Ichihara Yuna is naive when it comes to love, saying her "first love was a prince from a picture book," while Yamamoto Akari is proactive in romance and skilled at "romantic bargaining." These two heroines, along with Akari's stepbrother Yamamoto Rio and Yuna's childhood friend Inui Kazuomi, are the focus of this bittersweet yet youthful love comedy, "I Want to Eat Your Pancreas," or "FuriFura" for short! In this article, we'll take a closer look at one of the two heroines, Ichihara Yuna.
Profile of the Heroine, Yuna Ichihara
The heroine, Yuna Ichihara, is a first-year high school student. Born on January 7th, she is a Capricorn with blood type A. Her favorite color is pale pink, a color that perfectly suits the kind-hearted Yuna. Her favorite subject is art. Her least favorite subjects are math, chemistry, English, and physical education. She's more of a liberal arts girl, so she chose "liberal arts" when it came time to advance to the next grade.
By the way, her hobby, like that of a girl yearning for love, is "reading shojo manga." Due to her lack of self-confidence, she answers that her charm point is "none."
Shy and inconspicuous...
At first, Yuna was extremely shy, unable to even look people in the eye when talking. The only person she could talk to about anything was Sachiko, who had moved far away. One of the highlights of [FuriFura] is watching Yuna's incredible growth as she falls in love for the first time.
My first love was a "Prince Charming"!
Yuna is a total romantic! Her first love was a "Prince Charming" from a storybook, and she had never fallen in love with a real boy. A girl obsessed with love, Yuna initially couldn't understand Akari's proactive approach to love, who only thought about "preparing to fall in love."
She has a fateful encounter with the main character, Rio Yamamoto!
Yuna's best friend, Sachiko, is moving far away, so she decides to go see her off at the station. As she walks aimlessly, filled with sadness and anxiety, she is suddenly grabbed by the shoulder by Rio, whom she's met for the first time.
Yuna is captivated by Rio's resemblance to her "prince sire," and they have a shocking encounter when Rio calls her "poop." Rio tells Yuna, who is about to step in dog poop, "If you keep walking, you'll step in it," and leaves the scene. It's a shocking encounter in a different sense, too!
A fateful reunion with Rio! But...
When Yuna starts attending high school this spring, she finds out that Rio is also attending the same school! However, Rio, who Yuna met and befriended by chance at the station, fondly calls her "Akari." Yuna is shocked, assuming Rio is Akari's boyfriend.
A shocking encounter with the other heroine, Yamamoto Akari.
Akari is a beautiful girl with an incredible figure. She's the polar opposite of Yuna, playing "romantic games" and even having a boyfriend.
On the day Yuna saw Sacchan off, Akari was also seeing off an acquaintance. Akari had forgotten her wallet, so she asked Yuna, whom she was meeting for the first time, to lend her some money. However, the kind-hearted Yuna, while distrustful of Akari when they first met, lent her 1,000 yen, thinking, "It would be a shame if what Akari said was true."
Despite their polar opposite views on love, they became best friends.
Later, Yuna learned that Akari had moved into the apartment where Yuna lives. At first, Yuna was swayed by baseless rumors and distanced herself from Akari, who had polar opposite views on love, but the two gradually grew closer and eventually became best friends.
When Yuna consulted Akari about her crush on Rio, Akari did her best to support Yuna as an older sister, even setting up study sessions! Support from an older sister seemed like the most reassuring thing, but then something happened...
A love that was "guaranteed to end in heartbreak."
Yuna had heard from Akari that Rio was very picky about looks and very popular with girls. He confessed his feelings to her all the time, but she quickly rejected him, saying she didn't like his face...
One day, Yuna happened to bump into Rio, who had been called in to confess his feelings. Rio asked if it was Yuna who had called her. When Yuna replied that it wasn't, Rio simply replied, "That's a good thing." In other words, if it had been Yuna who confessed to her, she would have had to turn him down, so it was a good thing that it wasn't. Rio spoke unconsciously, but that one word made Yuna realize that Rio wasn't interested in her romantically.
She discovers Rio and Akari's secret...
After meeting Rio, Yuna is immediately drawn to him and realizes she's in love. With Akari's support, the two begin to grow closer. However, this is only as friends... Rio trusts Yuna and tells her that "there was one person I truly fell in love with, but I never confessed my feelings."
Yuna then realizes that the person she "couldn't confess her feelings to" was Akari. Rio's father remarried Akari's mother, and they became brother and sister without ever confessing their feelings to Akari.
How does Rio feel now...?
Knowing that Akari is the one Rio truly fell in love with, Yuna asks Rio, "Do you still love Akari?" But Rio simply replies, "I don't know. I try not to think about it."
"So, Dump Me"
Yuna finds out that Rio's secret crush is Akari. Rio also tells Yuna that if she's someone she can confess to, she should confess even if she knows she'll be rejected. Yuna knows that even if she confesses to Rio, he doesn't see her as a romantic interest, so it's a "love that's guaranteed to end in heartbreak." That's why she decided to continue secretly liking Rio. But now she has a "reason to confess."
Yuna finally musters up the courage to tell Rio how she feels! "So, dump me. So you don't have to carry these feelings forever. Then, when you're feeling sad and can't tell anyone how you feel, maybe I can be a friend you can talk to..." he added sadly... And then Yuna was dumped by Rio.
Get Over the Confession and Become Stronger!
Yuna knew what was going to happen, but she was still devastated by Rio's rejection. However, with Akari's comfort, she continued to try her best to talk to Rio and remain friends with him. Yuna was shy and timid, but her confession strengthened her, and she felt so relieved that she said, "I felt like I was transported to a new world."
Rio is wavering... What is Yuna doing then?
Rio realizes that Akari has fallen in love with Yuna's childhood friend, Kazuomi Inui. And when Rio sees Akari truly falling in love, his suppressed feelings for Akari explode! Because they're not actually siblings, Rio's classmates tease him, asking if he's actually dating Akari. Impulsively, Rio is about to confess his feelings.
However, Yuna stops him and scolds him. Until now, Yuna would never have been able to mediate such an argument or scold Rio, but she's really changed! Rio was also surprised by how much Yuna has changed.
She reaffirms her feelings for Rio.
Yuna confessed her feelings to Rio, intending to be a friend who would listen to him when he was troubled, but she rejected him. However, seeing Rio's sad expression as she watches her lovestruck Akari, she realizes that she still hasn't gotten over her feelings for Rio. From then on, she becomes more proactive and tries harder to talk to Rio!
A fierce approach to Yuna! Enter Wagatsuma!
Agatsuma is Rio's friend, and by chance, he ends up going to the summer festival with Yuna, Rio, Akari, and Kazuomi. Yuna looked so cute in her yukata that Rio even praised her for being "cute"!
Wagatsuma is a bright and kind boy who falls in love with the equally kindhearted Yuna. Even after the summer festival, Wagatsuma continues to actively approach Yuna, even asking her for advice on a gift for her sister! He also tells Rio, who is starting to have feelings for Yuna, that he likes her.
Summary of Yuna Ichihara
We've thoroughly introduced Ichihara Yuna, the heroine of [I Want to Eat Your Pancreas]. What did you think? At first, Yuna was shy and reserved, but after meeting Rio and Akari, she grows immensely! Be sure to check out how Yuna, a romantic who only yearns for love, experiences all sorts of events and falls in love with all her heart.
