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Player: Lua
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Age: 21
Current Characters: N/A
Character: Umi Sonoda
Age: 16
Canon: Love Live!
Canon Point: Post-movie; right after µ’s has disbanded
Background:
Love Live! plot summary.
Umi’s background.
Umi’s involvement with the story itself, episode by episode, can be found in the chronology section; however, due to its length, I will point out that the first episode is most pivotal for how Umi comes to join µ’s. Other episodes where Umi has a particularly important role include S1E12, S2E7, S2E8, and S2E11.
Personality:
The initial impression one gets when they are first introduced to Umi is that of an ice queen.
They’re in for a somewhat rude awakening.
Umi is initially introduced as a calm, reserved, self-assured individual, especially when juxtaposed with the frenetic Honoka and mild-mannered Kotori. She is the voice of reason among the second-years and attempts to introduce logic when Honoka despairs over Otonokizaka’s imminent closure and subsequently plans to become a school idol in order to prevent it. Throughout the series, Umi prioritizes pragmatic concerns over flights of fancy and never loses sight of her responsibilities. She chastises Honoka when she gains weight, shirks her duties as student council president, or otherwise slacks off. This strictness is borne out of an earnest investment in her friends’ welfare and the success of the idol group as a whole. Nevertheless, Umi is often portrayed as an uptight killjoy, and acts as a foil to the more optimistic and whimsical members of µ’s.
Umi shows great respect for tradition and is incredibly disciplined. As the daughter of a martial arts teacher and a Japanese dance instructor, she was taught many classic Japanese arts, including calligraphy and dance. In addition to being a member of µ’s, she trains daily in order to one day become the successor to her parents’ dojo. She sometimes laments the difficult practice sessions and the strict manner in which she was raised; however, in her School Idol Diary novel, she frequently expresses admiration and love for her parents and the legacy her family has created, demonstrating that her devotion to this legacy is not merely out of filial piety, but a sincere appreciation for its role in her identity.
Despite Umi’s hesitance to adopt any type of leadership role, she takes on the responsibility of becoming the group’s physical trainer. Her disciplined upbringing and physical talents allow her to successfully train µ’s for the rigor of singing and dancing; in this respect, these stereotypical “ice queen” characteristics, as referenced in the beginning of this section, are portrayed as ultimately positive.
From these traits, one may assume that this is the general theme of Umi’s personality. However, as the series progresses, one sees past Umi’s cool first impression and into the timid, doubtful girl that lies beneath it -- the true self that has been present since childhood. In the first season of the anime, there is a flashback showing Umi cowering behind a tree as she watches Kotori and Honoka play together. When they approach her, she begins to cry before reluctantly accepting their offer to join them. As a teenager, she resists the idea of becoming a school idol due to her myriad anxieties and her notions of what is improper and embarrassing. In her supplementary School Idol Diary novel, Umi expresses doubts about her future, both as a person and as the heir to the Sonoda legacy. Her sense of who she truly is and who she wants to become is shaky and plagued by uncertainty; she occasionally admits that she has difficulty pinning down exactly what makes her happy and what she wants to pursue in the future.
Beyond Umi’s shy and insecure nature, her collected exterior runs counter to her dramatic displays of emotion throughout the series. On a typical basis, Umi reacts to many idol-related activities with exaggerated embarrassment; indeed, in the movie, Umi cowers in an alleyway at the prospect of her newfound celebrity, and early in the series, she loses her focus during her archery practice and blushes intensely at the thought of becoming a popular idol. Umi struggles to rein in her own frustration and disappointment at times, which manifests itself in slapping Honoka early in the series and lashing out at her in the movie when she becomes lost in New York City. Though these emotional outbursts tend to be negative, there have been instances in the series where Umi is overwhelmed with joy, without fear or misgivings; these occasions tend to occur when she is performing with µ’s, providing further evidence for µ’s as a catalyst for Umi’s mental and emotional development throughout the series.
For all of Umi’s shortcomings and insecurities, she throws her whole self into what she does -- including being a member of µ’s. Despite being opposed to the idea of school idols in the beginning of series, both in principle and becoming one herself, Umi quickly becomes one of the greatest champions for µ’s’s cause. She confronts Eli, the student council president at the time, and demands a logical explanation for her distaste for the group. Furthermore, she defends u’s to Principal Minami when she questions the group’s intentions. In the final episode of the first season, she encourages Honoka to convince Kotori to stay in Japan instead of studying abroad so that µ’s may continue to perform together -- a marked change from the girl who was once so vehemently opposed to Honoka’s flight of fancy concerning school idols. Evidence of this change can be found in her School Idol Diary novel, as she says:
“Even though a school idol was the last thing I’d ever thought I’d be, I was dancing for dear life before I knew it. Everyone, including myself, appreciated the embarrassing appearance of the traditional Umi Sonoda.”
In a similar vein, Umi’s loyalty is unparalleled. Since befriending Kotori and Honoka as a child, she has seen them through virtually everything, including the founding of µ’s. Though she may sometimes make suggestions that the rest of the group ultimately don’t agree with, she always has their best interest at heart. Her draconian approach to physical training and practice is itself an odd manifestation of her vested interest in her friends; she wants to see them become the best versions of themselves, and thus pushes them as hard as possible in order to achieve this.
Umi is as creative as she is passionate. She supplies the group with the entirety of their song lyrics. A skilled writer, she works well with Kotori, the costume designer, and Maki, the group’s composer, as seen in episode 10 of the first season where they all collaborate on a new song in one sitting. Umi’s motivation and inspirations for her lyrics are rarely directly discussed within the series -- as such, one can only speculate as to what they are. Knowing that Umi is one of the more reticent members of µ’s, one may conclude that songwriting is an outlet for her emotions and a softer, more poetic way of conveying her thoughts towards her friends and µ’s’s raison d'être as a whole.
Umi’s character arc throughout the series is both about expanding her horizons and gaining the courage necessary to do so. She never fully surmounts her fears, but as the series progresses, she no longer allows these fears to stop her from doing what makes her happy. In the beginning of the series, she is paralyzed by her doubts; after joining µ’s, she slowly begins to embrace the spontaneous and the carefree and begins to cultivate a solid sense of self.
Abilities: She’s just a normal teenage lady, so nothing supernatural. As far as regular abilities go, she’s talented at songwriting, dancing, and singing. Considering her many years of studying archery and martial arts, one can presume that she’d be able to competently use a bow and arrow and/or employ self-defense in a combat situation.
Alignment: Thras would be an appropriate alignment for Umi. Much of Umi’s character arc is devoted to her overcoming her social anxiety and general fears surrounding becoming an idol. As well, Umi’s primary character song, “Reason for Courage,” is about surmounting one’s insecurities and reservations and facing life with passion and moxie.
Other: N/A
Sample:
(I’ll be using some prompts from June’s character introduction log, if that’s all right.)
prompt d.
[ In an attempt to extricate herself from the overwhelming crowds and daunting paths of the inner city, Umi has scurried off to the bazaars on the outskirts of Verens.
In retrospect, this wasn’t her best and brightest move, considering the swarths of people crowding nearly every stall. How did she not expect this?
She manages to find a less popular stand and starts inspecting its goods. Adorning the tiers of the small cart are bowls filled with various fruit candies wrapped in clear cellophane. This would be a dream...if not for the fact that the candies are all very suspiciously colored. Taupe, dull baby-vomit chartreuse, black-and-white striped...it’s all there, and Umi is slowly beginning to realize why she’s the only one here.
Too bad the salesman is rather adamant. ]
I’m very sorry, I don’t have much money anyw--
[ --whereupon the owner shoves a very fearsome-looking grey-green candy that reminds her rather heavily of sewage. Or stale bath water. Umi kind of wants to throw up a little now.
Still, the salesman looks at her expectantly, and if there’s anything she’d rather avoid more than putting this thing anywhere near her mouth, it’s being blatantly rude to a complete stranger. ]
Th-Thank you...
[ This poor girl looks like she’s about to swallow a cyanide pill. Who knows? Maybe it will literally kill her. Or worse, taste so bad that she’ll wish it had killed her. She stares at the candy and screams internally, quietly hoping that someone will come and distract the vendor so she can pelt the cursed thing into the next dimension. ]
Questions: N/A!