Character page for Infinite Stratos: Our Darkest Days
. Beware of the spoilers (marked and unmarked) in the character information and tropes. Enjoy!
Main Characters
A first-year student at the I.S. Academy and Main Protagonist.
Representative Contender for the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The pilot of the Falkirk's Fury. A prototype 3rd Generation close combat Infinite Stratos. Josephine stands apart from other Representative Contenders and Cadets in that she does not come from an elite background and has no military history in her family.
Despite being university educated, both of her parents struggle on a daily basis to make ends meet and live in public housing. Josephine grew up having to watch them work menial jobs despite being qualified for very well paying careers. Because of this, her grandmother encouraged her to go above and beyond in her education by giving her books to read and taught her to understand books which would normally be beyond the understanding of children. But Josephine was a gifted child, which her grandmother understood and encouraged.
Josephine would describe herself as being made of salt and vinegar, however, she is actually exactly not that. She is kind and polite, but she can come off as arrogant to those who don’t know her. Because of her extensive reading, she has an extensive vocabulary, and she tends toward verbosity when speaking.
- Affectionate Nickname: Her friends call her Josie. She doesn’t like it at first, but eventually relents and gets used to it.
- Ace Custom: The Falkirk’s Fury is a prototype third generation Infinite Stratos built for her exclusive use. It is the precursor unit to the Blue Tears.
- Attractiveness Isolation: Her beauty puts off the type of boys she would want to attract and attracts the type of boys she despises. It's a vicious cycle which leaves her forever alone. In chapter 7, Josephine and Aisha go out for lunch where she meets a boy she finds attractive, and his best friend Ichika sitting in the back. Dan tells Ichika that he doesn't believe he has a chance with her because she's so far out of his league, even after she drops some very strong hints at him.
- Big Sister Instinct: When it comes to her roommates, she goes out of her way to take care of them. When McKenna didn’t get enough sleep and passed out in the cafeteria, she was treated to a Lap Pillow from Josephine. Josephine often makes conversation with Maria and tries to get her to open up.
- British Stuffiness: Her vocabulary is second to none, so much so that she is often told to speak English by those around her. She strives to avoid the use of slang and vulgarities.
- Character Tics: She has a habit of holding her arms under her breasts to support them. She didn't even realize she was doing it until it was pointed out to her. While it was intended to poke fun, it only served to further fuel her D-Cup Distress.
- Chef of Iron: Everyone looks forward to her cooking. Even if all she knows how to make is a variety of soups, stews, and pasta. She calls it Poverty Food, and doesn't think much of it. But to her friends its Impossibly Delicious Food.
- Custom Uniform: Enlongated skirt befitting her generally conservative fashion sense. While being a Representative Contender allows for some outlandish customizations for the school uniform, Josephine doesn't see the point.
- D-Cup Distress: She hates her large breasts.
- Didn't See That Coming: Whatever she plans, Murphy comes in to lay down the law. In Chapter 9, she plans to fight back against her classmates with the help of her friends. But she grossly underestimates how far their ringleader will go to get what she wants.
- Dude Magnet: Guys like her. Unfortunately for her, she seems to only be able to attract the wrong sort. In chapter 9 during some Shower Scene thinking, she gets angry while remembering a rich Jerkass driving a green Lamborghini she encountered in London who tried to pick her up at a bus stop by pinching her butt and inviting her for a night on the town.
- Dual Wielding: She has three sets of dual blades on her Infinite Stratos.
- Dope Slap: A particularly brutal one bordering on Bitch Slap. Delivered to Maria in chapter 9 when she uses the one word she doesn't want to hear under her roof.
- Doting Grandparent: She was very close with her grandmother who encouraged her intellectual gifts and supplemented her education with advanced literature.
- Deadpan Snarker: She can deliver brutally cutting remarks while making them sound like compliments.
- Even the Girls Want Her: In the first chapter, Maria develops an instant crush on Josephine after she introduces herself to the class. When it turned out they were roommates, Josephine had to quickly establish her heterosexuality to nip it in the bud.
- Foil: She is the good foil to Maria's Evil Counterpart. Both are possessing of genius levels of intelligence, both are well read, and both favor close combat. The key difference which separates them is that Maria is extremely apathetic and Josephine is extremely sympathetic. Maria's Meteor and Josephine's Falkirk's Fury share very similar weapon load outs designed to achieve the same ends. Except the Fury uses physical weapons and Maria's uses beam weapon technology. A case of retro-tech vs future-tech.
- Excuse Me While I Multitask: Josephine does this while reading in class. When called out she's still able to answer questions about class work, much to Chifuyu Orimura's chagrin.
- Gamer Chick: MMORPGs are not just a hobby to Josephine, they’re Serious Business.
- Gratuitous Rap: Josephine raps in Ye Olde Butcherede Englishe in Chapter 8 after becoming annoyed by remarks about her breasts.
- Hair of Gold, Heart of Gold: She’s a blonde who is also a bleeding heart liberal with the goal of becoming Prime Minister to save the world.
- Intelligence Equals Isolation: She was this prior to attending I.S. Academy, leaving her somewhat socially inept and extremely inexperienced with interpersonal conflict resolution.
- Knight in Shining Armor: She has a strong sense of justice and slowly becomes more comfortable with the idea of donning her Infinite Stratos to dispense some indiscriminate justice. In Chapter 3, Josephine challenges Maria after she usurps the position of Class Rep from Mayuzumi. Ostensibly she does this because Maria has no business being Class Rep (which is true) but in actuality, she does it to avenge Jennifer's defeat and to try and get some answers out of Maria about that incident.
- Lady of War: A well-mannered, well-educated, and well-trained fighter able to stand toe to toe with the best of them.
- Made of Indestructium: Her I.S. features two large shield bits which she commands by thought to block incoming attacks. They are strong enough to withstand direct hits from artillery strikes, Maria's Brahmastra and Ascalon, and even an armor piercing round from McKenna's Tremblay Special. Maria defeated the shield bits during the duel by forcing her way behind the shields where she used her beam boomerangs as knives to destroy their anti-gravity control systems.
- Named Weapons: Her twin greatswords are called "Galatine" and "Calesvol" respectively. Galatine is able to manipulate inertia to increase its striking power by orders of magnitude while Calesvol can flash a bright blinding light to distract enemies.
- Only Sane Man: Barely. She's pretty salty about a lot of things, but she's still got her marbles, though she rightly fears for them.
- Phenotype Stereotype: She's English, so she's blonde and blue-eyed to play up her being from European country.
- Primal Fear: She suffers from crippling nyctophobia: an extreme fear of night or darkness.
- Shutter Bug: She's always taking pictures with her phone to send back to her parents in England.
- Weirdness Magnet: Everyone she gathers around her is an oddball of some sort who in turn seems to attract something more unbelievable than the last thing.
- Wrong Side of the Tracks: She grew up in total poverty in the city of Leeds where she was constantly surrounded by crime, rampant unemployment, and only had to look out the window to see desperate hungry people being beaten by the police. It colored her world view but yet she still remains an optimist who believes things can become better with the right policies. Her school used textbooks printed before she was born. Her nyctophobia is the result of being left home alone as a child without electricity while her parents were out working multiple jobs to try and make some money.
A first-year student at the I.S. Academy.
Representative Contender for the United States of America. The pilot of the Meteor. A prototype 3rd Generation close combat and type Infinite Stratos. Almost nothing is known about Maria's history prior to I.S. Academy. Except that she is from Anchorage, Alaska, and spent some time in Nevada.
Maria seemingly has no concept of propriety. She is impolite, crass, and snarky. She is also extremely vindictive, dishing out disproportionate levels of retribution for any perceived slight against her. Because she has no money thanks to the Air Force deciding to keep her salary in trust for her until graduation, she takes a part-time job in the city as a waitress at Bianchi's Restaurant and Pizzeria so she can have some spending money of her own.
- Accidental Pervert: While she is often very intentionally perverted, it's what she does without realizing that gets her in the most trouble. In the locker room, she accidentally stares too long at someone's breasts, that someone freaked out, and it lead to a nasty confrontation with her classmates.
- Ace Custom:
- The Meteor is a prototype third generation Infinite Stratos. It is also the precursor unit to the Silver Gospel.
- Among her three prized instruments is a black Custom Martin & Co acoustic guitar with a tree of life inlay design on the fretboard. It also bears her personal signature inlaid into the bottom of the fretboard so there can be no mistake that it's a one-off crafted for her.
- Action Girl: She firmly believes that if violence doesn’t solve your problem, you’re not using enough of it.
- Blood Knight: She’ll take any excuse to have an I.S. duel. Win or lose, she just loves the fight.
- But for Me, It Was Tuesday:
- Jennifer explains that Maria's inaction caused her little sister to be paralyzed from the neck down after crashing into the Grand Canyon during joint I.S. testing. Maria didn't even remember having that I.S. battle until she really tried to recall it.
- Child Prodigy: Maria is this with music. She can play a wide range of instruments and sings well according to some of the characters.
- Cunning Linguist: Maria speaks English, Spanish, and Italian at a native level. According to her she also speaks passable French and German, and some basic Mandarin. She is also learning Japanese.
- Custom Uniform: Originally Maria didn't bother, she simply opted for a necktie instead of a ribbon and that was that. After getting a make-over she gets advised by her colleague Chiyomi to do something with her wardrobe to show off the assets she does have and downplay those she doesn't.
- Cute and Psycho:
- While Maria may seem cute and adorable, it's actually only a very thin disguise that works until she opens her venomous mouth.
- Aisha remarks on meeting Maria for the first time that she seems nice. Josephine cautions her that she only seems nice and warns her that Its A Trap.
- Cute Bruiser: If not for her small stature she would be well on her way to eventually becoming an Amazonian Beauty. Maria has clearly defined muscles, and everyone on the receiving end of her brutality is stunned by how strong she is relative to her size. Maria works out every morning and is proud of her body. She used to be fat but then she started working out a lot.
- Cutting Through Energy:
- Crouching Moron, Hidden Badass: Maria seems to go out of her way to play up and play down different aspects of her personality, skills, and abilities.
- Disproportionate Retribution: It’s almost like a religion to her.
- In Chapter 3 Maria sets off the fire sprinklers after being rejected by the Music Club. She causes a lot of damage with this.
- Another example comes in Chapter 4. When Mayuzumi messed with Josephine, Maria glued her shoes to her locker. Forcing her to walk around barefooted.
- Evil Counterpart: She is this to Josephine in a lot of ways. Both posses genius levels of intelligence, both are well-read, and both favor close combat. The key difference which separates them is that Maria is extremely apathetic and Josephine is extremely sympathetic.
- Maria's Meteor and Josephine's Falkirk's Fury share very similar weapon load-outs designed to achieve the same ends. Except the Fury uses physical weapons and Maria's uses beam weapon technology. A case of retro-tech vs future-tech.
- Face of an Angel, Mind of a Demon: She looks cute and huggable. But those who know her, know how sick, depraved, twisted, and vicious she really is. So much so that everyone who does, for whatever reason, consider her a friend, has to keep her on a very tight leash.
- Fangirl: She's a very big fan of Maya's. So much so that she developed her entire style of I.S. combat by ripping off her moves. When Maya was first introduced to the class, Maria was the only one who knew who she was
- Forced Out of the Closet: Daniella Arad finds out that Maria is gay and then takes an opportunity provided by Maria's wandering eyes in the locker room to out her to the class and cause the girls to freak out about being forced to change in front of a lesbian.
- Foreign Cuss Word: She speaks 6 languages and is working on a 7th. She's equally vulgar in all of them.
- Formerly Fat: McKenna does some cyber-stalking and discovers that Maria used to be fat. The weight loss combined with her Bodybuilding makes her unrecognizable to her ex-girlfriend whom McKenna tried to contact for information about Maria.
- Fruit of the Loon: Maria's always munching on apples. It's then revealed that she steals them from the school cafeteria.
- Glacier Waif: Small girl with a big sword.
- Hates Everyone Equally: She really does. Within five minutes of knowing you, she'll have some deep cutting remarks ready to go. If you take it personal, that's okay.
- Jabba Table Manners: She has no table manners whatsoever. Something Josephine has made her mission to correct. While eating Chili made by McKenna, Maria scarfs it down like there's no tomorrow, saying she wants to drown in it. Josephine compares and contrasts her to a picture sent to her by Aisha of her three-year-old brother being less sloppy than Maria.
- Jerkass: She does whatever she wants whenever she wants, to anyone she wants. Because she's a Representative Contender she gets away with things that would get regular students expelled. But not always. (See Laser-Guided Karma below.)
- Lack of Empathy:
- When told about what happened to Jennifer's younger sister due to her own inaction, she didn't seem to care.
- After the aforementioned scene, Maria is given the third-degree by Josephine. Rather than face the inquisition she gets up and leaves. She's then seen walking away with her fists clenched tightly enough to draw blood from her palms. The reason for this reaction to the situation is not explained.
- Laser-Guided Karma: Her over the top antics are always punished. It’s fair to say that most, if not all the problems faced by the main cast in the first ten chapters are the result of her attitude problem.
- Her bad attitude causes her to be rejected by the school music club.
- When Mayuzumi comes to the cafeteria on behalf of the class to ask Josephine to stop misbehaving and getting everyone extra homework, Maria lashes out with racist insults, and of course, Flipping the Bird. This leads to an escalation.
- Her holocaust referencing insult to Daniella Arad lands her on latrine duty, made worse by her extreme germophobia.
- Let Me at Him!: Maria is one major incident away from expulsion, so Josephine is constantly having to hold her back from fights.
- Misanthrope Supreme: Borderline. Everyone fears she could go over the edge if given an excuse."See… This is what I don't understand about you. You're so unbelievably callous to strangers. But I saw your face when McKenna's unlock triggered. I saw how relieved you were when Miss Orimura saved her from that fall. Are you so incapable of understanding that other lives matter beyond the ones which matter to you?""Blame Darwin for that. We all have an evolutionary imperative to give a shit about the people close to us. But there's also an evolutionary imperative not to give a shit about anybody else. If we cared about all people indiscriminately, we couldn't survive. A hundred thousand years of successful adaptation in a survival of the fittest kind of world can't be wrong Josie."
- Named Weapons: Her buster sword is called "Ascalon" for the lance (or sword in some stories) of Saint George which he used to slay a dragon and rescue a princess.
- Nay-Theist: In Maria's own words, she believes in god, but holds him in contempt."But you're not a believer yourself I take it?"
"Yes and no. It's complicated. I believe that there is a god, but I also believe that if you take him at his literal word like the Evangelicals say you should, then he is someone who is worthy of little more than my contempt."
"So you believe in god, but you don't believe he should be worshiped?"
"Exactly."
"So why believe at all? How does that work?"
"It's a contradiction. I know. But it's not any different than say, the U.S. President. Even if he doesn't represent me, my views, or my policies, he's still there and doing whatever he can to fuck with my life. If you ask me, that's god as well." - Obfuscating Stupidity: It is heavily implied that much of Maria's obliviousness or ignorance is an act.
- Maria is able to hold a complex and profoundly deep philosophical discussion with Josephine where she defends her own apathy as a necessary trait for human survival.
- McKenna becomes frustrated trying to figure out how Maria programmed her own I.S. to play music for her. Implying that Maria posses far above average programming skills. Something McKenna considered an impossibility given that in Chapter 1 she couldn't even disable the parental controls on their cable TV box.
- In Chapter 9 it is revealed that she was hiding her I.S. unit's third-generation ability, which is electronic warfare.
- In Chapter 9, Maria reveals that she is able to solve linear equations in her head and that she is what McKenna called a "Human Calculator".
- Otaku: She's on the path to becoming this. On her first night in the school dorm, Maria discovers Anime for the first time and becomes instantly hooked. While Josephine stays up late to play her MMOs, Maria stays up late to watch Anime.
- Out of the Closet, Into the Fire: While Maria never tried to hide her sexuality at I.S. Academy, she also didn't advertise it outside of her social circle. Once outted by her classmates, she discovers that I.S. Academy is largely unaccepting.
- Rage Against the Heavens: She has declared war on god himself.
- After defeating Jennifer Hawkins, Maria is visited by some of her classmates who wish to thank her for putting "The Tasmanian Devil" in her place. They mention she has no friends and laugh at her, and Maria points out that she has god as a friend. They laugh, and then Maria declares that god also got his butt kicked in their duel.
- She Cleans Up Nicely: After being treated to a salon visit by Maya and buying some new clothes Maria becomes quite the head-turner. It doesn't do anything for her personality though.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: She’s the most vulgar and profane member of the main cast. Only Chiyomi cussing up a storm in Japanese and Lorenzo in Italian are her equals.
- Token Mini-Moe: At 4'8", she is the shortest of the main cast.
- Too Kinky to Torture: Maria is a masochist who was brought to orgasm by being defeated in an I.S. match by Josephine.
- With Great Power Comes Great Insanity: Maria is an exemplar of this.
- In chapter 2 she used her Infinite Stratos to fly from the I.S. Academy to the city to get pizza for herself and her roommates.
- The Meteor's Image Interface Technology (3rd Generation Ability) is for Electronic Warfare. Which she employs almost exclusively for mischief.
- Workout Fan Service: Subverted. While Maria is exercising one morning, Josephine and McKenna discuss how comfortable they've all gotten with each other. Maria responds to this by being a Gasshole.
A first-year student at the I.S. Academy.
Representative Contender for Canada. The pilot of the Vimy Glide. A prototype 3rd Generation artillery type Infinite Stratos. McKenna comes from a military family starting from her great-grandfather who was one of the first WWI fighter pilots. After the war he moved from Québec to the Yukon Territory to find a living, which he did by smuggling whiskey into Alaska during prohibition, he became very wealthy from this and bought a large plot of land on which he built a big, beautiful house in which the Tremblay family lives to this day.
Both her father and older brother are tank commanders in the Royal Canadian Army. She is loyal to her friends but doesn’t hold back her anger when they overstep their bounds or do something to annoy her. She gets particularly frustrated with Maria for watching TV all night, and Josephine for talking loudly on voice chat with her MMO raiding partners all night.
She draws and retains the attention of Tatenashi Sarashiki even after stating clearly that is is both straight, and in a serious relationship. McKenna can never quite tell if she's seriously coming onto her, or just trying to provoke an amusing reaction out of her. One way or another, Tatenashi seems to always get what she wants from her.
- The Ace: She's an exceptionally gifted I.S. Pilot able to go toe to toe with Chifuyu Orimura and lose only because of their experience gap, not their skill gap.
- Ace Custom: The Vimy Glide is a prototype third-generation artillery type Infinite Stratos built for her exclusive use.
- Ambiguously Bi: In Chapter 9, Tatenashi's personality shifts to a more imposing and commanding persona as she takes charge of the group to recover Josephine's stolen I.S. unit. It is in that moment where McKenna finds herself actually being attracted to her. Though she dismisses the thought and denies it to Maria when asked.
- Anti-Air: The Vimy Glide can load anti-air munitions. During a practical training session, McKenna and Maria are ordered to demonstrate a ground to air battle. McKenna commands her Vimy Glide to load up fragmentation rounds and then the scene cuts to Maria working her part-time waitress job with a bandage on her head.
- Beware the Nice Ones: McKenna Tremblay is a very Nice Girl who also happens to be the pilot of the biggest, heaviest, and undisputedly (by her peers, she's actually humble) most powerful personal Infinite Stratos. Her unit specializes in the delivery of destruction through the direct application of applied science in the field of demolitions by means of high-explosive and armor-piercing ordinance. Her unit's third generation Image Interface System is a sonic weapon intended to disable opponents and maintain range against them. In plain English, she is a badass who will don her Infinite Stratos and become a Person of Mass Destruction when provoked. Do you really want to make her angry?
- BFG: Her primary weapon is a cannon which fires 120mm tank shells.
- Calling Your Attacks: She calls out which ammunition type to load into her cannon or mortars. E.G. "High-Ex", "Armor Piercing", or "Fragmentation".
- I Call It "Vera": Her BFG is made with love and care. It fires 120mm tank shells and is customized with a selection of hockey-themed decals. The stock is also covered in the finest maple wood from Canada. She calls it the 'Tremblay Special'.
- Chef of Iron: Her two most special dishes are Jambalaya and Chili. They are the stuff of legends.
- McKenna uses Jack Daniel's as a secret ingredient in her Chili. The first time she made it for her roommates, Chifuyu Orimura stops by and decides to eat with them. She ends up confiscating the whiskey, sentencing the students to litter collection duty, and also takes the recipe for the Chili.
- Chick Magnet: She becomes painfully aware of her desirability to people of both genders. Much to her chagrin.
- Death Glare: By Chapter 10, it's so constant that she may as well have it chiseled into her face. There is always someone around her who does something to earn themselves one of these from her.
- Destructive Romance: With her boyfriend. He keeps her under his control even while she's on the other side of the planet by making her chat with him online and demands that she call him often. When she doesn't communicate to his satisfaction he will call her out on it and play with her emotions.
- Even the Girls Want Her: Tatenashi doesn't stop coming onto her even after being told she doesn't swing that way.
- Fangirl: She loves Ice Hockey. She has a decal of the Calgary Flames on her I.S. along with other hockey references.
- Gender-Blender Name: McKenna is a boy and girl's name.
- Lightning Bruiser: The Vimy Glide she pilots is a big, beefy, artillery type I.S. that can blow things to smithereens. In close combat, she fights like a Hockey enforcer and can gain range by messing you up with her Sonic Cannon. If all else fails she'll unleash a Macross Missile Massacre to finish the job.
- Moose and Maple Syrup: However hard she tries to present a good image of her country with her Patriotic Fervor, she almost always undoes herself by slipping in the odd Eh, or ‘oot’.
- Nice Girl: When we are first introduced to her, she's overly polite, cautious, shy, and reserved. In every way the stereotypical Canadian. While that only lasts until she gets comfortable with her new roommates she is still a very nice girl who goes out of her way to be accommodating and polite. Unless triggered.
- Walking Tank: The Vimy Glide. Bigger, thicker, heavier, and packing the biggest and most explosive firepower of any current Infinite Stratos.
A second-year student of the I.S. Academy.
Representative Cadet for the Commonwealth of Australia. The pilot of the Kestrel. A custom 2nd Generation mass production Infinite Stratos modified for increased speed and agility. Armed for close and medium range combat.
Jennifer tends to be abrasive with people she isn't on good terms with. She is a devout Catholic which brings her into constant conflict with the people around her, especially Maria because of her propensity for blasphemy. Jennifer's hatred for Maria goes beyond that, however. She places the sole blame for her younger sister's quadriplegia on Maria because she didn't even attempt to save her from a lethal fall after her Infinite Stratos malfunctioned.
- Affectionate Nickname: "Tazzy" given to her by Maria Cross. Much to her chagrin, it catches on with the whole group.
- Ace Custom: She pilots a heavily customized Australian Second Generation model Infinite Stratos called the Kestrel.
- Ace Pilot: She is ranked 9th in the entire I.S. Academy student body.
- Big Sister Instinct: She has a younger sister who means the world to her. She also has another little friend who she tutored in preparation for a future in the Infinite Stratos world whom she considers a sister.
- She phones her sister every day to see how she's doing and to make sure she's in good spirits after her incident with Maria.
- She intends to visit China to spend some time with Rin and cross some things off her bucket list.
- Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: No matter how hard she tries to present herself as a Nice Girl, she inevitably does something to remind everyone exactly why they call her The Tasmanian Devil.
- Brass Balls: Fear is her sustenance. Even with automatic weaponry pointed at her she doesn't lose her defiant attitude."Jenny? Think you can deploy and cover us?"
Jennifer shook her head. "My shield is too big for this tight space."
"We can't fight our way out of this. We should just do what they say for now and seize the opportunity when it comes," said an icy Maria.
"You mean IF it comes! What the hell did you get us into Maria?! I'm going to kick your ass so badly you won't be able to sit down for the rest of your miserable life!" yelled Jennifer.
"That won't be very long if you don't shut the fuck up Tazzy…"
"I'll be fine with that as long as they kill you first!" - Christianity is Catholic: She is a very devout Catholic.
- Diving Kick: Jennifer unknowingly rips off Char Aznable by using her Ignition Boost to rapidly accelerate and kick Maria during their grudge match. Called out by Tatenashi as a "Red Comet Kick".
- Gold Makes Everything Shiny: Her I.S. has a lot of gold detailing.
- Hates Everyone Equally: When she gets going, she really goes all out. A favorite of hers is to bring out the slurs. Racial, cultural, anything she can pick out.
- When she first met Josephine, she called her a "Limey".
- She refers to her homeroom teacher as a "WASP".
- She is particularly provoked by Maria's homosexuality, especially when she rubs it in Jennifer's face. It's unknown if she's homophobic or if this stems from her hatred of Maria.
- Jerkass: It doesn't take much to catch her on a bad day, they're all bad days. According to Chifuyu Orimura, the longest she ever had a roommate was one week. She's also got a Hair-Trigger Temper.
- Nerves of Steel: Her hobbies include: Leaping great hights, getting around in style. Her favorite spot to chill and vegetate is on the cliffs, and she actually likes cliffhangers.
- Red Ones Go Faster: Her Infinite Stratos is very red and very fast. While not as fast as Maria's Meteor, in the confined space of the battle arena, the difference is negligible.
- Sawed-Off Shotgun: Sort of. She uses a British made Starlight Mark II beam sniper rifle which she modified by stripping off the casings to reduce the weight and cut the barrel in half to function as a high-powered beam rifle for medium range combat. The result isn't pretty to look at, but it is effective.
A first-year student at the I.S. Academy. Representative Contender for the Russian Federation. The pilot of the Mysterious Lady. A custom 3rd Generation prototype close and medium-range combat Infinite Stratos.
Tatenashi can be summarized in two words: Mischievous and devious. But she is also incredibly ambitious, striving to build her own Infinite Stratos with the help of her closest friends as a fun project, her ambition only grows from there. She also enjoys teasing people to get amusing reactions out of them, her unfortunate victims are mostly McKenna Tremblay and Utsuho Nohotoke. Despite her tendency to tease others, Tatenashi has also shown moments of being flustered, mostly as a result of her growing attraction to McKenna. She is charismatic and a natural leader who is able to take charge of any situation and get even the most bitter of enemies to work as a team.
- Badass Adorable: Tatenashi is a bright, cheerful, and infectiously likable ray of sunshine who brightens the mood of any room she's in no matter how gloomy.
- Foreign Cuss Word: When it comes to profanity, she normally sticks to her native Japanese. But she also cusses in English sometimes, so a Merit Badge in "Foreign Cuss Word" is deserved here.
- Genki Girl: Very energetic and cheerful. Frustratingly so to some.
- Good Bad Girl: She is completely frank and comfortable with her sexuality, knows and openly-acknowledges that she is cute-and-sexy while enjoying every second of it. She enjoys getting a rise out of her friends, especially McKenna and Utsuho. What they consider sexual harassment, she considers harmless teasing. While she may go too far with her teasing sometimes, she is redeemed in the eyes of both of her friends because of her other, more positive, attributes.
- Lovable Sex Maniac: Stops just short of the "sex" part, mostly because the target of her desire happens to be completely straight.
- Troll: Part of her teasing act is to goad a reaction out of her friends. She always gets what she wants.
- Wrench Wench: She's very handy with machinery. She's designing and building her own Infinite Stratos with a little help from her friends.
Assistant Homeroom Teacher to Chifuyu Orimura, former Representative Contender for Japan. The pilot of a Rafale Revive equipped for all ranges of attack with a particular emphasis on precision attacks supplemented by devastating firepower. Maya is a very shy and nervous person who is affectionate and full of love. As a teacher, she is protective of her students, as a friend there is no-one more loyal, dependable, and trustworthy.
Teaching for the first time is a nerve-wracking experience for anyone and Maya does not make it look easy, in fact, she has a very difficult time being taken seriously by her students (With the notable exception of Maria Cross who worships the ground she walks on). This is especially true of the third-year students who just can't seem to treat her any differently because they still consider her their most beloved senpai from when she was a third-year student.
- Badass Adorable: She is a former Representative Contender and fully educated Infinite Stratos pilot. She is also the kindest, sweetest, most lovable person anyone could ever meet.
- Curtains Match the Windows: Green hair, and green eyes.
- Even the Girls Want Her: Maria Cross has an obvious crush on her. Josephine observes that Maya seems to be the only reason she pays any attention in class.
- Mentor Archetype: She is this to the other characters.
- In Chapter 9, Maya and Josephine have a one on one discussion in which Maya encourages her to take another look at her situation in a context she understands.
- Nice Girl: Warm, charming, adorable, kind, caring... However. Just as much as Maria's Jerkass tendencies get them in trouble, Maya's kindness can get everyone into just as much trouble.
- While Maria is on latrine duty, Maya agrees to supervise her in an effort to get her to mellow out. She mostly ends up protecting her from her germ-induced panic attacks.
- In Chapter 8, Maria has garbage thrown all over her and goes into a complete panic. In desperation, her friends resort to calling Maya for help. Which she does by getting in the shower with Maria to calm her down. This comes back to bite her in chapter 9 when she remembers that Maria has an obvious crush on her.
- In Chapter 9 she agrees not to tell anyone the Falkirk's Fury was stolen and covers for her students while they go on a retrieval mission.
- More Dakka: Her Infinite Stratos packs a wide variety of kinetic weaponry in a world where beam weapon technology is the seeking to supplant it. She likes the simplicity, but it gets cranked up when she gets her I.S. into its first shift.
Supporting Characters
A student in Class 1-1. Initially, her fellow students look to her for leadership in their conflict with the Representative Contenders of their class, but she quickly finds herself being the unwilling pawn of another, more ruthless and ambitious student who pushes her to the limits of her morality and forces her to make difficult choices.
She is a mechanically inclined student at the I.S. Academy and a friend of McKenna Tremblay and Tatenashi Sarashiki.
- Ascended Extra: She was a barely a character in the canon story. She steps up into a larger supporting role in IS:ODD.
- Becoming the Mask: Kaoruko is tasked by her classmates to befriend McKenna and get dirt on the other Representative Contenders. However, after getting to know McKenna and befriending Tatenashi, she finds herself feeling genuine friendship for them, even if she still strongly dislikes Josephine and Maria, she finds herself warming up them as well.
- Double Agent: In Chapter 9, McKenna and Maria recruit her to their side. In Chapter 10 she helps plot their revenge against the class by giving them information on every one of consequence. The class still trust her. Until all hell breaks loose.
- Green-Eyed Monster: Towards Maria for her musical talent. She considers it extremely unfair that someone so evil should be so talented.
- Insult of Endearment: The title of "Kitty" was handed to her by Maria Cross after Kaoruko was caught by her wearing Hello Kitty panties.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Kaoruko's response to the consequences of her choices is to bury her head in shame. (See Nice Job Breaking It, Hero below.)
- Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: After giving Daniella the dirt on Josephine and Maria she's forced to watch as the situation escalates to a brawl between Daniella and Maria. Lamp Shaded by McKenna when she asks if she's proud of herself.
- The Pawn: When the class has had enough of Josephine getting them extra homework and Maria's bad attitude they decide to appoint Kaoruko as their leader to deal with it on their behalf, a position she accepts. However, after befriending McKenna Tremblay and Tatenashi Sarashiki she becomes The Pawn when Daniella Arad is not satisfied with the results and wants stronger action. She puts Kaoruko firmly under her thumb and forces her to do her bidding.
- The Scapegoat: Maria sits back and lets her take the fall for setting off the fire sprinklers in the school's club activities building.
- Wrench Wench: She's very much into technology and machines.
Proprietor of Bianchi’s Italian Restaurant & Pizzeria. Lorenzo has a very stern attitude and an explosive temper, particularly and especially when it comes to his ex-wife. However, contrary to the first impression he creates, Lorenzo is actually exceptionally good-natured and hospitable, going the extra mile to make every customer enjoy themselves to the fullest, well, almost every customer... At Bianchi's, the official policy is that customer is never right. As a matter of principal, Lorenzo will only serve real authentic Italian food and is wholly uncompromising. He will, and indeed has, evicted customers for making ‘ridiculous’ orders, woe unto anyone who thinks pineapple belongs on a pizza.
- The Alcoholic: He drinks like a fish.
- Berserk Button: He's got a Hair-Trigger Temper on the best of days. But never ask for pineapple in your pizza, never mess with his staff, and never bring up his ex-wife.
- Divorce Assets Conflict: After he was granted a divorce, the court ordered him to pay alimony to his cheating wife. Lorenzo then told them where to shove it and moved to Japan. He has yet to hear the end of it from his ex-wife.
- Hates Everyone Equally: According to some of the patrons who knew him in Italy, he used to be a very nice guy. But after his divorce he became a major asshole.
- Just a Stupid Accent: He has a thick Italian accent and fully reverts to his native tongue for a colorful tantrum.
- Papa Wolf: Don't mess with his staff. Especially Chiyomi and Maria, even if they have it coming.
- Sharp-Dressed Man: His fashion sense is highly praised.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: Very loudly, very colorfully, and often requires censorship or obfuscation (Considering some of what Maria says openly, that's saying something).
- He's bad enough in English, but he's implied to be even worse in Italian, so much so that even Maria blushed at what she heard him saying to his ex-wife.
- Tall, Dark, and Handsome: Tall, dark-haired, and ruggedly handsome.
- Tall, Dark, and Snarky: Tall, with a dark cloud hanging over him, and very snarky."Alright. Here's a fun question! What was ruined for you because too many people started doing it?" asked Maria.
Chiyomi put a hand on her chin to consider the question.
"Having sex with my wife..." Lorenzo stated ruefully as he passed them by. - The Mafia: Maria suspects he's either a Mafioso or an Ex-Mafioso.
Student at Raizen High School. Chiyomi works as a waitress at Bianchi's Restaurant and Pizzeria, a job she got because Lorenzo Bianchi apparently has a soft spot for people like her.
- Foreign-Language Tirade: She curses up a storm in Japanese when she's pissed off.
- Hair-Trigger Temper: She is very easy to provoke.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Despite her demenor, Chiyomi takes Maria's criticism of her to heart and decides to lend a helping hand to her classmate Aisha Amiri.
- My Way or the Highway: She lives her life on her own terms. She is her own boss. It's the reason she got hired in the first place despite her personality quirks, and later Maria as well."Why did you hire her? She is such a bitch!"
Lorenzo turned a skeptical pair of eyes on the ashen-haired girl, "And you're not?"
"Baka! If that is what you think then why did you hire me?"
"Because I like angry people who take the world by the balls. I don't have time for anyone else." - Only One Name: Chiyomi. Just Chiyomi.
- Poirot Speak: While her English is considered very good, she occasionally stumbles into this, especially in heated moments where she's about to launch into a profanity-laced tirade.
- Sir Swears-a-Lot: While she doesn't have the colorful vocabulary in English, in her native Japanese she is just as profane as Maria.
- Token Mini-Moe: She's the second smallest character after Maria.
- You're Cute When You're Angry: Both Maria and Lorenzo find her completely adorable when she's pissed off.
Daughter of a multi-millionaire Infinite Stratos weapon manufacturer. Student at Raizen High School.
Aisha lacks self-confidence because of how much of her life she spent being alienated from her peers due to her mixed heritage. This is compounded when she is brought to Japan against her will by her father and forced into a Japanese school despite knowing nothing of the language or culture. After meeting and becoming friends with Josephine Williams, Aisha finds her quality of life steadily improving.
- Bookworm: She loves to read and complains that she can feel herself becoming dumber from watching TV with her mother for days on end before getting a chance to visit a bookstore.
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: There is lots of it thrown around in her dialogue. She speaks French and Arabic, but not English. When she's around, expect this to apply to almost everyone around who has a common language with her.
- The Heretic: She is an Athiest who pretends to be a good Muslim when in front of her family. Something she has thus far only confided in Josephine. She is very paranoid about her parents finding out about her real interests.
- Heroic Self-Deprecation: She has no self-confidence and doesn't believe she has anything of value to offer the world. This despite taking care of her brother and being a reliable adviser and confidant to Josephine.
- Hidden Depths: Outwardly a very Nice Girl, inwardly she's extremely snarky.
- Lost in Translation: She relies on Google Translate to get around in Japan, especially in school. The app is also her only means of communication with Chiyomi, leading to questionable results.
- Parental Abandonment: Her mother watches TV all day and night and couldn't care less about anything while her father is either working or out spending obscene amounts of money on Hookers and Blow.
- Promotion to Parent: Her parents force her into being the primary caregiver for her three-year-old brother.
- Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Her general apathy, inability to properly express herself and loner tendencies push her towards this.
A first-year student at the I.S. Academy. Class Representative of 1-3. Representative Contender for the People's Republic of China. The pilot of the Tianlong, a third generation prototype close and medium range combat Infinite Stratos. She is a classmate of Tatenashi Sarashiki and is apparently well-liked enough to be made the class Representative, though she believes this has more to do with her personal I.S. being considered one of the most powerful of the first-year student's and not so much her overall popularity among her peers.
- Buxom Beauty Standard: She has a sizable chest, and while she's not thrilled about the attention it gets, she's thankful it keeps people from noticing other things.
- Chummy Commies: Hailing from Red China while being a Nice Girl makes her this.
- Dream-Crushing Handicap: She aspired to be an actress. She had everything she needed, talent, beauty, and martial arts skills. All she needed was to get noticed and be relevant. When she finally got her ticket after being selected as a Representative Contender, her rival made sure she'd never have a shot in the entertainment industry.
- Elemental Punch: The Tianlong discharges electricity with its strikes.
- Facial Horror: After being selected as a Representative Contender, her rival threw acid all over her in a fit of jealousy.
- Gratuitous Foreign Language: She offers her greetings and gratitude in Mandarin. She also always has something wise or witty to say in her native language. E.g. "Bù zuò bù sǐ." Basically meaning that if you don't do stupid things you won't get killed. It becomes something of a catchphrase after fully experiencing the hijinks of the main cast.
- Jabba Table Manners: Due to nerve damage, she can't keep the side of her mouth properly closed while eating which leads to a messy situation. Because of this, she eats by herself on the roof.
- Martial Pacifist: A Pacifist I.S. pilot who believes that the intention behind the action is just as important as the action itself. According to her, she has no problem with participating in violent sports as long as it is for the sake of sport.
- Poirot Speak: She tries to translate her Chinese sayings, proverbs, and idioms into English, seldom with good results.
- Punny Name: Her first name 美英 (Měiyīng), means "Beautiful flower" but also sounds very much like 没赢 (Méi yíng) which means "No Win", in Chinese.
- Scars Are Forever: Half her face is melted. According to her, the scars don't stop there.
I.S. Academy Representative Contenders/Cadets
A third-year student at the I.S. Academy and Student Council President. Representative Cadet for the French Republic. The pilot of the Rafale Revive Phoenix. A custom 2nd Generation assault-type Infinite Stratos equipped for all ranges of attack.
Celeste has a sweet personality and is very polite to everyone. She is generally considered harmless by the other students unless she’s in an I.S. match, where her skill is unrivaled. In her first year, she was a very close friend of the then third-year student Maya Yamada whom she credits for helping her adjust, make friends, and become a strong pilot and person.
- Ace Custom: She pilots the Rafale Revive Custom I, also known as the "Phoenix". Its exact capabilities are as yet unknown. Charlotte Dunois would later pilot a Rafale Revive with very similar modifications.
- Ace Pilot: She is the current Student Council President and top-ranked student in the academy.
- Beware the Nice Ones: She is very kind. But don't mistake her kindness for weakness. When Celeste and Maria first met, Maya felt very uncomfortable, she thought it was like two savage predators sizing each other up.
- Cheese-Eating Surrender Monkeys: Crushed under foot. She didn't get to be Student Council President by being as weak and timid as her appearance might suggest.
- Custom Uniform: As with most Representative Contenders/Cadets, Celeste wears a custom uniform.
- Gratuitous French: Despite speaking fluent English and Japanese, she throws out random French words.
- Nice Girl: She is kind, polite, and has a very big heart.
- Token Mini-Moe: Standing at 4'8", she shares the title of the shortest cast member with Maria.
A third-year student at the I.S. Academy. Representative Cadet for the State of Israel. The pilot of a custom 2nd Generation Fang Quake, an Infinite Stratos said to be so grotesquely powerful that it is required that the versions used by I.S. Academy students be severely neutered compared to the military versions. While less powerful than its military counterparts, the custom Fang Quake used by Avigale is still exceptionally formidable.
Avigale is intelligent and mature. She approaches every situation calmly and rationally. She avoids entertaining her knee-jerk reactions and tries her best to gather all of the facts before making conclusions. Avigale has a reputation for taking a hardline stance against bullies and is often sought out by other students to help them resolve their interpersonal conflicts. Her beauty is said to be second only to Chiho Akagi in the I.S. Academy.
- Ace Custom: She pilots a custom Fang Quake. Though the 'custom' moniker in this case simply means that her unit has been neutered when compared to a military model.
- Ace Pilot: Representative Cadet for her country. One of the top ten students in the academy.
- Ambiguously Bi: When Maria first meets her at Bianchi's, she's instantly attracted to her. Avigale shoots her down by telling her she's in a long-term relationship with an unspecified partner. But she also says that if she weren't in that relationship, she would have said yes. It could easily have been a case of letting her down easy though as Avigale seems the sort to appreciate what it takes to put yourself out there like that. She does have a reputation as everyone's go-to mediator.
- Custom Uniform: Standard fare except for the matching thigh high boots.
- Head-Turning Beauty: Avigale is so beautiful she turned Maria into a bashful mess while attempting to ask her out.
A third-year student at the I.S. Academy. Representative Cadet for the State of Japan. The pilot of the Raijin, a 2nd generation prototype Infinite Stratos designed for close and medium range combat. Chiho is adored by her friends for her good-natured and honest personality. She is always eager to lend a helping hand to everyone who needs one. Outside of the I.S. Academy she is well known as a sought-after model. Her face is all over the shopping mall connected to the I.S. Academy monorail system.
- Ace Custom: The Raijin was an experimental prototype built for her exclusive use.
- Ace Pilot: Representative Cadet for her country. One of the top ten students in the academy.
- Affectionate Nickname: Her friends call her "Hime-sama" for her signature hair style.
- Beauty Is Best: She is a sought-after model because she embodies what is considered to be the ideal Japanese beauty.
- Custom Uniform: Standard fare except for her red leggings and custom thigh high boots.
- Hired for Their Looks: Never mind that she's one of the top 10 strongest I.S. pilots in the Academy, she's drop dead gorgeous, and that's what companies want her for.
A third-year student at the I.S. Academy. Representative Cadet for the Federative Republic of Brazil, Isabella is close friends with the student council president and can often be found training with her and their other friends.
- Ace Pilot: She's one of the top ten students in the academy and the Representative Cadet of her country.
- Hard-Drinking Party Girl: She lives by the motto "Work hard, play harder." She takes it to the extreme. She's well known as a hard-working student, but she's better known for her weekend escapades.
- Spicy Latina: One of the top ten students, known for taking her I.S. training way too seriously. She's also got a mean streak to her, especially when someone messes with her friends.
I.S. Academy Teachers
- Ace Pilot: Her reputation as an I.S. Pilot is unrivaled.
- Asskicking Leads to Leadership: The students both fear and respect her.
- Big Sister Instinct: She has a younger brother she cares about very much.
- Drill Sergeant Nasty: She's very tough on her students, especially her most troublesome ones.
- Get A Hold Of Yourself Man: To the horror of Josephine and McKenna in chapter 9 she slaps Maria across the face to make her snap out of her panic mode. She then talks her back to reality.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: While she is extremely stern and has no tolerance for the hijinks of her students, she also has good judgment, understanding, and compassion. She just doesn't show it too overtly.
- Retired Badass: While she no longer pilots an Infinite Stratos, she is fully capable of getting into an inferior model and beating the crap out of a vastly superior one. During a practical training session, the students complain that the Uchigani model they train with is too inferior to the early 3rd generation prototypes used by the Representative Contenders. Chifuyu responds to this by getting into an Uchigani and beating the crap out of McKenna Tremblay's Vimy Glide, the arguably most powerful of the three prototypes in the class. Though McKenna shows what a badass she is in her own right by standing up to Chifuyu for far longer than any other student could have. Probably the reason why Maya thinks she's Chifuyu's favorite of the bunch.
- Stern Teacher: Her patience and tolerance are extremely limited.
- Sadist Teacher: She has slapped Jennifer twice and seems to allow her students to bully her with impunity.
I.S. Academy Regular Students
A first-year student at the I.S. Academy in class 1-1. Daniella is a regular student at the I.S. Academy from the State of Israel. She is also the first antagonist faced by the main cast who unwittingly brings them all together in spite of her efforts to drive them apart.
- The Chessmaster: She manipulates the mob to rile them up against the Representative Contenders.
- Let Me at Him!: Has to be held back from getting into a Cat Fight with Maria.
- Manipulative Bastard: Forces Mayuzumi to help her to do things she would normally never consider doing. Arad does this by threatening to ruin her reputation, which is a pretty big deal in Japan.
A first-year student at the I.S. Academy in class 1-1. Mia is a regular student at the I.S. Academy from the Federal Republic of Germany.
- Phenotype Stereotype: German, blonde, blue-eyed.
