| Information | |
|---|---|
| Kana | 桜島 麻衣 |
| Rōmaji | Sakurajima Mai |
| Characteristics | |
| Age | 17-18 |
| Gender | Female |
| Height | 5'5" (165 cm) |
| Personal Status | |
| Status |
|
| Birthdate | December 2, 1996 (Sagittarius) |
| Occupation | |
| Year | |
| Affiliation |
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| Relationships |
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| Debut | |
| Anime | Episode 1 |
| Light Novel | Chapter 1 |
| Manga | Chapter 1 |
| Voiced by | |
| Japanese | Asami Seto |
| English | Erica Mendez |
| French | Samira Mameche |
| German | Marcia Von Rebay |
| “ | Forget what you saw today. Also, don't have anything to do with me under any circumstances. If you understand, then say yes. | ” |
— Mai Sakurajima to Sakuta Azusagawa
| ||
Mai Sakurajima (桜島 麻衣, Sakurajima Mai) is the main heroine of the Seishun Buta Yarou wa Bunny Girl Senpai no Yume wo Minai series. She is a notable actress/model and a third year at Minegahara High School, the same school as Sakuta Azusagawa.
Appearance
Mai is an attractive individual—described as an inside-out beauty by Kaede—with waist-length black hair that has bangs hanging on the left side with a bunny-shaped barrette in the back, blue-purplish eyes and a slim and fit figure. She's fairly tall for a Japanese girl, standing at a height of 165 cm.
In her bunny costume, she wears bright black high heels and wraps her long, slender legs in translucent black tights. Similar to a black leotard, the outfit highlighted the lines of her body, while the chest made a firm, modest valley. White cuffs accented her wrists and her neck was adorned by a white smart collar with a black bowtie. On the waist of the leotard, a white bunny tail is on her waist. Mai wears the bunny costume only twice throughout the series; she maintains the rabbit-themed motif by continuing to wear the aforementioned bunny-shaped barrette, while her phone is covered by a personalized phone case shaped like bunny ears.
She is often seen in her school uniform, which consists of a white collared shirt, a red tie, a cream vest, brown shoes, and a blue skirt with a light brown blazer on top that she wears unbuttoned. She wears translucent black tights with her uniform as well. When not being at school, she usually wears her casual attire, which consists of a light blue button-up sleeveless shirt with a white jacket that is open up, dark blue long pants, and a pair of light black colored high heeled sandals.
In the trailer for the second movie, Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Venturing Out, Mai is shown to wear glasses. In the second anime series, Rascal Does Not Dream of Santa Claus, Mai no longer wears the bunny-shaped barrette, and also has a new phone without the bunny-ears case.
Personality
Mai is a kind yet serious individual, which is especially evident around Sakuta Azusagawa. Given her former bitterness, she seemed to have a slightly cold demeanor in the first episodes, with a tendency to want to be on her own; despite wearing a bunny costume at the library for attention, she wasn't willing to attract more attention than necessary for herself. When noticed and recognized, she would be listening to music using earphones. Largely justified by her fame-laden childhood, which stopped her from being in school long enough to make friends, her somewhat bitter attitude changed, also thanks to meeting Sakuta. Upon resuming her acting career, Mai gradually started opening up to people, and at that moment, it turns out she has all the kindness, maturity, and professionalism expected from an actress of her status. She is also a high achiever at school, helping Sakuta at studying, and good at cooking.
Despite being a cold individual and seemingly always annoyed at Sakuta, her "tsundere"-like traits are largely downplayed, and she definitely doesn't deny her feelings; indeed, she has no problem telling Sakuta how much she loves him, even despite the teasing and seemingly nonchalant responses she gives him.
Instead, when it comes to topics she's uncomfortable with, Mai tends to ignore and stuff unpleasant feelings down rather than deal with them, as seen when, before her invisibility was subdued by Sakuta, she harbored deep anxiety over the possibility that she could be forgotten entirely and over the topic of her hiatus, as she still harbored bitter feelings over the circumstances that caused them; these feelings have now subsided since she started acting at another agency. While, just like Sakuta, she has a sarcastic sense of humor, she really is innocent at heart and can become shy and flustered when Sakuta teases her. She is a genuine and kind-hearted person who would never harm anyone.
Mai is actually very polite, levelheaded, helpful, and altruistic (examples include when Mai denounced the hospitalization incident as false for Sakuta's sake and when she gave Kaede Azusagawa, Sakuta's younger sister, a dress both as a gift and to at least spark interest in returning to the outside world, showing her true soft nature). Kaede herself is very fond of Mai, seeing her as a role model for her beauty and kindness, and wishes she could be just like her.
Though at first Mai could be somewhat harsh and strict towards Sakuta at times due to his lewd remarks and call him a pervert or an idiot, she is genuinely affectionate and kind to him as well, and she often says that she loves him more than he thinks - which is proven to be true. Then, as her relationship with Sakuta goes on, she becomes less strict and more cheerful and openly affectionate.
In the end, Mai is definitely a kind, nice girl at heart, and, just like Sakuta, she has a quick wit yet is immensely good-hearted. She's unwaveringly loyal and virtuous, and shows the full extent of her kindness and selflessness as she sacrifices herself to save Sakuta from being hit by a car and become Shoko's heart donor. However, she's revived as Sakuta manages to get back in time to save her.
History
Mai began acting at the age of six. After landing the lead role of a morning drama (a character known as "Maiko-chan"), Mai's profile increased from there, and she began appearing in more and more movies, television shows, and commercials. Mai enjoyed the limelight despite the stress it gave her, but it suddenly ended after her mother, who was also her agent, forced her to participate in a swimsuit photoshoot in 9th grade despite her objections. Mai thus took a hiatus and attended high school, though because of work commitments made before then, she only joined on the second term of her first year. By then, social circles had formed, making her the "odd one out," causing her to be isolated. As a result, the student body didn't know how to deal with her. While they had no reason to bully her, they also feared associating with her would cause themselves to be isolated as well. Unbeknownst to Mai, these events caused a severe emotional disturbance in her, and the effects of adolescence syndrome caused her existence to become unnoticed by other people. While she initially enjoyed a respite from the spotlight, Mai soon realized she was in peril of disappearing altogether.
Due to her successful career pre-hiatus, Mai was able to go on the property ladder while still at high school. She lives in an apartment across the road from Sakuta's. Upon deciding to resume her career, she leaves her mother's agency for the agency of Ryoko Hanawa.
Adolescence Syndrome
- Main article: Adolescence Syndrome
Mai's effect was that she turned invisible, along with the things she touched, and that others began to forget her. As a result of wanting to be unseen by the public, Mai's existence slowly began to fade away. Over time, even those who had talked to Mai before would suddenly forget about her. This effect was subdued once Sakuta Azusagawa, the last person to forget about her, publicly confessed his love for Mai in front of the school, effectively making her reappear, and forcing the students and staff to acknowledge her existence.
Relationships
Sakuta Azusagawa
Sakuta was the only person to see Mai in a bunny costume at the library. Though Mai warned against seeing her again, Sakuta became interested enough to talk to her again the next time he did see her, after school. It is from Sakuta that Mai hears of adolescence Syndrome and how she could be suffering from it.
Although Mai isn't happy that Sakuta knew of her decision to quit acting, she takes action after finding out how Sakuta knew by calling the journalist in question that Sakuta found out from, and stopping her from publishing Sakuta's scars in exchange for an exclusive interview about her return to showbiz with another agency. From that point she would credit Sakuta for her decision to return, although she takes care not to publicly reveal his name.
Mai did not reveal her relationship status until a tabloid-related "scandal" forced her to do so publicly in front of cameras at a press conference. Before then, there were already signs that she had fallen for Sakuta. She displays "Type B tsundere" tendencies during her first night with Sakuta at a hotel, after they flee more than two hundred miles west to find people who still recognize her. Since then, she mostly tolerates Sakuta's lewd jokes and snarky remarks, sometimes teasing him back. Mai twice displays gratitude to how far Sakuta will go for her, first on their night at the hotel, then three nights afterwards, when Mai became fully aware that Sakuta was staying awake in order to not forget her.
On the day Mai reappears after Sakuta confesses to her in front of the entire school, Mai doesn't take it well. She slaps him in the face, stamps him on the foot and dares Sakuta to prove his love for a whole month. She also refuses to answer Sakuta's confession while the rest of the school is watching, but does denounce the hospitalization rumors regarding Sakuta. Ultimately, Mai does not reject Sakuta, since she chooses to go with him when the teachers call him over. From then on, Mai and Sakuta would meet every day for lunch.
In the following month, Mai's relationship with Sakuta is threatened when she sees Tomoe Koga on top of Sakuta in the room they were supposed to be in for lunch. Though Mai tries to be understanding, even letting Sakuta go on the fake date with Tomoe, she would end up witnessing the scuffle in Shichirigahama station between Sakuta and Yosuke Maezawa that ended with Sakuta grabbing Tomoe by the hand and fleeing the station. Fortunately, Sakuta is able to get Tomoe to reset time so that none of the events above happened. Instead, on the reset June 27, Mai affirms her relationship with Sakuta by kissing him on the cheek.
During summer break, Mai is told by her agency that she is not allowed to date; she relays the news to Sakuta, though she reassures him that they can still meet up in school. Though they meet several times afterwards, they are yet to kiss each other properly.
Nodoka Toyohama
Nodoka is Mai's younger stepsister, who has looked up to Mai ever since watching her first role on TV. It is also revealed that Mai's parents had separated after giving birth to her, only for Mai's father to end up with Nodoka's mother, causing the two mothers to feud with each other through their daughters. Nodoka's jealousy towards Mai, who won the better roles when they were younger, eventually caused them to swap bodies. Mai keeps calm in spite of the event, contrasting with Nodoka's panic, and they agree to live in this predicament for a while. Nodoka's jealousy gets the better of her, and a day later, she launches a verbal tirade on Mai, making her refuse to see Nodoka again. Despite Mai's lack of singing and dancing experience, her professionalism ultimately prevails in the month that she has to rehearse for a live concert with Nodoka's idol group, while Nodoka struggles with a routine filming session while in Mai's body.
Hours after the concert and an attempted suicide by Nodoka, Mai and Nodoka are able to reconcile at the former's home and revert to their usual bodies, after it was made clear to Nodoka that Mai did indeed love her, since she appreciated receiving the letters of support from Nodoka that kept her going in her early acting career.
Kaede Azusagawa
Having heard about her past from Sakuta, Mai acts very gentle towards her. Kaede eventually opens up to her after Mai gives her some new clothes. She is very considerate towards Kaede, which can be seen when her phone rings. She leaves to a different room to answer the call.
After Kaede gets her memories back, Mai later arranges for her to get a haircut before going back to school.
Shoko Makinohara
As Sakuta's first crush, Mai expresses some jealousy towards her and is uncomfortable with the two of them spending time alone. Part of this comes from Shoko openly admitting her affection for him.
When Shoko arrives at Sakuta's apartment for a prolonged stay, Mai momentarily loses her composure while cooking. She then nearly greeted her with a kitchen knife in hand.
With this though, Mai understands that Shoko was there for Sakuta when she was not, as she was busy with work.
Upon learning of her circumstances, Mai becomes much more compassionate towards her and becomes much less hostile towards Shoko's feelings for Sakuta. She also tries to save her from her illness by sacrificing herself; however, the situation is resolved when Sakuta gets back in time to save Mai, and they decide together to change timeline where they risk sacrificing their memories of each other.
Other versions
"The Knapsack Kid"
The Knapsack Kid (ランドセルガール, Randoseru Gāru) is a younger version of Mai Sakurajima who always carries a red backpack around with her. She first appears in one of Sakuta's dreams roughly a month after the timeline was rewritten by Shoko Makinohara, in Rascal Does Not Dream of a Sister Venturing Out - at the end of that same novel, and the beginning of the following novel, Sakuta sees this version of Mai for real, and it appears that only Sakuta is able to observe her. After Sakuta informs the correctly-aged Mai about this observation, Mai shows Sakuta a DVD of one of her earliest roles, and Sakuta is able to confirm that the Mai he saw looked around the same age.
The Knapsack Kid has the ability to transport people between realities. She does this to Sakuta when the latter admits to being lost, after he finds that nobody is able to observe him in his current reality. After Sakuta makes sense of the reality he was transported to, he seeks the backpack-wearing Mai again in order to return to his current reality. Sakuta sees The Knapsack Kid again in Rascal Does Not Dream of a Nightingale, immediately after witnessing Ikumi Akagi return to the reality where she came from - it is not determined whether Ikumi was also able to see this version of Mai.
Sakuta chases after several versions of Mai, including The Knapsack Kid, at the start of Rascal Does Not Dream of a Girlfriend - his pursuit leads to the reality being changed around him. While still in the changed reality in Rascal Does Not Dream of a Dear Friend, Sakuta encounters The Knapsack Kid again, who leads Sakuta around various places reminding him of the events of the previous timeline. The Knapsack Kid promptly disappears after a while. After Sakuta sees off Miori Mitou on the last Kamakura-bound train of April 10, and gets off at Shichirigahama station, The Knapsack Kid appears to Sakuta once more. The Knapsack Kid boards the next train that calls towards Fujisawa, and says goodbye to Sakuta. When the train leaves, Sakuta returns to his original reality and can no longer observe Adolescence Syndrome.
The Knapsack Kid appears to age normally - Sakuta observes that she is taller than previously, when sighted in Rascal Does Not Dream of a Girlfriend.
"Touko Kirishima"
In Rascal Does Not Dream of a Girlfriend, Sakuta attends the concert that Mai agreed to perform on April 1, but only does so after chasing down several versions of Mai that only he sees. After her performance, Mai declares that she is Touko Kirishima (霧島 透子, Kirishima Tōko), after months of initially denying that she was. Her declaration causes the reality around Sakuta to change, as well as the alternate reality that Ikumi Akagi had been keeping contact with. When pressed for an explanation by Sakuta, Mai merely states that her agency had told her to keep it a secret, and promises to talk about it with Sakuta later.
The next time Mai sees Sakuta, however, is with the returning Shoko Makinohara, who had told Sakuta the truth about the real Touko Kirishima. Mai, who doesn't know about this, reacts jealously and leaves Sakuta alone. In the following volume, after Sakuta gets Miori Mitou to properly grieve for the real Touko's death, he drives her to Mai's next concert. Half an hour before Mai is due to perform, she is visited by Sakuta and Miori, and is told that Miori is actually Touko. Eventually, she is convinced to step aside to allow Miori to perform. At the end of the performance, Mai faints, and comes back to her senses having realized she is not Touko Kirishima. She quickly clears up the misunderstanding by claiming that her initial performance was an April Fool's joke.
Etymology
- The name Mai (2) means "linen robe" (麻衣).
- Mai's surname Sakurajima means "cherry blossom" (桜) (sakura) and "island" (島) (shima/jima). Therefore, put together, her last name means "cherry blossom island". Sakurajima is also the name of a real-life volcano in southern Kyushu.
Trivia
- In "The World Without You" and "Wash It All Away on a Stormy Night," the two episodes in which Mai wears the light blue button-up sleeveless shirt, it is shown to have six buttons, but in "This World You Chose" and "Sister Panic", it has five buttons, with the top button that's on Mai's shirt collar disappearing, most of which have it with five buttons, so its possible that this is an error in the animation.
References
- ↑ Light Novel Volume 13, for a day
- ↑ Light Novel Volume 14
- ↑ before Light Novel Volume 10
- ↑ Volume 10 onwards