When you hear the name of this work's author, Yamamoto Soichiro, many people will immediately think of "Teasing Master Takagi-san." The heroine, Takagi-san, is a "seme" heroine who is always teasing Nishikata, but in contrast, the heroine of this work, "Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru," Yaotome Urushi, is a "uke" heroine. She is constantly blushing and flustered, making her the complete opposite of Takagi-san. In this article, we will take a closer look at what kind of heroine Yaotome Urushi is.
The Main Heroine with Zero Defense
Urushi's lack of defense is a defining feature. As a senior, she tries to maintain a superior position to Ayumu, but she quickly falls for his "offense." First, Urushi teases him with a smug look on her face, to which Ayumu replies honestly, blushing in embarrassment. This sequence is a standard. She also has a distinctive catchphrase, "Ahh!", which she spontaneously blurts out when she speaks. I think how she delivers this voice will have a big impact on the quality of the anime (laughs). By the way, she's shy and clumsy, and often ends up creating embarrassing situations herself.
The petite Urushi is 149cm tall.
One of Urushi's biggest insecurities is her small height. She hasn't grown at all since her second year of junior high school, and has remained at 149cm for over three years. In an attempt to somehow grow taller, she occasionally remembers to start drinking milk, but unfortunately, her progress remains at zero...In fact, when Ayumu measures her height, she is only 147cm, which makes her unusually flustered. (A subsequent physical examination reveals that she is 149cm.) Incidentally, it's not just her height that she is small and feels insecure about, but also her breasts...When they were all taking a bath together during the school trip, she was self-conscious about her small breasts and so bathed away from her friends, and since her friend Maki has large breasts, when Urushi was able to easily get through a spot that Maki's breasts got in the way of and she couldn't, she felt a sort of inferiority complex.
Urushi is smart, but has zero athletic ability
The school sports day was held. Ayumu excelled in the relay and ball toss events, attracting attention from those around him. His performance was so impressive that it was said he singlehandedly led Class 3 to victory. However, when Urushi appeared, the atmosphere changed completely. It seemed that his lack of athletic ability was well-known, to the point that those around him were saying, "With Yaotome-san there, it's impossible for us to win." In fact, in the obstacle course, which he boasted about his confidence in, he failed to make the most of his small frame and performed disastrously. Even during the three-legged race with Ayumu, she repeatedly fell, leading people to say, "Even Tanaka can't cover for Yaotome-san?" On the other hand, she seems to be quite intelligent, consistently achieving high grades despite not studying much.
Will Urushi, who has zero athletic ability, lead Class 3 to victory?
Urushi's natural athletic ability has been holding Class 3 back, but she unexpectedly shines at the very end! The event is the final inter-class relay. First place means victory, and it's Ayumu who runs the anchor. The anchor race also turned into a scavenger hunt, with participants having to reach the finish line with a designated object. The object chosen for the scavenger hunt was Urushi. The designated object was "something cute"... Urushi was embarrassed to be carried like a princess, but even though she contributed to the team's victory, she finished the sports day feeling uneasy about being treated like an object.
Urushi's Body is Abnormally Stiff
One day after school, Ayumu was heading to the shogi club as usual when he heard Urushi groaning. Wondering what's going on, Ayumu rushes over and sees Urushi doing some stretching exercises. Hearing Urushi say, "I've always been stiff," Ayumu decides to help her with her stretching. He goes behind her and slowly pushes her back. Even before they start, Urushi is timid, saying, "If I push too hard, I'll die," but there's no sign of her getting started... When Ayumu urges her, "Can I start?", she trembles and says, "This...I've reached my limit..." Her body remains at an almost 90-degree angle, no different from a normal sitting position. Ayumu can't believe it and says, "You've got to be kidding me," so he pushes her back hard, almost to the point of making Urushi cry.
Urushi wasn't actually the club president
Up until now, Urushi has appeared as the club president, but because the school requires four members to be recognized as a club, the club wasn't officially a "club." In other words, Urushi isn't the "club president"... Because of this, she is constantly recruiting new members, and unlike Ayumu, who prefers to enjoy the shogi club with just the two of them, she actively seeks to increase the number of members. Early in the story, she welcomes a friend as a new club member, but the idea of joining is canceled due to her finding a boyfriend. The Shogi Club officially becomes the club captain in Episode 72, when Rin joins after Takeru. This is when they become third-year high school students. However, since both Ayumu and Takeru call her "senpai," Rin is the only one who calls her "captain."
Urushi is aware of Ayumu's feelings from the beginning.
It's right in Episode 1 that Urushi becomes convinced that Ayumu likes her. When Ayumu constantly calls her "cute," she asks him directly, "You like me, don't you?" Urushi tries to get Ayumu to admit that he likes her, saying, "If you admit it, I'll hug you" and "I'll even kiss you." But Ayumu manages to keep his cool and get through the situation with a poker face, leaving Urushi feeling self-conscious and embarrassed. Looking back, this scene in episode 1 seems to have been Urushi's most aggressive moment (lol). She must have been feeling quite confident, because when Ayumu mistakenly thought she'd received a love letter and written an "OK" response, she was so shocked that she collapsed and leaned against the wall, unable to move.
Did Urushi not see Ayumu as a "romantic interest"?
In the story, Ayumu declares that he likes Urushi, but Urushi constantly denies Maki's teasing, saying, "That's not true." While it's obvious from the outside that she likes him, it's not that she's just being shy and evasive; it seems that Urushi was truly unaware of it. It wasn't until Chapter 108, roughly two years after the start of the series, that Urushi realized she liked Ayumu. Seeing beautiful flowers on a school trip, Urushi couldn't help but speak to Ayumu, who wasn't there. At that moment, she suddenly realized, "Ah, I love you." Although Urushi is usually easily embarrassed, this time she immediately confessed her feelings for Ayumu to Maki, who congratulated her. (In fact, Maki was even happier than Urushi.) Incidentally, from this moment on, she began to see Ayumu as a member of the opposite sex, further fueling her embarrassment.
My favorite shogi piece is the "Tokin" (pawn).
The names of the shogi club members include the names of shogi pieces: Tanaka Ayumu's is "Pawn," Kakuryu Takeru's is "Bishop and Bishop (Dragon)," and Kagawa Rin's is "Bishop." However, Urushi's name does not include the name of a shogi piece, making it difficult to know which piece she likes, but in the story she clearly states that her favorite is the "Tokin (a flipped pawn piece)." Therefore, when she appears excited, she performs the "Tokin pose" while shouting "Hey, shogi!" or "Yay, shogi!". Urushi herself seems to like this pose, but Ayumu dismisses it, saying "What's with that idiot?"
Summary of the Heroine, Yaotome Urushi
So far, we've introduced you to the main heroine of "Soredemo Ayumu wa Yosetekuru," Yaotome Urushi. What did you think? She's a charming heroine with a cute, small animal-like aura, completely different from the devilish "Takagi-san" from the previous work. Urushi is a heroine who wants to be aggressive but always ends up being the one being attacked, which makes her embarrassed. She'll also have a voice in the anime, and I can't wait to see what she'll be like.
