User:Angelmin
Characters of Tactics
Kantarou Ichinomiya
(一ノ宮勘太郎, Ichinomiya Kantarō?) Voiced by: Kōki Miyata (Japanese), Blake Shepard (English) Kantarou is a young folklorist and part-time exorcist with an ability to see youkai. He is of small build and looks much younger and innocent than he really is. His fair hair and red eyes have led some fans to conclude that he is an albino, although this is never confirmed in either the manga or anime. Kantarou is frequently depicted wearing a white-coloured gi and a hakama, along with a Buddhist rosary around his neck. Kantarou wears a bracelet of bells that jingle when he is approaching an evil presence. He also bears a scar across his chest as a result of a confrontation with an oni that flares when he is in the presence of one. Currently, he lives in Tokyo with his two subservient youkai, Youko and Haruka. Kantarou is highly intelligent and is quite sneaky and manipulative. He is able to trick others into doing what he wants them to do and anticipate their reactions. This trait has resulted in him being called a tactician (schemer) by Haruka, hence the title of the series. Apart from that, Kantarou is terrible at meeting deadlines and is always trying to put off work for another day. His writings do not sell well, and as a result he is quite avaricious. He also makes a point of often hitting on rich women such as a corporate president or a wealthy widow, hoping to marry one. Youko encourages this trait, while Haruka considers it ridiculous. Despite these unlikeable traits, Kantarou has a very good heart and feels deeply for youkai. Although it is customary for an exorcist to kill youkai, Kantarou chooses to reason with them and sees his line of work as a way to help youkai instead. His determination in caring for youkai has been criticized by both Haruka and Sugino, as not all youkai would take Kantarou's care kindly. As a child, Kantarou's ability to see youkai and his fondness for them caused him to be bullied and ostracized from his society. Kantarou vowed to himself to find the oni-eating tengu in hopes of becoming strong so he can protect those that he cares for. He has one friend among the humans whom he was close to, a girl named Yuuko, who stood up for him when he was bullied and who later became a geisha. Kantarou was also bitten by a dog as a child, which is why he hates dogs.
Haruka (春華, Haruka?)
Voiced by: Takahiro Sakurai (Japanese), Chris Patton (English) Haruka is the name given by Kantarou to the legendary oni-eating tengu, the strongest of all youkai. He controls the power of lightning. In appearance he looks like a handsome young man with dark hair, but Haruka has a pair of black wings that he can hide or reveal at will. Occasionally, such as when he is attacking oni, Haruka can transfigure into his more youkai form. His nails will grow sharper and longer, his fangs will grow longer, and his eyes constrict. Most of the time, Haruka looks like a human being who dresses in Western attire. During the period of Haruka's bondage to Kantarou, Haruka loses a significant amount of his power. He is unable to recall who sealed him in the first place, and is also unable to eat oni. These incidences are a result of being bonded under the name contract. Haruka's loss of power upsets him and greatly affects his sense of self. The temptation to be set free from the name bond is used by Raikou to turn him against Kantarou. Haruka eventually chooses to remain under the name bond and states that he will accept freedom only when Kantarou wills it as well. This does not stop him from griping when Kantarou has him do menial tasks, like flying his drunken editor home. The name "Haruka" has the meaning of "Further Haruka (遥か, Haruka?)". It was intended to show how the oni-eating tengu was far stronger than any other youkai. Unfortunately, Kantarou decided for a different kanji for Haruka's name, as he thought Haruka was physically lovely, changing his name meaning 'spring flower', which Haruka reckons sounds more like the name of a female combat fighter. Haruka's good looks easily cause women to swoon over him (humorously followed by the sound of gun firing, in most cases). This is a 'talent' that Youko, Kantarou and sometimes even Haruka himself, takes advantage of to gain money, food or even a little extra help. Despite using this flirtatious ability to his advantage, Haruka seems cynical about romance (especially with humans), and usually reacts to romantic or sexual overtures with blank confusion or coldness, since he does not think that the person actually likes him. However, he seemed to feel regret at his coldness to the shrine maiden Miyabi when she died thanking him, confirming that she did genuinely care for him. Haruka also has a number of comical eccentricities, including an obsession for shiny objects, hatred of water and booze, a refusal to part with his old and dirty chawan, and a deathly fear of mackerel. Like Youko, he constantly harasses Kantarou to finish his manuscripts so they can buy food. In a manga side story, it is revealed that Haruka's mother was a god-tree. Haruka's name under his previous master, an onmyodo practitioner, was 'Rin'. As Rin, he did not have a good relationship with his previous master, and it is hinted that she took advantage of his subservient status for sexual purposes.
Youko (ヨーコ, Yōko?)
Voiced by: Tomoko Kawakami (Japanese), Luci Christian (English) Youko is a female kitsune whom Kantarou named. Her name translates to demon fox or bewitching fox. She has short, brown hair and purple eyes, and is often depicted wearing a kimono. When the story begins we see that she has already been living with Kantarou for quite some time. She is loud and impulsive, and she loses her temper frequently at Kantarou, whom she calls a bad master and a lousy breadwinner. Youko is also very economical when it comes to household expenses, and her shrewdness is a running joke in the series. Youko can make her fox ears appear and disappear at will, and can turn into her fox form if she so wishes. On occasion, she may lose control, causing her ears to appear, or even turn into her fox form altogether. She is constantly pestering Kantarou to finish his manuscripts so they can have more money for food. Youko also works as a waitress at a local restaurant to help make ends meet. When Haruka joins the household, she decides to make use of his good looks in hopes of gaining extra income for the household. In a side-story for the manga, it is revealed that Youko was initially a youkai who had been lonely for hundreds of years, and attempted to soothe this loneliness by deceiving passerbys into thinking that she was part of their family. In Kantarou's case, she pretended to be his wife. After Kantarou 'exorcises' her, he invites her to become part of his family. The ending of this side story implies that Youko may have romantic feelings for Kantarou.
Rosalie (ロザリー, Rosarī?)
Voiced by: Marina Inoue (Japanese), Laura Bailey (English) Rosalie is an orphan that was adopted by Hasumi in London. She is fairly young with long blond hair. Like Kantarou, she too has the ability to see youkai. She is also quite easily possessed by evil spirits which is very ironic since her adoptive father doesn't believe in them. She becomes friends with Kantarou and the group and visits them regularly.
Sugino (スギノ様, Sugino-sama?)
Voiced by: Soichiro Hoshi (Japanese), Vic Mignogna (English) Sugino is a 'white' tengu and the 'god' of Sugino Village. As such, he is often called Sugino-sama. Unlike a 'black' tengu, such as Haruka, who is born a tengu and has black wings, a 'white' tengu was originally a powerful, overly-proud human priest or monk who turned into a white-winged tengu. It is stated that he, too, tried to break Haruka's seal, but failed. Sugino has a great amount of dislike for the human race, having been a human himself. Sugino is married to Muu-chan, a small, green youkai that becomes enormously attached to Kantarou, greatly annoying Sugino. After being asked how "[They] make babies", Sugino states that "[Their] love is purely platonic!". Sugino's dislike for Kantarou mainly stems from his 'wife's' crush on Kantarou, the fact that Kantarou is a human, and because Kantarou was able to unseal Haruka whereas he himself was unable to. Prior to meeting Muu-chan, Sugino was a cruel character who earned the nickname of 'violent tengu'. His cruelty caused him to be lonely and he hated his immortality. He suffered alone for a long time until he met Muu-chan, who comforted him.
Muu-chan (むーちゃん, Mū-chan?)
Voiced by: Omi Minami (Japanese), Monica Rial (English) Muu-chan is a small green youkai who is married to Sugino and only says 'Muu', hence the name. Muu-chan has a crush on Kantarou because he saved its life, and Muu-chan climbing into his arms is a running joke in the manga. Despite that, Muu-chan is still devoted to Sugino. Muu-chan has the ability to vacuum up demons and spells using its mouth. Muu-chan's sex is a debatable issue. However, judging from Muu-chan's crush on Kantarou and since Sugino is the 'husband', it is more likely that Muu-chan is female(?). Sugino states that Muu-chan is very good at interrogating humans.
Ayame Minamoto (源あやめ, Minamoto Ayame?)
Voiced by: Sayuri Yoshida (Japanese), Cynthia Martinez (English) Ayame is Raiko's younger sister. She greatly admires her brother. Ayame used to be able to see youkai, but as she got older she lost the ability. She now studies about youkai under Hasumi. Ayame's physical appearance reminds Haruka of his previous master, Fuji. She only appeared in one episode in the anime.
Hasumi Ryoukan (蓮見了寛, Hasumi Ryōkan?)
Voiced by: Nobuo Tobita (Japanese), Christopher Ayres (English) Hasumi was Kantarou's underclassmen during university, but graduated before Kantarou because Kantarou kept on skipping class to exterminate youkai. Both Hasumi and Kantarou are their sensei's brightest pupils, but Hasumi is more financially successful and academically respected. Hasumi regularly gets into fights with Kantarou since he claims that youkai do not exist. He adopts Rosalie as his daughter on his visit to London. He writes off Rosalie's ability to see youkai as hallucinations. However, for one who adamantly claims that youkai do not exist, he seems to know an awful lot about said youkai. Kantarou has remarked that, in actuality, Hasumi probably likes youkai a whole lot more than he lets on.
Raiko Minamoto (源頼光, Minamoto Raikō?)
Voiced by: Masaya Matsukaze (Japanese), John Gremillion (English) Raiko is the head of the Minamoto family and leader of the government's Demon Extermination Squad. He wants to make Kantarou cancel the name contract with Haruka so Haruka will get his memories back and become the "real" demon eating tengu he wishes to defeat. It is said that his sole weakness is his younger sister, Ayame. He hates that Kantarou was able to unseal the demon-eating tengu but he himself could not. He wields Minamoto's Legendary sword.
Suekichinobu Watanabe (渡辺末吉延, Watanabe Suekichinobu?)
Voiced by: Kazuhiko Inoue (Japanese), Rob Mungle (English) Watanabe is loyal to Raikou and is one of his retainers. He is a member of Raikou's Demon Extermination Squad and possesses 'Minamoto's arm'.
Fuji (, Fuji?)
Fuji is Haruka's previous master before meeting Kantarou. Haruka's name under Fuji was 'Rin'. Fuji sealed Haruka because she was possessive of him and did not want him to have another owner after her death. She also attempted to find a way so that her soul would be alive forever. Fuji practices onmyodo. This explains Haruka's dislike of it.
Pichi Pachi Pitch
Main Characters Three DVD covers showing the three forms of the main characters Lucia (blonde hair), Hanon (blue hair), and Rina (seaweed green hair): mermaid (left cover), human (center cover), idol (right cover).
Lucia Nanami (七海 るちあ, Nanami Ruchia?)
Voiced by: Asumi Nakata Lucia is the Mermaid Princess of the North Pacific Ocean, keeper of the pink pearl, and the main character of the story. She goes up to land to search for a boy she saved seven years ago. She is unaware of the danger in the marine world and of her real mission until she is told of them by her "older sister", Nikora. She is characterized by her simplicity and naïveté, but with having a strong will, typical traits of shōjo manga heroines. Her idol form is Pink Pearl Voice. Of all the mermaids in the series, Lucia's mermaid form and human form contrast the most (Lucia has dark blonde hair and brown eyes in the surface while having lighter blonde hair and light blue eyes while at sea).
* Some fans in the West still spell her name as "Luchia," due to a misunderstanding of the spelling systems of different languages. The Italian name Lucia follows Italian spelling rules, which say that "c" is pronounced as a post-alveolar affricate (the same sound that is written as "ch" in English) when it appears before a front vowel (in this case, "i"). That pronunciation is correctly represented in Japanese kana as るちあ. When attempting to transliterate the kana back into Latin characters, some people, unaware of the Italian spelling of the name, tried using the English "ch" to represent that consonant, resulting in the incorrect spelling "Luchia".
Hanon Hōshō (宝生 波音, Houshou Hanon?)
Voiced by: Hitomi Terakado Hanon is the Mermaid Princess of the South Atlantic Ocean and keeper of the aqua (水色 mizu-iro "water-color") pearl. Unlike Lucia, Hanon goes up to land to escape water creatures. She is perky and feminine, yet a bit more worldly than her friend Lucia. This worldliness is evidenced by many of her actions—especially by her romantic pursuit of her music teacher, Tarō Mitsuki. Her idol form is Mizuiro (Aqua) Pearl Voice, although the first time that it is named in the manga, she is erroneously called Blue Pearl Voice.
Rina Tōin (洞院 リナ, Touin Rina?)
Voiced by: Mayumi Asano Rina is the Mermaid Princess of the North Atlantic Ocean and keeper of the green pearl. Initially she is depicted as beautiful but stern and bent on revenge for the capture of her best friend, Noel. Later, however, she evolves into a more mature character, and acts as an older sister figure to Lucia and Hanon. She seems to love plasma TVs and shows this love in many anime episodes. Her idol form is Green Pearl Voice.
* Some fans in the West still spell her name as Lina, because the Japanese language does not distinguish the sounds "r" and "l", treating them as the same. This means that "ri" and "li" are both represented as リ, and it can be difficult to figure out what the intended romanization is until it is established by official sources.
Supporting Characters
Kaito Dōmoto (堂本 海斗, Doumoto Kaito?)
Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio Kaito, the son of a pair of musicians, is an avid surfer, as well as Lucia's love interest. Though he is popular with girls, he is secretly in love with a beautiful mermaid who saved him from a shipwreck seven years ago, which killed his parents, and has yet to realize that this mermaid is Lucia. Later in the story, it is discovered that beneath Kaito's human exterior lie some distinctively un-human qualities and that he is a prince of an ancient water race and the younger twin brother of Gakuto. Kaito has a hard time when Lucia comes in her human form, because of having feelings for both her human form and her mermaid form. Kaito eventually realizes that the two are one, giving Kaito the ability to love Lucia no matter what form she is in.
Hippo (ヒッポ, Hippo?)
Voiced by: Miyako Ito Lucia's guardian who serves as her guide. Hippo accompanies Lucia in her search for her pink pearl, and is among those who voice disapproval of her relationship with Kaito. He is also polite, always putting -さん, -san after every name, even when angry. In the anime, he is shown as Lucia's pet penguin. Later on, he is able to transform into a very cute human boy, as well as a creature called a Hippocampus.
Nikora Nanami (七海 にこら, Nanami Nikora?)
Voiced by: Eri Saito Nikora is the virtual manager of the "petit-hotel" Pearl Piari (プチ ホテル パール ピアリ, puchi-hoteru pāru piari?) on land, where Lucia, Hanon, and Rina work (in the manga, she is the owner of a bath house called Pearl Waters). A purple mermaid, she poses as Lucia's older sister in order to inform her of her mission. In the last chapter of the manga, it is discovered that she is seven years older than Lucia.
Madame Taki (タキさん, Taki-san?)
Voiced by: Kumi Yamakado Madame Taki is the owner of the Pearl Piari. A fairly major character in the anime who is a fortune teller and friend to the mermaid princesses.
Tarō Mitsuki (海月 太郎, Mitsuki Tarou?)
Voiced by: Daisuke Kirii Tarō is Lucia's music teacher and Hanon's love interest (she refers to him as 太郎ちゃん, Tarō-chan). He had met a mermaid in the past, and made a piano piece for her, not knowing what happened to her after their last meeting.
Noel (ノエル, Noeru?)
Voiced by: Ryoko Nagata Noel is the Mermaid Princess of the Arctic Ocean and keeper of the deep blue (i.e. 藍色, ai-iro) pearl. She helped Rina escape from the sea monsters, which led to her capture. She is calm, gentle, caring, and studious (as she sometimes wears glasses on land later in the second season of the anime). She is Caren's older twin sister by about a minute at the most. Noel cares deeply for Caren, the one that she had always wanted to meet. Her idol form is Ai-iro (Deep Blue) Pearl Voice.
* In the third volume of the English manga, ai-iro was translated as indigo, but deep blue makes more sense regarding the character's colour scheme; the colours may be based on the rainbow, but Lucia is pink, not red. It is yet to be seen whether this will be corrected.
* Some refer to Noel's name as Noelle, because originally Noel is a male name, while Noelle is the female form, but the official English translation as well as the official Japanese romanization uses Noel.
Caren (かれん, Karen?)
Voiced by: Ema Kogure Caren is the Mermaid Princess of the Antarctic Ocean, keeper of the purple pearl, and twin sister of Noel. In the anime, she first appears as the winner of a beauty contest that the main trio enters; in the manga, she first appears to save them from the Dark Lovers. In the first season, Tarō asks her about his mermaid, and she later blames Rina for Noel's kidnapping. Even after things are straightened out, she chooses to go find Noel alone. She is Noel's polar opposite, having a mysterious personality. Caren and Noel are twins, born on opposite sides of the Earth. When Caren finally meets Noel, she launches herself at Noel, hugging her and calling her Onee-sama, a respectful term for big sister. Even though the two had not met before, Caren cares most for Noel and would do anything to save her, even if it meant Caren having to find here on her own. While she is cold and distant in the first season, she is found to be wild, humorous, and even a bit strange in the second. Her idol form is Purple Pearl Voice.
Coco (ココ, Koko?)
Voiced by: Satomi Arai Coco is the Mermaid Princess of the South Pacific Ocean and keeper of the yellow pearl. She is incarcerated by the sea monsters for most of the first season, so not much is known about her. In the manga, however, she is a friend of fellow Mermaid Princess Sara. Later, she found to be playful and gentle in the manga, yet brash and outspoken in the anime. Her idol form is Yellow Pearl Voice.
Aqua Regina (アクア・レジーナ様, Akua Rejīna-sama?)
Voiced by: Kumi Yamakado Aqua Regina is the ocean goddess who gives the Mermaid Princesses new songs and upgrades for their gear. However, this is all that she can do alone after expending a great deal of energy thousands of years ago. She is needed to ultimately stop the sea monsters, and the seven pearls have to be gathered to summon her; Gaito/Gakuto seeks to summon her as well, so that he can use her to destroy the world. Aqua Regina later gives bands to the mermaids to upgrade their singing power; as in many magical girl series, this is signified by adding frills and accessories to their dresses. She also upgrades their microphones in the end of season one, before she is finally summoned. At the end of the manga, Aqua Regina reveals that Lucia is to be her successor.
Sara's servant (, Bāya?)
This old woman only appears in the manga. She is Sara's servant and guardian from childhood, and worries about Sara's involvement with Gakuto. However, Sara treats the woman like garbage and refuses to listen to her. The old woman therefore helps the princesses in secret to atone for what her ward has become. She is actually at the root of the incident that caused the events in the story.
Antagonists
Gakuto (楽斗/ガクト, Gakuto?)
Voiced by: Daisuke Kishio Gakuto is the leader of the sea monsters who is bent on taking over the marine world. He is always depicted drinking wine, and wearing black. His resemblance to Kaito made the latter a subject of initial ire by Rina. He is known in the anime as Gaito (ガイト). (There is no definite reason for the name change, but one obvious reason is to distinguish him from J-Pop star Gackt, whose name is spelled the same way in katakana. In the Del Rey manga translation, his name is spelled Gackto in order to emphasize the comparison between the character and the singer.) He is in one episode turned into Kaito and seems to get feelings for Lucia's human form.
The Dark Lovers (ダーク・ラバーズ, Dāku Rabāzu?)
Gakuto's four female followers who serve him in exchange for his love for them. There are composed of the following:
Izuru (イズール, Izūru?)
Voiced by: Sayori Ishizuka
Izuru is the most mature of the four, she has the power to control waves and marine beasts and has the ability to create dragons from water. She is also the most obsessed with winning the heart of Gakuto.
Eriru (エリル, Eriru?)
Voiced by: Yuki Matsuoka
Eriru is the one with the multiple personality disorder. At one phase, she is cute, beady-eyed, and acting as if she were antsy (spinning around and never saying any normal speech). In another phase she can speak correctly and is more observant of her surroundings. In her third phase, when threatened (or when she spins around), she becomes scary, her eyes glow red, and she changes her voice accordingly.
Maria (マリア, Maria?)
Voiced by: Sanae Kobayashi
Maria is the one closest to Gakuto in terms of love. She is also very cruel at times, and sometimes seems to see Gakuto more as a boy-toy than a love prospect. She has the power to make and/or manipulate ice and snow.
Yūri (ユーリ, Yūri?)
Voiced by: Chieko Honda
Yūri is the youngest-looking of the four. She has the ability to control people and objects, especially with the use of her music and, if any, a nearby piano. Although Yūri is loyal to Gakuto, his continued treatment of her as a child leads her to a star-crossed relationship with Hippo, i.e. his human form.
The Black Beauty Sisters: Mimi and Sheshe (Screenshot from eyecatch)
Black Beauty Sisters (ブラック・ビューティー・シズターズ, Burakku Byūtī Shizutāzu?)
They're composed of the red-wearing older sister Sheshe (シスターシェシェ, Shisutā Sheshe?, Voiced by: Miki Tsuchiya) and the blue-wearing younger sister Mimi (シスターミミ, Shisutā Mimi?, Voiced by: Noriko Shitaya). Gakuto hires them after the Dark Lovers' failed attempts to capture the Mermaid Princesses. These two have the ability to sing tunes more powerful than the songs the Mermaid Princesses themselves sing, although in the anime and the second arc of the manga, the Princesses manage to get strong enough to overpower them. Though Gakuto turned them back to their original forms (two angler fishes), they were brought back in the second season. Their group name is usually shortened by fans to BBS.
Sara (沙羅, Sara?)
Voiced by: Kana Ueda Sara is the Mermaid Princess of the Indian Ocean and keeper of the orange pearl. She joins Gakuto in his quest to take over the marine world after an incident bestowed her a dark power, turning both her orange hair and her orange pearl pitch black (though her eyes stay orange) and destroying her own kingdom. That incident was a proposed rendezvous with Tarō, her secret human lover, in which he never showed up. (In the manga, he actually arrived before, but Sara's guardian found out about the relationship and insisted that he leave, convincing Sara that he had abandoned her.) In a fury, Sara unleashed a wave of power, destroying her kingdom and causing the wave which killed Kaito's parents and from which Lucia saved Kaito. In the manga, her villain name is Black Pearl Voice and she transforms into an idol in a black dress reminiscent of a diva. However, in the anime, she does not transform until she turns good, and instead has the power to sing offensively in a humanoid, amphibious form like the villains and mermaid idols, with or without her E-pitch. In the end, she decides to join the other mermaids as is her duty. She, herself, seals the gate to Gakuto's castle in the book because it's her duty and she unsealed the gate after her kingdom was destroyed. In the TV show, Aqua Regina seals the gate and Sara goes with Gaito because she loves him. The manga shows that she goes with him because she realizes that he is the one that needs her the most and that what he did was partly out of love for her and the want to make her happy. She also appears in the second season as a spirit, informing Lucia of the future Orange Pearl Voice and offering her assistance where she can. Sara is also seen singing with the other mermaid princesses in the very last episode of Mermaid Melody Pichi Pichi Pitch Pure.