Characters / My-HiME

A short summary page for characters from the My-HiME anime and manga series.

For the uninitiated, it should be noted that the manga and the anime are two entirely different continuities, with various characters having different roles and personalities. Beware: All spoilers are unmarked.

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HiME

Mai Tokiha

Voiced by: Mai Nakahara (JP), Carol-Anne Day (EN)

CHILD: Kagutsuchi

Element: four golden rings around her wrists and ankles; fire

Anime: Mai is a first-year student at a private school called Fuuka Academy (located somewhere in Japan), who discovers that she has the powers of the HiME while caught in a battle between Natsuki and Mikoto on the ferry to the school. She eventually teams up with them (reluctantly) against monsters called Orphans, all while balancing her normal school life, a part-time job as a waitress, and monitoring the health of her younger brother Takumi (whom she has been charged with protecting in the wake of her mother's death).
Manga: Mai has already been in Fuuka Academy for some time upon the series' beginning, and is moderately skilled in the utilisation of her HiME abilities. She shares a rivalry with Natsuki, which is only exacerbated by their sudden discovery that newcomer Yuuichi Tate is the 'Key' for the both of them.
In combat, Mai is protected by her CHILD, a dragon called Kagutsuchi, which was bonded to her after she removed its sword from a cavern wall. Her Element (magical weapon) takes on the form of floating magatama rings that wrap around her wrists and ankles, and allow her to fly and shoot fire.

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• Almost Kiss: (anime) Two, with two different guys. The first one was with Reito Kanzaki at the festival and was interrupted when they were walked in on, and the other was with Yuuichi Tate and she stopped when she realized she was in a dream.
• Barrier Warrior: One of the secondary abilities of her Element allows her to create shields that protect the target from Kagutsuchi's flames.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: Often fights with Yuuichi, but inside, is falling in love with him. The fact that they're not fighting is one reason she realizes the Lotus-Eater Machine is not reality.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Mai is one of the nicest characters in the story and absolutely refused to fight the other HiME. However, even she has her limits, like fine china: fragile as she is beautiful; and when she cracks, she goes into an Unstoppable Rage.
• Big Sister Instinct: Mai towards Takumi. She will do anything to protect him, and when Mikoto seemingly kills him, she bursts into an Unstoppable Rage against her.
• Boob-Based Gag: She frequently gets someone's face stuck in her cleavage, someone's hand stuck in her cleavage, someone staring at her cleavage, or otherwise gives someone a mammary to cherish.
• Buxom Beauty Standard: She has a large bust and Mikoto has a very obvious thing for her "melons".
• Cooldown Hug: She opts to save Mikoto with one of these instead of killing her during the final battle.
• CPR: Clean, Pretty, Reliable: She uses it on Mikoto in the first episode when Yuuichi gets knocked aside by Shiho.
• Custom Uniform: When wearing her summer uniform, where the orange jacket is replaced by a vest, we can see that Mai's white blouse underneath it has no sleeves - although it does have a collar.
• Die or Fly: Her powers initially take shape when shielding Mikoto from Natsuki's attack.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: She hates saddling others with her personal problems, and prefers to solve them herself. This is made even more obvious by her manga incarnation.
• Even the Girls Want Her: Collects nearly as many fangirls as Natsuki immediately after arrival. And Mikoto. In one of the drama CDs, Shizuru also enjoys the chance to feel her up.
• Face–Heel Turn: After the revelation that her little brother Takumi is the Obsidian Lord, she briefly decides to join him as his third princess.
• Failure Knight: Part of her motivation for protecting her brother in the anime is that she feels partially responsible for his current condition, as both he and their mother nearly drowned in a raging river when they were little, and worse, she was left with the task of taking care of Takumi while they were playing around a riverbank, but she just left him there to go play with some friends (she was a small child, mind you, so she obviously wasn’t very aware of the potential consequences). When she comes back, his brother has almost drowned in the river, and her mother jumped in to save him, almost drowning in the process as well (it is implied she also had weak health), and she actually dies afterwards in the hospital, with her final words being to Mai to take care of her little brother.
• Fair Cop: In one scene, she cosplays as one.
• Feathered Serpent: Kagutsuchi's overall shape, except that it has fire in place of feathers.
• Fire-Forged Friends: With Natsuki and Mikoto. After spending the whole series fighting Orphans, rogue HiMEs, the Searrs Foundation, and the Obsidian Lord, they become closer than ever.
• Fiery Redhead: Subverted example. With the first Accidental Pervert encounter with Yuuichi Tate in Episode 1 it's suggested that she's got a fiery temper to match her firey HiME powers that get shown later that episode, but Mai is generally a nice person to most everyone she meets. Her patience does have limits, but even then she only fights back to the extent that is necessary and tries not to go further than that.
• First Kiss: Came with the CPR, but she tries to deny that it counts.
• First-Name Basis: With Natsuki as of Episode 9, which shows that they've started to consider each other friends. Averted with Yuuichi, which is how she realizes that she's in Yukariko's Lotus-Eater Machine and escape just in time.
• Flight: She possesses quite a bit of mobility in the air thanks to her Element.
• Friendship Moment: With Yuuichi in Episode 5, when she breaks down after his teasing went wrong. While they did not get along at first, always getting into quarrels, their attitudes towards each other softened somewhat after the incident.
  • Episode 4 with Natsuki, helping the girl find the panty thief.
• Healthcare Motivation: She works so much to transfer her brother to a top tier hospital.
• Honor Before Reason: In the anime, Mai will protect anyone - friend or perceived foe alike - for the sake of the greater good, no matter how much emotional harm it causes her.
• Idiot Hair: She has a small lick running across her head, but she's by no means stupid.
• Last Moment Together: For Mai, it was her mother on her deathbed, telling Mai to be sure to take care of Takumi, which is why Mai tends to take on all the troubles of the world on her shoulders.
• Ms. Fanservice: Her boobs are often played as much for fanservice as comedy.
• My Beloved Smother: To the extent that she is a surrogate mother for Takumi and Mikoto, she is sometimes accused of being this. Mikoto finds Mai's caring for her to sometimes be overbearing, and later on, Takumi tries to become independent from her so as not to burden her.
• My God, What Have I Done?: On a few occasions, such as after realizing that she killed someone by destroying Alyssa's CHILD and after she thinks she's killed Mikoto in a rage over Takumi's death.
• New Transfer Student: In the anime, she is a new student at Fuuka Academy.
• Nice Girl: Polite, friendly and patient with almost everyone to a fault. Yuuichi and Haruka are among the few people who actually get on her nerves at times.
• "Not How I'm Dying" Declaration: In the first episode, Mai is moving through corridors and crawlspaces trying to escape the bifurcated and sinking ferry she's on, saying, "There's no way I'm going to die in a place like this!"
• Olympus Mons: Kagutsuchi bears a particular distinction for being named after the literal Japanese god of fire.
• Playing with Fire: Able to manipulate flames to a slight degree.
• Power Limiter: In the anime, Kagutsuchi has one in the form of the huge blade embedded in its mouth. Also works as a Restraining Bolt for the Obsidian Lord to control Kagutsuchi, and for good reason- a full powered and pissed off Kagutsuchi destroys the Obsidian Lord in one shot.
• Promotion to Parent: Essentially raised Takumi after their mother's death.
• Reluctant Warrior: Is uninterested in the conflicts between the HiMEs and has to be dragged in kicking and screaming. She also doesn't channel her full power - which is a good thing, since Kagutschi is by far the strongest CHILD.
• Resurrective Immortality: Kagutsuchi. Killing the other CHILDs will result in the HiME's special one turning into green sparkles. Killing Kagutsuchi only makes it even more angry - enough to come back in a form more suited to blowing you to kingdom come.
• Ring of Fire: One of these pops up around her when her abilities are shown for the first time.
• Shipper on Deck: Shiho wants her to become one for her and Yuuichi, and Mai agrees. Unfortunately, when Yuuichi reveals his interest in Mai, Shiho accuses Mai of lying to her.
• Stepford Smiler: Takumi comments that Mai always forces a smile around him even if she's hurting inside.
• Story-Breaker Power: Mai most certainly had the potential in Kagutsuchi. However, it was averted since she didn't want to fight anyone. Nao remarks that if Mai was truly serious, there was no way that any of the other HiME could defeat her.
• Supreme Chef: With Miyu and Fumi on her team, she almost succeeds in making a good cake until Shiho smashes her face into it.
• Tender Tears: Breaks down in episode 5 after one of Yuuichi's routine insults goes wrong and that, combined with other events that have happened throughout the day, brings back some bad memories. Yuuchi ends up comforting her and this turns out to be the turning point in her relationship with Yuuichi. Though they still fight, Yuuichi begins to understand Mai's problems a little better, while Mai realizes that Yuuichi isn't such a bad guy after all, and their attitudes toward each other improved somewhat after the incident.
• There Is No Kill Like Overkill: Kagutsuchi's default operation mode. Which makes it a little more than ironic since Mai is pretty much an All-Loving Hero.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: In the Power Trio, Mai is the Girly-Girl to both Natsuki and Mikoto's Tomboys. Mai is the matronly caretaker for both her brother Takumi and Mikoto, an excellent cook, and a lover of karaoke. Natsuki is heavily implied in the cake battle to be a Lethal Chef (though interference by Nao and Mikoto could be involved), rides a motorcycle, and is an Action Girl, and Mikoto has Boyish Short Hair, has no sense of feminine modesty, and is a Big Eater.
• Trauma Conga Line: Mai learns that the HiME have to fight each other, that if they lost, the person they love most dies, and then hears on the phone from Nao that she's after Takumi as payback. Takumi dies in her arms, though it looks like Mikoto did it. Then Mai believes that she killed Mikoto. Then the guy she likes dies in a no-win scenario between her and Shiho.
• Tsundere: Type B (deredere) towards Yuuichi. She is a Nice Girl who gets annoyed with Yuuichi and fights with him a lot but does show herself to love him.
• Unknowingly in Love: Is unaware that she's in love with Yuuichi until, after the death of her most important person (her brother), she can still summon her CHILD. She realizes why when she finds herself scrawling the first character of Yuuchi's name in the condensation on a window.

Natsuki Kuga

“The world was constantly betraying me. I’ve lived my whole life believing that. All I had… was the desire to get revenge against the people who took everything away from me.”

Voiced by: Saeko Chiba (JP), Cheryl McMaster (EN)

CHILD: Duran

Element: guns; ice

Anime: Natsuki's mother was once a scientist employed with the mysterious First District (called "District 1" in the English dub), a company connected to the Searrs organization, who lost her life when escaping from the laboratory with her young daughter. Believing them to be responsible for her mother's death, Natsuki has dedicated her life to investigating the reason for gathering the HiME at Fuuka Academy, and bringing down Searrs and the First District by any means necessary, and has decided to eschew such trivialities as "school work" and "romance" until her mission is finished.
Manga: Her backstory is largely the same, with the important distinction that she believes a HiME, and not the First District (which doesn't exist in the manga), was responsible for her mother's apparent death. Her motivation for entering Fuuka Academy is to track down her mother's murderer, due to the high concentration of HiMEs there.
Natsuki's personal weapon is a pair of miniature handguns that she can summon out of thin air at any time (in the manga, she only uses one). She uses them on small targets, but whenever an Orphan needs to be taken down, she summons a metallic wolf named Duran (named after the dog she used to have when she was young), capable of firing a variety of cartridges that pierce armor, shoot ice crystals, or blind their targets.

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• A-Cup Angst: (manga): After Natsuki "rescues" Yuuichi from Mai's dorm room, Yuuichi looks at her unkempt apartment and the cup of instant ramen she's serving him, and openly wishes he was back in Mai's room. Natsuki angrily demands to know if it's because of Mai's boobs. "Is it the boobs? Are the boobs better there? It's the boobs, isn't it!?" (anime) Mostly All There in the Manual, but the Bust Size Chart and a piece of promotional art◊ show Natsuki being very unhappy being compared to Mai.
• Action Girl: While all the HiME count, Natsuki is easily the standout case.
• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul
  • In the anime, she's mostly indifferent toward Yuuichi, but seeing him and Mai fall in love helps convince her that people can't live alone. In the manga, she's in love with him.
  • In the anime, Natsuki initially clashes with Mai, but soon becomes a reluctant ally and eventually, a friend. In the manga, the two are love rivals for Yuuichi.
• Adaptational Sexuality: In the manga she's attracted to Yuuichi, a guy, but in the anime, her Love Interest is Shizuru, a female. She also has a male love interest (the player character) in the video game.
• Aloof Dark-Haired Girl: Well, she tries to be aloof, but her best friend (and later love interest), can make her blush effortlessly, she gets flustered easily, and she is kind to others when she thinks no one will notice.
• Ambiguously Bi: Due to the well known resolution and Fan-Preferred Couple, many people forget that there was actually Ship Tease for Natsuki and Takeda. And Natsuki's Prelude states she even gave him a letter thanking him for his feelings. There's also the fact that in two other media she has canonical male love interests.
• An Ice Person: Her powers are ice-based, befitting her cold, aloof nature.
• Ass Shove: Depending on how canonical you believe the Audio Dramas are (Nagi is the one relaying the story), Natsuki suffered this fate at the hand of Mai, Midori, and Shizuru involving a negi, her rear end, and an old folk remedy.
• Badass Biker: Her travel means of choice is a Ducati motorbike.
• Beautiful Dreamer: In a later episode, Natsuki falls asleep at Shizuru's desk in the Student Council Room. Shizuru finds her asleep, and calls her name softly, before running her fingers through Natsuki's hair. By the time Natsuki wakes, Shizuru is by the window. There's also a piece of promo art that shows Shizuru fawning over a sleeping Natsuki.◊
• Big Damn Kiss: Combined with Cooldown Hug, Natsuki's kissing Shizuru was so completely unexpected by the latter, that it actually snaps her out of her Psycho Lesbian phase.
• Big "NO!":
  • After being forced to Show Some Leg, and when seen without her underwear by Mai, Mikoto, and Takeda in the panty thief episode.
  • In a more serious sense, when Shizuru reaches out to touch her face, she has a flashback of the dream she had of Shizuru kissing her, which was confirmed by what she overheard from Yukino. She recoils, screams a Big "NO!", and causes Shizuru to snap.
• Blasting It Out of Their Hands: Episode 14, during her Big Damn Heroes moment. The first sign of her presence is a crystalline tingling noise as the guns are blasted out of the hands of the Searrs soldiers, and then we see her jumping from a helicopter with Duran.
• Blaming the Victim: On the receiving end. Even though Yukino clearly said that whatever Shizuru did to Natsuki, she did while Natsuki was sleeping off her injuries, Haruka declares that Natsuki is "filthy" for it. Shizuru comes to Natsuki's defense, slapping Haruka and saying "what happened was something that I did to her I will not allow you to insult Natsuki.
• Broken Pedestal: Natsuki lost her mother at the age of 8, and spent the next few years training and investigating, trying to learn who had her mother killed and why. Well into the HiME Carnival, Natsuki meets with a representative to one of the two Illuminati groups trying to control the situation, John Smith. Smith tells her that her mother had sold out her employers at the other group, District One, and had even taken money to sell Natsuki to the Searrs Foundation. Natsuki is driven to a Heroic BSoD afterwards, suffering a Psychosomatic Superpower Outage, the memory of her loving mother shattered. Natsuki's contact in District One, Sakomizu, who also worked with Saeko Kuga, tells Natsuki he believes that her mother made an error in judgment trying to protect her, not out of greed or avarice. Natsuki, after regaining her powers, says she'll believe in the mother in her heart.
• Butt-Monkey: Whenever something funny happens, it's often at Natsuki's expense.
• Calling Your Attacks: Only when she uses Duran, as it has a small selection of different ultimate attacks for her to use.
• Canis Major: Duran is about the size of a motorcycle. In her climatic fight with Shizuru, Duran outright becomes a kaiju.
• Catapult Nightmare: When she dreams about Shizuru kissing her, she jumps slightly forward, having slept slumped against a wall. But as she finds out, it wasn't a dream.
• Celibate Hero: Natsuki tells Mai in episode 9 that until she has avenged her Mother's death, she has no interest in romance or relationships. Ultimately subverted, as she comes to realize that Shizuru is her most Important Person, and uses a Big Damn Kiss to snap her out of her psychotic state.
• Covert Pervert:
  • (manga) Her first thought after hearing that Yuuichi's birthday was near was to offer herself as a birthday present, complete with a picture of her imagining herself wearing nothing but a bow.
  • (anime) The panty thief episode revealed that she has a huge collection of lingerie and feminine underwear of all kinds.
• Cracks in the Icy Façade: Natsuki starts out the series perfectly willing to use lethal force against anyone who gets in the way of her campaign against District One. Her first indicator that she could thaw varies. In publication order, starting with giving Mai a ride on her motorcycle to look for her missing brother after Nagi reveals that Orphans are chasing him, and during the Panty Thief episode, Natsuki decides that a sleeping Mai looks cold and drapes a coat over her. If you include the prequel novel Natsuki no Prelude, then chronologically it was offering to retrieve Akane's notes for her, telling her classmate Think Nothing of It.
• Crucified Hero Shot: (anime) At least twice. First when Miyu captures her and has her tied up, and later when Nao has Julia web her up in her apartment. In both instances she's tied with her arms spread out, and her feet tied together.
• Defeat Equals Friendship: Natsuki had to fight Duran before earning his trust.
• Defrosting Ice Queen: Gradually opens up to other people, and her friendships with Shizuru, Mai and Mikoto help her to understand that people cannot live alone.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: In the manga, she punches Yuuichi when he asks if anyone has a problem with him helping her, saying that he’s doing it out of pity.
• Dramatic Wind: Episode 4, during the Panty Thief incident. Mikoto takes a fighting stance when she sees Natsuki, and Natsuki has to raise her hands from holding down her skirt so that she'll be free to defend herself if Mikoto attacks. Cue a gust of wind. Hilarity Ensues.
• Dying Declaration of Love: A non-Yandere form of Taking You with Me, "I love you Shizuru. I really do. That's why...Duran! Load Silver Cartridge! Fire!"
• First Kiss: Since Natsuki told Mai that she had no interest in romance while she was investigating District One to find out why her mother was killed, it can inferred that the kiss Shizuru plants on a sleeping Natsuki was her first, and sadly, non-consensual at that.
• First-Name Basis: Initially, Shizuru is noted as being the only one who calls Natsuki by her first name, but in Episode 9, she asks Mai to do so as well, having started to become friends with her.
• Forgiveness:
  • Natsuki forgives Shizuru for whatever happened that night. It doesn't hurt that Shizuru was immediately and genuinely repentant after Mashiro resurrected her and Natsuki.
  • It's often overlooked, but Natsuki essentially forgave Nao when she learned about her Dark and Troubled Past and decided they were similar.
• Going Commando: Her panties end up missing in her locker during the panty thief episode, so she's forced to go around campus without them for a while until Mai finds out.
• The Gunslinger: Her Element consists of two handguns.
• Hates Being Touched: (anime) Natsuki has trust issues, and is visibly uncomfortable being touched or glomped (with Shizuru and Mikoto being the typical perpetrators of The Glomp).
• Heroes Love Dogs: From her first dog, Duran, her wolf-like CHILD, also Duran, or the small puppy that licked at her feet in episode 21, Natsuki has a soft spot for canines.
• Heroic BSoD: After discovering that her mother may have been trying to sell her to the Searrs Foundation instead of trying to save her, she loses the ability to summon her Element or CHILD for several episodes.
• Hollywood Tone-Deaf: During the Karaoke party, Natsuki proves to be a terrible singer. Her seiyuu, Saeko Chiba, is actually a decent singer, and in fact sings the song "Flower by the Pond" that plays over the scene.
• Ineffectual Loner: Generally more successful when she's working alongside or for the good of others.
• Irony: Her name means "Summer Princess", but she has ice related powers.
• Kirk Summation: After Nao says the HiMEs have the right to use their powers as they wish, Natsuki concedes her point, but then draws her Element and says that it's also her right to disagree with what Nao does with her powers.
• Knight in Sour Armor: Her main motivation in the anime, at least at first, is to avenge her mother's death by the Powers That Be. She is the most cynical of the main three (her, Mai, Mikoto) because she's already had plenty of dealings with the seedier side of the world they live in by the time the story starts. She gets better eventually by the end of the series and opens up more.
• Last Moment Together: For Natsuki, it is the memory of her mother trying to get her away from District One so she can be safe, right before the car crash that claimed her life. This fuels her vengence against District One, until John Smith says that Saeko Kuga was trying to sell Natsuki to the Searrs Foundation, resulting in a Psychosomatic Superpower Outage.
• Luminescent Blush: Surprisingly often, for a supposedly aloof loner. Shizuru seems to be able to make Natsuki blush effortlessly. Then there's the incident in Episode 4. And her Show Some Leg incident in Episode 9. Interestingly enough, she doesn't blush in Episode 25 when she kisses Shizuru as a means of Cooldown Hug.
• Meaningful Name: Written with the hiragana for "Summer Princess". She is perhaps the only HiME whose parents knew she was a HiME before the start of the story.
• Mirror Character: From Nao, her Arch-Enemy, as she recognizes that she was also bitter and refused to trust anyone after what happened to her mother.
• Modesty Shorts: Forced to wear one after losing her panties in the panty thief episode, to Mai's laughter.
• Motherly Side Plait: After learning of her own mother's betrayal, and while recovering from her injuries, Natsuki has her hair in a simple braid over her left shoulder. But when she learns of Shizuru's betrayal, she returns to her usual style.
• Motorcycle on the Coast Road: In both the opening credits and in several episodes, Natsuki is seen riding her motorcycle along the coast. Particularly at the spot where her mother died.
• Ms. Fanservice: This is why Mai and Mikoto force her to Show Some Leg in order to hitch a ride back to school at the end of episode 9. Shizuru, Midori and Reito are very amused. Natsuki is not.
• The Nicknamer: (manga) She refers to Yuuichi as "Slave-kun" initially.
• Nobody Touches the Hair: During her fight with Mikoto, Natsuki glances at her wrist after Mikoto threw her, and notices several strands of her long cobalt hair torn from her scalp. It's at this point that she has Duran open fire on Mikoto.
• Not So Above It All: Usually aloof, Natsuki has her moments. The first big example was during the Karaoke Party, where she's seen laughing hysterically at Nao's performance. And then there's the final battle, where she steals Midori's thunder.
• Now Allowed to Hug: Natsuki has a dislike of being touched, though not as pronounced as most examples. But after the HiME Festival is over, she is on the receiving end of The Glomp from Shizuru during Mai's karaoke celebration. She's initially startled, but subsequent shots show Shizuru with her arm around Natsuki's shoulder, and Natsuki being alright with it.
• Oblivious to Love: Reading "Natsuki's Prelude", you wonder how Natsuki missed Shizuru's affection.
• Origins Episode: Natsuki's Prelude shows how she became a HiME and some of her other actions prior to the start of the series.
• Parental Abandonment: Her mother is dead, apparently because of the First District, and her father left to be with another woman, which Natsuki views as unforgivable.
• Psychosomatic Superpower Outage:
  • In the anime, she does this after learning her supposedly loving mother wanted to sell her to the Searrs Foundation.
  • In the manga, she does this after learning that Yuuichi kissed Mai.
• Queer Establishing Moment: It can be easy to forget, since Shizuru and Natsuki becoming an Official Couple is well known by fans, but there was actual Ship Tease between Natsuki and Takeda, such as when he fell on her and her initial response was a Luminescent Blush. The first real indicator that she could be attracted to another girl was when she laid The Big Damn Kiss on Shizuru in episode 25 as part of a Cooldown Hug.
• Relationship Upgrade: The artbooks imply rather strongly that she hooks up with Shizuru at her graduation.
• Reluctant Fanservice Girl: Natsuki's Ms. Fanservice status is often exploited, usually to be used as a source for comedy, much to her distress.
• Save the Villain: Stops Shizuru from finishing off Nao after Shizuru destroys her CHILD.
• She Cleans Up Nicely: While Natsuki is compared to a supermodel early on, she either sports her school uniform or rider suit for her motorcycle. But after Shizuru rescues her from Nao, she sports a lovely kimono with her hair in an elegant braid.
• She's Back: Natsuki has lost her powers after learning about her mother's betrayal. But when she realizes that Shizuru's love kept her from falling into darkness, she steps between a vengeful Shizuru and a powerless Nao, takes a deep breath, closes her eyes, and summons her pistols. Later, when she summons Duran, her willingness to admit she loved Shizuru caused the Child to go from the size of her bike to a Kaiju.
• Shy Blue-Haired Girl: A minor example, but Natsuki, though an Action Girl, doesn't like opening up to people, is highly self-conscious about other people walking in on her in the bath, even other girls (Mai in episode 25 and Shizuru in the directors cut of episode 26), and is easily flustered by personal attention, which Shizuru exploits for her own amusement.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Her attraction to Shizuru is primarily based around her reaching out to her when she couldn't trust anyone else.
• Strong and Skilled: Not only does Natsuki have her Element and CHILD, she also has impressive hand to hand skills, like when she took out several armed soldiers.
• Strong Family Resemblance: She is very similar in appearance to her mother, Saeko, just a little slimmer in the face and without the glasses.
• Sugar-and-Ice Girl: The ice is obvious from the start. But her sugar side starts to peek out early on, when she offers Mai a ride to help find her missing brother. She drapes a blanket over Mai when she's sleeping. She tells off Nao when Nao is trying to give Mai a Hannibal Lecture. And she seems truly bothered by the miserable state she finds Akane in, and takes great pains to have her moved to a hospital where District One won't find her.
• Taking You with Me: Probably one of the few examples where it wasn't done out of malice or revenge. In fact, Natsuki is actually embracing Shizuru as they both fade from existence.
• Talk to the Fist: In the manga, destroys her mother's Princess Earring while she's in the middle of taunting her.
• Think Nothing of It: Has this attitude in "Natsuki's Prelude" when offering to help get Akane's notes for her from the school building at night (in large part so that Akane won't be around so that she investigates):
  Natsuki: Don't worry about it. I'm used to walking alone at night. And besides, this is a rare opportunity for me to offer such a service, isn't it? You should accept a person's kindness humbly, don't you think? [pause] .... Oi, Higurashi? What's wrong?
  Akane: [bowing over and over] Th—- Thank youi, Kuga-san!
  Natsuki: You really don't need to be so thankful. Weren't we classmates before?
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Zig-zagged with Natsuki. In the Power Trio, she is the Tomboy to Mai's Girly-girl, with Mai being matronly and a superb cook, while Natsuki's performane in the cake contest suggests that she can't cook well, or even at all. She is, however, a Girly-Girl to Mikoto's Tomboy, having a collection of lingerie while Mikkoto doesn't even know, initially, what a bra is, and having a sense of modesty while Mikoto will hang upside down from trees without any concern. And Natsuki is also the Tomboy to Shizuru's Girly-Girl, being the gruff motorcycle rider who hangs out in bars (to meet informants), while Shizuru is practiced at flower arranging and tea ceremony, and prefers tea over any other form of leisure.
• Trademark Favorite Food: Well, trademark favorite condiment, but Natsuki could easily and rightly be called the Matron Saint of Mayonnaise.
• Trauma Conga Line: In very short order she is told her late mother was trying to sell her to Searrs, is ambushed by Nao, who wants to do a literal eye-for-an-eye, and realizes that she cannot use her powers anymore. Then she's rescued by Shizuru, and just when it looks like she might be on the road to recovery, she overhears that Shizuru kissed her in her sleep. Then Yukino suggests that it went further than a simple kiss the night before, which Shizuru neither confirms nor denies, instead deflecting by accusing Yukino of voyeurism, Natsuki is powerless to stop Shizuru from killing Haruka by proxy. And when she finally makes it back to her apartment, Nao strikes again, tying her up and using her as bait for a rematch with Shizuru.
• Tsundere: Largely manga only. Textbook Type A (tsuntsun) with Yuuichi, such as punching him out immediately after handing him his birthday present.
• Unknowingly in Love: Natsuki Kuga is completely unaware of the fact that she loves Shizuru. During the Festival she pointedly tells Mai that she has no person precious to her, save the memory of her late mother. When that memory is destroyed by the revelation that her mother was going to sell her to the Searrs Foundation, she suffers a Psychosomatic Superpower Outage. However, her powers are restored when Shizuru rescues her from Nao, and she realizes that it was Shizuru's love that kept her from falling into total cynicism like Nao. When she later summons her CHILD - a being whose power is fed by the love a HiME feels for her most important person - he has become Kaiju-sized.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: The object of affection to one. Insult Natsuki, and Shizuru will slap you silly. Threaten her life or well-being? Shizuru will curbstomp the offender, and has no qualms about killing them. Often with the same calm smile she has when drinking tea.
• You Must Be Cold: Drapes a coat over Mai as she sleeps during the hunt for the panty stealing Orphan.

Mikoto Minagi

Voiced by: Ai Shimizu (JP), Caitlynne Medrek (EN)

CHILD: Miroku

Element: claymore (Miroku)

Anime: Like Mai, she comes from a far away land, but she does so in search of her long-lost brother. It is unknown what happened to her parents, but it is hinted in a flashback that Mikoto lived most of her early life with her grandfather before his death (he was the one who told her to seek out her brother in Fuuka, and trained her to kill him). She is an incredibly childlike, but generally well-meaning person who loves all her friends, but doesn't quite understand the concept of romantic love.
Manga: Mikoto's role has been reduced by a fair margin, although Mai readily acknowledges her as the strongest of all of the HiMEs near the series' beginning. She is also shown to have slightly better social skills.
Mikoto's weapon is a giant sword called Miroku, which she carries on her back in a giant wooden case. When she doesn't have it on hand, she can call it to her by shouting its name, in effect making it both her Element and her CHILD. In the anime, this sword is also one of the CHILDs of the demonic Obsidian Lord, which Mikoto has been trained to carry around with her since childbirth.

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• Alliterative Name: Mikoto Minagi.
• Badass Adorable: Mikoto has a childlike innocence about most things. She can also cleave an armored vehicle in two with her BFS.
• Battle Butler: First for Mai, and then for ObsidianLord!Reito.
• BFS: Her standard broadsword is already pretty big compared to her body, but the manga takes it up to the next level with the Sword of Tonsotsu.
• Big Eater: Mikoto loves to eat. Bonus points if Mai's the one who prepares it for her.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: Both versions do this. In the anime, it's the Obsidian Lord using Mikoto's pendant to control her. Late in the manga, she is briefly taken over by Shiho's CHILD's parasitic offspring.
• Clingy Sleepers:
  • (Anime) A Time-lapse is shown in one episode of a sleeping Mikoto leaving her bed, rolling into Mai's, and then wrapping her arms around Mai and resting her head on Mai's chest.
  • (Manga) Exaggerated. After Yuuichi is found to be both Mai's and Natsuki's Key, he is made to share a dorm room with Mai and Mikoto. Mikoto is clinging tightly to Mai in bed, to the point that she's about the expose Mai's breasts to Yuuichi, who begs someone, anyone, to get him out of there. Natsuki obliges.
• Dark Magical Girl: (anime) She becomes this type later in the series, as her battle conditioning will cause her to fly into a near-Unstoppable Rage when she comes across someone she thinks is her "enemy".
• Day in the Limelight: (manga) Since her role was reduced in the manga, she got a chapter dedicated to her finding a stray Orphan and deciding to keep it as a pet. It didn't work out so well.
• Defeat Means Friendship: With Akira in the manga, after saving her from falling into a pit at the end of their fight.
• Evil Weapon: (anime) Her sword sometimes tends to have a mind of its own.
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: Glowing Supernatural Gold Eyes.
• Face–Heel Turn: (anime) Her love for her brother eventually turned her against her friends. Luckily, she turns back just in time to save him, since he was also Brainwashed and Crazy]].
• First Girl Wins: (anime) Yes, technically she and Yuuichi win. She was the first girl Mai met, and he was the first guy, and Mai says she loves them both.]]
• Go Through Me: Anime episode 23, just as she spots Midori attempting to pry open the coffin where Miyu was sealed.
• Last Moment Together: Mikoto remembers being forced to kill her Grandfather in armed combat as proof that she was ready for her to be a HiME, and him telling her to now seek out her long lost brother.
• Marshmallow Hell: Mikoto really likes doing this to Mai.
  "Those are my melons."
• My God, What Have I Done?: (anime) When Natsuki comes in to break up her fight against Mai (by knocking the sword out of her hands), Mikoto breaks down into tears when she finds out that she was responsible for killing Takumi (or so she thinks at the time)... and her own grandfather.
• Self-Made Orphan: (anime) Mikoto's grandfather trained her to kill him, to see if one day she would be strong enough to harness the full power of Miroku.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Mikoto loves all of her friends in a general platonic sense...though her actions toward Mai suggest differently.
• Spectacular Spinning: She tends to spin a lot when she fights. Just to strike once with her sword, she'll often perform a 720 degree or more rotation.
• Sword Plant: This is how she activates her ultimate attack.
• Sword Sparks: She generally begins attacks by dragging her sword on the ground, sending sparks flying.
• Through Her Stomach: She's quick to make friends with Mai because she loves the food that Mai cooks for her, to the point that she won't eat anything else.
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: Mikoto, in the Power Trio, is a Tomboy to both Mai and Natsuki's Girly-Girls. Mai is a good cook, matronly, and loves karaoke, And Natsuki enjoys her collection of frilly lingerie, is easily flustered by personal attention, and is actually offended when Mikoto tears out strands of her luxurious hair. Mikoto, by comparison, is a Big Eater, doesn't seem to be able to cook (though she can crack an egg well), and Mikoto has absolutely no sense of feminine modesty, not even knowing, initially, what a bra even was.
• Vapor Wear: "What's "bra?" Is It Something You Eat??"
• What Is This Thing You Call "Love"?: Mikoto struggles with this, especially toward the end of the anime.

Midori Sugiura

“I don’t believe in things like fate and destiny. That’s what human will and knowledge is about. Overcoming odds to write your own history.”

Voiced by: Yukari Tamura (JP), Mariette Sluyter (EN)

CHILD: Gakutenou

Element: labrys

Anime: Midori is a twenty-something (she swears that she's only 17 years old; part of a seiyuu in-joke with fellow actress Kikuko Inoue) Japanese history teacher working at Fuuka Academy. Initially, she took a side job at the Linden Baum diner with Mai and her friend Akane Higurashi, but decided to quit when she figured she'd have a better chance at succeeding by pursuing her archeological studies.
Midori is the most enthusiastic of the HiME about her lot in life, approaching her role as one of the Magical Girls with the style and flair of a cartoon superhero. She wields an axe and can summon a horned chariot beast named Gakutenou, which (for some reason) can also fly.
Manga: In the manga, she has a parakeet(!) as her key, being able to summon Gakutenou with it. However, here Gakutenou comes with an added ability... namely, the ability to transform into a Humongous Mecha.

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• Adventurer Archaeologist: (anime) Midori wants to be one of these. Her "most important person," her old professor, Sasaki-sensei, already is.
• Ambiguously Bi: While Midori is canonically interested in an older man, during the karaoke party, she tries to strip Natsuki while leering at her like Dirty Old Man.
• Big Good: Very briefly in Episode 16 when she assembles her Sentai team, and later after Mashiro hands her the responsibility for reawakening Miyu.
• Cool Big Sis: Intelligence be damned, she is still a genuinely fun and friendly person to be around with.
• The Hero: Actually fits this role better than Mai, despite not being the protagonist. She takes an active role in fighting for good, is the one to whom Mashiro hands over the responsibility for reawakening Miyu, and ultimately brings everyone back and defeats the Obsidian Lord's plan.
• Hot Teacher: Becomes Mai's homeroom teacher.
• Jumped at the Call: She relishes the idea of being a Magical Girl, including the battle-cries and over-the-top "justice" speeches.
• Large Ham: Not remotely as big as Haruka, but she's definitely passionate about fighting. More so in the manga, where she is, if anything, a little worse than Haruka. Most of her battles are punctuated with her non-stop shouting and tend to end with most of her own team groaning on the floor because she accidentally beat the crap out of them with her overly enthusiastic attacks on the enemy.
• Likes Older Men: Seems to have a romantic interest in her professor.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: At first glance, she looks and acts clumsy...but she spends a lot of time doing the research on the conflict, and becomes an invaluable asset to attempting to break the Vicious Cycle in the series' last arc...
• Only Sane Woman: ...that said, she is still the most emotionally healthy girl of the entire Dysfunction Junction cast, unburdened by trauma or a Dark and Troubled Past.
• Plucky Comic Relief
• Screw Destiny: (anime) Like Natsuki, she hates the idea of playing along with Searrs/the First District's plans. She also actively takes part in screwing them up (while the others are trying their best to survive and not kill each other).
• Spanner in the Works: (anime) She manages to foil the Obsidian Lord's plans by releasing and rebooting Miyu.
• Stripperiffic: If only all teachers could get away with wearing denim jackets and tube tops.
• Team Mom: On her best days, she serves as one of these to the other HiMEs.
• Throwing Your Sword Always Works: In the anime, she can use her weapon as something of a Precision-Guided Boomerang.
• The Worf Effect: (manga) Easily defeated by Alyssa off-panel. Understandable, as her melee weapon doesn't do much good against Alyssa's Gravity Master powers.
• You Did the Right Thing: Reassures Mai that even if destroying Artemis killed someone dear to Alyssa, she had to do it to protect the school.

Nao Yuuki

“Love, attraction, affection… the only person you can trust is yourself!”

Voiced by: Yuka Nanri (JP), Marcy Lannan (EN)

CHILD: Julia

Element: Retractable claws

Anime: A middle school student at Fuuka Academy. Unlike many of the other students, she is much more concerned with her own well-being than the safety of others. This is even more apparent when she uses her HiME abilities, attacking friend and foe alike.
After the Searrs invasion, Natsuki is tricked into thinking she injured Yukariko, and in the ensuing confrontation, Nao loses an eye. Nao becomes obsessed with taking revenge on the other HiMEs, but her quest, by putting her at odds with Natsuki, attracts Shizuru's ire, resulting in Nao being defeated.
Her powers come in the form of a pair of gauntlets with extendable claws that have wires embedded in them for extended slicing and dicing. The other handiwork is left in the hands of her CHILD, a spider/scorpion hybrid called Julia, which traps its foes with sticky webbing.
Manga: Nao remains largely unchanged in terms of powers and personality, yet somehow manages to come across as both more and less evil than her anime counterpart. On the one hand, she lacks the anime version's sympathetic motivation; on the other, following her initial Heel–Face Turn, she remains more or less firmly on the heroes side for the remainder of the storyline (although she never quite stops complaining about it). One major difference is rather than disliking men, she's actually something of a flirt, and seems to be so out of genuine interest rather than any ulterior scheme. Usually.

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• Adaptational Villainy: A variant; In the anime, she starts out hostile, then teams up with the protagonists, then becomes an antagonist, then returns to being a protagonist. In the manga, she starts out as an antagonist, then turns into a reluctant ally.
• Anti-Hero: Type V in the anime - she helps the other HiME fight the Searrs army not because it's the right thing to do, but because she gets a kick out of beating up her enemies. She's more of a Type III in the manga.
• Big Creepy-Crawlies: Julia looks a lot like a spider.
• Bitch in Sheep's Clothing: In the anime, Mai and a few others are fooled about her real personality at first.
• Blemished Beauty: For a good many episodes, she is short an eye after it's lost in a battle with her fellow HiME. It is restored when Mashiro resurrects everyone who has fallen in her bid to rid the world of the Obsidian Prince once and for all.
• Boxed Crook: In the manga, goes along with the Ori-Hime unit in exchange for not being punished for her rule-breaking. Mai, however, questions whether Haruka will keep her promise.
• Comes Great Responsibility: Averted. She uses her powers to rob perverts, and says it is her right to do what she wants.
• Disproportionate Retribution: Swears revenge against Natsuki and the others for putting out her eye, even kidnapping Takumi and indirectly causing his death.
• Does Not Like Men: (anime) Goons broke into her house, killed her father, and put her mother into a coma. The criminals were arrested, but thus enjoy meals and shelter. Nao corrects this injustice by attracting perverts, then robbing them.
• Even Bad Men Love Their Mamas: (anime) Her Most Important Person is her comatose mother, and after Shizuru destroys her CHILD and the mother dies, the always arrogant and self-assured Nao collapses in tears and screams.
• Eye Scream: (anime) Nao loses her right eye after being tricked into fighting Natsuki. She was already "on the fence" as far as alignment went, but this incident was her breaking point.
• Face–Heel Revolving Door: (anime) Starts out antagonistic and hostile toward the other HiMEs, then starts cooperating with them before leaving the team after The Reveal and becoming an enemy when her eye gets put out, only to come back and fight alongside the others in the finale.
• Femme Fatale: (anime) She lures lecherous men by posing as a girl named "Juliet" and pretends to let them "do things" to her, and then robs them blind. Her reason for choosing this path is because her mother was seriously wounded in a robbery attempt, and robbing other robbers is Nao's way of revenge.
• Finger-Lickin' Evil: She tends to like to do this, whether she's an Anti-Hero or an antagonist at the moment.
• Green-Eyed Monster: Somewhat jealous of the fact that she and Mai have similar circumstances, but people admire Mai for her persistence.
• Headbutting Heroes: In the manga, does not get along with any of the other HiME, particularly Natsuki and Haruka.
• Hypocritical Humor: In the Cooking Duel, mocking Natsuki for being “idiotic” for failing to crack an egg...immediately before failing herself.
• If You Kill Him, You Will Be Just Like Him! (manga) Is set on killing Miyu despite Mai’s insistence that she not do it, until Miyu receives new orders and stands down.
• It's All About Me: Purely self-interested. Word of God states that it doesn't necessarily make her a bad person.
• Karma Houdini:
  • (anime) Her Karma Houdini status stems more from the aforementioned "pervert-baiting" than her fighting and kidnapping Natsuki. In the last episode, there’s a scene in which she’s cornered by the perverts she’s been baiting, but then she gets her powers back and apparently deals with them quite easily. Then again, considering that they're perverts, most audience members don't want them to take karmic retribution on anyone anyway.
  • She believes the people who killed her father and put her mother into a coma are this, as they are fed and housed in prison.
• Kick the Dog: Targeting Takumi as Revenge by Proxy.
• Living with the Villain: Mai's friend Aoi is Nao's roommate. However, when Nao undergoes her Face–Heel Turn, she leaves the room.
• Mirror Character: With Natsuki. Both suffered the loss of loved ones to violence at an early age, and both were essentially abandoned by their respective families and left to their own devices.
• Nun Too Holy: Becomes a nun in the ending, although this doesn't appear to have changed her basic personality.
• Obligatory Swearing: In some translations, such as when she tells Haruka to "shut the fuck up" in the manga.
• Razor Floss: Her element is a pair of clawed 'gloves' which can shoot cutting wires.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Gives two to Mai, both accusing her of being overprotective of Takumi and Mikoto and priding herself on doing so. Both of them, especially the second one, delivered as Nao is attacking Takumi and taunting Mai that he "hates" her hit quite hard.
• Revenge by Proxy: Tries to kidnap Takumi out of jealousy and a desire for revenge against Mai.
• Stealth Pun: Julia is the name of her CHILD...
• The Tease: She's very flirtatious around men. In the anime, this is to put them off guard so she can rob them. In the manga, she mainly focuses on Yuuichi, initially to lure him away from Mai on Haruka's orders, and then just for giggles.
• Trauma Conga Line: She's the victim of a Wounded Gazelle Gambit by Sister Yukariko, losing an eye in the process. She gets ahold of Natsuki, whom she holds most responsible for the lost eye, but before she can get revenge, Shizuru shows up and thrashes her and sends her plummetting to the ocean below with as much effort as it take to swat a fly. And then, when she tries for a rematch, Shizuru and Kiyohime easily defeat her CHILD Julia, causing the death of her mother. A broken Nao can only watch in horror as Shizuru advances on her, telling her she's not nearly done making her pay for what Nao did to Natsuki. If Natsuki hadn't intervened at that point, she would have died then and there. And before all is said and done, she finds herself surrounded by a crowd of the perverts she'd robbed with her fake Enjou Kosai routine.
• Twisted-Knee Collapse: After her definitive loss against Shizuru.
• Villain: Exit, Stage Left: In the manga, after her Key is knocked away, decides to walk away, outraging not only Mai and Yuuichi (who each demand an apology for the other), but also Haruka (who was counting on her securing Yuuichi to advance the Ori-Hime unit’s agenda).
• Villainous Breakdown: Flies into a rage when Shizuru says she's fighting her because she loves Natsuki, and says the quote at the top. After she's defeated and loses her mother, she falls to her knees and ends up in tears.
• Wild Card: (manga) In the early chapters, she's teamed up with Nagi during her duel against the Mai/Natsuki/Yuuichi trio, but after she loses the battle, she later "assists" them (against her wishes) in taking him down.
• Wolverine Claws: The claws extend directly from the nails, but still the same idea.

Akane Higurashi

Voiced by: Junko Iwao (JP), Morgan Patridge (EN)

CHILD: Hari

Element: tonfa; wind

Anime: Akane is one of Mai's friends and co-workers at the Linden Baum Diner, as well as one of Natsuki's classmates. She's also the girlfriend of Kazuya Kurauchi, another one of her co-workers.Akane's Element is a pair of large X-shaped tonfas, and her CHILD is a lion-like beast called Hari, which traps its foes within wind tunnels that shred them to pieces. Sadly, she only gets to use this attack once in the anime.
Manga: ... Pretty much exactly the same, actually. The major difference is that Akane in the manga has a much, much happier time.

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• Blow You Away: Her CHILD has wind attacks.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Easily defeats the Three Scale Sisters in the manga. She loses to Miyu this way in the anime.
• The Generic Guy: (manga) Akane laments her relative adequacy compared to main characters Mai and Natsuki.
• High-School Sweethearts: Gets 'very' lovey-dovey with Kazuya.
• Parental Issues: After she gets taken away to a mental hospital and she is thought to have eloped with Kazuya, Chie mentions that Akane has some difficulties with her parents.
• Put on a Bus: (anime) Akane gets knocked out of the game several episodes before it actually begins, just as things were starting to look up for her.
• Sacrificial Lamb: Anime only. She and Kazuya survive all the way through the manga.

Akira Okuzaki

“I wonder why, why am I a girl? Why am I a HiME? Why have I fallen in love with you?”

Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi (JP), Annika Odegard (EN)

CHILD: Gennai

Element: kunai

Anime: Akira is the self-styled "Secret Ninja of the School", sent to Fuuka Academy to protect it from the Orphans by her clan. To conceal her identity, she goes in disguise and lives in the boys' dorm with Mai Tokiha's brother Takumi, watching over him when she's not around to take care of him.
Aside from her arsenal of ninja tools, Akira utilizes a unique-shaped double-bladed sword, which is used to pin down her opponent while her CHILD, Gennai smashes it with its large hammer-and-chain.
Manga: Manga: Akira is still fairly close to Takumi. She joins the Ori-HIME unit in order to keep her status as a girl secret, but is never seen summoning her CHILD.

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• Adaptational Villainy: Is part of the Ori-Hime unit in the manga.
• Clark Kenting: (anime subversion) Akira's ninja disguise doesn't fool Takumi one bit, but she continues to play it off after she's found out.
• Double Weapon: (anime) Her sword/knife Element.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: Her ninja outfit. Takumi isn’t fooled, anyway.
• Sarashi: In an attempt to hide her (unfortunately, growing) breasts, and with it, her identity as a girl and Hime.
• Shadow Pin: (anime) Gennai uses spotlights to show the target’s shadow, enabling Akira to pin its shadow and have Gennai finish off the victim.
• Shoot the Dog: (manga) Is planning on killing Mikoto’s pet Orphan if necessary which ends with the Orphan killing itself as it goes out of control, and tries to kill Takumi to prevent him from becoming the Obsidian Lord, but fails.
• This Is My Side: Sets up her half of the room so as to prevent Takumi from finding out her identity.

Yukariko Sanada

Voiced by: Kikuko Inoue (JP), Allyson June Smith (EN)

CHILD: St. Vlas

Element: bow

Anime: The naïve and sweet Sister Yukariko is the lone nun who works at the chapel on campus. Her personal philosophy is that of allowing God to take care of all of one's troubles, and not giving in to, as she often likes to put it, "the passions of youth". Over the course of the story, she falls in love with local art teacher Wataru Ishigami, but realizes too late that he's an extended part of the First District Ancient Conspiracy, and is using her to get inside the heads of the other HiME, so she has no choice but to obey him to ensure her survival in the game.
Sister Yukariko uses a bow and arrows as her weapon, and is protected by her CHILD, a disembodied unicorn head (resembling the "knight" chess piece) named St. Vlas. Its powers mostly stem from illusion and deception, rather than straight-up combat.
Manga: In the manga, Yukariko transferred in with the rest of the Searrs Convent group. She is also one of the PRINCESSes, and is always shown to be very hesitant and doubtful over the current course of action. St. Vlas is also noticeably weaker, as it has to physically entrap its victims within itself before the Lotus-Eater Machine takes effect.

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• Driven to Suicide: (anime) She chose to kill Ishigami-sensei and herself, rather than killing Mai.
• Fountain of Youth: In the Fuuka Taisen game, her CHILD turns her opponents into children.
• Freudian Excuse: She had virtually no contact with men when growing up, and even less considering that she's a nun...and is thus far more susceptible to Ishigami's manipulation than many others would be.
• Hellish Horse: St. Vlas looks a bit like a knight chess piece...when its wings are closed, anyway.
• Last Kiss: (anime) She kisses Ishigami before they die.
• Lotus-Eater Machine: The main effect of her CHILD, which she uses against Mai in the anime, and Haruka and Yukino in the manga.
• Love Makes You Evil: Manipulates Natsuki into attacking Nao by making her think Nao injured her, and then results in a chain of events that leads to many deaths.
• Mistaken for Murderer: Found standing over an injured Aoi, and is interrogated on her actions.
• Murder-Suicide: Yukariko allows herself and Ishigami to be crushed by Vulas as penance for lying and causing the fighting between the other HiME
• My God, What Have I Done?: Immediately after her Wounded Gazelle Gambit, Yukariko is overcome by guilt, and ends up playing along with Ishigami as a reluctant accomplice until she turns on him and leads to their deaths.
• Nuns Are Mikos: She works taking care of a church that looks very much Catholic.
• Nun Too Holy: In addition to violating the rules regarding celibacy, gets quite drunk at the karaoke party in Episode 16.
• The Pollyanna: A bit, in the first part of the series. Her speeches about God, love and forgiveness were infamous in Fuuka.
• Questionable Consent: (anime) While Yukariko and Ishigami had fallen for each other early on, his forceful kiss on her and the reveal after the Grand Finale that she was pregnant indicates that there was something else going on in that scene. Definitely not the best way to have handled that.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: (anime) Yukariko fakes an injury and provokes the other girls into attacking Nao.

Yukino Kikukawa

Voiced by: Mamiko Noto (JP), Morgan Patridge (EN)

CHILD: Diana

Element: mirror

Yukino is the shy, bookish vice-president of the executive committee. She provides the "yin" to Haruka's "yang", actively avoiding conflict while Haruka embraces it. She and Haruka have known each other since they were children, and Yukino looks up to Haruka as both a friend and a protective figure. She is very good with computers and technical gadgets, and can type really fast.
Anime: Yukino's CHILD is an odd insectoid beast named Diana, and her Element is a mirror. Much like Yukino's non-confrontational personality, Diana is mostly incapable of attacking. Instead, it releases several mechanical spores that allow her to spy on distant targets, which can be seen through the lenses of its self-replicating mirrors.
Manga: In the manga, Yukino's CHILD has been completely changed, to the jellyfish-life Miroir, which spawns tiny mirrors. This is used largely to redirect the wildly-aimed attacks from Haruka's CHILD.

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• Adaptation Relationship Overhaul: She befriends Mai and Mikoto in the anime. In the manga, the two are intially her enemies, and she never develops a deep connection with either one.
• Adaptational Villainy: In the manga, she's initially helping Haruka in her attempts to get Mai and Natsuki's group expelled. In the anime, she's friends with Mai and Mikoto, two of her enemies in the manga.
• Berserk Button: Perhaps the only way to get her angry is to insult or otherwise act dismissively toward Haruka.
• Invisible to Normals: (anime) Her CHILD can release spores which can mask any HiME fighting within the area.
• Master of Illusion: (manga) Can show images of her and Haruka escaping an attack when in fact they are blocking it.
• My God, What Have I Done?: After trying to kill Mai when faced with a threat to Haruka's life, she has this reaction and feels guilty about it for some time.
• Power Perversion Potential: Shizuru suggests Yukino "enjoy(s) watching other people" when Yukino accuses her of kissing and (possibly) raping Natuski, which enrages Haruka.
• Scary Shiny Glasses: Well, not so much "scary" as they are "shiny", because she's one of the good guys, and it seems to be a sign that she's hiding something. However, they are somewhat scary in the Blu-Ray special, when she prepares an extremely spicy hot dog to feed to Reito as part of a group revenge by the former HiME, and Nao and Natsuki are both terrified as they look on.
• Standard Female Grab Area: Natsuki pulls her away while requesting her help for Takumi by grabbing her wrist, although it should be noted that Yukino is possibly the least physically strong of the HiMEs, in addition to having powers that are not oriented toward combat.
• Shrinking Violet: Extremely shy and vulnerable to pressure, which Ishigami tries to use to his advantage later in the anime. It almost succeeds.
• Tears of Remorse: After her failed attempt on Mai's life, and, not long afterward, when Mai thanks her for helping her find Takumi.
• Twisted-Knee Collapse: After Mai and Kagutsuchi are hit by Artemis.
• What Kind of Lame Power Is Heart, Anyway?: In the anime Yukino's CHILD, Diana, is only good for surveillance and hiding the effects of the HiME battles from the public. This causes her problems when Shizuru challenges her, as she is defeated just mere seconds after she summons Diana forth. The manga allows her to team up with Haruka to power up Haruka's CHILD, increasing her battle capability, but still leaving her as a support character on the battlefield.

Fumi Himeno

Voiced by: Yukana (JP), Wendy Morrison (EN)

CHILD: Suishouhime

Element: scythe

Fumi is Mashiro's caretaker and most trusted assistant.

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• Because You Were Nice to Me: Her and Mashiro's special indicates her loyalty to Mashiro is due to her taking her in.
• Evil Costume Switch: After the Obsidian Lord bends her to his will.
• Mind-Control Eyes: (anime) Happens after the Obsidian Lord rebuffs her and Mashiro's counterattack, sending her into a sort-of Heroic BSOD. She doesn't recover until the end.
• Sinister Scythe: Her element is a scythe with foldable blade.
• Third-Person Person: Sometimes around Mashiro, in an old-fashioned display of humility.

Shizuru Fujino

“I want you, Natsuki! I don’t care for anything else! That’s why I fight, against everything that tries to take Natsuki away from me. So that someday I can finally, truly make her mine...”

Voiced by: Naomi Shindo (JP), Melanie Risdon (EN)

CHILD: Kiyohime

Element: voulge/naginata

The calm, nearly-unflappable Student Council President and a third-year high school student at Fuuka Academy.
Anime: Shizuru runs the Absurdly Powerful Student Council, and is described as calm, yet unapproachable due to her high social status (in one episode, Mashiro has entrusted her with securing funding for the school from a handful of very wealthy businessmen). Though she and vice-president Reito Kanzaki are described as an "influential power couple", she is much more interested in her long-time best friend, Natsuki Kuga. She is often criticized by executive committee leader Haruka Suzushiro for her laissez-faire approach to student affairs, but tries to be as helpful to them as much as possible. However, if something or someone should threaten her or Natsuki...watch out.
Shizuru is the last person to have her HiME abilities revealed. Her CHILD is a multiple-headed snake named Kiyohime, and her Element is a naginata/long-spear with a blade that can break off into sections and be whipped at great distances, capable of slicing its targets to ribbons. It can also wrap around people, but she's only used that once (against Natsuki during their fight).
Manga: Shizuru retains most of her backstory and initial personality, with two important exceptions - she is never revealed to be a HiME at all, with most of her notable actions involving reuniting Natsuki with her family, and perhaps more importantly, while her affection for Natsuki is still pretty blatant, she never loses it over her.

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• Accent Adaptation: Shizuru lives in the Kyoto region, and speaks with a "Kyoto-ben" accent. The English dub gives her a slight Southern Belle accent.
• Adaptational Heroism: In the manga, never turns into a Psycho Lesbian.
• Adaptational Wimp: Is only a HiME in the anime. She's just an ordinary student in the manga.
• Anger Born of Worry: Is quite shocked when Natsuki returns to school, injured, after her first battle as a HiME, and suspecting that her motorcycle is to blame, threatens to hit her to keep her away from it.
• Asians Love Tea: Shizuru tries to present herself as a proper Kyoto lady, complete with Kyoto-ben dialect. Prior to the reveal of her as a HiME, she is almost never seen without a cup of tea in her hands, and is even shown performing a traditional tea ceremony for a group of investors in an early episode.
• Berserk Button: (anime) Insulting Natsuki is the only possible way to break her facade, if only for a split second.
• Beware the Nice Ones: Is typically kind and very polite, but is also one of the more powerful and dangerous HiMEs.
• Big Damn Heroes: Shows up on the scene just in time to stop Nao from gouging out Natsuki's eye, makes a Declaration of Protection, and the proceeds to hand Nao her ass with as much physical exertion as it takes to swat a fly.
• Big Damn Kiss: On the receiving end of one in Episode 25. So unexpected was the kiss, from Natsuki, it actually snaps Shizuru out of the "Psycho" part of her Psycho Lesbian phase, restoring her to sanity.
• Blaming the Victim: A rare case of the perpetrator defending their victim from this. Haruka declares Natsuki to be "filthy" for whatever it was that Yukino claims to have witnessed Shizuru doing to her in her sleep. Shizuru slaps Haruka for the statement, and declares, "What happened was something that I did to her. I will not allow you to insult Natsuki."
• Brilliant, but Lazy: Somewhat. It mixes with the aforementioned hands-off approach concerning the running the school, but there are instances (like in episode 10; she just sits back and drinks tea while her team bakes the cake) where it seems she would rather not do any actual work. She also tricked Haruka into taking on an additional workload during the lingerie burglar episode early on. It doesn't happen frequently though, and she does show some professionalism during the later episodes when the school is danger until she abandons her school duties entirely in order to take care of Natsuki.
• Covert Pervert: It's not apparent in the anime, but she surprisingly has shades of this, based on a few of the drama CD tracks in which she shows a rather...healthy appreciation for the female body. One Omake has Natsuki note that Shizuru will often fluster her by telling inappropriate jokes. We get a hint of it in an early episode, when Yuuichi and Reito walk in on her and Natsuki talking in the Student Council Room and they ask if they're interrupting anything, and Shizuru gleefully responds, "You sure are. And right at the juicy part." And in the episode dealing with the panty-stealing Orphan, she's shown blushing in her sleep while saying "ikezu/meanie".
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Got over 800 votes in her election as president, compared to Haruka's 12. She also defeats Yukino and Nao very easily as a HiME. And District One.
• The Defroster: Natsuki, by her own admission, was bitter, cynical, and distrustful of everyone around her...until Shizuru decided to bring her out of her shell.
  Natsuki: Shizuru smiled and told me that she liked me. She even suggested that we were friends...Friends. I'd lived alone since my mother died. I didn't trust anyone. Still, Shizuru, I may have acted nonchalantly when you told me that, but I was actually quite surprised. Your casual reply made me so...happy.
• Dissonant Serenity: (anime) She rarely loses her cool, even when majorly pissed off.
• Dude, She's Like in a Coma: (anime) Shizuru places a Sleeping Beauty-style kiss on Natsuki after she saves her from Nao. There is reason to believe it went further - Haruka and Yukino certainly think so - but there is debate on the subject.
• Dull Eyes of Unhappiness: During her Yandere phase in the anime.
• Easily Forgiven: Natsuki forgives Shizuru in the end. To be fair, she does cry and beg for forgiveness when she returns.
• Even the Girls Want Her: Early in the series, Shizuru is typically seen having a horde of girls following her around.
• Eye Twitch: After she takes out Haruka, she turns to face Natsuki, and her left eye visibly twitches as she promises to remove anything Natsuki doesn't like (in this case, District One).
• Face–Heel Turn: Again, of the Love Makes You Evil variety.
• First-Name Basis: At the start of the series, she's the only one daring enough to call Natsuki by her first name.
• The Gadfly: Teases Natsuki mercilessly. One Omake has Natsuki note that Shizuru will even make suggestive jokes at her expense to get a rise out of her.
• Gayngst: Not only does she angst a bit about Natsuki seemingly not returning her feelings, but she also feels them to be improper.
• The Glomp: On Natsuki, in the ending. "Natsuki's Prelude" and one of the Omake show that this was actually frequent behavior by Shizuru, and at least one piece of promotional art has her doing this to Mai!
• Glowing Eyes of Doom: During her first confrontation with Nao, she sports glowing yellow eyes just as Reito is telling Mai that to protect the one you love, one may be allowed to become a demon. She then slices the cliff, dropping Nao into the ocean.
• In-Series Nickname: Haruka calls Shizuru "the bubuzuke woman," using a term based off a mispronunciation of a word for tea and rice, as a reference to Shizuru's tea hobby. Technically - and ironically - it's not a mispronunciation (Haruka simply uses the word, not knowing what it means); it's actually a variant word used by those from the Kansai region.
• Kick The Son Of A Bitch: (anime) The First District was entirely evil, and Nao's treatment of Natsuki fell well into Disproportionate Retribution.
• Love Makes You Evil (anime): Has lingering issues over her belief that her love for Natsuki is wrong, and snaps when Natsuki rejects her.]]
• Lady of War: Her Element is a naginata spear, like those that the daughters of samurai were taught to use as self-defense.
• Last-Name Basis: With almost everyone except Natsuki.
• Mellow Fellow: Shizuru, is a very laid back person, but she also effectively runs the Student Council. She tends to trick Haruka into taking on larger workloads, but when Searrs invades the school, she performs her duties with quiet efficiency. She also enjoys tea, and is very skilled at the Nonchalant Dodge. Just don't threaten Natsuki's life or well-being. That will earn you her considerable wrath.
• My God, What Have I Done? (anime) She starts crying and apologizing to Natsuki after being resurrected.
• Naginatas Are Feminine: Fitting her Lady of War status, her Element in the anime (she doesn't fight in the manga) is a large naginata whose blade doubles as a Whip Sword.
• Nonchalant Dodge: In episode 10, "Cake Wars", Shizuru dodges the burst of boiling hot chocolate with a slight tilt of her head, then calmly sips her tea. It's a perfect illustration of her Brilliant, but Lazy personality, removing herself from harms way with minimal effort.
• One-Woman Army: Shizuru utterly slaughters District One. Mostly Off screen, though we get flashes of her, riding Kiyohime, standing over a pile of corpses of The Men in Black.
• O.O.C. Is Serious Business: In "Natsuki's Prelude", Shizuru loses her cool on precisely one occasion, and that's when she thinks Natsuki received her injuries from her motorcycle. She drops her usual teasing and tells Natsuki she'll strike her if she tries to ride it again. Natsuki has to sincerely convince her it wasn't the motorcycle to calm her down.
• Psycho Lesbian: (anime) As the HiME carnival goes into full swing, Shizuru starts becoming more openly obsessive towards Natsuki, and anyone trying to harm Natsuki will earn her violent wrath.
• Queer Establishing Moment: Shizuru gets outed as a lesbian when Yukino and Haruka spy on her planting a kiss on an unconscious Natsuki Kuga.
  • Even before that, there is a scene where she finds Natsuki sleeping at Shizuru's desk in the Student Council Room. Shizuru softly calls Natsuki's name, and when she doesn't respond, Shizuru gently runs her fingers through Natsuki's hair. By the time Natsuki wakes, though, Shizuru is standing by the window.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning: Partially subverted. Her eyes are naturally red, but she's a pretty nice girl to hang around. Except when she loses her mind.
• Romantic Ribbing: The first hint of Ship Tease we get of Shizuru and Natsuki, long before they're made official, is an early episode, when Yuuichi and Reito walk into the Student Council Room to find the girls there. Reito asks if they're interrupting anything, to which Shizuru cheerfully replies, "You sure are, and right at the juicy part," to Natsuki's immediate embarrassment. And that's not getting into the Audio Dramas like "Lingerie Rhapsody" and "Natsuki's Desperation".
• Sexy Silhouette: A rare example of Fan Disservice in this case, when combined with the above Dude, She's Like in a Coma moment. Although it happens only in Natsuki's imagination. Note how Natsuki's "flashbacks" about it have the same POV as scenes of her sleeping, but scenery and Natsuki's lying figure are mirrored. There has been much debate on what exactly happened in that scene.
• Shout-Out: Her CHILD is named Kiyohime, and Shizuru's final fight with Natsuki involves Natsuki encased inside a bell that Shizuru crushes as a reference to the original myth.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Surprisingly averted. While it's true that she's dedicated to Natsuki, one of the drama CDs has her feeling up Mai while "helping" her with a bra. That said, Natsuki is still clearly her favorite.
• Slow Walk: The old women of District One try to run from her, but their "run" isn't much faster than Shizuru's calm, unhurried walk as she approaches them with her naginata (which could easily take out her targets from that distance) and a serene smile on her face.
• Stepford Smiler: Shizuru is almost always smiling. Inside, however, she is a mess of Gayngst, longing for someone she believes will never return her affections, and also believing herself to be wicked for even feeling that way in the first place
• Student Council President: Formerly a Class Representative until, according to "Natsuki's Prelude," she ran with the intention of helping Natsuki get access to the school records.
• Sugar-and-Ice Personality: Shizuru is the rare type whose Sugar side is visible most often. But threaten to harm Natsuki, and she will murder you with calm, ruthless efficiency and a serene smile on her face.
• Tears of Remorse: (anime) After being resurrected.
• Then Let Me Be Evil: Subtle, and brief. She believes being a lesbian makes her "wicked." When she's forcibly outed to Natsuki, and witnesses Natsuki recoil in horror (Natsuki had just overheard Yukino accuse Shizuru of doing something to her in her sleep, and Shizuru hadn't denied it), Shizuru determines to defeat the other HiME, slaughter District One, and make Natsuki her own. Four episodes and a Big Damn Kiss (which Natsuki initiated) later, a speech from Natsuki about how she does love her, in her own way, a brief bout with death, and she's a weeping, repentant mess begging for Forgiveness (which she immediately recieves).
• Tomboy and Girly Girl: The Girly-Girl to Natsuki's Tomboy. Shizuru is into flower arrangement, tea ceremony, and delights in tea for stress relief. Natsuki rides a motorbike, hangs out at a seedy bar (meeting her informant) and seems to be quite incapable of cooking.
• Trademark Favorite Food: You can probably count on one hand the number of times you see Shizuru without a cup of green tea or asking for one.
• Violently Protective Girlfriend: Insult Natsuki, and she'd slap you silly. Ask Haruka. Threaten Natsuki's life? Sure, go ahead. That ended really well for District One and Nao.
• Walking Spoiler: Most discussion of her will mention her status as a HiME and as a Psycho Lesbian.
• Whip Sword: (anime) Her naginata's blade can break off into sections.
• You Are What You Hate: Shizuru appears to consider homosexuality to be "inappropriate love." Shizuru is homosexual. This leads to a lot of internal conflict that doesn't end well.

Shiho Munakata

Voiced by: Sakura Nogawa (JP), Leda Davies (EN)

CHILD: Yatagarasu

Element: flute

Second-year student with a crush on her "big brother" Yuuichi.
Anime: Shiho is a second-year middle-school Fuuka Academy student, and is normally a cheerful and outgoing Miko who works part-time at her grandpa's shrine. She is almost always seen in the company of Yuuichi, a boy who she grew up with for almost all her life. Though they're not related, she addresses him as "onii-chan" (translation: "Big Brother") and looks up to him, while being embarrassed to admit that she actually loves him until later. Shiho is really protective of Yuuichi's personal space, and gets mad whenever she suspects him of taking romantic interest in other girls (especially Mai). When he does, Shiho loses it and resolves to take Mai out of the picture so that she can make him hers forever. But since Anyone Can Die, she doesn't get to take her revenge, and the rules mean she ends up depriving herself of what she wants most.
It isn't until after the end of the Searrs arc that Shiho's HiME abilities manifest, in the form of a demonic crow named Yatagarasu (modeled after the three-legged crow of Shinto folklore, but Shiho's version only has one leg), which she controls with a flute, appearing as an astral-projected girl in a wedding dress.
Manga: Shiho is one of the PRINCESSes, HiMEs who can summon CHILDs without a 'Key' via earrings made out of fragments of the HiME Star. Her manga CHILD is a large octopus/plant hybrid that attacks with its tentacles and can spawn spores that allow it to manipulate the actions of someone is infests. The rest of her personality remains largely unchanged.

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• Anguished Declaration of Love: Episode 16. Too bad her crush was sleeping when she said it.
• Angst Coma: Passes out after her CHILD is destroyed, since she knows Yuuichi will die soon as a result.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: (manga) The power of her CHILD in the manga adaptation is to inflict this on other people. She herself gets it in the end as the eventual fate of everyone who uses the PRINCESS earrings.
• Clingy Jealous Girl: At first, as a Running Gag. But later...
• Death by Irony: (manga): She says she and the other Princesses are superior to the Himes because their abilities do not put the lives of their Keys on the line. As a result of this, Mai is able to attack her without holding back and destroys her CHILD easily. This is in stark contrast to the anime, where Mai could very likely have easily defeated her, but knew that doing so would cause Yuuichi's death.
• Establishing Character Moment: Refusing to let Yuuichi give Mikoto CPR because "(his) eyes look indecent".
• Expressive Hair: Her pigtails seem to react to her mood swings.
• First Girl Wins: Her mindset, revealed during her final fight against Mai.
  Shiho: "Onii-chan belongs to me! I fell in love with him first!"
• Flechette Storm: One of her CHILD’s abilities is to shoot a barrage of razor-sharp feathers.
• Heel Realization: Has a somewhat low-key one on the way to the final battle, asking "Is it ok for me to be here?", and Yukariko tells her that God will forgive her sins.
• Kick the Dog: She has a few moments, mainly directed against Mai.
  • Having Yuuichi kiss her while she knows Mai is watching; see Manipulative Bitch.
  • Killing Akira’s CHILD, and thus Takumi, out of jealousy toward Mai
• Manipulative Bitch: Has Yuuichi kiss her when, unbeknownst to him, Mai is able to see both of them, and falls further toward the Despair Event Horizon as a result.
• Murder the Hypotenuse: (anime) And it backfires, with Yuuichi sacrificing himself on Mai's behalf.
• Musical Assassin: Her Element is a flute, which is used more as a controlling tool than a melee weapon.
• New Transfer Student: (manga) Unlike in the anime, when she has been attending Fuuka Academy all along, she transfers in as part of the Searrs plan to take over the school.
• Third-Person Person: Mostly in the manga, but also in the anime (although the subs sometimes replace her referring to herself as "Shiho" with "I").
• Through His Stomach: In the Cooking Duel, after seeing that Yuuichi is one of the judges, she becomes especially determined to win. Unfortunately, she accidentally ruins her team's efforts by tripping and planting her face into the cake.
• Traitor Shot: (anime) After Yuuichi mentions that Takumi's room has been destroyed and he's missing, and mentions that "Tokiha must be really worried," the camera cuts to Shiho, who has an angry glare on her face, and she then goes out and kills Takumi by destroying Akira's CHILD.
• Walking Spoiler: It's obvious early on that she is quite possessive of Yuuichi, but she's only revealed as a Hime in the third to last episode.
• We Used to Be Friends: It's somewhat surprising in light of her status as a Clingy Jealous Girl, but she actually initially got along quite well with Mai, and in Yukariko's Lotus-Eater Machine, Mai fantasizes about Shiho's hopes to see Mai as an honorary sister-in-law. Unfortunately, Shiho blames Mai for Yuuichi falling for Mai instead of her.
• Yandere: Late in the anime, she gets really pissed off at Mai. Nagi easily uses this to manipulate Shiho and pit her against Mai. In the manga, she, through a combination of her own jealousy and the Princess Earrings' insanity, not only has Mikoto try to kill Mai, but also ties up Yuuichi and threatens to kill him if he gives unsatisfactory answers to her questions about how much he likes her.

Alyssa Searrs (anime) / Kuga (manga)

"If my father loves me, I can do anything."

Voiced by: Yuko Miyamura (JP), Wendy Morrison (EN)

CHILD: Artemis

Element: none (Miyu does most of the fighting on her behalf)

Anime: Alyssa is a member of Fuuka Academy's elementary school program, and an exchange student from the United States. She also sings among the school choir, and has been given the nickname of the "Golden Angel" by her protector and mother-figure, Miyu Greer, because of her vocal gift. On the surface, Alyssa appears shy and has trouble making friends with the other students, but this is really because she is the main source of the Orphans that the HiME are fighting against. She is able to do so by removing her hairpin and drawing from a sigil on the ground, but every monster she summons drains her energy.
In addition to the Orphans, Alyssa's main weapon is an orbital satellite called Artemis, which is capable of vaporizing a wide area with its laser beam. The satellite is destroyed by the HiME during their operation to regain control of the school from the Searrs army, and Alyssa is killed shortly thereafter by a disgruntled Joseph Greer, on orders of the Searrs higher-ups.
Manga: Alyssa is shown to be largely sympathetic and naive, tricked into helping Saeko unlock the gate to the HiME Star via fear of Parental Abandonment. As one of the PRINCESSes, her CHILD here is Issac, an orb-like creature with a turtle's head, which she can use to control the gravitational pull. She is at first established to desire Natsuki's affections very much, viewing her as a big sister, but after Natsuki turns on her mother, Alyssa quickly rushes to defend her.

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• Arc Villainess: She’s the antagonist of the first half of the anime, being the one who creates the Orphans.
• Artificial Human: Genetically engineered with the abilities of a HiME, but the capability of Orphan summoning.
• Daddy's Little Villain: Her Most Important Person in the anime (even more so than Miyu) is her father, and she is motivated by her love for him. In the manga, her desire for the love of her mother, Saeko drives her to do her bidding.
• Gravity Master: Her CHILD's abilities in the manga increase gravity to the point at which its victims cannot move or fight back.
• In-Series Nickname: The Golden Angel.
• Laser-Guided Tyke-Bomb: (anime) She was designed specifically as a fake HiME to subvert Fuuka Academy's authority and usher in a "Golden Age" for the Searrs foundation.
• Named After Somebody Famous: Isaac, her CHILD in the manga, is named after Isaac Newton.
• Phenotype Stereotype: Alyssa is American, has light blond hair and green eyes.
• Related in the Adaptation: In the manga, she's Natsuki's mother's adopted daughter.
• Spanner in the Works: There's only supposed to be 12 HiME, but she's the 13th. The way to the Obsidian Lord is opened when 11 HiME die or lose their CHILD, and her existence allows both Mai and Mikoto to survive to the final confrontation.
• Unexplained Recovery: Reappears in the ending with no explanation as to why she is there. It is assumed that she was resurrected with the others, but this is never shown.
• You Have Failed Me: Does this to Joseph Greer when taking over the operation, and gets this turned back on her when Greer is ordered to kill her after Artemis is destroyed.

Fuuka Academy High School students

Yuuichi Tate

Voiced by: Tomokazu Seki (JP), Jordan Schartner (EN)

A Fuuka academy student in the same class as Mai.
Anime: He is a reputed star kendo practitioner who gave up the sport out of depression after a knee injury, becoming a delinquent for quite a while. In his first appearance in the show, he tries to lend a hand during the chaos on the ferry to school, but gets ranted out and beaten up by both Mai (the girl whom he saved from the Natsuki/Mikoto confrontation) and Shiho (the girl whom he's known since his childhood, and who also helped him give up his delinquency) for assumed perverted behavior. Once he gets comfortable at school, he works alongside the Student Council, trying his hardest not to involve himself in the conflict with the HiME and the Orphans, but is forcibly dragged into it when things get crazy (Searrs' private army invades the school, and when Shiho starts attacking Mai out of jealousy).
Manga: In the manga, it is Yuuichi, not Mai, who is the New Transfer Student. Given the complete lack of The Masquerade in the manga, he is noticeably stunned to see Mai and Natsuki engage in battle with each other. Shortly afterwards, it is discovered that he is the 'Key' for both of the girls - someone whose close physical presence allows HiMEs to summon forth their CHILDs to be used in battle.
Yuuichi Tate also has a long scar down his right arm, which he received after saving Shiho from a band of would-be rapists. This injury prevents him from practicing kendo due to the strain it would place on his damaged arm, and later on in the manga it is almost constantly bandaged thanks to how often he gets himself in problematic situations. In the manga, his role has been greatly expanded, rendering him the de facto main character.

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• Accidental Pervert: Starts out this way, though he tries to get over it.
• Badass Normal: Anime: In the Grand Finale. Largely more prevalent throughout the manga version.
• Belligerent Sexual Tension: He and Mai cannot get along at all at first, partly due to the Accidental Pervert incidents.
• Cannot Spit It Out: (anime) His feelings for Mai, until the very end.
• Delinquents: Used to be one, until Shiho got him out.
• Did You Just Punch Out Cthulhu?: (manga) First, with Nagi, and then with the Obsidian Lord himself. Note that this is to be taken literally.
• The Dulcinea Effect: (manga) Immediately becomes Mai and Natsuki's Key despite having just met them. In the anime, the process of him becoming most important to Mai is more gradual, although it is implied to happen by the time Takumi has died, the switch in most important people possibly helped by a rift forming between Takumi and Mai over his desire to go receive treatement in America alone.
• First Guy Wins: Yes, technically he and Mikoto win. She was the first girl Mai met, and he was the first guy, and Mai says she loves them both.
• Friendship Moment: With Mai in Episode 5, when she breaks down after his teasing went wrong. While they did not get along at first, always getting into quarrels, their attitudes towards each other softened somewhat after the incident.
• Love Triangle: Mai, Natsuki, and Shiho compete over in him the manga. Mai and Shiho are both potential matches for him, and he and Reito both have feelings for Mai in the anime.
• New Transfer Student: (manga) Having been forced to leave his old high school after he gets the kendo team in trouble by protecting Shiho, he goes to Fuuka.
• Non-Action Guy: He knows his way with Kendo, but due to an injury and depression (and how the girls are that much more powerful than he is), he doesn't really get to use his skills.
• Spotlight-Stealing Squad: His manga incarnation is often accused of this, as he, rather than Mai, is the main character.
• That Man Is Dead: By way of Shut Up, Hannibal! to Reito/The Obsidian Lord, when reminded that by he'd given up everything for Shiho.
• Unwitting Instigator of Doom: His shouting out to Mai when on a "date" with Shiho at the festival turns Shiho against Mai. He later tells Shiho that Takumi is being attacked, resulting in her going out and destroying Akira's CHILD, killing Takumi. After he misses his planned meeting with Shiho to save Mai from Yukariko, this results in Shiho attacking Mai, a battle that ends with Shiho's defeat and Yuuichi's death.
• What the Hell, Hero?: (manga) Gets pressured into quitting his old school by the rest of his kendo team because his intervening to help Shiho resulted in them getting suspended from the tournament.

Reito Kanzaki

Voiced by: Toshihiko Seki (JP), Ethan Cole (EN)

Anime-only character. Reito is the vice-president of the student council and in the same class as Shizuru. Reito is a student-athlete who is as calm as they come, trying not to cause trouble for anyone. He takes an almost-immediate liking to Mai when she arrives on campus, and eventually asks her out on a date during the Tamayura festival episode. She is reluctant to get romantically involved with anybody, but he almost succeeds in kissing her, until Yuuichi walks in on them while out with his date Shiho and stops them. This puts a strain on their friendships, eventually bringing them all into a confrontation near the end of the series, especially since Reito and the Minagi clan are followers of the Obsidian Lord's legacy, and Reito is - unknowingly - his vessel.

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• Aloof Big Brother: Reito is Mikoto's older brother.
• Almost Kiss: With Mai, interrupted by Yuuichi.
• Bad Boss: Decides that District One has outlived their usefulness, and has Nagi sic Shizuru on them.
• Big Bad: Not entirely his fault, though. See Split-Personality Takeover.
• Custom Uniform: Wears a different uniform as a result of his position on the student council.
• Demonic Possession: Coupled with Enemy Within.
• Hair Color Spoiler: It's fairly easy to guess that he's Mikoto's brother due to them having identical hair colors. After his Demonic Possession, his eye color matches Mikoto's.
• Kick The Son Of A Bitch: He tells Nagi to inform a very pissed off Shizuru exactly where to find Natsuki's enemies, who are, in fact, his own loyal henchmen.
• Mellow Fellow: When not possessed by evil entities, he's quite relaxed, often joining Shizuru in a spot of tea, and speaking in a calm, even manner, to the point where a soft, "now, now" could almost be his catchphrase.
• More than Mind Control: It's implied that the Obsidian Prince's obsession with Mai and hatred of Tate comes from Reito's anger at Mai choosing Tate over him. It gets to the point where Nagi wonders whether Reito or the Prince is actually in charge.
• Raised as a Host: He's actually Reito Minagi by birth, and has been prepped to become the Obsidian Lord's new body, with the implication that the Minagi family has done this for previous Carnivals.
• Split-Personality Takeover: Around the last five episodes or so, Reito stops being himself, and the Obsidian Lord's soul does the talking for him. He still sounds the same, but speaks more forcefully when the other personality starts talking.

Haruka Suzushiro

Voiced by: Ryōka Yuzuki (JP), Lori Barnes-Smith (EN)

Anime: Haruka is the president of Fuuka Academy's executive committee, which is responsible for enforcing the rules and making sure people behave themselves. This is a perfect fit for Haruka, who has very little tolerance for moral indecency and is very passionate about her job. This often puts her at odds with Shizuru and Reito of the Student Council, who prefer to do their jobs without yelling and screaming. While not as popular as Shizuru, she still commands a great deal of respect, and has a legion of students to help her do her bidding when things get rough. Her foil is her best friend Yukino, who likes to correct her occasional malapropisms.
Manga: Haruka is also a HiME, and wields a giant mace/morningstar as a weapon, although her primary method of attack seems to be firing off gigantic beams of light from the weapon. This trend continues on with her CHILD, Komokuten, a giant lantern-fish which shoots rays from the lightbulb on its head. Her key is Yukino, who is a HiME in her own right, and the two work well together, with Yukino using her CHILD to redirect Haruka's wild attacks to actually aim in the general direction of the enemy.

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• A Glass in the Hand: (manga) She breaks a phone receiver when Shizuru tells her over the phone that Mai won against Nao.
• Adaptational Badass: Is a HiME in the manga.
• Adaptational Villainy: Is an antagonist early on in the manga.
• Badass Normal: She's not a HiME (in the anime version), but once stood up to a group of fully-armed soldiers without flinching, including a tank! This is more fully confirmed by a later incident. It is pretty clear that the death of a HiME's most important person is 'not' painless. Even tough guy Yuuichi collapses in helpless agony. But Haruka stays standing, walks through the pain, and delivers a final blow to her killer and a last smile to Yukino.
• Blaming the Victim: Even though she clearly heard Yukino state that Shizuru did something to Natsuki in her sleep, Haruka declares to Shizuru, "You're filthy. Both you AND Natsuki Kuga." Shizuru slaps her for it.
• Boisterous Weakling: A sympathetic version of this, sort of. Even if she has guts, she stands up very loudly against enemies she can do nothing against, and never wins in the end.
• Butt-Monkey: Especially in the manga - she's always the one subject to panty flashes, and her reasoning for finally escaping St. Vlas was the simple fact that she knew she could never have such a happy life.
• Combination Attack: (manga) Komokuten can fuse with Miroir to form an entirely new CHILD, whose attack (Genocide Sunshine) is powerful enough to vaporize a mountain.
• Custom Uniform: Wears a differently colored uniform due to being on the Student Council. When she wears her uniform with the vest, her shirt has short sleeves.
• Defiant to the End: When she is disintegrating after the death of Yukino's Child, she fights through the pain and walks forward to headbutt her killer.
• Determinator: Even when she's dying, she doesn't stop fighting and doing what she believes is right.
• Establishing Character Moment: (anime) Calling Mai in to yell at her about the property damage caused by her arrival at the school.
• Forehead of Doom: In the manga, this is a bit of a sensitive spot for her. Yuuichi nicknames her "Debochin", or "Forehead".
• Hair-Trigger Temper: Anything from frequent rule breaking to comments about the size of her forehead to insulting Yukino can get her riled up.
• Harmless Freezing: (manga) She’s frozen in a block of ice at the end of her fight with Natsuki and Mai, and merely has a cold after being thawed out.
• Hot-Blooded: There is no challenge that Hara won't tackle, and is often shown with literal fire in her eyes. She even goes so far as to kick a tank in her outrage.
• Joke Character: In Fuuka Taisen, she's the only one without any powers. Her special move is forcing a character to dress up in cosplay, and breaking down laughing.
• Large Ham: Anything Haruka says, she says loudly and proudly, usually with a bombastic declaration of how she will defeat Shizuru.
• Light 'em Up: In the manga, her Element and CHILD can use laser beams.
• Malaproper: Haruka has a tendency to use the wrong word or phrase, frequently prompting Yukino to correct her. She even goes so far as to put the wrong kanji on a sign in The Finale.
• Moral Myopia: (manga) Objects to the Orphan Resistance Unit's methods because they destroy property, but resorts to several underhanded and illegal tactics of her own, culminating in her charging up an attack that threatens the audience at the end of her fight against Mai's team.
• Noble Bigot: Diligent, hard working. Has a sense of morals and Justice. Hates dirty tricks. Thinks lesbianism is wrong. The target of her rant, ironically enough, agrees.
• Nouveau Riche: According to Yukino, the Suzushiro family was not always wealthy, and became so at one point when she and Haruka were growing up.
• Plucky Girl: (anime) She refuses to accept any kind of losses even when faced with her own inminent death.
• Serious Business: (manga) If her Lotus-Eater Machine experience in the manga is any indication, Haruka considers 'student council president' to be a position roughly equal in importance to 'emperor of the world', and pursues that position with borderline-psychotic enthusiasm.
• Starter Villain: (manga) Her initial goal is to disband the Orphan Resistance unit and get its members expelled.
• Too Dumb to Live: Even when faced with Shizuru's Element, the thought of running away or even not provoking her further doesn't occur to her. Not that it would have helped her at all, since Shizuru already was deadset on killing Diana, and thus Haruka, anyway.
• Transparent Closet: Not apparent in the anime, but in her Lotus-Eater Machine dream in the manga, Haruka has a lot of naked women surrounding her. The wording of her speech to Shizuru doesn't help her case, either. It's also telling that Yukino does not get this treatment in said sequence.
• Unknown Rival: To Shizuru. In the anime, Yukino tells Shizuru that Haruka knew she couldn't defeat her, but hoped she would be acknowledged.
• Use Your Head: She does this against Shizuru in episode 23 just before she dies. This is also her main form of attack in the video games.
• Villainous Breakdown: (manga) After her approval plummets when her methods are exposed.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Haruka gives Shizuru an earful after she essentially abandons the Student Council to stay with Natsuki. Shizuru retaliates by attacking Yukino, and Haruka dies, but not before she delivers a parting shot in the form of a fierce headbutt.
• Well-Intentioned Extremist: (manga) Haruka is understandably dismayed that the Anti-Orphan squad's lack of teamwork leads to the destruction and damage of several buildings. Her 'solution' is to form a counterpart rival squad, and to disable the members of the original squad by way of methods such as stealing their Elements, luring their 'Keys' away (as she does with Yuuichi), or outright kidnapping.
• You Need to Get Laid: The opinion of the student body when she's going off on her rants trying to investigate the situation.

Chie Harada and Aoi Senou

Chie (left) and Aoi (right)

Voiced by: Mitsuki Saiga (Chie) and Ryōko Shintani (Aoi) (JP), Hazel Forman (Chie) and Jayna Mitchell (Aoi) (EN)

Chie and Aoi are close friends of Mai, and are rarely ever seen apart. They have a very small role in the actual plot, but occasionally show up during the less action-oriented episodes to provide moral support to the heroine. Aoi is also Nao's roommate.

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• Heterosexual Life-Partners: Though this hasn't deterred many from shipping them together.
• Inelegant Blubbering: Aoi's crying is supposedly dreadful to hear, and her threatening to start crying manages to get Nao and Natsuki to temporarily put aside their differences.

Masashi Takeda

Voiced by: Yuji Ueda (JP), Scott Roberts (EN)

The captain of Fuuka Academy's kendo club. Takeda has tried to get Yuuichi to rejoin the club, but to no avail. His attempts to get close to his crush Natsuki are also often met with failure, mainly due to her lack of general interest.

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• Accidental Pervert: He can't catch a break. In episode 4, a gust of wind gives him an eyeful as Natsuki was Going Commando when her panties were stolen. Later in the sae episode, an Orphan drops off a pair of stolen panties on his head just in time for the Executive Committee to find him and blame him for the Panty Thief incidents. And in episode 9. he's meditating on a rock on the beach when Natsuki comes along, trying to change into her bikini from her riding suit, only for the two of them to spot each other. And then he falls on top of her, and Mai spots them and thinks they were making out. Natsuki was not amused.
• Failure Is the Only Option: His attempts to woo Natsuki are generally met with forceful rejection.
• Kendo Team Captain: He is, well, the captain of the school's kendo team. Besides pursuing Natsuki, most of his appearances involve trying to convince Yuuichi to rejoin the team.
• Single-Target Sexuality: Does not appear to have much interest in anyone except Natsuki. When he goes to see Shizuru to tell her he would like an answer from Yuuichi soon, Shizuru assumes he's come to ask about Natsuki.

Fuuka Academy Junior High students

Takumi Tokiha

Voiced by: Yugo Takahashi (JP), Cole Howard (EN)

Mai's younger brother, and a second-year middle schooler at Fuuka Academy.
Anime: He has a history of heart problems, so he often has to take a lot of medicine to stay healthy. He is very fond of his older sister Mai, who watches after him and makes sure he doesn't do anything dangerous. Later on, he makes a vow to himself to become more independent.
Takumi has a few friends at the school, but the one closest to him is his roommate Akira Okuzaki, a tomboyish Ninja who disguises herself as a male so that she can disguise her status as a HiME. He eventually finds out about Akira's true gender, but has no problem with it either way and even falls for her.
Manga: Takumi's condition is so debilitating that he remains in strict bedrest for over 90% of the series. Otherwise, the same tropes concerning Mai doting over him largely applies. After the HiME Star descends, it is revealed that he's the Obsidian Lord, the main villain of the series.

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• He Knows Too Much: Averted. Akira lets him live, but makes him promise not to tell anyone about her being a girl.
• If I Do Not Return: In Special 20, he writes a letter to Mai telling her his feelings in case he dies. He dies in the corresponding anime episode.
• Intimate Healing: Akira gives this to him, when he starts coughing up so much that he can't swallow his medicine properly.
• KidAnova: (manga) After his reveal as the Obsidian Lord, he's seen sitting in a pool being tended to by a pair of very well built females.
• Woobie, Destroyer of Worlds: With shades of Freudian Excuse (manga). His justification for his actions as host of the Obsidian Lord was that a world that has brought him absolutely nothing but suffering wasn't worth preserving. Considering he was a corpse when Obsidian Lord assimilated him, it's not like he had much of a choice in the matter.

The First District

Mashiro Kazahana

Voiced by: Yukana (JP), Katie Rowan (EN)

Mashiro is the headmaster of Fuuka Academy, and is responsible for uniting the HiME together to defend the school against the Orphans.
Anime: At first glance, Mashiro looks far too young to be in charge of a private school, but there are hints that she may actually be much older than that. She does not actually perform any administrative functions, instead leaving the school in the capable hands of the Absurdly Powerful Student Council and the disciplinary committee. She is most often seen with Fumi Himeno, who acts as her caretaker/secretary/bodyguard.
Manga: In the manga, she is indeed as old as she looks, reacting the way a typical 6th grader would when being told that it is time for homework or remedial lessons. However, she is apparently the 1024th head of the Kazahana household, responsible for halting or delaying the arrival of the HiME Star in order to prevent the arrival of the Obsidian Lord. She is also a HiME, with her Element, 'Golden Time', being a giant stopwatch. Her 'Key' is Fumi, with which she can summon a set of white rabbits named, well, White Rabbits. It should be noted that though Fumi is a HiME too (she is seen wielding an scythe as an Element), Mashiro is apparently not her 'Key'.

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• Bunny-Ears Lawyer: Only in the manga, where she really is just a little girl, complete with an early bedtime and loathing of homework... and she still manages to be very competent at her duties.
• Evil Cripple: Falls more into morally ambiguous throughout much of the series, given that she actively manipulates the HiME and has certain Creepy Child tendencies, though by the end of the series she's fully on the side of the good and provides a convenient Deus ex Machina to the heroes.
• Gambit Roulette: Her plan to destroy the HiME Star once and for all could be considered this since it involves allowing the fighting to continue, and then finding someone (Miyu) capable of breaking the seal on the graves of the HiMEs' loved ones after a "winner" has been decided, and finally sacrificing herself to the Obsidian Lord, using the rest of her powers to revive the dead Most Important People and allow the fallen HiME to join the last battle.
• Improbable Age: An 11-year-old principal of a school? Really? Not exactly. Midori finds out that Mashiro actually died about 300 years ago; her current body is actually Fumi's CHILD, which Mashiro is somehow occupying. Her real body is encased in a crystal under the school. Played straight in the manga, though.
• Let's Get Dangerous!: In the manga, after being freed from Alyssa's CHILD, she proceeds to disable her without giving Alyssa the chance to retaliate at all.
• Obfuscating Disability: Being Fumi's CHILD Suishouhime, Mashiro is able to stand up in her wheelchair when confronted by the Obsidian Lord and transform into Fumi's CHILD to fight.
• Older Than She Looks: She's not 11, but over 300 years old.
• Time Stands Still: (manga) Mashiro's Element can manipulate the flow of time.

Nagi Homura

Voiced by: Akira Ishida (JP), Graham Ko (EN)

Anime: Nagi is a mysterious boy who hangs around Fuuka Academy and spends the majority of his time perching himself in dangerously high places. He appears to have a great interest in the conflict between the HiME and the Orphans. Most of the time, he doesn't directly get involved with them, instead directing the HiME to trouble spots and allowing them to do his dirty work for him. Another clue that he isn't exactly one of the "normal guys": he hangs out a lot with Mashiro and Fumi. Then, of course, there's that whole matter with the HiME Carnival, where the girls are forced to fight each other until only one of them is left standing. Yup... he organized that, too, although he did so by order of Reito/the Obsidian Lord.
Manga: In the manga, Nagi is portrayed as being far more malevolent, and is established early on as being the source of the Orphans, with the stated goal of finding one strong enough to become the last of the Three Greatest Young Beauties of the Universe.

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• Actor Allusion: Nagi's off-key karaoke scene is a reference to Akira Ishida's reputation as a bad singer among fans (to the point that he no longer wanted to do image songs). It's surprising that he's okay being mocked here.
• Armor-Piercing Question: (manga) Asking Yuuichi about Mai kissing him, which causes Natsuki to dismiss her Key under the strain. He takes the opportunity to escape but Miyu intercepts and beheads him.
• Blatant Lies: Nagi tends to use Exact Words and omissions to avoid telling the whole truth. But there was exactly ONE occasion where he resorted to Blatant Lies. In episode 4, after Natsuki's embarrassing Going Commando moment, she seeks out Nagi to ask him for info about Orphans. He makes the mistake of asking her if she caught a draft on her "cute little bum", at which point, she shoots him point blank with an ice bullet. At this point, dangling over a rail, he quickly says that he was just talking and doesn't know what happened to her. She clearly wasn't buying it, though.
• Bloody Murder: (manga) He's shown to create Orphans by tearing open his own skin and letting them spawn from his blood.
• Colour Coded Time Stop: Nagi might seem to be without vast power of his own, but when he needs to chat with Alyssa and Miyu during the takeover of Fuka, he shows himself to be capable of stopping time for a brief chat before he somehow teleports away.
• Dramatic High Perching: Just about every scene he's in shows him sitting on or hanging from a tree branch, a big rock, or some other kind of tall structure.
• The Dreaded: Early in the anime, he tells the HiME not to fight one another, and when Nao objects, he threatens to punish her, to which she immediately backs down. In "Natsuki's Prelude" his presence causes Sakomizu to be paralyzed with fear. About the only person who doesn't fear him in some way is Natsuki, whose reaction to him varies from mild annoyance to open hostility.
• Enigmatic Minion: It's not really clear to what extent he's complicit in Mashiro's plans, or views them as separate from/mutually exclusive to his ostensible master the Obsidian Lord's.
• Exact Words: Anything Nagi tells the girls will be the truth, with the caveat that he's omitting key details. "You'll have to risk what's most precious to you." He never said it was their own lives. "You only have to defeat each other's CHILD." They only learn of the consequences when Natsuki talks to Akane and calls him on it. If Nagi tells you something, it's true, but it's not everything you need to know.
• The Heavy: He's often the main antagonistic force through most of the series.
• In Love with Your Carnage: He's clearly impressed with Shizuru's utter destruction of District One.
• Karma Houdini: Nothing happens to him in the end, although he's a bit upset that his plan was thwarted.
• The Klutz: For a Manipulative Bastard Dragon, Nagi has quite a few clumsy moments, such as falling off the dome of the front building to Fuka Academy in episode 1, or falling over the library railing when Natsuki shot at him, to falling out of a tree in Episode 10.
• Lovable Traitor: Nagi can control Orphans, too, and is one of the main servants of the Obsidian Lord.
• Lying by Omission: This is Nagi's entire M.O. He will tell the girls something important, but he will omit key details. He tells each of them that if they choose to fight, they'll have to risk what is most precious to them. By which he means the person they love most in the world. In another episode he tells them HiME aren't allowed to fight each other. Yet. Doing so would reveal the first half truth before his master, the Obsidian Prince, awakes. Essentially, if Nagi says something, it's true, but not the whole truth.
• Manipulative Bastard: (anime) He's often capable of getting people to go places they don't want to go...and they do it anyway.
• Mischief Face: Smug Snake Nagi Homura, who serves as The Dragon. Nagi has the power to control Orphans, often has a sly, smug expession on his face, and has been known to do things either For the Lulz or For the Evulz. In episode 4, for example, an Orphan decides to go Panty Thief and ends up stealing Natsuki's panties, forcing her into a Going Commando situation. When she confronts Nagi about it, having long suspected that he controls the Orphans, he grins mischievously and asks her if she caught a draft on her "cute little bum". She snaps him out of his mischief making by shooting him point blank and leaving him dangling over the rail. In another episode he'd send an Orphan out to steal the cake Mai was baking as part of a make-up lesson, expressly for the purpose of stirring up mischief.
• Off with His Head!: (manga) Beheaded by Miyu)
• Villains Out Shopping: When not scheming, he loves to read or watch the landscape.

Kaiji Sakomizu

Voiced by: Akio Suyama (JP), Randall Weibe (EN)

Anime-only character. Sakomizu is a First District insider, which he covers up with his side job as the school's caretaker. He is often seen associating with Natsuki.

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• The Atoner: "Natsuki's Prelude" reveals he used to work with Dr. Kuga, and would play with Natsuki and Duran (the original dog, not her CHILD), while they waited for Dr. Kuga to finish her work. He was supposedly involved in her fatal accident. Now, he watches over Natsuki and provides her information, putting him in this role.
• Paper-Thin Disguise: While rescuing Natsuki, Mai and Mikoto from the guards, he wears a mask over his face, which doubles as a gas mask. Mai and Mikoto recognize him because of his afro.
• Punch-Clock Villain: He's a pretty nice guy and cares for Natsuki a lot, but he works for the First District.
• Scary Shiny Glasses: Played for Laughs in the ending, while telling Natsuki to make up the classes she missed.

Wataru Ishigami

Voiced by: Shin-ichiro Miki (JP), Noel Johannsen (EN)

Anime-only character. Ishigami is the school's art teacher. During school hours, he tends to act awkward and goofy, but becomes much less so later in the series. He develops a crush on Yukariko, whom he uses to get at the other HiMEs so that she can "win" the Carnival.

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• Beware the Silly Ones: Upon his first appearance, he's seen cheerfully prancing around and asking the new students to pose for him. You would not think that this seemingly dorky dude would be quite the asshole in the end.
• Manipulative Bastard: Once the HiME Carnival begins, he takes advantage of Yukariko's feelings for him to get her to lie to the others about Nao attacking her, which leads to the first fight between the HiMEs. He also is the one who attempts to blackmail Yukino into attacking Mai by threatening Haruka.
• The Starscream: He is betraying the rest of the First District so he can get the power of the HiME Star for himself.

Satsuki/Saeko Kuga

Voiced by: Miki Nagasawa (JP), (?) (EN)

Natsuki's mother, and the reason for her setting out on her journey.
Anime: She was a scientist for the First District. When attempting to escape from the lab with her young daughter Natsuki, she died in an automobile accident, which Natsuki blames on the District goons. According to a Searrs agent, she actually wanted to hand/sell her daughter to the villains, and learning about it sent Natsuki in an Heroic BSoD that left her unable to summon her CHILD for a while.
Manga: Natsuki's mother is believed to have been killed by another HiME, which has led Natsuki to Fuuka Academy in hopes of finding her murderer. However, it turns out that not only is Saeko alive, but is also working for Searrs (and is the primary villain of Volume 4). After enacting a hostile takeover of Fuuka, she enlists the help of her "other daughters" Alyssa and Miyu to assist her in unlocking the power of the HiME Star, while members of the "Searrs Institute for Girls" subdue the real HiMEs using the power of her specially-crafted PRINCESS earrings (allowing them to use more powerful CHILDs.

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• Arc Villainess: The antagonist of Volume 4 in the manga.
• Broken Pedestal: (anime) According to a Searrs agent, she was planning on selling Natsuki to the Searrs Foundation. (manga)She works with the First District, and regards Natsuki as an inferior product until she’s defeated.
• Death by Origin Story (anime) She's long dead by the time the story begins, and our first sight of her is in a flashback that shows her death.
• Killed Mid-Sentence: (anime) She's trying to tell Natsuki that she needs to get her to safety, when she spots the ambush, overcorrects the car, and plunges off the road to her death.
• The Nicknamer: Often refers to Natsuki as her "princess," significant because of Natsuki's Meaningful Name and her status as a HiME.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: (manga) Tells Natsuki that Yuuichi is only helping her out of pity now that he has kissed Mai.
• Strong Family Resemblance: She's slightly rounder in the face than Natsuki, and she wears glasses, but you'd know just from looking that they're mother and daughter.

The Obsidian Lord

A mysterious entity from beyond the stars, which serves as the overarching main villain of both continuities.

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• Big Bad: He’s the Head of the First District and behind everything that happens in the series.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Kagutsuchi one-shots him in the final battle.
• Demonic Possession: Subjects this to Reito (anime)/Takumi (manga) to get closer to Mai.
• Eldritch Abomination: It’s a giant eye thing with the power to control a star.
• Giant Space Flea from Nowhere: He more or less shows up out of nowhere in the anime with almost no foreshadowing as to his existence.
• Killed Off for Real: At the end.
• Manipulative Bastard: As Reito (anime)/Takumi (manga), he’s able to manipulate Mai into doing what he wants, and turn her against her friends.
• Utopia Justifies the Means: Wants to make Japan the ruling power of the world.

Searrs Foundation

Miyu Greer

”That fleeting smile… that pure singing voice...I want to protect her. That is what I wish. Miss Alyssa, my golden angel...”

Voiced by: Kiyomi Asai (JP), Maizun Jayoussi (EN)

Anime: Miyu is the adoptive daughter and creation of head priest Joseph Greer, and is in the same grade and class as Mai. She mostly keeps to herself, but has a kind rapport with Alyssa Searrs, whom she has sworn to protect at all costs. Miyu eventually reveals herself as an android/robot agent of Searrs when she attacks Akane Higurashi at the Founders' Festival and destroys her CHILD, and in turn killing off Akane's boyfriend, Kazuya Kurauchi. When they are defeated, Joseph kills Alyssa, causing Miyu to fly into a rage and kill him in retaliation, and then bury herself and Alyssa in a lake where no one would think to find them. Towards the end of the series, Miyu is rebooted by Midori in order to help them subvert the Obsidian Lord's plan to destroy the world.
Manga: Miyu was created for the dual purpose of unlocking the gate to the HiME Star, since the energy field in the area nulls all HiME powers, and the defeat of the Three Greatest Young Beauties. She is extremely protective of Alyssa, and has a tendency to goes into a berserker rage if anyone (mostly Natsuki) treats the young girl harshly.
Miyu has an arsenal of built-in weapons at her disposal, including a sword arm and a gun-arm. She and the HiME battle a few times during the middle of the series, but it is ultimately the HiME that come out on top.

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• Arm Cannon: Scarlet Mode transforms her left arm into a Gatling Gun, which she uses against Mikoto.
• Artificial Family Member: Miyu refers to her creator, Joseph Greer, as "father." Not that this saves him when he shoots Alyssa.
• Berserk Button: Do not touch Alyssa. Ever.
• Fun with Acronyms: Her first name stands for Multiple Intelligencial Yggdrasil Unit.
• Older Sidekick: To Alyssa, though only in appearance: Miyu, being a robot created specifically to protect Alyssa, is technically younger.
• Power Nullifier: She can temporarily neutralize a HiME's powers with her arm-sword.
• Rei Ayanami Expy: With the main difference being that she's a literal robot rather than robotic-acting.
• Spanner in the Works: Searrs losing track of her allowed the defeat of the Obsidian Lord.
• The Worf Effect: in the manga. After proving herself capable of fighting Mai and Nao on equal footing, she gets utterly owned by Great Cosmo Beauty Marie Antoniette.
• Wounded Gazelle Gambit: Pretends to be helpless and fleeing an orphan so that Akane will use her powers to defeat it.

Joseph Greer

Voiced by: Kinryū Arimoto (JP), Paul Cowling (EN)

An anime-only character. Joseph Greer is the father of Miyu and also her creator, as he is an agent the Searrs foundation planted at the school.

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• The Evil Genius: For Searrs. The "genius" part comes because he designed/built Miyu, a robot with the ability to destroy CHILDs.
• Too Dumb to Live: Jo-Jo thinks it's just a great idea to shoot Alyssa when her hyper-protective super-robot bodyguard is standing ten feet away, then stays to gloat about it afterwards rather than running for his life from the homicidal android with the sword for an arm.
• You Have Failed Me: After a few failures on his part, Alyssa takes over. He later gets the job of executing Alyssa for her failure.

Other characters

Yamada

Voiced by: Hisanori Koyatsu (JP), Victor Atelevich (EN)

An information seller who takes contracts from Natsuki.

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• Catchphrase: "It's a special service," or other variations thereof.
• Information Broker: He looks into matters and gives Natsuki information regarding the First District and the Searrs Foundation for a fee. His looking into the bank account number Natsuki finds in her mother's old office reveals the Searrs Foundation's involvement.
• Mukokuseki: Subverted. Natsuki finds it suspicious that he "didn't even look Japanese at all."
• No Name Given: "Natsuki's prelude" suggests that Yamada isn't his real name.

Manga-only characters

The Great Cosmo Beauties

Two manga-exclusive characters, the Great Cosmo Beauties are two extremely buxom and powerful HiME who serve the Obsidian Lord and aid him in creating a new world for him to rule. Of the two, Marie Antoniette is the quieter and more dignified, while Yang Gui-Fei is more of a happy-go-lucky type. Both, however, are unconditionally loyal to their master, despite having an unspoken rivalry for his attention.

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• Cats Are Mean: Not just Gui-Fei, her CHILD Maokyu is a large, disembodied cat head.
• Green Thumb: Marie's CHILD, Fleur, has the power to attack with vines and petals.
• Healing Factor: Fleur again, which has almost limitless regenerative abilities. It took a near Heroic Sacrifice from Haruka, Yukino and Midori to destroy it and kill Marie.
• Hero Killer: To put things in perspective, Marie took down Miyu with insulting ease!
• Verbal Tic: Gui-Fei ends all her sentences with "-nya!"
• Villainous Breakdown: Towards the end of the manga, Gui-Fei freezes in panic when Mikoto, Akira and Nao start getting the upper hand on her.
• You Have Outlived Your Usefulness: Gui-Fei meets her end this way. Marie doesn't, since she was already dead at the time.

Three Scale Sisters

Members of the Ori-Hime Unit, they work under Haruka in an attempt to replace the Orphan Resistance by any means necessary.

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• I Have Your Wife: Takes Kazuya hostage to force Akane to surrender.
• Smug Snake: Overconfident to the point where they don’t consider Akane’s CHILD any threat to them. They are gravely mistaken.

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