Shy, reserved, and easily lonely... Maina isn't particularly good at being in front of people, and it's hard to describe her personality as ideal for an idol. Still, as the main heroine of this series, she has a hard-working personality, which is one of her selling points. She gradually progresses as an idol by increasing her conversations with Eripyo. This time, we'll introduce Maina's character and charm as she grows! We'll focus on her interactions with Eripyo, but we'll also introduce various aspects of Maina.
What's Maina's profile?
First, let's start with Maina's profile. Maina is a 17-year-old from Kurashiki, Okayama Prefecture. At 152cm tall, she's not as tall as Aya, but she is still a petite girl. Her member color is salmon pink. It overlaps with Leo's pink, but the staff told her, "I've never seen anyone look so good in salmon pink," so she made the decision on the spot. As a result, when wearing special costumes for release events and the like, while the other members have flowers or other decorations on their chests, Maina has a slice of salmon decorated on her chest.
Maina and Eripyo's Encounter
In the original manga, at the beginning of Volume 1, Cham Jam is performing an outdoor live show, and Maina waves back at Eripyo, who is watching. This is depicted as their first meeting, but in the anime version, it seems that Eripyo and Maina meet a little earlier. Their first meeting actually occurred before the show, when Fumi called out to Eripyo, who was walking alone, and Maina handed her a flyer. After seeing the show that day, Eripyo was captivated by Maina's charm and grew into the top fan she is today?
By the way, the beginning of the original story goes like this...
This is how their meeting in the original story, mentioned earlier, was depicted. This is a rare photo from when Eripyo was still a normal woman (lol). This was Maina's first response to Eripyo, and she didn't respond again until Volume 5, Chapter 28 (and it was unclear whether it was a response to Rena or not...).
She's cold towards Eripyo. But Maina really does love Eripyo.
Maina generally seems bored and doesn't have any fans waiting in line at handshake events. (Sometimes, there are people who line up because they feel sorry for her because there's no one in line...) However, since Eripyo became a Maina fan, she's bought a ton of her CDs and they've been spending a lot of quality time together. To buy up Maina's time, Eripyo buys up dozens of CDs by herself and monopolizes Maina. However, Maina, who doesn't even look at Eripyo and remains distant, never engages in a proper conversation. Even Eripyo, who is known for her cool demeanor, was flustered, saying, "I'm being cold to her."
Maina's true feelings...
Eripyo may think Maina is cold to her, but the truth is that she can't concentrate on what other otaku are saying when Eripyo is watching her. Maina already has a crush on Eripyo at the beginning of the story. She even panicked when she saw Eripyo getting along with Rena. However, Maina originally joined Cham Jam because she aspired to be an idol, and she has kept her feelings for Eripyo hidden, believing that she cannot let her current idol status end.
Maina's casual clothes aren't salmon pink!
Maina is usually associated with salmon pink, as it's the color of Cham Jam, but she never wears salmon pink in her private life. When she met Eripyo by chance on the train, she was wearing mostly white, and in Eripyo's eyes, Maina looked like an angel. By the way, at this time Maina was trying to express her gratitude to Eripyo, but she said, "Thank you as always. For coming to shake my hand," to which Eripyo mentally chided her, "You should just say you're supporting me!"
Maina becomes anxious when Eripyo doesn't stack her CDs
"I'm happy just to have her come to see me," Maina thought at handshake events. However, when Eripyo was injured and unable to stack her CDs, rumors began to spread that "Eripyo has changed her favorite idol," and Maina began to live in anxiety. Each time, they only interacted for five seconds. Maybe she really wanted to stack her CDs for Fumiko...? After constantly worrying about this, Maina finally blurted out, "Why can't you stack my CDs for me?!" As a result, the conversation then turned to the usual gut-wrenching (lol).
Eripyo's gift gives me 100 times more energy!
Eripyo begged her parents for money to buy Maina's CD, but instead of money, they gave her kibi dango. Eripyo handed the kibi dango to the staff as a gift for Maina. Since it was a gift from Eripyo, it underwent a thorough check to ensure there were no listening devices or anything like that (lol). The kibi dango was delivered safely to Maina. Maina is overjoyed by her first present and regains her energy...but then, when Eripyo has some nori seaweed in her hands, she is once again struck by the fear of her "favorite idol changing."
A long, five-second confession dispels Maina's anxieties.
Maina had been worried about Eripyo's "favorite idol changing" for a while, but it was Eripyo's "five-second act of expressing her feelings before being torn apart" that dispelled her anxieties. Eripyo speaks her feelings for Maina with incredibly rapid-fire speech. Maina listens shyly, but finally replies, "I understand," finally freeing herself from the fear of "changing her favorite idol." This scene is important in the original work, so I'm looking forward to seeing how this fast-paced delivery will be portrayed in the anime adaptation.
Maina is so cute working part-time at a maid cafe!
The studio where cham jam performs was closed for a month for renovations, so Maina spent her birthday working part-time at the maid cafe where Aya works. By chance, Eripyo and Kumasa happened to be there. When they met, Eripyo was shocked, but Maina was happy to meet her on her birthday. Afterwards, there was a chance to take a Polaroid photo with Maina in a maid outfit, but Eripyo was too shy and ended up not being able to do anything. In the end, Fumi took a photo of Maina in a maid outfit with an Instax camera, which Eripyo was incredibly grateful for, and the photo of Maina in her maid outfit became a family heirloom for Eripyo (lol).
Maina struggles to make a heart shape because she's not used to it.
They often take Instax photos at cham jam events, but as you can see, there's a fair amount of distance between the two of them, and they can't make a heart at all. Perhaps because of this, when Maina accidentally encounters Eripyo and her friends outdoors, she frantically makes a heart shape with her hands for Eripyo, but the heart shape is misshapen... Unable to understand Eripyo's intentions, she wonders if he's using qigong or something. She then collapses, pretending to be affected and saying, "I've been tricked..." Satisfied that her feelings have been conveyed, Maina runs off, leaving Eripyo and her friends with a mystery.
Maina's voice actress in the anime is Hina Tachibana!
The voice actress for Maina has finally been announced: Hina Tachibana! It feels like fate that her name contains the same "na" character as Maina's. ...That said, there are probably many people who have never heard her name before. In fact, Hina Tachibana only began her career in 2018, and Maina is her first time playing a major anime character! If you're curious to see what it's like, check out the PV on the official website. Personally, I thought the shyness of the voice was perfect for Maina. Eripyo will be played by Fairouz Ai, who also began her career in 2018, so keep an eye out for the performances of these two newcomers!
Summary of the Shy Heroine Maina
So far, we've introduced the main heroine, Maina. What did you think? Because of her shy and introverted personality, she struggles to close the gap with Eripyo, which can be frustrating, but I hope you enjoy this as a highlight of the series. Personally, I'm also excited to see the protagonist and heroine being played by new voice actors. I look forward to seeing Maina in action in the anime!
