Characters / Perfection Is Overrated

A list of characters in Perfection Is Overrated, both original and canon.

SUEs and other original characters

Tropes common to the SUEs

• Always Female: Like the Himes, with the exception of the shape-shifting Makoto.
• Conflict Killer: The presence of an additional enemy forces the Himes to put aside their differences, especially since one is mistaken for attacking Yukariko.
• Dysfunction Junction: While the Himes have their share of emotional baggage and conflicting personalities, the SUEs are even worse, to the point of being completely unable to work together.
• Enemy Civil War: In A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause.
• Even Evil Has Standards/Pragmatic Villainy: None of the SUEs would be willing to tolerate Hitomi, partly because of how terrible her actions are, and partly out of a sense of self-preservation.
• Even Evil Has Loved Ones: To varying degrees. All of them, except Hitomi, have someone they care about, but this can be completely superficial.
• Evil Counterpart: Their abilities work almost exactly like those of the Himes in that killing one of their Childs results in them losing their powers and their most important person. Which in Hitomi's case means herself.
• Fun with Acronyms: Their full name is the Superpowered Unbalancing Entities.
• Invincible Incompetent: The SUEs are essentially this without the invincibility.
• It's All About Me: Being used to getting their way has caused them to fall into this, some more than others.
• Logical Weakness: Common.
  • Mariko's powers force everyone to consider her the most important person in their lives. The way Himes' powers work mean that if their Child is destroyed, the most important person in their lives dies. This makes her very vulnerable, as the defeat of any Hime who knew her would mean her death.
  • Hitomi is a completely self-centered sociopath. Since she values no one higher than herself and her powers work like the Himes, she dies when her Child is destroyed.
  • Shizune can reduce the effectiveness of Hime powers and De-power one person at a time. This makes her an incredibly effective fighter, since small groups would be crippled by her Silencing Sigil and large groups by her Silencing Aura. Problem is, her power focuses only on countering the magical powers of others. Entirely mundane dangers, like Natsuki with a handgun, are entirely unaffected.
  • Bachiko can change people's personalities. However, she's rather reckless and has no way to know how these changes will affect events, so she shoots herself in the foot with it several times.
• Moral Myopia: At best.
• Outside-Context Problem
• Parody Sue: Of varying kinds.
• Personality Powers: Their powers are derived in part from the kind of character they are, and in part from the effect they have on the setting. They're each based on a different type of Mary Sue, and their powers come from effects Mary Sues have on everything around them.
  • Mariko has the ability to make people love her and listen to her, because people always love Mary Sues and give them more influence than they really deserve. Her child also has the ability to revive her if she is mourned while dying, as a play off of how Mary Sues come back to life because of love.
  • Hitom has the ability to mind control people, like how Sues tend to make the characters around them act in ways contrary to their real character to serve the Sue.
  • Toki can reset time and tries to change the past, like how Sues change canonical events to better fit their version of reality. In other words, her super power is, In-Universe, the Fan Retcon.
  • Shizune is a Fundamentalist Sue, and her ability is to make others' powers weaker, referring to how Sues commonly make other characters weaker than their canon selves to make themselves look better.
  • Sekai has the ability to copy others' powers, referencing how Sues commonly copy their abilities from one or more canon characters.
  • Bachiko rewrites people's personalities to make things go the way she wants them to, like how Sues change people's personalities to enable the story. Her super-power is basically Draco in Leather Pants and Ron the Death Eater.
  • Meiko can rewrite peoples' memories to insert herself (and Bachiko) into people's lives, like how Sues often make themselves related to canon characters.
  • Makoto is a Copy Cat Sue with shapeshifting abilities, much like how such Sues mimic canon characters.
  • Suzuka is another Copy Cat Sue, and she has the powers of a canon character.
  • The Usurper is a Possession Sue, and he has the ability to possess people, much like how such Sues take over canon characters for their own ends.
• Protagonist-Centered Morality: Discussed with regards to the SUEs; their actions would be indefensible under most circumstances, but are meant to represent actions that "heroic" Mary Sues often take, which their authors expect us to believe are justified.
• The Unfettered: For the most part, they're willing to go to whatever lengths are necessary to achieve their goals.
• Unwitting Pawn: All of them are being used by the Usurper, who planned to use the winner as his body and reshape the world as he sees fit.
• We ARE Struggling Together: According to Word of God, any attempt to force them to fight as a team would fail because of their conflicting goals, selfish personalities and belief that they don't need anyone else to achieve their goals. In "A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause," when forced to work together, they all end up killing each other without even encountering any of the Himes.

Mariko Suou

"After Mother and Father died, life was often difficult, even with the wealth they left behind. I had to try hard to get by after that, and if I have many things, it's because I earned them!"

An extremely popular girl in Mai’s class, who becomes universally beloved among the Fuuka Academy community. As a result, she dies when Akane’s Child is destroyed.

Her Element induces people to consider her most important in their lives. Her Child, Baldur, can revive her if people mourn her as she is dying.

• The Ace: Has exemplary skill in academics and athletics.
• Anti-Villain: Type IV. She doesn’t actually try to harm others.
• Armor-Piercing Question: Two in A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause.
  • Attempted on Meiko, but The Usurper responds with his own Armor-Piercing Question.
  Mariko: "But what makes you think that you're much better than they are to make that decision? And if they make mistakes, shouldn't they at least be their mistakes, and shouldn't they earn the negative and positive consequences of their actions?"
  • She does this more successfully, albeit with the help of her powers, once the SUEs set out.
  Mariko: "The question we should be asking ourselves, more than how we plan to go about doing this, is should we be trying this?"
  Shizune: "What do you mean, Suou-san?"
  Mariko: "In order to win, we must potentially sacrifice 10 more innocent victims, while potentially giving up our own lives, as well as the lives of those we cherish the most. And for what? Do our goals mean so much to us that we'd risk everything and cause harm to others for them?"
• Big Girl On Campus
• The Conscience: Tries to serve as this for the SUEs during "A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause". Unfortunately, the Usurper has her killed in order to continue the battle with the Himes.
• The Dulcinea Effect: Has this on anyone who meets her, to the point at which they consider her their most important person.
• Even the Girls Want Her
• Hero Antagonist: In "A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause".
• Heroic BSoD: Has one in "A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause," when told that everything she has was given to her, rather than her earning it herslf.
• Last-Name Basis: Uses very polite modes of address with everyone else, and is able to sway them to address her with similar respect.
• Laser-Guided Amnesia: Everyone’s memories of her are erased after her death.
• Logical Weakness: Her powers mean that she's everyone's most beloved. Unfortunately, Himes fight with the lives of their most beloved person on the line, meaning that the defeat of any Hime who knew her would mean her death (which is exactly what happened).
• Loved by All: Is almost universally beloved, as a result of her powers.
• More than Mind Control: As a result of her powers, the people with whom she interacts are exceptionally receptive to her requests and suggestions.
• Off With Her Head: How she dies in A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause.
• Only Sane Man: In "A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause", she's the only one who objects to the Usurper's plan.
• Parental Abandonment: She is said to have become exceptionally mature as a result of having to get by after the deaths of her parents.
• Spanner in the Works: In "A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause", she manages to derail the Usurper's plans by using her powers to talk the rest of the SUEs into abandoning the plan.
• Token Good Teammate: In a sense, she does not possess the twisted morals of the other SUEs.
• The Unfought: She is killed by Miyu as a result of destroying Akane’s child.
• We Hardly Knew Ye: Dies in the prologue. She gets more screentime in "A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause", but is the first to die.

Hitomi Kirihara

"The only one I care about is myself, and I'm not about to put aside my whims to help any of you fools. You're all like livestock, and as such, it's time to fulfill your purpose and be slaughtered."

The first SUE to encounter the protagonists. She initially spends her time mind controlling people and forcing them to give people their money, but after being forced to kill a police officer and a witness, takes to darker pursuits. After capturing Natsuki and Mai, she is killed by Shizuru.

• Ax-Crazy: Considered this even by her fellow SUEs.
• Arc Villain: The first SUE fought.
• Blunt "Yes": When Mai asks her if she considers what she's doing fun.
• Cold-Blooded Torture: Implies that she wants to do some to the captured Mai and Natsuki in addition to killing them.
• Curb-Stomp Battle: Killed almost effortlessly by Shizuru.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: For the SUEs in "A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause".
• Hate Sink: It says a great deal about her that even her fellow SUEs find her despicable, and the degree of cruelty and senselessness in her atrocities even disturbs the cynical and amoral Nao.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice: In "A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause".
• Insane Troll Logic: She claims she’s doing her victims a favor by enabling them to act free of their conscience.
• It's All About Me: Her most valued person is herself, and nobody else matters. This is what gets her killed. Shizune destroys her Child, which means the death of the person most important to her. Since she was so self-centered, she herself became the sacrifice.
• Jerkass: Acts as one to the people she’s not trying to kill.
• Killed Mid-Sentence
• Knight of Cerebus: Things get dark when she shows up, albeit not as much as in canon.
• Lack of Empathy
• Mind Control: Her primary ability.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: Her presence causes the Himes to suspect that someone besides Nao might have attacked Yukariko.
• Psychic-Assisted Suicide: Her main method of killing.
• Rape Is a Special Kind of Evil: Deconstructed; she seems to think so, but has no concept of morality, so she deliberately forces a man to rape and murder his wife, with the rape being an afterthought to add to her fun.
• Red Eyes, Take Warning
• The Sociopath: She cares about no one, to the point that she has no one she values enough, even superficially, to serve as the sacrifice for her Child being destroyed.
• This Cannot Be!: In both of her deaths.
• Sir Swearsalot: Partly to reflect her abrasive personality and her refusal to adhere to social norms.
• Spanner in the Works: To Ishigami’s plan, by becoming an alternate suspect for attacking Yukariko.
• Starter Villain: The first SUE the Himes fight against, although they’re midway through the Carnival when she arrives.
• This Is for Emphasis, Bitch!: To Shizune in "A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause".
  Hitomi: "Oh, shut the hell up, you preachy, sanctimonious, self-righteous bitch."
• Übermensch
• Villainous Breakdown: As she is dying from Shizuru destroying her Child.
• Warm-Up Boss: Goes down relatively easily compared to the other SUEs.
• Why Won't You Die?: Says this in A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause as Shizune resists her Mind Control.

Toki Asahina

"Hayate is someone I love dearly, and value more than my own life. If my death enables Hayate to live on, I'd gladly give my life, so you shouldn't think that I would not kill you if I thought it necessary."

The second SUE whom the Himes face, and the first that they encounter after realizing the nature of their enemy. She attempts to change the past so that certain Himes do not come to Fuuka Academy. She fails, is defeated by Mai, Natsuki and Nao, and then is killed by Shizune.

Her Element is a stopwatch and bag of magical grenades; she can stop time and throw her grenades at enemies. Her Child is Chronos, a scythe-wielding giant that can release dragon-like monsters from its blood.

• Always Save the Girl: Is willing to alter time itself and risk a paradox so that she can get together with Hayate.
• Arc Villain: The second SUE fought.
• Blood Magic: Her Child, Chronos, spawns minions from its blood.
• The Dulcinea Effect: She’s incredibly devoted to Hayate despite barely knowing this person.
• Flunky Boss
• Hoist By Her Own Petard: In "A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause," she gets stabbed by Sekai and blown up by one of her own grenades.
• How Do I Shot Web?: Is unaware of her ability to reset time.
• Immortality: Does not age as a result of her powers.
• Impaled with Extreme Prejudice
• Informed Ability: Can reset time, but never thinks to use it.
• Love Makes You Evil
• Oh, Crap!: As Sekai is closing in on her in A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause.
• Set Right What Once Went Wrong: She sets about doing this, claiming that it’s for the Himes’ good, but it’s actually…
• Sinister Scythe: Her Child has one.
• Throw Down the Bomblet: Equipped with magical grenades that have timers, which she can manipulate with her powers.
• Time Master
• Time Stands Still: Her Element’s power.
• Villain Team-Up: Rejected one with Bachiko and Meiko. in A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause.
• Villainous Breakdown: Has one after Mai, Natsuki and Nao thwart her attempts to change the past.
• You Have Failed Me: Is abandoned by the Usurper and killed by Shizune for this reason.

Shizune Otonashi

"You are truly arrogant to think you can stand against me or tell me what the 'real' way to practice my religion is. The Lord has endowed upon me powers that enable me to negate all of yours, and the strength to stand against an army, like Samson did against the Philistines!"

A fundamentalist Christian who seeks to gain control of the world and purge it clean of anyone who disagrees with her, or whose lifestyle she does not approve of. While she forces the Himes to flee by making their powers almost useless, Natsuki is able to kill her with a handgun in their second battle.

Her Element is a long sword and a shield, and her Child is Argus, a monster with a hundred eyes that shoot laser beams. Anyone who is near her has the effectiveness of their powers reduced, the effect increasing with the number of people nearby. She can also put a sigil on one person at a time, preventing that person from using all special powers.

• Aggressive Categorism: Anyone non-Christian is an enemy, and only a small portion of Christians meet her approval.
• Anti-Magic: Can reduce the effectiveness of nearby people’s powers; it increases the more people are near her.
• Arc Villain: The third SUE fought.
• Bad Guys Do the Dirty Work: Part of the reason why she killed Toki, who was helpless after her defeat.
• Boom, Headshot!: Is killed this way.
• Conservation of Ninjutsu: Defeating Shizune requires a group large enough that it won’t be crippled by her Silencing Sigil, but small enough that her Silencing Aura will not have too great of an effect.
• Dynamic Entry: First appears while killing Toki.
• Energy Weapon: Her Child’s mode of attack.
• Extra Eyes: Her Child, Argus, is a shapeless blob with a hundred eyes.
• Final Solution: Intends to massacre those who refuse to go along with the world she desires, starting with the Himes.
• The Friend Nobody Likes: For the SUEs in "A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause".
• The Fundamentalist: Considers people of other religions, homosexuals, and even Catholics her enemies.
• Hypocrite: She has committed, or plans to commit, the same atrocities she accuses others of perpetrating against Christians.
• Insane Troll Logic: Seeks to prevent genocide against Christians by killing everyone else who doesn’t share her beliefs.
• Killed Mid-Sentence
• Mage Killer: The more reliant people are on special powers, the more at a disadvantage they are against hers. Since the Himes' offensive powers are almost entirely based on their Element and Child, they're especially vulnerable.
• Moral Myopia: Actually cares for people as long as they share their beliefs. She has no reservations against killing those who do not.
• Logical Weakness: Averted. Her Silencing Sigil would seemingly make it more prudent to Zerg Rush her, but her Silencing Aura, increasing in potency with the number of people affected, means that she is also effective against large groups.
  • Luckily she has another potential Logical Weakness, and her powers don't cover that one. Her powers work against other people's special powers. Entirely mundane methods of killing her still work just fine, as Natsuki proves when she kills Shizune with a handgun.
• Luckily, My Shield Will Protect Me: Part of her Element, along with a sword.
• No-Sell: She can completely nullify one person’s powers.
• Off with His Head!: Beheads Mariko and Sekai in A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause.
• Oh, Crap!: Her last thoughts.
• One-Woman Army: As a result of her Silencing Aura, she's most able to stand against a large group of people with superpowers, since the more there are, the weaker their powers get..
• Pet the Dog: She seems happy that Kyoko is converting Reiko to Christianity, as she considers it a sincere act of faith, and wishes to protect people whose beliefs she approves of. Unfortunately, this leads to Reiko’s death.
• Politically Incorrect Villain: And how!
• Power Nullifier: Can completely disable one person's special powers at a time.
• Prayer of Malice: Her first line has her praying to God and hoping that Toki goes to Hell.
• See You in Hell: When she kills Hitomi in "A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause", although she doesn't think she'll be going there herself.
• Shut Up, Kirk!: Shuts down Yukariko’s argument by labeling her a false Christian.
• Smug Super: Exacerbated by the fact that her power reduces the effectiveness of all other powers.
• Token Religious Teammate: She’s the only SUE who professes any religious beliefs, and her extreme intolerance of nonbelievers is one reason the Usurper realized the SUEs would not work well as a team.
• Unwitting Pawn: The Usurper manipulates her by pretending to be God.
• Villain Protagonist: Can be considered one in "A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause".
• With Us or Against Us: Considering how narrow her definition of people who can be on her side is, almost everyone is against her by default.

Sekai

"All of thee can surrender thy powers to me, and I shall use them to do the work of the entire group myself."

Leader of the attack force against Fuuka Academy. She intends to kill the Himes in order to harvest their powers. She is defeated and killed in the attempt.Sekai has the ability to copy the powers of the people she stabs with her Element, and her Child can turn itself into anything, particularly materials Sekai needs for special abilities. She has absorbed the power of the Stormy Blossom Chrysoberyl with this ability.

• Arc Villain: Of the Otome crossover section.
• Dual Wielding: With her Otome powers and SUE abilities, she has a katana and wakizashi.
• Entitled Bitch: Patience and having to earn rewards are foreign concepts to her.
• Flying Brick: As a result of her stolen powers.
• General Failure: Has no concept of strategy or value for her subordinates’ lives.
• In the Back: Kills Meiko, and by extension, Bachiko this way during "A Common Enemy Without A Common Cuase".
• Only One Name: According to Word of God, to signify that she is from nowhere.
• Power Copying: If she stabs someone with her sword, she copies their powers.
• Smug Super: Her potential is almost limitless, but her confidence is disproportionate to her actual power.
• Team Killer: In "A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause", once Mariko is dead, she kills Meiko and Toki for their powers, causing Bachiko to die as a result.
• Thinking Up Portals: Her powers involve her creating portals.
• We Have Reserves: Sends her minions to their deaths, thinking them useless because they’re so much weaker than she is.

Bachiko Senboname

"If you are talking about illogical statements, perhaps you should consider your belief that the people whom we know cannot make their own decisions about love should have any say in the decisions we make for them."

A SUE who apparently knows Mai from before she moved to Fuuka, thanks to Meiko altering Mai and everyone else’s memories. She is planning on manipulating certain people’s relationships in Fuuka Academy, but is discovered by Yukino looking in on Mai’s meeting with Meiko, and is later killed by a surprise attack from Mikoto while she and Meiko are fighting Mai.

• Always Save the Girl: After they get found out, they decide to eliminate the Himes they had earlier “helped” in order to survive.

• Bee-Bee Gun: Her Element can rewrite people’s personalities, while her Child can summon bees to attack.

• Hidden Depths: She has actually realized the implications of her powers, and has to wonder whether she too has been manipulated.
• How Do I Shot Web?: The effectiveness of her personality-rewriting abilities is determined by how well she uses them, particularly how well she tailors the changes to her intended goals. Unfortunately, Bachiko has a tendency to recklessly make changes; in an attempt to get Nao and Natsuki together, Bachiko made Nao extremely polite to Natsuki and made Shizuru a Psycho Lesbian- the result was that Natsuki realized Nao wasn't herself and heard Shizuru confess her love to her.
• Knight of Cerebus: Her arrival heralds the beginning of an especially dark chapter for the Himes.
• Old Friend: Supposedly, to Mai.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Red to Meiko.
• Remember the New Guy?: Supposedly an old friend of Mai’s, but she finds out that she never knew her.
• Shipper on Deck: Deconstructed, as she’s willing to actively interfere with relationships because she thinks she knows what’s best, and now has the power to make her desired relationships happen, sabotaging existing ones if necessary.
• Shut Up, Kirk!: The above quote is in response to Mai denouncing the reasons behind her plan.
• Stupidity-Inducing Attack: Midori falls victim to one by Bachiko around the time Bachiko and Meiko's plan has been thwarted and they're forced into battle with the Himes.
• Villainous Friendship: Type I with Meiko.

Meiko Moriya

"Why doesn't she remember us?"

Bachiko’s best friend since she moved to Fuuka Academy, who has known Mai since she arrived. She is also Bachiko’s accomplice in trying to rewrite everyone’s relationships. She erases Mai’s memory when she becomes suspicious, but is still discovered, and dies when Mikoto destroys her and Bachiko’s Childs during their fight with Mai.

Meiko’s Element is a book capable of rewriting people’s memories, and her Child is a brain that can create shields that reflect attacks.

• Affably Evil: Relatively polite toward Mai even after she is found out, and even decides to address her more formally after deciding not to pretend to be friends.
• Alliterative Name
• Always Save the Girl: After they get found out, they decide to eliminate the Himes they had earlier “helped” in order to survive
• Arc Villain: Alongside Bachiko.
• Deflector Shields: Her Child can do this.
• Evil All Along
• Evil Redhead
• False Friend
• False Memories: Her powers enable her to insert and replace memories as she wishes.
• Fatal Flaw: Not nearly proactive enough when it counts. She doesn't act on her suspicions about why Natsuki doesn't remember her until Mai is confronting her about them. She's able to wipe Mai's memory, but Yukino catches her in the act and blows her cover.
• Fiery Redhead: Subverted; she's the level-headed one in comparison to Bachiko.
• He Knows Too Much: Suspects something is wrong with Natsuki when she doesn’t remember them (because her memories didn’t take root), and decides to pre-emptively mindwipe Mai to prevent them from being found out. Unfortunately, Yukino is watching, and her cover is blown.
• Hidden Depths: She, like Bachiko, questions her memories and her feelings.
• Red Oni, Blue Oni: Blue to Bachiko.
• Remember the New Guy?: Apparently hung out with Mai from when she was new at Fuuka Academy. It turns out that Meiko used her powers to make Mai think this.
• Shipper on Deck: Like Bachiko, deconstructed.
• Significant Anagram: Amenin is named after Naminé of Kingdom Hearts.
• Villain Team-Up: Proposed one to Toki in A Common Enemy Without A Common Cause, but she refused.
• Villainous Friendship: Type I, with Bachiko.
• Walking Spoiler: Quite a few of her tropes are spoilers, especially since she isn't found out as easily as Bachiko.
• Wham Line: Her thoughts provide one in narration, as she realizes Mai is on to her and Bachiko.

Makoto Kagami

"I must say, Nagi-kun, you're quite cute. You act so sharp-witted and cruel, but you're a good person if you have the right girl with you."

A shape-shifting SUE who has the powers to imitate any canon character's appearance and abilities. She fights against Shiho in the final battle and despite having the upper hand, dies when Suzuka’s Child is destroyed.

As a result of her shapeshifting powers, she has all of Mai's abilities.

• All Girls Want Bad Boys: Has a superficial crush on Nagi, which ends up being Nagi’s undoing.
• Clone Angst: A variant, in that she often finds herself comparing herself to the original, especially because Mikoto doesn’t want to go near her, finding her resemblance to Mai a painful reminder of the original.
• Ditto Fighter: Can imitate the powers of anyone native to the setting she is in, and chooses to use Mai's powers.
• Evil Knockoff: Of Mai.
• Evil Redhead: Has Mai's hair color.
• Horrible Judge of Character: Actually thinks she can change Nagi.
• Love Redeems: Wants this to happen.
• Mirror Match: Averted; Mai goes to deal with Mikoto, and instead, Makoto fights Shiho.
• Unwitting Pawn: Ends up being manipulated by Nagi so he will have someone on his sidein the event that the Obsidian Lord has been possessed.
• Voluntary Shapeshifting: Can imitate people's appearances.

Suzuka Harushiro

"Do you think any amount of luck will be sufficient to save them? Their arrogance will be their downfall, and your annihilation is inevitable!"

A clone of Haruka Suzushiro, who has her Hime powers from the manga. She is defeated and killed in her battle against Natsuki and Yukino.

Suzuka wields Haruka’s Element and Child from the manga- a morning star and laser-shooting angler fish known as Komokuten.

• All Love Is Unrequited: Implied that she cares deeply for Makoto, but Makoto is not only attracted to Nagi, but cannot understand Suzuka's attraction to her.
• A-Team Firing: Without the help of Manga!Yukino's Child, she has difficulty hitting her targets.
• The Brute
• Carry a Big Stick: Has her manga counterpart’s weapon.
• Determinator: Averted; unlike Haruka, she loses hope when faced with imminent defeat.
• Evil Knockoff
• Expy: Of the manga version of Haruka.
• Fragile Speedster: Is quick on her feet, but once she's pinned down, Natsuki quickly finishes her off with Duran.
• Light The Way: Has her manga counterpart’s powers.
• Oh, Crap!: As she is being defeated by Natsuki and Yukino, who both conclude that she’s not like Haruka where it matters.
• Lightning Bruiser: Possesses both speed and hard-hitting attacks.
• Sesquipedalian Loquaciousness: At least compared to Haruka, she enjoys using long words, and can actually say them correctly.
• Significant Anagram: Her name is one of Haruka’s.
• Spanner in the Works: Her death leads to Makoto’s, which subsequently leads to Nagi’s.
• This Cannot Be!: Her last word is "Impossible!"

The Usurper

"I see people leading small, insignificant lives, making all the wrong choices, and merely existing in what would seem to be a farce if their stupidity were not so infuriating. This world needs guidance... my guidance."

Leader of the SUEs, an enigmatic figure who is giving them directions but not getting involved in the conflict. It turns out that He is waiting for one of the SUEs to dispose of the Himes, so he can possess her body and gain the power to change the world as he sees fit. He tries to possess Reito and the Obsidian Lord when his plans fail, but his minions are defeated, Mikoto breaks his hold over Reito’s body, and he fades away after being forced out by the Obsidian Lord.

• Armor-Piercing Question: Fires off several in rapid succession when arguing that Meiko depends on her powers.
  The Usurper: "Have you ever considered, Mariko, how much you have earned yourself? What if everything you ever had- your beauty, your grades, your maturity, your popularity and everything else- were given to you by someone else, for the sake of using you to enter another world and sway it to that person's will?"
  Mariko: "Th-that's impossible. After Mother and Father died, life was often difficult, even with the wealth they left behind. I had to try hard to get by after that, and if I have many things, it's because I earned them!"
  The Usurper: "Tell me, Mariko, can you recall a time when a person disliked or disagreed with you?"
• Big Bad: He’s the leader of the SUEs.
• Breaking Speech: Tells Mariko that even as she protests the SUEs exploiting their powers for their own benefit, she herself has benefited from her powers.
• Clipped-Wing Angel: After being forced out of Reito’s body, he’s easily defeated.
• Demonic Possession: His main power, which he intended to use on the SUEs, and ultimately ends up using on the Obsidian Lord.
• Entitled Bastard: Believes the world should belong to him by default, and expects other people to go along with his selfish plans, even the SUEs, who have their own agendas that are selfish and incompatible with his.
• General Failure: Has no idea how to get the SUEs to fight as a cohesive team.
• Hypocrite: As the SUEs fall against the Himes, he resorts to trying to play them off against one another and copy their powers, despite his belief in the SUEs' superiority.
• Lack of Empathy: Toward his own SUEs and the rest of the My-HiME world.
• Manipulative Bastard: Uses the SUEs for his own ends.
• Mission Control: To the SUEs. Whether they take his advice is another matter, though.
• Non-Action Big Bad: Due to being unable to directly take action against the heroes. He ultimately ends up possessing the Obsidian Lord, but this ends up double subverted when the Obsidia Lord forces him out.
• Plot-Based Voice Cancellation: Hitomi cuts him off as he says he wants her to kill the Himes.
• Pragmatic Villainy: He doesn't like Hitomi murdering innocent people, because he believes doing so attracts too much attention to her. He turns out to be correct.
• Shut Up, Kirk!: Tells Mariko that she too benefits from her powers and has no right to object to his or the others' plans.
• Utopia Justifies the Means: Claims that he’s providing the Himes with a better world.
• Villainous Breakdown: As he nears defeat.
• We Can Rule Together: Offers this to the Himes, who do not accept.
• We Have Reserves: Considers any individual SUE being defeated to be only a minor setback.
• Wham Line: While speaking through the Obsidian Lord, reveals that he has possessed him.

The Advisor/The Avatar

"If I wholeheartedly assisted one side with the intention of enabling them to win, their victory would be guaranteed. This is as much to see which side will prevail under relatively fair circumstances, and my intervention is only to ensure that the contest remains reasonably fair while the battles and other challenges appropriately test you and your rivals."

A mysterious figure who advises the Himes about the SUEs and ensures that they are fighting on a level playing field.

• Author Powers: He not only created the SUEs, but he can do literally anything. Defeating him is impossible, and even if the Himes could win, their victory would be hollow.
• Black Cloak: His standard attire.
• Breaking the Fourth Wall: Averted; he discusses things in terms that would make sense for the Himes.
• Come Alone: He tells Mai, Natsuki and Nao to meet him. The Himes try to follow them, but are unable to help out as the three go through portals to their respective pasts, and emerge in the present to fight Toki.
• Greater-Scope Villain: Responsible for creating the SUEs and the Usurper, but the conflict is against them, rather than him.
• Hopeless Boss Fight: The Himes, facing an essentially invincible opponent without the aid of their powers, cannot hope to win.

• Karma Houdini: As he points out, it is literally impossible for the Himes to kill the author.
• Mr. Exposition: Tells the Himes about the nature of the threat.
• Nigh-Invulnerable: Virtually no ways of killing him exist, since he can do literally anything.
• No-Sell: Manages to completely shut down Natsuki’s attempt to kill him.

• This Is Something He's Got to Do Himself: Has this attitude regarding the Himes, as he only helps them in order to keep things fair. It also applies to the SUEs.
• * Walking Spoiler
• What the Hell, Hero?: Mai complains about him not helping against Shizune, and the rest of the group is far less pleased to learn that he's responsible for the arrival of the SUEs.

Kyoko Yoshida

An acquaintance of Aoi’s who is deeply religious. She dies as a result of the destruction of Shizune’s Child.

• Accidental Murder: Her fate.
• Face Death with Dignity
• Foil: To Shizune. Ironically, she ends up being Shizune’s most important person.
• Sacrificial Lamb: Dies as an unintended result of Natsuki killing Shizune.
• Too Good for This Sinful Earth

Canon Characters

Note: Please do not add character tropes unless they concern the events of the fic, or are manifested in a different way in the fic

Mai Tokiha

"The world may be a harsh place in which people can lose everything while gaining nothing, but not all values are mutually exclusive and not all stories have tragic endings. It is up to me, and those I fight alongside, to determine how ours ends."

• Flat "What": When told about Toki's time traveling plan.
• It's Not You, It's My Enemies: Tries this on Yuuichi, but he persuades her to persist against the SUEs and survive.
• Kirk Summation: Gives them at a few different points, such as to Hitomi and to Bachiko and Meiko.
• My Beloved Smother: Finds herself forced to rethink her relationship with Takumi and Mikoto because of this trope.
• Necessary Fail: She ultimately realizes how much the incident in which Takumi nearly drowned affected her life, and is forced to let it happen to avert a temporal paradox.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Angrily lashing out at Mikoto after she kills Bachiko and Meiko sways her into going to Reito.
• You Did the Right Thing: To Shizuru, after she kills Hitomi, saying that Shizuru had no way of knowing her decision would kill someone, but she did it in order to protect others, and that as one of the people she saved, she's grateful.
• You Monster!: Gives a speech to this effect to Hitomi.

Natsuki Kuga

"Losing my mother scarred me forever, turned my world upside down and drastically changed my personality. But these recent events, while gradually rather than suddenly, have also forced me to question and possibly change myself."

• Accidental Murder: By killing Shizune, she also kills Kyoko.
• Anti-Hero: Type II. She states she’s not out to save the world, but is determined to protect her friends and allies.
• Character Development: Gradually lets go of her desire for revenge.
• Fighting Your Friend: First has to protect Nao from a Brainwashed Shizuru, then protect the unconscious Shizuru from Nao.
• It Never Gets Any Easier:Resigned to killing Shizune, but not particularly happy about it.
• Lotus-Eater Machine: Falls prey to one in Mai’s place.
• Love Epiphany: Has one in Chapter 19 regarding Shizuru.
• Oh, Crap!: After her Psychosomatic Superpower Outage leaves her defenseless against Yukariko.
• Tap on the Head: Punches out Shizuru to stop her without killing her.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Delivers one to the Big Bad.
  Natsuki: "You're a fool… and a hypocrite. You talk of perfection when in fact the only power you yourself had is borrowed. As for your SUEs, all the ones who have come before have been defeated, and the ones that remain are mere copies of Mai and Suzushiro. Surely you've realized that your strength will never be a match for ours? But what you haven't realized is that no matter how much you may try to cheat, steal or copy our powers, you will never be our equals!"
• Shoot the Dog: Plans on killing Shizune to eliminate the threat to the others.

Mikoto Minagi

"For as long as I can remember, my main goal in my life has been to search for my brother. You might think of it as a goal that was drilled into me, but over time, I made it my own, and pursue it because I want to, not because anyone made me."

• The Big Girl
• The Dragon: To the Obsidian Lord/Usurper.
• Big Damn Heroes/Dynamic Entry: Shows up to Mai's fight with Bachiko and Meiko, killing both of the enemies' Childs, ending their lives in the process.
• So What Do We Do Now?: Finds herself thinking this after finding her brother, and decides that whatever she does next will be something she has found for herself.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Mai gets angry when Mikoto doesn’t realize what she’s done after she kills Bachiko and Meiko while being brainwashed.

Nao Yuuki

"I then have to wonder; has my life simply been a self-destructive tantrum against the injustices I've suffered? And what should I do now that I've realized this?"

• Anti-Hero: Goes from a Type V to a Type II over the course of the story.
• The Big Girl
• Blunt "Yes": When meeting Ayame again in the ending, and hearing her admit that she was naïve back whan they first met, Nao says, “Yeah, you were.”
• Brainwashed: On two different occasions, first into an extremely polite and kind person, and then into someone who’s trying to kill Shizuru and Mai.
• Don't You Dare Pity Me!: Angrily reacts to what she perceives as Mai's pity, when she expresses her condolences over what happened to her mother. However, when it turns out Mai has come to a realization about herself, she is left unable to respond.
• Even Evil Has Standards: She considers Hitomi’s mass murder unforgivable and cooperates with the other Himes to defeat her. She also realizes that the Himes must not decide to kill lightly.
• Fire-Forged Friends: Her opinion of the other Himes, notably Natsuki and Mai, improves as a result of fighting alongside them, leading to…
• First-Name Basis: Starts using Natsuki and Mai’s first names late in the fic.
• Heel Realization: After speaking with Mai in the hospital, begins to wonder what she has done with her life since the robbery.
• Hoist By Her Own Petard: Natsuki tricks her into webbing herself to a tree while she's Brainwashed.
• Jerkass -> Jerk with a Heart of Gold
• Jerkass Has a Point: When she points out to Natsuki that she’s not a killer and hopes that she isn’t coming to the decision to kill too easily.
• Precision F-Strike: "You're fucking sorry?!
• Quit Your Whining: Unintentionally does this with Mai by discussing her problems with her when they encounter each other in the hospital. Mai realizes that there are many differences between her and Nao, and Mai comes to a realization about how much Takumi has defined her.
• Tempting Fate: While being brainwashed a second time into becoming hostile, she doubts that Natsuki has the ability to summon her Element. However, Natsuki, having undergone a Love Epiphany about Shizuru, proves her wrong and cuts her off mid-sentence.
• Thou Shalt Not Kill: She has limits to how far she is willing to go against the perverts she hunts, and considers the act of murder to be one that should not be taken lightly. As such, she ends the fic without having killed anyone.
• Took a Level in Kindness

Yukino Kikukawa

"I have three desires for myself in this Carnival- to be myself, to be someone who can look herself in the mirror with pride and that these two things will not be mutually exclusive."

• Adaptational Badass
• Armor-Piercing Question: She asks Shizuru one such question while trying to convince her to bring the rest of the Student Council into the loop. It just so happens that Shizuru can recall a time when, before her powers awakened, she helped Natsuki out however she could.
  Yukino: And, what would you do if, for example, Kuga-san were a Hime and you were not?"
• Be Yourself: As much as she hopes to become a stronger individual, she also fears that the SUEs might change her into someone else entirely.
• Big Damn Heroes: She saves Mai from Shiho.
• Brought Down to Normal: As a result of being hit with Shizune's Silencing Sigil, she's unable to use her powers until shortly before Shizune's defeat, and thinks about how her powers have changed her.
• Heart Is an Awesome Power: Her powers are almost completely useless when she's working alone, but she is an asset to the team.
• Oh, Crap!: When she notices that Shiho followed Mai back in time through another portal.
• The Smart Girl
• Took a Level in Badass: Seeing Haruka as an example, she becomes more determined.

Shizuru Fujino

"What I want most is for Natsuki to accept me of her own will, for who I am, not because I or anyone else coerced her into doing so. It's a selfish and egotistical desire, but one of the most human ones that exists; to love and be loved in return, to have the mutual trust that serves as the foundation for true love and to be as much of a part in your most cherished people's lives as they are in yours."

• Accidental Murder: By killing Hitomi's Child, she also kills Hitomi herself.
• Brainwashed and Crazy: As part of Bachiko and Meiko's plan, she's forced into trying to kill Nao.
• Gayngst: A problem for her is her belief that she will be ostracized for her sexuality. After confessing to Natsuki, however, she’s ready to accept the risks it entails.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Feels guilty after killing Hitomi by destroying her Child.
• Psycho Lesbian: Chapter 19, as a result of brainwashing.
• The Sixth Ranger: Joins the Himes after the first SUE’s defeat.
• Sword Fight: Has one with The Obsidian Lord/Usurper toward the end.

Yukariko Sanada

"There's a part of me that says I am obligated to advise these children as best as I can. They are going through a difficult phase in their lives, with academic pressures, learning about loving one another, and now, being forced into a struggle to the death with their loved ones' lives on the line. But I am as lost as any of them, perhaps more so."

• Break the Cutie: Happens over time as a result of her relationship with Ishigami.
• Death by Adaptation
• I've Come Too Far: Is convinced into thinking this by Ishigami.
• My God, What Have I Done?: Immediately realizes that trying to frame Nao, even if she failed was wrong, but is unable to go against Ishigami until just before her death.
• Redemption Equals Death
• Shut Up, Hannibal!: Tries one on Shizune by calling her a false Christian, but gets a Shut Up, Kirk! in response.
• Sunk Cost Fallacy: She falls victim to this, in continuing to support Ishigami because she’s gone past the point of no return. She sees the error of her ways in time for Redemption Equals Death.
• Token Religious Teammate: For the Himes, as the author's notes point out that none of them, except her, seem to be religious at all, even if none are avowed atheists.

Midori Sugiura

"Perhaps this conflict isn't a clear-cut one like in television, films or video games. But I do believe that, as always, we have the ability to write a happy ending to it. While our choices may be difficult, it is possible to protect both the world as a whole and the part of it that we cherish most at the same time."

• Always Save the Girl: She references this trope when writing in her journal, saying that if she had to choose without being able to Take a Third Option, she'd choose her professor over her fellow Himes. On the other hand, she believes that it doesn't necessarily have to come to this.
• Deus Exit Machina: Gets stung by a bee and incapacitated as Bachiko and Meiko move to deal with the Himes.
• The Leader: Type II, in spite of appearances.
• My Greatest Failure: Regrets waiting to formulate a plan before attacking Hitomi, resulting in the massacre at the diner.
• Obfuscating Stupidity: Nao in particular comments on how it's somewhat disconcerting to see her acting so immaturely when that's not at all how she is. Bachiko and Meiko, however, are not fooled.
• Rousing Speech: To the Himes before the final battle.
• Supporting Leader
• Wrong Genre Savvy: She comes to the realization that she is this midway through the fic, but is determined to bring about a good ending to the crisis.

Shiho Munakata

"What happens when you pursue something for so long only to find that it's always been out of your reach?"

• The Atoner: Helps the Himes in the final battle for this reason.
• 11th-Hour Ranger: Joins the Himes just before the final battle
• I Want My Beloved to Be Happy: Reaches this conclusion in the end.
• Not Brainwashed: Unlike the other characters, she did not get stung by a bee and have her personality shift.
• Unwitting Pawn: To Nagi and the Usurper. The latter tricked her into attacking Mai when the Himes were trying to thwart Toki's attempts to rewrite history. The former took advantage of her doubt about whether Yuuichi's brainwashing-induced feelings for her were genuine, and convinced her to try to kill Mai again.
• Was It All a Lie?: Angrily asks this of Yuuichi after learning that he has chosen Mai. He apologizes and says that he does care for her, just not in the way she wanted.

Akira Okuzaki

"Compared to those who judge me by my skill as a Hime and ultimate success or failure, he is able to relate to me more as a person, and as such... he's more than a roommate to me."

• Broken Pedestal: Her teacher Ishigami was essentially trying to eliminate her and everyone else's most important people in order to seize control of the Hime Star. It's implied that she's more upset about it than she lets on.
• I Just Want to Be Normal: Ultimately is happy to be able to go back to a normal life after the Carnival.
• Ineffectual Loner: Her contribution to the battle against the SUEs is limited by her not working alongside the others.
• Locked Out of the Loop: Mai, not realizing that Akira is a Hime until later on, doesn't tell her about her battles with the SUEs, resulting in Akira not fighting against Hitomi, Toki or Shizune.
• Put on a Bus: Goes to America with Takumi, not wanting to continue to be involved in the Hime Carnival.
• So What Do We Do Now?: Like Mikoto, wonders about this, and enjoys the freedom to live as her true gender without having to fight.
• Wholesome Crossdresser: Averted in the ending. As her gender becomes public knowledge, she has to start dressing the part.

Takumi Tokiha

• Put on a Bus: Goes to America to have his operation.

Yuuichi Tate

• Brainwashed: Bachiko stings him with a bee in order to break him and Mai up, and force him to get together with Shiho.
• It's All My Fault: Blames himself for Shiho becoming jealous of Mai and trying to kill her.
• Took a Level in Jerkass: Induced by Bachiko’s powers.

Nagi Homura

• Death by Adaptation
• The Evil Genius: To the Obsidian Lord.
• Flunky Boss: Fights against Nao and Midori while summoning a horde of Orphans.
• Hoist by Their Own Petard: Trying to manipulate Makoto for his own ends gets him killed.
• Killed Off for Real
• Laughing Mad: In his final moments.
• The Starscream: He realizes that the Obsidian Lord has been possessed, and tries to manipulate Makoto so that he can overthrow him.

Wataru Ishigami

• Big Bad Wannabe: His scheme is thwarted by Hitomi’s interference, and he ultimately dies when Yukariko betrays him.
• Breaking Speech: To Yukariko, saying that she has already chosen to betray the Himes, and cannot turn back from that decision.
• Death by Adaptation
• Nothing Can Stop Us Now!: Believes that he's unstoppable as all the other Himes are being manipulated by Bachiko and Meiko's powers and Natsuki, seemingly the only one able to stop it, is ensnared in Yukariko's illusion.
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: Again, to Yukariko, accusing her of not understanding the full extent of what she's done.
• Villainous Breakdown: As Yukariko refuses to do his bidding any longer.

Miyu Greer

• Bus Crash: Her body is destroyed by the Obsidian Lord and his entourage.
• Death by Adaptation
• Dropped a Bridge on Him
• For Want Of A Nail: Her destruction means that resurrecting the cast is impossible.
• Nice Job Fixing It, Villain: By destroying Akane’s Child, she prevented Mariko from winning over the Academy to her side.

The Obsidian Lord

• Big Bad: He competes with The Usurper for this spot, and ultimately is the final opponent.
• Demonic Possession: Suffers this at the hands of The Usurper.
• Final Boss: He’s fought after The Usurper is finished.
• Hijacked by Ganon: After The Usurper’s defeat, he takes back the position as final boss.