Minami Ikoma

Minami Ikoma
生駒 みなみ Ikoma Minami
Character Information
Gender	Female
Age	15
Date of Birth	20 February
Team	Mai-High swimming team (Junior)
BWH	78-56-80
Blood Type	B
Height	151cm (4'11")
Weight	41kg
Job	Anti - Cuticle Swimming Club Member
Class	3-C (Junior high school)
Family	Unnamed parents Unnamed younger brother
School	Maijima Private Middle School
Seiyū	Satomi Akesaka
Manga Debut	Chapter 50
Anime Debut	Episode 24

Minami Ikoma (生駒 みなみ, Ikoma Minami) is a youthful and naive middle school girl that does not seem to know what she wants to do. She is often seen alone and lost in her own pool of thoughts about the things in life. Minami loves swimming and she is in the school's Swimming Club. However, she was only able to get picked as a third substitute for the school team. When she thought about giving up the sport, like what her friends were doing, Minami was startled to see droplets of tears coming from her eyes.

Appearance

Minami's messy hair.

Minami has short brown hair that was bleached and frilled up due to swimming. Her eyes are the same brown color. She has been shown to wear the Mai-High school uniform and the school swimsuit. Else than the yukata which she wore for the festival and one scene at home, it is relatively unknown what is Minami's casual wear.

Body-wise, being still a young middle school student, Minami is still underdeveloped when compared to some of the other girls seen among the series. She also is short in height, being the shortest among her two friends, Akko and Saitou.

Personality

Minami has a conservative yet shy attitude (especially towards her senpais). She is more relaxed when talking to her best friends and classmates. She is also even more relaxed when talking to her family members. Whenever her younger brother annoys her, the two usually ends up in a quarrel.

Background

It is largely unknown about Minami's past. However, it was shown that during her younger years, Minami developed a love for swimming and has always wanted to join the swim team. When she entered Maijima Private Middle School, she immediately joined the swim team in hope of being a regular of the team.

Character History

Swimmer Girl Arc

Minami and her friends.

Minami's arc starts in the beginning of the summer season, when she takes the bus from a bus stop near her home to school. She was hoping to get into the meet for the swimming club, but she is disappointed when she is selected for third substitute in 100m front, which means she will not be able to participate in her last meet for swimming.

When Akko and Saito tries to comfort her, she says to herself that she did not feel sad or anything. But deep in her heart, she really wanted to be in her last meet. This left a gap in her heart. Elucia de Lute Ima realized this when she bumped into Minami while searching for Keima Katsuragi and asked Minami of his whereabouts. Minami returns to the pool again later in the day. Her seniors are already leaving the pool, leaving her behind. She is saddened over the fact that her middle-school life turned up to be nothing. Later, she returns to the pool again for she had forgotten her goggles. However, as she enters the pool, she sees a person swimming with a beautiful stroke in the pool. She was amazed and instantly became interested in him.

The next morning, she asks Akko and Saito if they knew the person she saw last night and gives his details. They look up in the book of famous boys in Maijima but ended up with nothing. Minami gives up but Akko and Saito persists, wanting to know who is this person. They ask their friends with their phone 'till they get a mail with an image of Keima playing with his PFP. Minami recognizes him and tells them it is him. Akko and Saito bursts out in laughter because Minami had found interest in the weirdest weirdo in the school. They also tell her rumors about him. Minami regret telling Akko and Saito about him because she is now being made fun of.

Being a senpai is a love potion you get for free!

Back in Keima's class, Keima seems to be in pain after doing the fast stroke and blames it on Elsie for pulling her hagoromo too hard, making his body ache a lot afterwards. Elsie then asks why Keima needs to do the stroke in the pool in front of Minami. He explains that "Being a senpai is a love potion that you get for free", which means that he can easily capture Minami's heart as long as he is the senior. He also explains that the "other him" is the one who is working towards this relation for him.

The next morning, Minami tries to fix her ruffled hair before going to school but it doesn't change. Her little brother, who is peeking at Minami fixing her hair, rushes up and messes with Minami's hair, calling it "Bird's Nest". It makes Minami angry and a small fight occurs 'till breakfast. When she arrives at the school, she is apparently passing by the Maijima High building and remembers about her senior, Keima. She also remembers that her friends told her to stay away from him but Minami thinks differently and ends up looking for him. She sees a person with almost the same hair as Keima but is surprised by her two best friends from behind, who are looking at the same person. When the person looks back, it is not Keima and they are disappointed by this. After some sighing, Akko and Saito decides to call Minami "Charagi", which they have shortened form "In Charge of Katsuragi". Minami blushes and at the same time curses her two best friends.

Minami bumps into Keima

After failing to meet Keima during that day, Minami ends up meeting him on the bus. Staying quiet, Minami reflects on what her friends said about him compared to what she thinks about him. Her bus stop comes, and Minami tries to reach for the stop button, only to receive help from Keima. Then he tells her not to say anything about him swimming. Stunned that Keima knew she was there watching, Minami comes home with her heart throbbing. The next few days, Minami watches Keima closely to see what he is like. Though she sees that Keima is a weirdo, Minami still wonders about him. Soon enough, her friends talks about the upcoming summer festival and asks each other who they will take. Minami's friends both state that they already have someone.

Later that day, on her way home on the bus, Minami thinks about who to go with to the festival, only to think about Keima. At that very moment, she notices that Keima is standing next to her. Keima states that he noticed that Minami was following him around recently. While Minami is embarrassed that Keima knew about this, Keima then asks if she would like to go with him to the festival. Minami reaches home, only to feel the heart throb. She knows now what this feeling is: love.

Minami at the festival.

It is the night of the summer festival, and Minami walks at Keima's side. Feeling that her body is as light as the clouds, Minami proposes to herself that this is how it feels to be beside the person you love. The two enjoys the stalls as they walk around. Suddenly, Minami's friends appear in the background, approaching her direction. Wanting to avoid them, Minami pulls Keima away to another location of the festival. At this moment, Minami wishes to let go of Keima's hands, but he persistently holds on. The two goes to where a bonfire is going to be lit. Keima states that if someone attaches their wishes to the bonfire before it burns, their wishes will be granted. He asks Minami if she has any, but she says she has none. Last year, she made a wish, but it did not come true; she thinks that she has nothing else to do now. The festival ends, and Minami cries as she thinks that it is the end of the fun time she used to have.

Keima holds on.

Suddenly, Keima is not by Minami's side. She wonders where he is, only to find him climbing the stairs to the top of the hill. Minami chases after him, feeling that he will leave her. Keima then tells, her that everything has to end in order to open a new world. After telling her that every end will make one stronger, and that he will always watch over Minami, Keima initiates a kiss, expelling the escaped spirit.

"Keep on swimming."

The next day, Minami is swimming at the pool once again. She tells her friends that she will continue swimming because she still enjoys it. Holding a water yo-yo up, Minami says that the water sparkles so nice that it feels like it is her first time swimming. Her friends ask why she has the yo-yo, but she herself also wonders why she has it. On the benches near the pool, Keima and Elsie watches Minami. Elsie is sad because the festival is over, but Keima states that they are not over, for there will be more next year and the year after. Holding up a water yo-yo, Keima looks at it with a sad expression. Elsie notices this and asks why he looks like so; Keima denies it.

Old Conquest Arc

During the old conquest arc, Keima drops by Maijima Junior High to meet Minami. When he does, he greets her, saying "Hey, it's been a while, Minami-chan." Because Minami has forgotten about the conquest and Keima, she only responds in bewilderment, as she only recognizes him as a "stranger", saying that she does not know Keima. Though Keima tries a few more attempts, it is shown that Minami has completely forgotten about him. Keima then walks away, relieved that Minami will not get involved in this incident as she does not have a goddess.

Mai-High Festival Arc

Minami was later shown to be captured (off-screen) but was later freed from Vintage thanks to the goddesses. On the last day of the festival, she was shown to be enjoying herself at the festival with Akko and Saito.

Relationships

Akko and Saito

Akko and Saito are Minami's best friends but they usually tends to joke around too much with Minami. Nevertheless, they seem to care for Minami as a good friend. She may resent being friends with the two at times, but she still treasures their friendship.

Minami's Brother

Minami's brother (Since he's young) constantly annoys Minami and tends to intrude on Minami's room or personal problems. He also tends to verbally insult Minami (calling her bird or bird's nest), often resulting in being hit on the head. However, he does care about his sister as when he "killed" Minami with his "Final Pile Driver". He seemed anxious.

Keima Katsuragi

Minami comes across Keima swimming in the school pool late after school,. She becomes captivated by him, describing Keima as "shining in the night sky". Later, she is shown to have developed a slight dependence on Keima during the festival, but regains her self-confidence after her capture. During the Old Conquest Arc, Minami has indeed forgotten about Keima but she's still swimming at her best.

Quotes

• (To her friends) "He was more fascinating than handsome..." (Chapter 51, p.3)
• (To Keima Katsuragi) "They are friends of mine since elementary school but they always toy around with me." (Chapter 53, p.7)
• (To Keima) "Please don't go! Senpai, don't leave me!" (Chapter 53, p.13)
• (To Keima) "Um...Have we met before?" "Who...who are you....? I don't know...you..." (Chapter 120, p15)

Etymology

• Minami's surname Ikoma means "life, living" (生) (i) and "pony, horse, colt" (駒) (koma).
  • Ikoma comes from Ikoma Station (生駒駅, Ikoma-eki)

Trivia

• Minami likes swimming, fermented soy beans, family and friends.
• Minami dislikes her hair, capsicums and her little brother.
• Minami's recent troubles: "If I keep swimming, I wonder if I'll have to live with this messy hair for the rest of my life..."
• At the age of 15, Minami is currently the youngest capture of Keima Katsuragi in the series, which excludes Urara Shiratori, who is currently the youngest "conquest" in the series, but due to being a capture 10 years in the past, she is not considered as a "true" capture.
  • Minami is also the only capture of Keima that is in junior high school.
• Minami is currently the only known character to have a brother.
• Minami is currently the only conquest character who has narrated her own story arc.
• The cause of the crevice in Minami's heart was the lack of confidence from being unable to achieve her dreams.
• Just like a few other characters, Minami appears briefly at the end of episode 12 of the second season and shortly at the start of the third season.