Anata

Anata (あなた lit. You) is the player character and the protagonist of Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS and Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club TOKIMEKI Roadmap to Future. They don't have a name, allowing the player to decide their own name. Additionally, since this story progresses from the protagonist's perspective, their appearance is not depicted. As the player's avatar in All Stars, they do not appear in "School Idol Festival." They are a second-year student at Nijigasaki High School.

In the TV anime "Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club," a character holding the same position appears as Yu Takasaki (高咲 侑). For more details, refer to the respective article.

Background

In SIFAS, the story begins with the protagonist, "Anata," being moved by μ's and Aqours' joint live performance and visiting the School Idol Club. However, only Kasumi Nakasu is present, as the five club members have disappeared. Consequently, the student council president, Nana Nakagawa, declares that the club will be disbanded unless 10 members are gathered. The protagonist, Anata serves as the club president.

Since Anata is enrolled in the music department, the members' original songs are often composed by Anata.

A close friend of Ayumu Uehara, they are inspired to engage in school idol activities after witnessing a joint event by μ’s and Aqours. Lacking talent in singing and dancing, they don't participate in school idol activities themselves but encourage Ayumu to do so. They also strive to revive the School Idol Club, which was nearly dormant. Subsequently, with the unanimous agreement of the members, they become the 10th club member and are appointed as the president of the Nijigasaki High School Idol Club.

Personality

A second-year high school student enrolled in the music department. Their personal pronoun is "I" ("私"). They address older members or outsiders as "○○-san" and peers or younger members as "○○-chan."

They are courageous, speaking to strangers without hesitation if it pertains to something they like, and taking on unfamiliar tasks with confidence. Even when interacting with opposing parties, they attempt to understand through dialogue first. However, they can become overly passionate, losing sight of their surroundings, or assume "they should understand without me saying anything" when close relationships develop, which has led to conflicts with Ayumu. They have a routine of calming themselves through deep breaths. Within the club, they fulfill producer-like roles, such as composing, supervising members' practice sessions, and negotiating with organizations inside and outside the school.

Trivia and Notes

General

• Unlike Yu who is initially enrolled in the general curriculum and later transferred into the music course, Anata was initially enrolled in the music course from the beginning of the story.

The Player's Identity

• The original Japanese version of the game and the books such as the kizuna comics refers to the player character as "あの子", it can also imply “that girl” or “that boy". The word "子" has more of a feminine implication (as lots of girls' names end in 子), so it's often translated to as “that girl.”
• It's noted that the usage of "She/Her" in the global version is mainly due to the translation team's choice to not use gender-neutral pronouns in an English-speaking perspective, a choice that would later be retconned in TOKIMEKI Future Roadmap where Anata is now referred to using "They/Them."
• While the player's true appearance remains officially undisclosed after the release of the game's final chapter on May 30, 2023 and the game's closure on June 30, 2023, there are several hints of the player's true gender in this game:
  • In the 17th episode of Nozomi's Bond Story (SIFAS), Nozomi, Rin, Umi and the player character went to the Uranohoshi High School. However, Dia caught the four of them sneaking around and she mentioned afterwards that the whole school was talking about a suspicious group of four girls.
  • In Chapter 15 during a phone call with Shioriko, Ayumu says, "Do I really talk about her that much?"
    • However, in Japanese, the line is 「私って、そんなにあの子のこと話してる?」It does not inherently specify the gender of "あの子" (ano ko), so there is some ambiguity. あの子" (ano ko) literally means "that child" or "that kid," but it is often used to refer to someone casually, such as a friend, acquaintance, or even a romantic interest. The word "子" (ko) itself does not indicate gender. It could refer to either a boy or a girl, depending on the context.
• Like the Japanese version of the game, the international release of the TOKIMEKI Roadmap to Future game refers to the player as gender neutral.