanade has tasked herself with saving.
Trademark Favorite Food: Instant noodles, because they're quick and easy to make, so it doesn't take unnecessary time away from composing songs. Subverted once the second half of her 2022 birthday card reveals the existence of the "special plate" her mother used to make for her, consisting of her favorite things: Salisbury steak, spaghetti, gratin, fried shrimp and pudding. It's heavily implied that Kanade's habit of eating instant noodles stems from her father, who started foregoing proper meals the more he overexerted himself over work. She only "likes" canned foods out of convenience.
Tranquil Fury: In Immiscible Discord, it's clear that Kanade is absolutely furious at Mafuyu's mother despite barely raising her voice; instead, she gives a polite, but nevertheless strongly-worded comment to her while giving the woman a Death Glare to convey her disdain.
Kanade: ...I have no words to express how I feel right now. All this time... I thought you were trying to make Mafuyu quit music because you were worried for her. Until I came here, that is. I now know... that I was wrong. No matter how I try to understand what you're saying... No matter how I remind myself that you're Mafuyu's mother... I... can't bring myself to trust you. So... I've decided now. No matter what you might say, I'll never leave Mafuyu's side.
Trash of the Titans: Doesn't only have the messier bedroom of anyone in the cast, but her kitchen doesn't look much better either◊.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Downplayed as Kanade is still a very kind girl beneath her Sugar-and-Ice Personality, but as a child she was noticably much more cheerful and energetic; she even used to have Tareme Eyes in contrast to her having Tsurime Eyes in the present.
Workaholic: To the point that she often Forgets to Eat, and only sleeps when she become so exhausted that she passes out while working. This is Played for Drama in Someday, From the Depths of Despair, as it's revealed that two years before the game's main story, Kanade's workaholic tendencies and habit of forgetting to eat took a major toll on her, eventually causing her to collapse from overexertion much like her father did. She would have died if not for her grandmother asking Honami's housekeeping agency to check up on her.
Yank the Dog's Chain: In Carnation Recollection, her father finally wakes up from his coma. However, his memory is jumbled up, thinking that his wife is still alive and expecting a daughter, and thus said all this to Kanade, not realizing that she is his very own daughter.

Mafuyu "Yuki" Asahina (MAJOR UNMARKED SPOILERS)

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mafuyu_3rd_anniversary.png

I don't know anything anymore...

^{Debut Appearance}

^{Childhood Appearance}

Voiced by: Rui Tanabe
Birthday: January 27 (Aquarius)
School: Miyamasuzaka Girls Academy
Year: 2nd (until 3rd anniversary), 3rd (present)
Hobby: Aquarium
Unique Skill: Speaking in English
Favorite Food: "Mom's cooking"
Disliked Food: Don't know
Bad with: Don't know

Mafuyu is an honor student who's both bright and humorous and is relied upon by all. In her music circle, she's in charge of writing lyrics. At first glance, she appears to be the perfect honor student, but...?

Academic Athlete: Not only is Mafuyu good in her studies, she is also an amazing athlete, as seen in the Run! Sports Festival! Committee Rush event where she serves as the anchor for the entirety of the second years in the relay race. Her classmates' complete confidence in her abilities shows that excelling both academically and athletically is par the course for Mafuyu.
Actually, I Am Him: She is OWN, the mysterious artist who single-handedly rose to prominence during Nightcord's main story.
Animals Hate Her: Animals seem to be able to quickly pick up on her fake smile and kind demeanor which results in them being wary or afraid of her whenever she tries to pet them. This is shown in an area conversation between Mafuyu and Shizuku where a stray cat runs off after the former gets close to it, and is even outright pointed out by Ena and Mizuki in the former's 4* "Distant Summer Festival" side story where a golden retriever whimpers and backs away after sniffing Mafuyu's hand.
Animal Motifs: Bunnies. Mafuyu used to have a bunny plushie as a child, and her favorite book was a picture book about two bunnies (both of which can be seen in the untrained version of her "Memories of Warm Affection" card) before her mother threw them out. In Searching for a Reflection Beneath the Waters, the picture book found in Empty SEKAI's lake depicts her as a bunny, and she's also featured in the Two Moon Rabbits event despite the event mainly focusing on Shizuku and Shiho.
Anything but That!: Mafuyu was silent when her mother took away her synthesizer and broke her computer, but when her mother asked her to give up her phone, Mafuyu refused and begs her mother not to take it, as her phone is the last remaining connection that she has with both N25 and Empty SEKAI, and the ensuing struggle ends up breaking her phone altogether.
Awesomeness by Analysis: Every time Ena is working on an illustration for N25's songs, Mafuyu always manages to discern what is lacking and needs to be refined with a glance, though because of her Brutal Honesty, Ena rarely takes the criticism well. However, in "Thrown Words", Ena admits that everything Mafuyu says about her art is correct, regardless of how she says it.
- During the main story, she's also able to tell that Kanade, Ena and Mizuki all wanted to disappear just like her. Whether she knew just by spending a few minutes with them face-to-face for the first time or if she could somehow tell from their regular voice chat is kept ambiguous, but it's impressive nonetheless.
Blessed with Suck: Mafuyu is blessed with immense talent — being able to quickly master anything she wants to do pretty much instantly on top of being well-versed in many different areas — which allows her to effortlessly become "the perfect girl". However, it is exactly because she's so talented and perfect that she became suffocated by all the expectations placed on her shoulders to the point of losing her sense of self and what she actually wants to do. As such, Mafuyu really doesn't see her talents as a blessing at all.
- Her talent is also the major thing that prevents her from getting help from other people, as seen in Draw your Bow In this White World. In the event, it is established early on that to be able to hit your target in archery, you must clear your mind from any unnecessary thoughts so that there is only you and the next shot. However, when Shizuku got a glimpse of the real Mafuyu beneath her perfect mask, Mafuyu managed to land all four of her shots dead-center despite not being able to clear her mind at all. This, combined with a brief conversation with Mafuyu afterwards, made Shizuku thinks that she merely misunderstood what she just saw, because if she could still perform so well in archery despite her troubles, then Mafuyu should be alright, which isn't actually the case at all.
Broken Ace: Is seen as the ideal student. Her parents are proud of her perfect grades, her classmates come to her for help with homework while singing her praises, her juniors look up to her, and she's even gifted athletically. However, these expectations became suffocating to Mafuyu and drove her into a suicidal depression. In middle school, she expressed wanting to become a nurse, only for her parents to push her towards becoming a doctor instead. She wanted to hang out with her classmates normally, only for them to expect her to study and not waste her time on hanging out. By the time of N25's story, Mafuyu is left with no sense of self-identity.
Broken Bird: Mafuyu is a horribly depressed girl who lost her sense of self beneath all the expectations placed upon her shoulders.
Broken Tears: Hits this near the end of Saying Goodbye to the Masked Me, where she pours her heart out to her mother about what she really feels and finally cries for the first time in the game. She broke down crying again afterwards on Kanade's shoulder after running away from home.
Brutal Honesty: At the end of the Imprisoned Marionette event, Kanade convinces Mafuyu to be more open with the rest of the unit as a way to get her to open up and get closer to figuring out where her feelings lie. This develops into Mafuyu bluntly stating her opinions towards the others with little to no care for their feelings, much to Ena and Mizuki's annoyance.
Character Catchphrase: "I don't know."
Character Development: In the beginning, the real Mafuyu has trouble with feeling emotions, is pretty apathetic to people in general, and wants to be left alone, with the only exception to the last two being Miku. But as time goes on Mafuyu starts to once again feel emotions she'd lost, grows to genuinely care for the other N25 members, and doesn't mind their company. This is shown in the Empty SEKAI gaining more items and even Virtual Singers as time goes on; as Miku said, because Mafuyu is no longer alone nor wishes to be left alone, the SEKAI starts to correspondingly change as well.
- By the end of At this Festival Colored by Twilight, the new Area conversations show Mafuyu slowly dropping her Stepford Smiler facade around others outside of N25, such as Rui, and is on her way to becoming true to herself and regain some sense of identity.
- This culminates in Saying Goodbye to the Masked Me, where she finally gains the courage to say "no" to her mother, showing her true self and telling her just how much she'd been hurt from following her mother's wishes without complaint for years. And when it became clear that her mother had no intention of letting her be with N25, Mafuyu choosing to run away instead of following her mother's wish or wanting to "disappear" shows that being with N25 had helped her to heal, to recognize that there are people who genuinely loved and cared for her, and by following her own wish — to chase after that warmth instead of living under the numbing coldness of her home, even when doing so hurts her and her mother — Mafuyu shows that she had regained a part of her identity.
Chekhov's Gun: Her empty aquarium, which had been there since the very beginning, ends up being the thing that broke her phone when it fell into the tank during her struggle with her mother in Saying Goodbye to the Masked Me.
Clock King: A downplayed example, but Mafuyu always does a mental checklist on her activities for the day in the morning and adjusted things accordingly as the day goes on. Considering that Mafuyu might be the busiest person among the cast^Explanation, it's practically a necessity for her to be this trope, and it's a testament to her time-management skill that she only overworked herself once thus far (as depicted in the Mirage of Lights event) despite being on this schedule for at least two years already.
The Comically Serious: While Mafuyu is not one for jokes, sometimes the things she says or does can be absolutely hilarious precisely because she's so serious about it in otherwise mundane or comical situations.
Commonality Connection: Arguably a big part of why she's so close to Miku. When Mafuyu first gave birth to the Empty SEKAI — and thus N25 Miku — both are emotionless girls who are alone in their respective worlds, and as such both derive comfort from the other's presence as they have nobody else but each other prior to the conclusion of N25's main story. This initial period was long enough that the two managed to forge one of the strongest bonds between a human and a virtual singer among the cast, likely second only to Ichika's bond with her SEKAI's Miku.
Cope by Creating: In the main story, this is essentially why she created music by her lonesome as OWN when doing it with N25 isn't enough for her to cope and/or find herself. She stopped once she got the full support of N25.
Creepy Monotone: How she normally speaks when she's not being a Stepford Smiler.
Defrosting Ice Queen:
- While she may be unaware of this change herself, Mafuyu is gradually warming up as she spends more time with N25.
- She was also initially terrified of KAITO after her first encounter with him (for good reason) and avoided him repeatedly, though she eventually loses this fear after realizing that he's just trying to help her and makes more of an effort to interact with him.
Despair Event Horizon: Her mother throwing her synthesizer out in Chapter 16 of the main story without letting her say anything was the straw that broke the camel's back, as composing music was practically Mafuyu's final way of coping with her Loss of Identity, and it was then and there that Mafuyu decided that she's had enough.
Mafuyu: ... I can give up now, can't I?
Desperately Looking for a Purpose in Life: All Mafuyu wants is to find her sense of self. She feels that, if she is going to be robbed of her own sense of identity by those around her, she might as well disappear. It's only through the aid of Miku and the N25 members that she is working her way out of this.
Does Not Like Spam: Curiously, she is the only member of the cast whose listed "Disliked Food" is "Don't know". This is likely because she has long since lost the ability to taste food.
The Dreaded: Emu is absolutely terrified of her because she can see through Mafuyu's fake smile, thus finding her "good girl" persona extremely unsettling. Ena and Mizuki are also terrified of her whenever she gets angry, as shown in her initial 2* card story 2.
Driven to Suicide: The most blatant case in the game by far, as N25's main story practically revolves around her desire to "disappear". Failing to find herself with N25, and not having any success when she's searching by herself as OWN, Mafuyu ultimately decided that if she couldn't find herself, she'd rather "disappear". Her songs as OWN became darker and darker as the story progressed, and it basically served as a time limit for the rest of the group on how close Mafuyu is from doing the act.
Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: Her default expression when she's alone and doesn't have to pretend to be normal. In gameplay, this is reflected by her model having fewer highlights in her eyes than the other characters and having a permanent shadow across her face. She grows out of it a little after she receives the wholehearted support of N25.
- This returns in her "The Road That Has Been Cut Off" untrained 4* card◊, and worse than ever before. Her eyes are darkened alongside having the highlights missing from her eyes to signify that this is the lowest point she has been at throughout the entire game. During the event story accompanying the card, Mafuyu's mother threw away her synthesizer and "damaged" her laptop, cutting almost all of Mafuyu's ties with N25, and this card shows her reaction to that.
The Eeyore: When she drops the Stepford Smiler act, she is miserable and rarely finds happiness in anything.
Emotionless Girl: She almost never shows any form of emotion in her face or voice when behaving naturally, but she's very good at pretending that she has emotions. Making her feel emotions again somewhat become one of the group's main goals, and many of Nightcord's events deal with Mafuyu feeling something and how she can properly express that feeling, whether it's good or bad.
Empty Shell: Mafuyu is possibly the most disturbed of the cast due to this trait and her reasons for feeling as empty as she does. The SEKAI is her form of escapism, where she spends an unknown amount of time lifelessly sitting there with Miku as her only form of company. Again, trying to get her out of this is one of the group's primary goals after the main story.
Extreme Doormat: To an even greater degree than Honami. Mafuyu never went against whatever her parents, friends and teachers expect her to do or be, to the point of losing her own identity and becoming an Empty Shell of herself in doing so. Part of her character arc involves her growing out of this mentality and making choices for herself, rather than simply doing as everyone asks her to.
First-Person Smartass: She has her moments, especially because she's usually too polite or nice to actually voice them out loud, like in this area conversation:
Kanade: I haven't really been reading much lately because I thought my eyes would tire out too fast... But books let you visit so many different places without actually going anywhere, right? So it feels like a really efficient way to find good references.
Mafuyu: (So, you just don't want to leave your room...?)
Fisher King: As the only other member of the cast whose main SEKAI was born from her feelings alone, with the only other being Tsukasa, her SEKAI reflects her lack of self, taking the shape of a cold and empty void with nothing but broken parts in it. Unlike most examples of this trope, however, the other members of N25, who were absorbed into the SEKAI due to having similar desires, can influence the SEKAI if their feelings are strong enough.
Foil: Surprisingly, she's this to no less than three characters from other groups:
- She's one to Wonderlands × Showtime's Tsukasa:
  - Both are the two characters who are solely responsible for the creation of their respective SEKAI. Mafuyu's SEKAI is the bleakest, being colorless and largely empty, while Tsukasa's is the most bright and colorful, filled with theme park attractions and Living Toys. The Wonderland SEKAI was also the first to have all six Virtual Singers present, while the Empty SEKAI is the last.
  - Mafuyu is very close to her Miku, and has always seen her SEKAI as a form of escapism to the point that she ended up intending to remain in her SEKAI forever. By contrast, Tsukasa initially rejected his SEKAI, especially the hyperactive Miku that came with it, complaining every time Emu dragged him there against his will and wanting to leave as soon as possible.
  - They'd also both forgotten core parts of themselves before the start of their respective stories. Mafuyu had forced herself to meet the expectations of her parents and class, to the point of losing sight of her personal desires, whereas Tsukasa had forgotten his original motive for wanting to become a star, becoming a self-obsessed Glory Hound in the process. Mafuyu's true feelings, and subsequent goal, is the desire to be saved, and to rediscover what makes her happy, while Tsukasa's is the desire to make others happy.
  - Mafuyu is mild-mannered and humble despite being The Ace, while Tsukasa is loud and arrogant despite being The Chew Toy of the cast. In reality, Mafuyu is incredibly depressed and desperate to find herself, and has become largely jaded and apathetic towards others, while Tsukasa primarily focuses his energy outwards towards others and doesn't care to reflect on himself too much.
- While they seem similar on the surface, she serves as a Foil to Toya from Vivid BAD SQUAD:
  - Both have the appearance of being The Stoic, however, while Mafuyu is through and through an Emotionless Girl who lost her sense of self long ago, Toya isn't actually stoic and only appears that way because he (initially) had difficulty showing his emotions on his face.
  - Mafuyu has shown envy toward characters with siblings due to growing up as an only child. On the other hand, Toya has two elder brothers but has also envied characters with siblings due to his lacking a sibling-like relationship with them.
  - Both grew up with oppressive and controlling parents that had their lives planned out for them. However, Toya became fed up with his home life and treatment from his parents and successfully rebelled again them, finding his own dream and chasing it regardless of what his parents said. Meanwhile, Mafuyu remained under her parent's control and lost her sense of self in the process. She doesn't begin to rebel against her family until late into her unit's storyline, doing so in subtle ways such as hanging out with friends when she's supposed to be in prep class or staying up late to use Nightcord.
  - Both are connected to a Shinonome sibling who they have different dynamics with. Mafuyu begins the story being more or less indifferent toward Ena, who in turn is resentful toward her due to her insecurities. Meanwhile, Akito and Toya are extremely close and are rarely seen without each other.
- She also serves as one to Shizuku from MORE MORE JUMP:
  - Both are seen as having a perfect image, but while Shizuku's image is cultivated by her agency and she had trouble maintaining it outside of scripted events — eventually discarding said image in My Color! — Mafuyu's image is cultivated by herself and is effortlessly maintained to the present day.
  - Related to the above, both have a similar public persona that they wear in public, but their real self couldn't be more different: Shizuku's real self is still a Nice Girl, only more ditzy and Endearingly Dorky, while Mafuyu's real self is an Emotionless Girl that is brutally honest and couldn't care less about the things she's praised for.
  - Both are popular in Miyamasuzaka, but while Shizuku's popularity came from her looks and fame as an idol, Mafuyu's came from her reputation as The Ace.
  - Both are in the archery club, but while Shizuku joined because she's interested in improving her posture, Mafuyu joined simply because joining a club is a thing that a high-schooler would do, and the archery club was simply the first to ask her to join.
Foreshadowing: In "Dive Into Me" card story, Mafuyu recalled that she used to have a children's book about a black bunny that ran away from home because it was having trouble falling asleep and met a white bunny. Come Saying Goodbye to the Masked Me, that's exactly what happened: her mother's increased surveillance caused Mafuyu to lose sleep — sometimes even sleeping in the Empty SEKAI instead of her own room — which leads to her failing an exam, having an argument with her mother and eventually running away from her home to Kanade's place.
Friendless Background: She doesn't have any friends prior to N25, and even then it took until the completion of the main story and several events that they could really start to be considered friends.
Go-Getter Girl: Appears like one on the surface.
Hey, You!: She only ever refers to Akito as "Ena's brother" rather than by his name despite presumably being aware of it. In Mafuyu's case, it's likely not out of disrespect, but rather indifference. In Someday, This Wish Will Transcend the Morning Sky, she does begin to refer to him as "Akito-kun", at least to his face and while keeping up her "nice girl" facade.
Holding Hands: This seems to be a running theme between her and Kanade, with it happening thrice thus far: in chapter 18 of the main story (as shown in the 2D MV of Gunjo Sanka), Chapter 5 of Mirage of Lights, and chapter 8 of Guiding a Lost child to What lies Beyond.
I Just Want to Be Loved: While initially downplayed compared to her desire to find herself, as the story goes on it becomes apparent that Mafuyu craves genuine love and affection, such as her constant quest to seek and understand the warmth that she feels whenever she's with N25 and expressing curiosity at Shizuku doting on Shiho. The biggest hint, however, came from Mirage of Lights, where a sick and delirious Mafuyu begged Kanade to hold her hand and not leave her alone, just like what her mother used to do for her in the past, and in Saying Goodbye to the Masked Me, the final straw that made Mafuyu decide to run away from home is the realization that she no longer receive genuine, unconditional love from her mother, something that Kanade and the rest of N25 provides instead.
Instant Expert: In "The Sound of a Summer Festival" event, N25 visits a shooting gallery booth; despite it being her first time, Mafuyu managed to shoot down most of the prizes, including the toughest one.
Mafuyu: This is my first time. It's easy. Just point and shoot.
- In Draw Your Bow in This White World, it's revealed that Mafuyu managed to do a set of five planks (each one lasting 30 seconds) without any prior training whatsoever when she first joined the archery club, and similarly she instantly managed to draw a bow and maintain it after just seeing her seniors did it once.
- When she and Mizuki came to Spojoy Park, Mafuyu instantly managed to skate flawlessly, and similarly in Struck Out she managed to hit the panels three times in a row and easily score a bingo.
Last-Name Basis: Every main cast member outside of N25 refers to her as either "Asahina-san" or "Asahina-senpai." Likewise, the only non-N25 member she doesn't refer to by their last name is Akito, by virtue of him being Ena's younger brother.
Locked Out of the Loop: One of the few characters that is explicitly unaware of Mizuki's secret.
Loss of Identity: Her ongoing primary conflict. Due to having spent so much time trying to live up to her parents' and peers' expectations, she's lost her sense of self.
Love Martyr: This is the main difference between Mafuyu and other characters who have trouble with their parents like Ena and Toya; Mafuyu deeply loves her mother, and wants to make her happy no matter the cost to herself. It's why even identifying the source of her troubles is so hard for Mafuyu, and why it takes a lot of escalation from her mother before Mafuyu could finally admit that her mother had been hurting her and muster the courage to confront her, and even then she still doesn't hate her mother.
Master of All: Mafuyu is exceptionally skilled and multi-talented. In addition to being stellar at academics, she also serves as Nightcord's lyricist, and given how quickly OWN rockets to popularity, it can be inferred that she excels at music composition and artistic talent as well — good enough for Ena to get jealous of her talent◊. In the Run! Sports Festival! Committee Rush event, she serves as the anchor for the second-years, where Ichika remarked that Mafuyu might be faster than anyone in the school's track and field team. In some area conversations, it's revealed that she does archery and has never missed a target, Mirage of Lights shows that she could cook and make her own dinner, and At This Festival Colored by Twilight revealed that Mafuyu could also play the piano beautifully.
Meaningful Name: Her Nightcord handle, Yuki, means "snow" and is written with the kanji for snow. Her given name, Mafuyu, is in hiragana but can mean "winter", but more importantly, hiragana (in contrast with kanji) doesn't provide any meaning in itself, reflecting Mafuyu's loss of self-identity.
Mirror Character: To Honami. Both are Academic Athlete honor students who are relied on by their classmates; Mafuyu's 1* card name (The Honor Student) is similar to Honami's (The Kind Honor Student); Honami loves to take care of people and wants to work at a nursing home, while Mafuyu originally wanted to become a nurse; both are also close to Kanade, even meeting her at around the same time (which was two years ago). Mafuyu is basically a look at how Honami might have ended up if the rest of Leo/need had given up on her and she'd continued to repress her personal wants in favor of following her peers: a depressed, Empty Shell of a girl who no longer know who she is or what she really wants to do.
Morality Pet:
- Miku is hers, being practically the only person that Mafuyu is consistently nice and considerate to even when she's not wearing her "good girl" mask. When Miku asks whether she could see snow, for example, Mafuyu actually paid attention to the weather forecasts and even told her 2 days in advance, and on the day it snows Mafuyu excused herself from N25 meeting to keep her promise; not only that, because Miku couldn't actually touch the snow as a hologram, Mafuyu proceeds to catch them in her stead and repeats the gesture when they melt in her hands until Miku is satisfied. Similarly, even when she was at her lowest point in the main story and decided to "disappear", Mafuyu took the time to actually visit Miku and tell her of her decision first — even trying to gain Miku's approval that it is indeed okay for her to give up now — showing just how much the Virtual Singer meant to her.
- Len also becomes one to Mafuyu after debuting in Empty SEKAI, as his childlike innocence reflects a time in Mafuyu's childhood when she also felt lost. In a side story, she even lets him and Miku sleep beside her to keep her warm.
No Social Skills: While she doesn't seem like it at first glance, Mafuyu's social skills are absolutely horrible. In her "good girl" persona, closer scrutiny will reveal that her social interaction with other people consists of her nodding, smiling and agreeing with whatever is expected of her as a "good girl". Without that guideline, the real Mafuyu is insensitive, brutally honest and apathetic, which makes her quite difficult to deal with and sometimes causes conflict (especially with Ena) without her meaning to.
Oblivious to Hatred: More like Oblivious to Fear. Mafuyu does not realize that Emu is absolutely terrified of her "good girl" persona which leads to plenty of hilarious moments between them.
Odd Friendship: With Emu, of all people. Despite Emu being the sort of person Mafuyu usually doesn't like (loud and hyperactive), she finds herself intrigued with her as Emu "treats her differently." This is because Emu can see through Mafuyu's façade, but despite being scared by it, she wants Mafuyu to smile for real and often attempts to make it happen when they're interacting.
Only Friend: Both Miku and Mafuyu only have each other for company before the conclusion of the N25 main story.
O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In the main story, the normally emotionless Mafuyu crying and screaming her heart out shows just how far she's truly gone past the Despair Event Horizon, and how close she is to "disappearing". This remains the only time where she ever raised her voice and openly cry thus far.
- In Guiding a Lost Child to What Lies Beyond, Mafuyu skipping her mock exam to be with N25 in Phoenix Wonderland shows how much her mother terrifies and hurts her in the event, to the point that she feels the need to be with the people she feels safe around just to get away from anything that reminded her of her mother and the expectations placed on her shoulders.
- Culminates in Saying Goodbye to the Masked Me, where Mafuyu running away from her home shows that she had reached her limit and could no longer tolerate the abuse inflicted on her by her mother, no matter how much she loves her mother and tried to make her happy.
Palette Swap: During the April Fools' Day 2022 event, she's seen wearing a recolor of Wonderland Luka's default outfit, trading in the blue and pink for different shades of purple.
Please, Don't Leave Me: In Mirage of Lights, she begs Kanade not to leave her all alone when she's bedridden, showing that genuine love and companionship is one of the few things Mafuyu craved for in her life.
- She did it again in the second side story of her My True Feelings card, where she begs Miku and KAITO not to leave her alone to face her mother when they suddenly got disconnected from her broken phone.
The Power of Friendship: The reason why Mafuyu managed to muster up the courage to face her mother, standing her ground as her mother used every single manipulation tactics in the book against her, and finally running away from her home in Saying Goodbye to the Masked Me. To elaborate:
- Ena's words in Someday, This Wish Will Transcend the Morning Sky that Mafuyu should make it clear when she doesn't like something — and defend herself when she has to because she's the only one who can — helps Mafuyu to be honest and pour her heart out to her mother about what she feels in being the good and perfect girl her mother demands her to be.
- KAITO's words snaps her out of her Trauma Button from seeing her mother cry and continue standing her ground instead of submitting.
- Kanade's words in Carnation Recollection on how she wishes to see Mafuyu's genuine smile, and her promise in Mirage of Lights that she'd always stay by Mafuyu's side, helps Mafuyu realize what unconditional love is, that her mother had long since stopped giving her that love, and realizing that there is a place that she feels safe to be in.
- When she began to feel overwhelmed and conflicted between her love for her mother and her love for her friends, Miku singing the first Kanade song that managed to touch her heart helps to remind her of the warmth that she felt around N25, and how she wished to be able to bask in it forever.
- Finally, Mizuki's advice from Our Escape for Survival — that it's okay for her to run when things become too much — informs her of what to do once she realized that her mother would never accept her feelings and N25: running away from home to Kanade's place.
Properly Paranoid: In Someday, This Wish Will Transcend the Morning Sky, it's revealed that Mafuyu hid the Nightcord app and N25 song files in her computer so that it could only be found by her, which came in handy when her mother starts checking her computer without her permission in the event.
Proper Tights with a Skirt: She wears tights with her school uniform, which complements her image as the perfect School Idol.
The Quiet One: When she doesn't have to put on her "good girl" persona, Mafuyu is rather quiet and spends most of her time just listening to what other people have to say unless she is directly addressed. The most extreme example of this is when she used to just sit in silence with Miku for hours in the Empty SEKAI.
The Runaway: At the end of the Saying Goodbye to the Masked Me event, after seeing that pouring her heart out to her mother did nothing, having her Selective Obliviousness torn down to shreds and finally realizing that N25 had loved and cared for her more than her own mother, a heartbroken Mafuyu finally decided to follow Mizuki's advice and ran away from home to Kanade's place.
Running Gag: Whenever it's her birthday, the rest of N25 always give Mafuyu some silly headgear for her to wear, which she doesn't seem to mind.
School Idol: Possibly the most well-known student in Miyamasuzaka as the kind and reliable senior in the archery club who can do anything, with every student there recognizing her in some way or form; The Moon Rabbit & Us reveals that even Shiho knew her by reputation, and she received so many presents for her birthday that her mother actually forbids her from receiving presents like homemade sweets and games.
Secretly Selfish: Played With. While she is very kind and helpful at school to the point of being idolized and looked up by so many students, deep down Mafuyu doesn't really care about other people and simply wants to find her sense of self that she had lost. However, some of her behavior in card stories like Encounter at a Closed School and events like At This Festival Colored by Twilight shows her helping others when she doesn't have to, even doing so with none of her usual facade, and with her originally wanting to become a nurse it suggests that one of the things Mafuyu really wants to do is to help people.
Selective Obliviousness: Initially implied and then outright confirmed. In the main story, she says that both she and Kanade are cursed, with the context that Kanade is "cursed" by her father, but she never openly says who exactly "cursed" her. Subsequently, whenever asked about her parents (especially her mother), Mafuyu always says that her mother just wants what is best for her so it is imperative for her to follow her mother's wishes, but at the same time whenever her mother caused her to feel cold or hollow, Mafuyu never correlates said coldness or hollowness as something caused by her mother. Finally, she couldn't figure out why she feels warm with the rest of N25 while she feels the exact opposite in her mother's company despite all the signs being there for her to figure out, suggesting that Mafuyu loves her mother too much to even consider the possibility that her mother is the main reason why she becomes the way she is.
- In the event Immiscible Discord, Mafuyu gets called out on this by KAITO who tells her that she already knows that her mother is the one killing her emotions, but because Mafuyu's love for her mother is that strong, she chooses to ignore it and remain in denial, until it finally gets torn down in Saying Goodbye to the Masked Me.
Sentai: In the alternate version of Shibuya introduced in the April Fools' Day 2022 event, she joins the after-school group Happiness Squadron Sunny-Sunny☆Wonder! which is themed after Sentai and was formed with the goal of making children smile. She acts as the group's leader due to being a second-year student and works alongside Emu, who founded the group, Kohane, who was invited to the group by Emu, and Haruka, who joined because she liked the concept. Unlike the group's other members, she has two assigned names, with "Goodness Smile Mafuyu" being her ranger name, and "Darkness Smile Mafuyu", which is the name she takes on for the performance's antagonist role and "Goodness Smile Mafuyu's" true self.
Ship Tease: With Kanade due to Kanade making it her mission to "save" Mafuyu, which leads to them inevitably growing closer. For example, in Mirage of Lights a delirious and sick Mafuyu begged Kanade not to leave her alone and to hold her hand, and in The Warmth of Intersecting Melodies she felt warmth in her chest whenever she saw Kanade being happy. Finally, when she finally ran away from her home in Saying Goodbye to the Masked Me, she instinctively ran to Kanade's place and had been staying with her ever since.
Sick Episode: She came down with a fever in the Mirage of Lights event and collapsed on her way to cram school after a really long day at school. Thankfully Kanade managed to find her by chance, which leads to Kanade having to take care of Mafuyu after bringing her to her home.
Soulless Bedroom: A possibly symbolic example. Her room seems to mirror her lack of self. She has the most amount of books in the cast which are all neatly put away like everything else in the room. Even when compared to the other characters with similar rooms like Tsukasa and Toya, her room's decor is very basic with nothing to even hint at interests. Only the fish tank deviates from that and even then, it's also empty.
Spotlight-Stealing Squad: Despite the N25 story ostensibly being about the whole group, Mafuyu is given significantly more importance as it is revealed that she is "that girl" that Miku is asking Kanade to save. As well, she's the second to only character in the game with a SEKAI born from her feelings alone, with the other person to do this being Tsukasa.
Staying with Friends: After the event of Saying Goodbye to the Masked Me, Mafuyu had been staying with Kanade even as she enters her third year, as shown in this 1-koma and her new self-intro.
Stepford Smiler: Big time. She keeps up her cheerful appearance to please her family and peers while disguising how hollow and empty she feels inside. The difference in her personality is so drastic that the rest of N25 have difficulty recognizing her at first, even though they recognize her voice. After the main story, she at least drops the facade when she's just around the rest of N25.
- Played for Laughs when she's with Emu, since Emu can tell when she's faking a smile and it terrifies the crap out of her, leading to some pretty comical reactions.
- Reaches its logical conclusion during April Fools' Day, where she winds up part of a Wonderlands X Showtime-esque unit called "Happiness Squadron Sunny-Sunny☆Wonder!" and participates in a cover of "Positive☆Dance Time", of all songs. The plot of the stage play the unit puts on leans into this as well, as Mafuyu plays both the role of a fellow ranger Goodness Smile Mafuyu and the antagonist Darkness Smile Mafuyu, which is Goodness Smile Mafuyu's true identity. After the other rangers bring Mafuyu back to their side, she retains her identity as Darkness Smile Mafuyu because it's who she really is beneath the facade.
The Stoic: Beneath the fake smiles, Mafuyu rarely reacts to anything. She doesn't react when riding a roller coaster, faces Ena's outbursts in stride, and in the card story of "Encounter at a Closed School", not even meeting a real ghost manages to faze her.
Strong Family Resemblance: Downplayed, as we don't get to see the full face. In Mirage of Lights, Mafuyu's mother appears briefly in a CG, feeding a sick young Mafuyu apples. What little is seen of her in that CG and the untrained art of Mafuyu's "Memories of Warm Affection" card shows that Mafuyu's mother looks like a grown up version of her daughter. Later confirmed in Immiscible Discord. When Mafuyu's mother is seen for the first time, Kanade identifies her by how similar they look. They even have some of the same facial expressions.
Stronger Than They Look: Mafuyu's build looks just like any other girls in the game, but N25's Connect Live reveals that her grip strength is 60kg, making her one of the strongest member of the cast.
Trademark Favorite Food: Her "mom's cooking". In reality, Mafuyu has lost the ability to taste food, and thus has no favorite; her mom's cooking is simply her default answer to the question.
Trauma Button: In the Imprisoned Marionette event, Mafuyu had a visceral reaction upon seeing a very well-made marionette sitting in a golden cage, which was enough to make her feel sick and go home early. It's implied that seeing something that reminds her of herself, and by extension how her mother really sees her, is the trigger, which became confirmed by Kanade's side story in Immiscible Discord.
- In Guiding a Lost Child to What Lies Beyond, it seems that her main trigger is disappointing her mother, as Mafuyu trying to be an obedient "good girl" that pleases her mother has its roots in her mother crying and asking if Mafuyu was a "bad girl" for disobeying her words when they went to Phoenix Wonderland when she was little. This is to such extent that even simply receiving a message from her mother, which says that she's expecting great results from Mafuyu for the mock exam, manages to give her a panic attack.
Troubled Fetal Position: One of Miku's 3★ cards depicts her crying while curled up in a ball, with Miku sitting beside her.
Unaffected by Spice: In one comedic field event, Mizuki invites Mafuyu to try an "ultra-spicy" fried potato. Mafuyu eats it, but only feels a mild tingling sensation due to her heavily diluted sense of taste. Mizuki tries one for themself and has an... adverse reaction, to say the least.
Used to Be a Sweet Kid: Before high school, she was a genuinely hardworking girl, studying to please her parents, with her own dream of becoming a nurse before succumbing to the pressure to meet others' expectations, at the cost of her own identity.
Walking Spoiler: It's impossible to talk about her without spoiling Nightcord at 25:00's main story, and by extension, all further event stories that she features in.
"Well Done, Daughter!" Girl: Mafuyu desperately craves for her mother's love and approval, and because her mother only provide them when Mafuyu is acting according to what she wants, Mafuyu grew up as an Extreme Doormat who couldn't say no to anyone — becoming the "perfect girl" while slowly losing her own sense of identity to the point of suicidal depression — all in order to appease her mother and made her happy.
What Is This Feeling?: Mafuyu is frequently confused and unsure whenever she felt something due to her Loss of Identity and Empty Shell nature. However, as she slowly regained her emotions, this shifted into her wondering about the different feelings that she got from her mother and N25 — coldness from her mother, and warmth from N25 — and why they could be so different, when in her eyes both seems to care for her well-being.
What You Are in the Dark: In the card story of "Encounter at a Closed School", Mafuyu met a ghost who asked for her help in retrieving a shoe tied into a tree when she was exploring the school alone. Mafuyu decides to help the ghost despite not having to uphold her "honor student" persona, showing that deep down beneath her general apathy to other people, her kindness and tendency to help others who asked for her help isn't fake.
When She Smiles: The times that Mafuyu genuinely smiles can maybe be counted on one hand, but when she does, it's a very beautiful thing.
Working Through the Cold: She came down with a fever after overworking herself in Mirage of Lights, but forced herself to go to school anyway after taking some medicine. Unfortunately for Mafuyu, she was forced to skip both her break and lunch that day due to her multiple responsibilities and fame as The Ace, and she eventually collapsed on her way to cram school.

Ena "Enanan" Shinonome

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/ena_3rd_anniversary.png

I just want to be better at what I do.

^{Debut Appearance}

^{Middle School Appearance}

Voiced by: Minori Suzuki
Birthday: April 30 (Taurus)
School: Kamiyama High School (night class)
Year: 2nd (until 3rd anniversary), 3rd (present)
Hobbies: Drawing, taking/uploading selfies, searching herself on the internet
Unique Skill: Fashion research, guessing cooking ingredients
Favorite Food: Pancakes, cheesecake
Disliked Food: Carrots
Bad with: Getting up early

Ena is a strong-willed girl with a great sense for social media where she wishes to be more well-known. Her father is a famous artist, and she often draws and posts her art online. Within the group, Ena is in charge of drawing the illustrations for their MVs.

A-Cup Angst: Downplayed Trope; Mizuki says that Ena pushes up her bust in photos to make them look bigger than it actually is, but Ena denies this claim.
Aloof Big Sister: Whenever Ena is not using Akito as a gofer or being mean to him in some other way, she acts indifferent toward him. That said, Akito is so used to the first two things that he assumes the worst and avoids her anyway.
Always Second Best: On the receiving end of this, as detailed in Hard Work Hardly Works. All that she wanted was for her father to approve of her efforts, but to no avail.
Anger Born of Worry: Prone to this, though she tries to pretend otherwise.
Animal Motifs: The event Paint What You Love Rainbow Canvas associates her with wolves, just like her brother, she paints a representation of both of them and their childhood experiences seeing wolves in the story.
Ascended Fangirl: Was a fan of Kanade's music and even drew fan art for it, before being invited into the circle by Kanade.
Attention Whore: Ena is very deeply invested in getting "Likes" on social media and knows many ways to obtain good angles for selfies and other social media-worthy photos. This stems from her Inferiority Superiority Complex and her strained relationship with her father because she seeks acknowledgment that her hard work means something in the long run.
Aw, Look! They Really Do Love Each Other: Despite their sometimes hostile, but mainly indifferent dynamic with each other, Ena does genuinely care about her brother, Akito, and vice versa. It's revealed in The Sounds of a Summes Festival! that after he quit playing soccer, she was the one who introduced him to musical performances, leading him to end up seeing RAD WEEKEND, and thus spurring his interest in performing and desire to surpass the event. She had also brought him shoes to perform in an event with after a mix-up had his shoes moved from where he'd stored them. As well, in Toya's 2022 birthday line, she asks Toya to take care of Akito.
Bad Bedroom, Bad Life: She is implied to be depressed and has one of the messier bedrooms of the cast, only being beaten out by Kanade. Mafuyu implies that her bedroom is even messier than what is shown in the background illustration, claiming that art supplies are everywhere.
Best Friend: She's been best friends with Airi since middle school.
Big Sister Bully: Often uses Akito as a gofer. Akito also mentions how Ena used to take her anger out on him by throwing things at him and scratching him and he goes out of his way to avoid her in public, for fear that she may try to bother him with a request.
Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: While not a complete monster when her real personality comes out, she's a lot more surly than she initially lets on when she meets new people, and her internal dialogue about them often betrays what she says. This ends up being discussed in Mizuki's "Hermit Reversed" side story where Mizuki and An discuss An's first impression of Ena. An points out that Ena is nothing like how Akito described, saying that she expected her to be more "difficult" than she was. Mizuki concedes to Akito's interpretation of Ena's character but doesn't reveal Ena's true personality in order to spare Ena's honor.
Can't Take Criticism: Extremely sensitive about her art, and constantly seeks recognition and praise for it. This is easily her biggest weakness as an artist, as while all of her main critics (her father, Yukihira and Mafuyu) are all brutally honest and could have worded their criticism better, they're also right, and by ignoring and getting angry at them Ena ultimately regressed as an artist.
Character Development: She gradually becomes better at taking criticism as the story progresses. By Paint What You Love ♪ Rainbow Canvas and Someday, This Wish Will Transcend the Morning Sky, according to Yukihira she has improved greatly in the field she was lacking in during On this Blank Canvas, I Paint.
Cool Big Sis: Despite the start of their relationship being somewhat rocky, eventually Mafuyu starts to see Ena as one with her constant fussing and worrying over her. When Ena tells Akito that despite Mafuyu's honor student appearance, she's actually the one taking care of her, he doesn't believe her for a second, much to her annoyance.
Daddy's Girl: When she was younger, Ena admired her father's art and aspired to be an artist like him. However, that quickly went to pot when her father told her that she has no talent and to give up at pursuing art when Ena tried to ask him about which high school she should go to pursue an artistic career. She has never seen eye-to-eye with him since.
Dark and Troubled Past: Ena's father is a prodigious painter with immense talent. When Ena wanted to become an artist as well, her father tells her that she has no talent for art and that she should give up. This fuelled Ena's desire to become the best artist she could be. However, no matter how hard she tries, she can't reach the level of skill she wants.
Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: During her middle school years, an assignment to paint the subject of "self" results in a blank canvas after Ena agonizes over not being as good an artist as she thought she was. The resulting Heroic BSoD causes all of her emotion to drain from her, her eyes dulling as she quietly leaves the classroom before her teacher or classmates can say a word.
Everyone Has Standards: Insatiable Pale Color reveals that Ena knows she could use being N25's illustrator to get more exposure for her art account and has been tempted to do so a few times, but she refuses to gain followers through her connection to N25, wanting her art to be noticed by its own merit.
Freudian Excuse: Her personality is all but stated to come from her history of being looked down upon, causing her to develop an Inferiority Superiority Complex and a snippy attitude toward nearly everyone she interacts with genuinely.
Friendless Background: It's implied that Ena didn't have many friends other than Airi before joining N25. Her mother lampshades this when she brings Mafuyu over, much to her annoyance. Akito also tends to bring this up every time he meets a new one of Ena's friends, such as Mizuki.
Mother: Oh my...! Ena has friends other than Airi?!
Girl Group: In the alternate version of Shibuya introduced in the April Fools' Day 2022 event, she joins the girl band Aoharu/friends alongside Saki, Airi, and Ichika. She was invited to the group by Airi and is the band's drummer.
Girls Love Stuffed Animals: She has a number of stuffed animals that she poses with for her selfies, some of which can be seen strewn around her bedroom◊. Toya has occasionally passed on stuffed animals he can't take home to her through Akito because of this hobby.
Hair-Trigger Temper: Very quick to take offense, especially when it comes to her art, and tends to lash out when she's upset.
Hard Work Hardly Works: As much as Ena throws herself into her art, she can't match up to most of the artists that she knows. From her father, to Akito, to even Mafuyu as OWN, all of them seem to be talented with little effort. This directly ties into the reason why Ena wishes to 'disappear'. It eventually comes to a head in Insatiable Pale Color, as she starts to believe that, if nobody's going to acknowledge her hard work, her art, and by extension, herself, she may as well not exist at all.
Hidden Depths:
- Ena isn't the type of person to sit idly by and let others get walked all over. In What's On Your Mind? Exciting Picnic!, Airi explains that they became friends because Ena defended her from their classmates that were bullying her. As well, in Chapter 5, Ena tries to ward off two mountaineers that were trying to pressure Shizuku into taking a photo with them despite her calm protests.
- Despite her Hair-Trigger Temper, Someday, This Wish Will Transcend the Morning Sky reveals that she's actually a pretty good liar who can keep her cool under pressure when pushed, even cooking up an Indy Ploy to convince Mafuyu's mother to let Mafuyu stay the night at her house pretty much on the spot.
Inferiority Superiority Complex: It's subtle, but hints of this show up in her card stories and interaction with the rest of N25, especially Mafuyu.
- She secretly resents Akito due to him being better at art than her, despite him having lost interest in drawing and not putting any effort into his art, while Ena works hard but barely gets any recognition outside of N25.
Ink-Suit Actor: Her face and hair are modeled after her voice actress, Minori Suzuki.
Ironic Name: Overlaps with Meaningful Name. Her name can be translated to "Famous Painting", which is ironic considering her character struggles with being recognized as a good artist.
Jerk with a Heart of Gold:
- While she's usually dismissive of her younger brother Akito when they're onscreen together, it's been shown that she does secretly care about him:
  - The Sounds of a Summer Festival! reveals that she was the one who encouraged Akito to get into music after he gave up on soccer. She also brings Akito a spare pair of dancing shoes after his original pair were moved from where he put them, mirroring what he did for her when they were younger.
  - In Akito's "The Loud Cheering Full of Excitement" side story, she treats Akito's entire team to pork okonomiyaki after Akito complains that she never does anything for him despite how often he's made to run errands for her. She also takes into consideration Toya's dislike of squid when picking out a flavor for them.
  - A downplayed example happens in Akito's "Happy Birthday!! 2022" side story. After a suggestion from Mizuki that it's fine to do nice things for each other from time to time, she and Mizuki make Akito a cheesecake for his birthday with the help of Airi, and Airi says that Ena worked hard on it. It's downplayed in that she pretty much demands that Akito make her something delicious for her birthday in exchange, rather than just being satisfied with the fact that he enjoyed it.
  - In the area conversation that unlocks from Someday, This Wish Will Transcend the Morning Sky, Mafuyu gifts her expensive macaroons as a "Thank You" for allowing her to stay at her house, which Mafuyu asks Ena to share with her mother and Akito. Ena is annoyed and reluctant to share it with Akito initially, but when Mafuyu suggests she just give him a smaller portion of the sweets, she relents and reassures Mafuyu that she isn't as greedy as she thinks and will give him some properly.
- While she's reluctant to admit it, Ena also looks out for her friends:
  - In What's On Your Mind? Exciting Picnic!, Airi spoke of how Ena is a very loyal and protective friend and at one point, Ena stood for Airi and defended her from their middle school peers when they are overwhelming Airi with talks regarding her idol career. It was one incident that Airi feel indebted to Ena for and the two remained close friends as a result of this incident.
  - In What lies behind. What lies ahead. despite her desire to know what Mizuki is going through, she reassures them in the end that she'll wait forever until they're ready to tell her. She also turned down Akito's offer for her to ask someone on his team what was happening with Mizuki, as she wanted to find out for herself.
  - After Toya "avenges" her by winning the stuffed toy she couldn't get from the crane machine for her, she buys him tea-flavored cookies as a "Thank you" gift.
  - In Someday, This Wish Will Transcend the Morning Sky, she drags Mafuyu all the way over to her house to give her shelter from the rain and even allows Mafuyu to stay the night, as she worried about Mafuyu going home to her mother knowing the situation with Mafuyu's mother searching her computer. As well, when Mafuyu's mother calls, Ena confronts her on the phone directly and leverages her father's name and reputation (something she hated having to do) to convince Mafuyu's mother to let Mafuyu stay over.
Locked Out of the Loop: One of the few characters in the cast that is explicitly unaware of Mizuki's secret. This takes center focus in the event What lies behind. What lies ahead. in which Ena tries to find out what Mizuki's school life is like, initially jokingly as an act of "payback" but then seriously when she becomes worried about them. After being dissuaded from pushing them too far by MEIKO, Ena tells Mizuki that she'll wait forever until they're ready to tell her.
Mirror Character: To her brother Akito, they are both incredibly similar in both personalities and preferences:
- Both have a Sweet Tooth and share the same Trademark Favorite Food Pancakes and Cheesecakes, while also having the same disliked food, Carrots.
- They have the same temperament, both being quick to irritation, quite stubborn in more ways than one, and are Tsundere.
- Both pretend to be much more agreeable than they really are when meeting new people and drop the facade once they get to know them.
- Both are interested in fashion and keeping up with trends. However, Ena is more into fashion research, while Akito's hobby is fashion coordination.
- They both share the same feelings of inferiority and are both repeatedly told that they are talentless in their respective fields, but cope with it in different ways. Akito is what Ena could be if she consistently worked to improve despite the lack of talent. Their initial character focus event stories Stray Bad Dog and Insatiable Pale Color also mirror each other as they both have to deal with their perceived lack of talent and withdraw from others as a result. Both events conclude with them having to accept that they aren’t alone and have friends to support them.
- They both also have a Morality Pet from their unit that acts like a Blue Oni to their Red Oni, and whom they treat more kindly than anyone else. For Ena, it's Kanade, while for Akito, it's Toya. These characters also helped to restore their determination to follow the paths they chose for art and music, respectively.
Morality Pet: Kanade serves as one for her. From the beginning, it's made clear that Ena is the nicest to Kanade of anyone in the unit, and is shown to immediately apologize when she gets snippy with her. She also seems to hold Kanade in high regard because Kanade was the one who helped Ena to realize that her art has worth, with Ena believing that Kanade sincerely meant it.
Never Gets Fat: Zig-zagged. She has as big a Sweet Tooth as her young brother, Akito, and eats sweets quite often. As well, Akito once had a home screen line in which he complained about Ena freaking out about gaining weight after eating an excessive amount of sweets. Despite this, the players are never shown a difference and Ena looks the same weight as she always did.
The Night Owl: Her sleep schedule is usually flipped around, as she spends most of the night working on her art and sleeping during the day. She also goes to night classes because of this.
Normal Fish in a Tiny Pond: In On This Blank Canvas, I Paint, it's revealed that when Ena was younger, she received a lot of praise from her peers for her drawings. While it boosted her confidence at the time, she was eventually outmatched, including by Futaba, a classmate who joined the same art class later than Ena, and was one of her peers that had admired her art. Combined with receiving harsh Brutal Honesty from both her father and art teacher, Ena's hit with the realization that she isn't as good as she thought she was, and promptly quits the class.
Not a Morning Person: She takes night classes and stays up late to do work for N25, so she sleeps through the day. Thanks to this, she'll often be late for offline meet-ups.
Pink Is Feminine: Possibly the most feminine member of her unit alongside Mizuki, and while her Color Motif is Sorrel Brown, her bedroom is primarily pink and blue. Also, her pre-3rd anniversary default casual outfit has a pink top.
Poor Communication Kills: In Insatiable Pale Color, Mr. Shinonome admits to Akito that he didn't say what he did to Ena on that fateful day because he sees her as "talentless", but because he doesn't want her to live the stressful and solitary life of an artist, who has to keep drawing even when their work is left unacknowledged, something he doesn't believe she could handle. However, the way he brutally dismissed Ena and her hard work, objectively speaking as an experienced artist than as her father, only served to hurt her deeply and strain their relationship. Akito telling her their father's real intentions only makes her angrier, as the damage has already been done.
The Resenter: As someone who's had to struggle to get to where she is and still doesn't feel good enough, Ena resents people who are naturally talented but don't use their gifts. This is why she acts especially bitter towards Mafuyu, in particular.
Selfie Fiend: She likes taking pictures of herself.
Shared Family Quirks: Despite their vitriolic relationship, Ena shares a few things in common with her brother, Akito. Both are Tsundere towards their respective groups, prone to having Hair Trigger Tempers at specific things (mostly art for Ena) and sharing the same favorite and least favorite foods. They are also both interested in fashion, with Ena primarily taking an interest in fashion research, while Akito is into fashion coordination.
Sibling Rivalry: While they do secretly care about each other, it's rare to see Ena and Akito show it, as they're otherwise either bickering, avoiding each other, or, on Akito's end, viewing Ena with disdain when they run into each other in public, much to Ena's annoyance.
Signature Hair Decs: The white hair ribbon that holds her braid in place. She's almost never seen without it, even in her trained card illustrations.
Small Role, Big Impact: The Sounds of a Summer Festival! reveals that it's Ena who inspired Akito to get into music when they were younger after he abruptly soccer in elementary. It was because of this small push that he was able to meet Toya, and eventually, come to form Vivid BAD SQUAD years later.
Strong Family Resemblance: Inverted, as it would be impossible to tell that she and her brother Akito are related if the story didn't outright say as much. Downplayed in the case of her and her father, as they don't really look alike outside of having brown hair — or grayish brown-ish hair in Ena's case — due to Ena's doe-eyed stylization, while her father is drawn slightly more realistically.
Sweet Tooth: Loves sweets and regularly sends her brother out to pick up things for her, such as cheesecake.
Those Two Guys: With Mizuki, though it's more on Mizuki's side than the reverse, as Ena's events tend to focus more on her struggles with being recognized as an artist and her relationship with her father.
Trademark Favorite Food: Pancakes and cheesecake, just like her brother, Akito. According to Word of God, if she had to choose which one she liked more, she would choose cheesecake.
Tsundere: Mizuki describes her as one a few times, due to the way she acts prickly and claims not to care about them or Mafuyu, but shows she does care when it counts.
Vitriolic Best Buds: Mizuki likes teasing her, and she can get pretty argumentative with them in turn, but there's no denying that they're a pretty tight-knit pair.
Weight Woe: She's very conscious about her weight as an extension of her appearance and according to one of Akito's home screen lines, even complained about weight gain after eating an excessive amount of sweets.
"Well Done, Son" Guy: Gender-Inverted. Though she acts angry and bitter towards him, she still seeks the approval of her father, who is an artist. Insatiable Pale Color sheds some light on Ena and her relationship with her father.

Mizuki "Amia" Akiyama

https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/mizuki_3rd_anniversary.png

I'm never sure if it's really okay for me to stay the way I am.

^{Debut Appearance}

^{Middle School Appearance}

Voiced by: Hinata Sato
Birthday: August 27 (Virgo)
School: Kamiyama High School
Year: 1st (until 3rd anniversary), 2nd (present)
Hobbies: Collecting videos, collages
Unique Skill: Making outfit combinations
Favorite Food: Curry rice, french fries
Disliked Food: Mushrooms
Bad with: Hot food

Mizuki is a moody person who loves cute things. Mizuki was captivated by Kanade's music upon listening to it, then made and posted an MV for it and were later invited as a member by Kanade. Mizuki has a secret that no one else in the group knows about.

All of the Other Reindeer: Mizuki is constantly treated like a freak (to their face and behind their back) by their classmates, largely because of their gender non-conforming style of dress and stereotypically feminine interests and behavior. The Kamiyama High Festival! event story reveals that they had it even worse in middle school. Next to the Unchanging Warmth elaborates that Mizuki used to get along with their peers until they one day showed up wearing clothes that their sister made and chose for them and got called "weird" for it, and it's only through their sister's encouragement that they could remain true to their personal beliefs and likes.
Ambiguous Gender: Mizuki's gender is listed as "Secret" on their official profile^noteor "?" on their Japanese profile, they are referred to gender neutrally^note, and they use the typically masculine first-person pronoun boku. It is heavily implied that they are transfeminine, with the events Kamiyama High Festival!, Secret Distance, and And Now, the Ribbon Is Tied giving more fuel to this.
Ambiguous Gender Identity: As the game delves further into their story, it pushes them further from the Ambiguous Gender trope and more in the direction of this trope. Mizuki's story revolves around how others perceive them and how they feel they would be perceived by their friends if they knew their secret.
Ascended Fan: They were a fan of Kanade's music before officially meeting her. They created an MV for one of her songs and were invited to the circle by Kanade herself.
Cheery Pink: Played With, compared to the rest of N25, they are the most upbeat and cheerful member who works as The Heart, but when compared to the rest of the cast, they are still not the happiest, as they still do have some issues stemming from being bullied for their non-conforming dress style and stereotypically femimine interests and behavior. Either way, they are associated with pink and their casual attires have them wear clothes and/or accessories with shades of pink.
Commonality Connection:
- With Wonderland × Showtime's Rui, as fellow "outcasts" at their old middle school.
- In the main story, they also think that Mafuyu is just like them. As shown in flashbacks to their past in the Secret Distance event, Mizuki once tried to fit in with their peers by dressing in the male school uniform in middle school, just like how Mafuyu caved under the peer pressure of her family and classmates. The difference is that Mizuki decided to be true to themselves by the time they were enrolled in high school.
- In the 2022 April Fools' Day events alternate version of Shibuya, they form the group Fellow Hobbyists on Days Off. which was created with the intention of hobbyists coming together to discuss and share their interests with like-minded individuals. The other members of this group are Nene, Minori, and Honami.
Curtains Match the Windows: Mizuki has light pink hair and the same shade of pink eyes to match.
Cuteness Proximity: Adores cute things in general.
Does Not Like Spam: They're weirdly sensitive to hot food. Not "spicy" hot, but hot temperatures. They usually have to let their food sit for a while before they can eat it, and they even put ice in some foods, like noodles, to cool them down quicker.
Expository Pronoun: They use the typically masculine first-person pronoun boku and are the only female-presenting character in the cast to do this.^note This further serves as a hint to Mizuki's "secret" concerning their gender-identity.
Fan of the Underdog: Like Kanade, they're a fan of Ena's art and see a deeper meaning in her creations, despite Ena otherwise being declared a mediocre artist by the professionals in the story.
The Fashionista: Very much into Lolita Fashion. They often bring outfits and accessories to the SEKAI for the Virtual Singers to try on.
First-Name Basis: Refers to everyone they know by their first name with the exception of Akito, who they refer to as "Lil Brosef"^note"Otouto-kun" among other variations of that nickname, much to his annoyance.
Friendless Background: Except for Rui in middle school, Mizuki didn't have many friends until they joined Nightcord at 25:00, due to being constantly treated like a freak for their personal interests. It's to the point where they clam up when they wanted to suggest N25 hanging out and traveling as a group again the following year after the events of Secret Distance, as the trauma stemming from their situation and Friendless Background caught up to them.
The Gadfly: They seem to enjoy getting reactions out of people.
Good Parents: Our Escape for Survival reveals that Mizuki's parents are one. They care for Mizuki and also accept them and their interest and are just as supportive to them as Mizuki's sister was.
The Heart: Mizuki genuinely cares for N25, and can empathize with the others' issues. While the rest of N25 struggle with their own lives, Mizuki ends up helping the others to resolve their issues first. They are also the main peacekeeper of the group, despite their teasing.
Never Be Hurt Again: Mizuki tries to keep everyone at arms' length because of the fear that they'd one day leave or hurt them once they learn the truth, though Mizuki also admits in Carnation Recollection that they've come to like Kanade, Mafuyu and Ena too much that it's hard not to be involved when they're in trouble.
Nice Guy: Despite their tendency to be The Gadfly to their friends, they're generally friendly to every new person they meet, even if that kindness isn't extended to them in return.
- In Carnation Recollection, when Mizuki sees Kanade depressed after visiting her father, they drag Kanade off to a cafe to distract her from going home and overworking herself with a new song. They also lend a listening ear to Kanade and offer to help her look for the hint she needs to make a new song for Mafuyu.
- In KAITO's first side story and the Virtual Live of Immiscible Discord, they make the most forward attempts at befriending KAITO, only to be rudely dismissed by him every time, much to their disappointment.
The Nicknamer: Refers to Akito as "Otouto-kun" in JP, or "Little Brosef" (or some other variation of "little brother") in the COLORFUL STAGE translation, much to his annoyance. This nickname came from him being Ena's younger brother.
Otaku: They're a big anime fan, listening primarily to anime music outside of their work for N25.
Pink Means Feminine: They're heavily associated with pink and are tied with Ena for being the girliest member of their group. Even their hair and eye colors are matching shades of pink.
Refusing Paradise: A non-dead example happens in their Colorful Festival side story. Mizuki comes into contact with their fragmented SEKAI which took the shape of a shopping mall with endless shops that cater to their interests. However, after exploring the SEKAI for some time, Mizuki begins to remember their friends in Nightcord at 25:00 and feels lonely, knowing they won't be able to play with them there and that soon, their friends will begin to worry about them in their absence. When MEIKO arrives and offers them the chance to stay in the SEKAI or return to their world where they'll continue to face unpleasantness, Mizuki decides to return, but thanks the SEKAI for the fun it allowed them to have while they were there.
Rose-Haired Sweetie: They have light pink hair, and while they're The Gadfly, they ultimately are a kind person who also acts as The Heart for N25.
Skipping School: Revealed to be doing this in the second part of N25's unit story when they get a call from a teacher, telling to attend make-up lessons. This is implied to be a result of their peers constantly treating Mizuki like a freak show, which leads them to be hesitant to attend class to avoid unwanted attention. And Now, the Ribbon Is Tied reveals that they used to skip class in middle school for the same reasons, as they were bullied even before coming to school in female school uniforms.
The Social Expert: Mizuki is very emotionally intelligent, being very adept at reading people and knowing what to do or say in most social situations. Consequently, this also made them extremely adept in hiding their own problems, as all of Ena's attempts in making Mizuki open up end up being noticed and deflected pretty early on.
Stepford Smiler: Like the rest of N25, Mizuki isn't the happiest. While they genuinely wish to enjoy life the way they wish, being ostracized leads them to loneliness and depression.
Think Happy Thoughts: Mizuki at least tries to keep themselves positive.
Trademark Favorite Food: Fries, but only after they've cooled down, as their tongue is sensitive to heat.
Un-Confession: What lies behind. What lies ahead. spends 7 chapters building up to Mizuki finally sharing the secret they've kept from the group since the game's launch with Ena. However, in Chapter 8, Ena tells Mizuki that she will wait forever until they're ready to reveal what's going on with them. Mizuki almost considers telling her anyway but hesitates and ultimately changes their mind after remembering how the people who knew treated them. The event story ends with Mizuki deciding to lie to Ena about their plan to tell her someday, while they secretly want to hold onto their secret forever so they can remain with N25 as they are now.
Vitriolic Best Buds: Likes teasing Ena, who can get pretty argumentative with them in kind, but there's no denying that they're a pretty tight-knit pair.

Characters / Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! - Nightcord at 25:00

Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! Characters
Main Units: Leo/Need | More More Jump! | Vivid Bad Squad | Wonderlands X Showtime | Nightcord at 25:00 | Virtual Singers
SEKAI: School | Stage | Street | Wonderland | Empty | Seven Deadly Sins

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Characters / Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! - Nightcord at 25:00

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Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! CharactersMain Units: Leo/Need | More More Jump! | Vivid Bad Squad | Wonderlands X Showtime | Nightcord at 25:00 | Virtual SingersSEKAI: School | Stage | Street | Wonderland | Empty | Seven Deadly Sins

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Hatsune Miku: Colorful Stage! Characters
Main Units: Leo/Need | More More Jump! | Vivid Bad Squad | Wonderlands X Showtime | Nightcord at 25:00 | Virtual Singers
SEKAI: School | Stage | Street | Wonderland | Empty | Seven Deadly Sins