Wataten!, originally written by Nanatsu Mukugi, is a four-panel comic that has been serialized in Ichijinsha's Comic Yuri Hime since 2017. It's a slightly yuri-esque comedy about the everyday lives of a reclusive female college student and elementary school girls. The long-awaited anime adaptation, produced by Doga Kobo, the studio behind Monthly Girls' Nozaki-kun and Himouto! Umaru-chan, began airing in January 2018, and has been generating a lot of buzz! This time, we'll be introducing you to Miyako Hoshino, also known as Mya-nee, the main protagonist of Wataten!.
Wataten! A Brief Synopsis
One day in May, almost two months into her college career, the protagonist, Miyako Hoshino, a reclusive and gloomy college student, was lazing around as usual when her fifth-grade sister, Hinata Hoshino, came home. Hinata had brought a friend with her, a beautiful young girl with straight black hair named Hana Shirasaki. The moment she saw the girl, Miyako was overcome with a feeling she had never experienced before. It was at that very moment that she realized, "An angel had descended upon me." After meeting this girl, Miyako tries every trick in the book to become friends with Hana, but Hana is wary of her, and her younger sister, Hinata, and her friends get caught up in a hectic daily life.
Hoshino Miyako CV: Reina Ueda
The protagonist of Wataten: An Angel Flew Down to Me, she is a freshman in college at the start of the story. Her younger sister, Hinata, calls her "Mya-nee," and throughout the story, she plays on that nickname and calls her "Mya-san" and "Mya-nee-san." She's surprisingly tall, standing 163cm tall and blood type A. She's extremely shy and hides her eyes with bangs reminiscent of Kitaro's, avoiding eye contact with others. While generally a typical introvert, she also has a surprising side, such as losing herself in pursuit of her passions. While her sloppy fashion and looks can easily fool you, she's surprisingly talented, and even outsiders acknowledge her overall beauty. She can be a bit dangerous when it comes to flowers.
Reina Ueda
Mya-nee is played by Reina Ueda. She's been active as a voice actress since 2012, and as of 2019, she's still young at 25 years old. However, she's a voice actress with a proven track record and talent, from playing over 10 characters in "Tesagure Bukatsusha" to skillfully portraying a crazy character. Her many notable works include Shirogane Lily in "Aikatsu Stars" and Shinjo Akane in "Gridman."
Mya-nee is actually beautiful!
It may be hard to tell with her Gegege no Kitaro-esque bangs and her seemingly undressed tracksuit, but she's actually a truly beautiful woman! While the style of the series might lead you to believe it's an anime about squealing over little girls, it's not an exaggeration to say it's actually an anime about enjoying beautiful female college students! (lol) Naturally, she doesn't consider herself beautiful or anything like that, but everyone she interacts with, including her younger sister Hinata, calls her pretty or cute. One of Miya-nee's good points is that she's a hidden beauty who doesn't reveal her true self, so let's keep her hidden!
Miya-nee is a total introvert
There are plenty of people out there who are a little bad at talking to others or don't know much about fashion, but Mya-nee is a true introvert! At first glance, she doesn't look that introverted...well, maybe a little? (lol) So, let's find out just how introverted she is!
I can't talk to people!
A major characteristic of Mya-nee is her inability to converse properly with others, a common trait among introverts. She's basically unable to hold a proper conversation with anyone outside of her family, whether they're adults or children, and she can barely buy things at a store. Well, it's better than being overly familiar, but it's still pretty serious (lol).
My voice is muffled
As mentioned above, I basically stutter, probably due to my extreme social phobia. I can't even hold a proper conversation, so even if I greet someone properly, elementary school students would applaud me (lol). When I get stuck, I have to ask an elementary school student to interpret for me.
My Fashion is Basically a Tracksuit
This may be obvious to those who have no interest in fashion, but Mya-nee's everyday clothing is the typical "stud jersey" from her school days, which is considered unfashionable. She basically wears this jersey with her name emblazoned all over it, so much so that you might think she has several of them (lol). Well, it may be a bit unfashionable, but it's functional! (Desperately trying to help)
She rarely goes out
People tend to misunderstand this, but Miyako-nee is a university student, so she goes out frequently during the day, and even though she's a bit unfashionable, she wears normal clothes. I assumed she was a NEET because she always seems to stay at home, but it seems she's actually attending university. However, she rarely goes out outside and orders everything she needs online, making for a reclusive life full of her own. She doesn't even seem to mind if her cell phone disappears for a while (lol).
No Friends
This is a fact that both she and those around her acknowledge, even to the point that her younger sister, Hinata, bluntly states, "Miyako-nee has no friends." And she herself doesn't deny it at all. In fact, it seems she had absolutely no friends until Hana and the others showed up, but thanks to Hinata, she's made some friends from elementary school and some friends her own age? Being a college student with only elementary school friends is kind of crazy in a lot of ways (lol).
Miya-nee is actually a great cook!
This is quite surprising, but despite appearing to be such a terrible and sloppy cook, she's actually a great cook! It's a skill she acquired by earning pocket money by doing housework for her mother. When it comes to sweets, they're not just comparable to store-bought ones, but are said to be even better because they're made with love! Her baking skills have successfully won the hearts of Hana-chan and her friends.
Miya-nee loves Hana-chan!
Miya-nee is seriously in love with Hinata's younger sister, Hana-chan. She's a young girl in elementary school... well, I guess you could say she's a yuri/lolicon (lol). He fell in love at first sight, and since then, he's been trying his hardest to impress Hana-chan. It all started with feeding her, and at first, she only wanted the sweets, but gradually, she's come to like her, not just the sweets. However, even when things start to get good, her extremely dangerous feelings towards Hana-chan come out and ruin everything (lol). According to Mya-nee, "I'll still be with her 10 or 20 years from now, making her sweets." (lol)
Mya-nee is also good at sewing
Finally, and it's no exaggeration to say that this is the defining characteristic of Mya-nee! Mya-nee is skilled at sewing, and she even makes her own cosplay costumes. She doesn't seem to be a huge anime fan, preferring to dress people in cute costumes rather than fully transforming into characters. While her costumes are primarily made for Hana, they're of such high quality that it seems like she could make a living off them.
I actually wear them myself
Mya-nee generally enjoys dressing others in costumes and admiring them, but when no one's around, she also enjoys secretly wearing them herself. That's what makes her so cute: she enjoys them too. Plus, Mya-nee herself is cute, so it suits her perfectly, so I hope she continues to wear it as much as possible (lol).
Mya-nee Summary!
Mya-nee is the main character of Wataten! Unfortunately, she's a gloomy, hikikomori girl who gets comforted by elementary school kids, but she's actually a beautiful, talented cook and a character worth wasting in many ways. However, her gradual growth as a recluse is one of the highlights and moving moments of this series. I'm looking forward to having Mya-nee continue to make lots of cosplay costumes for me, and to having Hana-chan wear them, and seeing Mya-nee herself wear them! So, that was an introduction to Hoshino Miyakoko and Mya-nee today.
