Umi Sonoda
| Umi Sondoda | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Kanji | 園田海未 |
| Romaji | Sonoda Umi |
| Statistics | |
| Birthday | March 15th |
| Year | 2nd |
| Height | 159cm |
| Blood Type | A |
| Three Sizes | B 76, W 58, H 80 |
| Other | |
| Zodiac Sign | Pisces |
| Favorite Food | Manjuu from Honoka's Family |
| Disliked Food | Carbonated Drinks |
| Charm Point | Her long black hair from childhood |
| Debut | |
| Debut | Season 1, Episode 1 |
| Japanese Voice Actress/Actor | |
| Seiyuu Kanji | 三森すずこ |
| Seiyuu Romaji | Mimori Suzuko |
| Other Language Voice Actor/Actress | |
| English | Kira Buckland |
| Icon and Signature | |
| Icon |  |
| Signature |  |
Umi Sonoda
Background
Personality
The personality of this character varies across different media, making her one of the members with the most changes.
A member of the school idol project 'μ's,' which aims to prevent the closure of Otonokizaka Academy.
The character feels deeply saddened by the potential closure of Otonokizaka Academy, a place that has ties to their family for generations.
Their family is the head of a traditional Japanese dance school.
They have a serious personality, being strict toward rule violations and laziness.
Their strengths are a strong will and excellent focus.
Due to their family background and personality, they speak politely, using formal honorifics regardless of who they are addressing.
Their weakness is being shy, and they are uncomfortable with romantic or sexual topics.
In contrast, they are surprisingly bold in the music PVs of μ's, throwing kisses in almost every PV. They mentioned in a magazine interview that this was suggested by Eri. However, as 'Love Live!' primarily operates on a parallel setting, the original intent behind this is unclear.
Umi-chan In all media, they are childhood friends and close companions with Honoka Kousaka and Kotori Minami. While often troubled and scolding Honoka, they also have many fond memories of being pulled into new worlds by her. Kotori, though quiet, is easily caught up in their pace and finds it difficult to refuse requests.
Clubs and Hobbies
Special skills include playing the koto, singing nagauta (a traditional Japanese music style), and practicing kendo.
Hobbies include reading and calligraphy.
Appearance
Chronology
Anime
Manga
Alongside Honoka, they were members of the kendo club and achieved notable results. However, due to the desire to prevent the school's closure and inspired by A-RISE, they suddenly quit the club to become school idols, leading to a major quarrel with Honoka.
Honoka's first live performance was a disorganized mess, put together with only Kotori and younger members, and was almost unbearable to watch. However, moved by the seriousness Honoka showed on stage and the passion expressed through tears after the performance, Umi decided to leave the kendo club as well and join the school idol activities.
Her hobby is writing poetry, and this led them to take on the role of lyricist.
In addition to Honoka and Kotori, they are also childhood friends with Eli. They have a good relationship with Rin and Hanayo, who were their junior and senior, respectively, in the same elementary and middle school.
SID
In the novel 'School Idol Daily,' Umi's character is based on the version from G's Magazine.
Her family consists of her parents, grandmother, and an older sister with a significant age gap. According to a description in SID, her sister had already married and left home at a young age, which may have led to the decision that Umi, rather than her sister, was more suited to inherit the traditional Japanese dance school. Umi is one of the few members of μ's explicitly mentioned to have a younger sibling-like status, making her uniquely the only second daughter among the group.
Despite coming from such a distinguished family, Umi's household was surprisingly accommodating to her childhood friend Honoka and her family, allowing them to stay over multiple times. Although one might assume her parents would disapprove of their daughter's idol activities, they readily accepted them simply because 'Honoka invited her' (though they seem to have little understanding of the club's activities). Her parents were also somewhat fervent fans of Honoka.
As someone 'born into a prestigious family and raised to naturally expect to inherit the family business,' Umi feels a sense of kinship with Maki. When Maki's father prohibited her from participating in club activities, Umi was the first to step forward and defend her. After putting in her utmost effort for Maki's sake, Umi eventually won over Maki's father.
All Stars
Umi in All Stars generally adheres to her anime version.
In this story, even same-age friends from Aqours and Nijigasaki, like 'You,' 'Riko,' and 'Kasumi,' are called without honorifics.
When in costume or performing karaoke, she initially feels extremely embarrassed but, once her switch is flipped, she enthusiastically engages with the audience, showcasing a dual-sided personality.
Umi serves as a mentor figure to Rina Tennoji. Rina was able to solidify her vision of a school idol shortly after starting activities thanks to the inspiration of Umi's school idol endeavors.
In the 'Daily Theatre' segments, she is depicted as a lover of rigorous training and the outdoors.
Together with Kanan Matsuura, who shares similar hobbies and stamina, they created an unconventional training menu called the 'Hell Triathlon.' Test runs and improvement feedback have been provided by members like Rin Hoshizora, Setsuna Yuki, Karin Asaka, Ai Miyashita, Emma Verde, and Lanzhu Zhong, allowing the menu to continually evolve.
Since there are no members in μ's who share this interest, she is looking for hiking companions. Members like Emma, who share the same hobby, and the curious Lanzhu have joined her on her adventures.
Songs
General election results and positions
| Rank | Song | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Bokura no LIVE Kimi to no LIFE (僕らのLIVE 君とのLIFE) | ||
| 2 | Snow halation | |
| 5 | Natsuiro Egao de 1,2,Jump! (夏色えがおで1,2,Jump!) | |
| 3 | Mogyutto "love" de Sekkin Chuu! (もぎゅっと"love"で接近中!) | |
| 5 | Wonderful Rush | |
| 7 | Music S.T.A.R.T!! |
Bokura no LIVE Kimi to no LIFE
Yuujou No Change
Snow halation
Baby maybe Koi no Button
Natsuiro Egao de 1,2,Jump!
Mermaid festa vol.1
Mogyutto "love" de Sekkin Chuu!
Aishiteru Banzai!
Wonderful Rush
Oh,Love&Peace!
Bokura wa Ima no Naka de
WILD STARS
Kitto Seishun ga Kikoeru
Kaguya no Shiro de Odoritai
START:DASH!!
Korekara no Someday
Wonder zone
No brand girls
LONELIEST BABY
Music S.T.A.R.T!!
LOVELESS WORLD
Takaramonozu
Paradise Live
ENDLESS PARADE
Koremade no Love Live!
Sore wa Bokutachi no Kiseki
Datte Datte Aa Mujou
Donna Toki mo Zutto
COLORFUL VOICE
Yume no Tobira
SENTIMENTAL StepS
Dancing stars on me!
KiRa-KiRa Sensation!
Happy maker!
Soshite Saigo no Page ni wa
Shangri-La Shower
Ruteshi Kisuki Shiteru
Dreamin' Go! Go!!
Mi wa µ'sic no Mi
Super LOVE=Super LIVE!
Angelic Angel
SUNNY DAY SONG
Bokutachi wa Hitotsu no Hikari
HEART to HEART!
Arashi no Naka no Koi dakara
Korekara
MOMENT RING
Sayounara e Sayonara!
A song for You! You? You!!
Natte Shimatta!
Etymology
Trivia
- Despite being consistently drawn as blue, her hair is described as being black in early Dengeki magazines.
- On August 5–14, 2011, during the 'Love Live! Café' event held at the 'Cure Maid Café' in Akihabara, they took first place in the 'μ's Image Girl Contest.' A specially drawn reward illustration was available for download from the Cure Maid Café official website (accessible here). However, because Kotori's part-time job in the TV anime adaptation was set at the same café, they effectively lost their 'Image Girl' position.
- In March 2014, during the 'Lawson Image Girl Contest' held in collaboration with Lawson, they once again claimed first place.
- Fans affectionately refer to them as Umi-chan. In some instances, fans call them 'Umimi' by reading their name as is in kanji, but this nickname has associations that may not be ideal for use among fans, so caution is advised.