Eli Ayase

Spoiler Alert! This article contains details about plotlines described in the anime. Do not proceed unless you want to be spoiled.

Eli Ayase
Character PortraitWinterSummerS1 TrainingS2 Training
Kanji	絢瀬絵里
Romaji	Eli Ayase
Debut	Season 1, Episode 1
Statistics
Gender	Female
Birthday	October 21
Year	3rd
Height	162cm
Blood Type	B
Three Sizes	B 88, W 60, H 84
Other
Zodiac Sign	Libra
Favorite Food	Chocolate
Disliked Food	Seasoned Dried Plums
Charm Point	Her sharp style
Portrayals
Seiyuu Kanji	南條愛乃
Seiyuu Romaji	Nanjou Yoshino
English Dub	Erica Lindbeck
Icon and Signature
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Signature

Eli Ayase is a main character in Love Live!. She was a third-year student at Otonokizaka High School until she graduated in the anime's series finale but still retained her status in Love Live! The School Idol Movie. She is a member of BiBi, a sub-unit under μ's. Her image color is blue.

Background

Eli is a third-year student at Otonokizaka. She is a member of the school idol group μ's, which was formed to prevent the closure of Otonokizaka.

She is a quarter-Russian, with a Russian grandmother. For a long time, it was unclear from which parent her Russian heritage came, but in the manga adaptation, her mother is shown to have blonde hair, suggesting she strongly inherits her Russian traits from her mother’s side. The exact percentage of her mixed heritage is not often discussed, so it’s easy to misunderstand, but she is at least not a half-Russian.

Despite this, Eli is actually quite the “grandma’s girl,” affectionately referring to her grandmother as “Obaasama”. Incidentally, Eli’s grandmother is also an Otonokizaka alumna.

Her strengths include being popular among girls and having a strong personality. Her charm point is her well-proportioned figure.

Personality

Within μ's, she is known as one of the group’s main straight man, the one who reacts to or calls out the antics of others and has a reliable personality. However, in recent multimedia works, she has tended to be portrayed as a character who is quick to jump on the bandwagon.

Clubs and Hobbies

Her hobbies include quilting and making accessories. Her special skills are Russian language and costume making. Although it is typically rare for recessive genes like blonde hair and blue eyes to appear in mixed-race individuals, both she and her sister have inherited these traits, a phenomenon that is actually quite common among anime characters.

Appearance

Eli usually wears her hair in a ponytail, but she actually lets her hair down quite often. In fact, she always lets her hair down at home or when sleeping, and in the second season of the TV anime (episode 8), she went to meet her group members with her hair down. Also, as seen in her activities with BiBi and on the CD jacket for “Soldier game” (as “MakiUmiEli”), she doesn’t seem to have any particular attachment to a specific hairstyle.

Songs

General election results and positions

Rank	Song	Position
	Bokura no LIVE Kimi to no LIFE (僕らのLIVE 君とのLIFE)
8	Snow halation	*
9	Natsuiro Egao de 1,2,Jump! (夏色えがおで1,2,Jump!)
7	Mogyutto "love" de Sekkinchuu! (もぎゅっと"love"で接近中!)
9	Wonderful Rush
2	Music S.T.A.R.T!!

Chronology

Dengeki G's

Eli describes her own selling points as her well-proportioned figure inherited from her Russian grandmother, her cheerful personality, and her dexterity. In her childhood, she was reportedly called “smart, cute, Elichika” (a Russian-style diminutive of “Eli”).

Up until now, she has not participated in any club activities during her school life, making her activities with μ's her first experience in a school club. She also has two younger brothers.

Additionally, Eli is able to play the acoustic guitar, as shown in original illustrations created at the time of the mini-unit formation project, suggesting she was considered for a composer role in μ's.

Manga

Eli serves as the student council president.

A photograph appears in which a character with the same appearance as her younger sister Alisa from the anime, as well as a man and woman who appear to be her parents, are shown together. However, it is unclear whether this character is actually her sister, whether her name is Alisa, or even if she is a family member at all.

From a young age, Eli has lived in Chiyoda Ward and is childhood friends with Honoka, Umi, and Kotori. Even now, as a student at Otonokizaka, she remains a supportive figure to Honoka and the others. Since childhood, she has shown leadership qualities and has been popular within the local community.

Because of this, Eli does not oppose Honoka and the others’ idol activities; rather, she supports them from a personal standpoint. There is even a moment when she almost kissed Honoka to comfort her when she was about to cry.

On the other hand, despite being in the same grade, Eli had never met Nozomi before. She encountered Nozomi by chance when Nozomi was struggling with the disbandment of the Supernatural Phenomenon Research Society.

Eli is almost entirely ignorant about school idols and had never even seen A-RISE, who are highly popular. She initially regarded A-RISE as “only a step above amateurs.” However, after going to observe them at the UTX-owned theater with Nozomi, she changes her mind.

For some reason, the student council president of UTX takes a liking to Eli. When Eli decides to become a school idol, she is mocked by the UTX president.

While Eli wishes there was something she could do to prevent Otonokizaka’s closure due to declining enrollment, she also recognizes the harsh reality. As student council president, she struggles daily to ensure the school can end its long history on a high note.

During this time, she is invited by Honoka to join the school idol activities. Although she initially refuses due to her position as student council president, she still supports them.

However, at a meeting of local student council presidents, the UTX president belittles her by saying things like, “Are you really going to hold a school festival when your school is about to close?” This provokes Eli’s natural competitiveness.

Determined to prove them wrong, she accepts Honoka’s invitation and becomes a member of μ's.

SID

This iteration is based on Eli’s Dengeki and manga versions, but (as mentioned below) there are also depictions regarding the handover of the student council presidency that align with the anime version.

It seems her mother got married at the age of 18.

Her grandmother also appears in the story and runs a Russian restaurant in Otonokizaka, Eli’s hometown.

Among the third-year group, Eli is the only one who attended Otonokizaka Elementary.

Although she was born in Japan, due to her father’s work, she spent her kindergarten years in Russia and returned to Japan for elementary school. As a result, she lives in Japan with her younger sister.

She mentioned that she wanted to join the cheerleading or rhythmic gymnastics club in high school, but since clubs weren’t very active at Otonokizaka and she wasn’t naturally inclined to put in serious effort, she gave up on that idea.

It was at this time that she received an invitation from Honoka and the others to join μ’s.

Eli serves as the student council president at Otonokizaka Academy, but in reality, she didn’t volunteer for the position. Due to declining enrollment and the fact that Eli was one of the few third-year students who had known Otonokizaka for a long time, she was asked by the teachers and reluctantly accepted the role.

In fact, she is troubled by the question of who would be the most suitable junior to succeed her as student council president (since she will graduate from the school). There are hints in the story that Eli may eventually pass the position on to Honoka.

Anime

In Season 1, Eli serves as the student council president. In Season 2, she passes the presidency to Honoka. She has a younger sister named Alisa.

Eli becomes close friends with Nozomi from the time they are placed in the same class upon entering Otonokizaka, and they come to know each other well. From this period, Nozomi begins using a faux Kansai dialect.

In contrast, Eli is not childhood friends with the local group (Honoka, Umi, Kotori, and Rin/Hanayo). This is evident from the fact that she only recognizes Kotori as “the daughter of the principal, Ms. Minami.” Additionally, her personality is portrayed as more responsible and stricter compared to other media, leading her to initially reject school idol activities entirely.

While she wants to save Otonokizaka from closure, as student council president, she adheres to promoting the school’s existing merits. This puts her in opposition to Honoka and the others, who seek to prevent closure by introducing the new trend of school idols. However, since the student council, led by Eli, lacks a clear vision for saving the school, Eli’s efforts in the first half of Season 1 come across as somewhat futile. Despite this, it is revealed that Eli had taken ballet lessons as a child and was skilled enough to compete in ballet competitions, but she experienced a setback just short of success. This led her to look down on school idols, whom she considered “amateurs trying to be like real idols” (she even dismissed A-RISE, the top school idol group, as “nothing more than amateurs”). However, after seeing A-RISE perform live during the “Love Live!” regional preliminaries, she is overwhelmed by their quality. Umi is also shocked upon seeing footage of Eli’s childhood ballet performances, realizing how much higher the bar is. Although Eli wanted to save Otonokizaka in her own way, she was secretly drawn to μ's, who seemed to be enjoying their activities. At Umi’s request, Eli agrees to teach Honoka and the others dance, and through this, she experiences their genuine passion for the first time. Despite her ongoing rejection of school idols and her own reluctance to admit any desire to become one, she is persuaded by Arisa and Nozomi and is ultimately welcomed into μ's by Honoka. Her decision to join is influenced not only by Honoka’s determination and passion, but also by Arisa’s persuasion, Nozomi’s support, and Umi’s suggestion that she coaches the members. After joining μ's in Season 1, Episode 8, Eli, together with the similarly serious Umi, takes on a sub-leader role and helps organize the group. She also uses her ballet experience to assist with dance training. Eli is the one who proposes abolishing the group’s strict seniority hierarchy to create a more comfortable atmosphere.

Her mature demeanor is credited with boosting μ's’ popularity among female fans. She also helps strengthen the group’s unity during a training camp at Maki’s family’s villa. Before Eli joined, Umi was the main voice of reason and “straight man” in the group. With Eli’s addition, the members are relieved to have another responsible person, though Eli herself is somewhat hesitant at first. Eli often exclaims “Harasho!” (хорошо, Russian for “great” or “wonderful”) when moved, earning her the nickname “Harasho Onee-san” from the voice cast. She is also somewhat unfamiliar with certain aspects of Japanese culture, though not as much as her sister, such as looking at hamburgers at a fast food restaurant with unfamiliar eyes (Season 1, Episode 8) and not knowing about purikura until Honoka and the others explain it to her (Season 2, Episode 1). According to Nozomi, she once absentmindedly tried to bite into a toy chocolate.

After joining μ's, Eli’s more playful side emerges in Season 2. She participates in odd practices led by fellow third-year Nico, and in Episode 6, she joins in costume swaps and even a death metal-style cosplay which later gets them scolded by the principal. Her caring side is also highlighted, as she encourages Rin when she is chosen as a temporary leader (Episode 5), and, in Episode 8, she suggests waiting until the last minute when songwriting with the group hits a snag. Later, a conversation between Nozomi and Eli, along with Maki’s support after learning about Nozomi’s past, leads to the completion of “Snow halation” and the group’s advancement in the preliminaries. In Episode 11, when the group discusses μ's’ future, Eli insists that the decision should be left to Honoka and the others who will remain at Otonokizaka after the third-years graduate. Honoka and the others ultimately choose to disband μ's. At graduation, Honoka thanks Eli, saying, “I think I was able to continue as student council president because of all the feelings you put into it. Thank you so much,” bringing Eli to tears.

Eli also has a severe fear of the dark, as shown in Season 2, Episode 12, when she clings to a junior after the room goes dark.

As mentioned, in Season 2, she passes the student council presidency to Honoka with Umi as vice president and Kotori as assistant. This sudden development surprised many viewers, but it was foreshadowed in the SID version of her story. However, since the SID volume was released just before the broadcast of Season 2, Episode 1, this connection was not immediately clear. The subtitle for Season 1, Episode 7 is “Elichika,” but neither Eli nor Honoka and the others call her by this name in the episode. Unless viewers have read the original manga or SID, they may not understand the significance of “Elichika.” It is recommended to read those works for a better understanding.

During μ's’ first overseas live performance of “Angelic Angel,” Eli serves as the center position for the first time in the anime series.

In a scene where the group stays at a hotel, Eli sleep-talks, saying “Grandmother…” which is overheard by Honoka and Nico, showing her cute side.

Towards the end of the movie, Honoka decides to disband μ's. It is Eli, representing the third-years, who sends Honoka the email confirming the group’s dissolution.

School Idol Festival

This iteration is based on the anime version.

In her default lines on the home screen, Eli states: “At Otonokizaka, I am the student council president and Nozomi is the vice president.” This means that, in the School Idol Festival timeline, the student council has not undergone a generational change (this is because the app was released immediately after the first season of the TV anime).

In the main story, Eli shows great interest in the fake nose glasses that Kotori and the others have bought and even tries them on herself.

When the story focuses on BiBi, Eli joins in on three of Nico’s often questionable proposals, much to the frustration of Maki, their junior, who often ends up getting dragged along.

After winning first place in the “Summer Girl Contest,” players who logged in five or more times between July 21, 2014, and August 31, 2014, received a free UR Eli card. True to her self-proclaimed role as μ's’s gravure model, the card features Eli in a swimsuit, confidently showing off her impressive figure

All Stars

As with School Idol Festival, her characterization is based on the anime version. In ALL STARS, Eli appears as an admired friend and inspiration to the Nijigasaki High School Idol Club.

She is μ's’s dance specialist, and in Main Story Chapter 5, she engages in an intense dance battle with Nijigasaki’s Kasumi, which ultimately helps Kasumi define her own vision as a school idol.

Additionally, in this game, it is revealed that Dia Kurosawa from Aqours is a huge fan of Eli. This fact is kept secret until Bond Episode: Dia Chapter 24, where it is finally revealed (in the daily theater, Eli only learns about it from Dia’s sister Ruby). Normally, since both are student council presidents at their respective schools, their conversations are very formal and proper.

From that point onward:

• During joint live training sessions, Dia is visibly nervous when paired with Eli.
• In Main Story Season 3, a letter addressed to μ's from Dia herself is received, making it clear (in secret) that Dia is a devoted fan.

Eli is known for her dependable, big-sister-like personality, but her weaknesses remain consistent with the anime version. For example, when challenged to a test of courage, she is shown to be just as scared as Kanan Matsuura (Aqours), who is also known for her fear of scary things.

Legacy

As of 2025, Eli is admired by many school idols appearing in other Love Live! series, but she did not always enjoy such popularity. Before the anime adaptation, in the first four center elections, she never ranked within the top five. However, after the first season of the TV anime aired between the fourth and fifth elections, her ranking surged in the fifth election (for the 6th numbered single), held after the first season, she leaped to 2nd place (with Maki Nishikinotaking 1st). In this sense, Eli can be considered the character who benefited the most from the anime adaptation.

Within the Love Live! series, Eli is unique among student council presidents appearing in the TV anime, as neither she nor her family members were involved in school idol activities at the start of the series. Additionally, she is the only student council president to use typical feminine speech. However, this is not to say that no other student council president has used feminine speech—in the G's version of Sunshine!!, Dia Kurosawa (Aqours, Uranohoshi student council president) uses feminine speech (along with polite language).

While foreign or mixed-heritage school idols have become commonplace in the current Love Live! series, Eli was actually the pioneer of foreign heritage school idols (as a quarter-Russian with a Russian grandmother). Notably, a "pure" foreign school idol did not appear in the series until Nijigasaki (Emma Verde, a school idol of Swiss origin), and in the fourth main series, Superstar!!, the protagonist is of foreign descent (a quarter-Spanish, though the grandmother has never appeared in any media).

In Love Live! Sunshine!! (the sequel to Love Live!), School Idol Festival ALL STARS (where μ's interacts with other school idol groups), and Hasunosora Girls’ High School Idol Club (where the existence of μ's is hinted at), there are junior school idols who each regard Eli as their absolute favorite.

Dia Kurosawa

In the anime version of Sunshine!!, Dia is portrayed as an ardent μ's fan. She once strictly berated Chika who submitted a hasty application to start a school idol club. In the past, she has even cosplayed as Eli for fun. When her sister asked who her favorite is, Dia immediately answered, “I am absolutely devoted to Elichika.” Dia also has experience as her school’s student council president (and is somewhat clumsy), so one could say she is “already a Love Liver at the start of the story, just like Eli was.”

As mentioned earlier, this is also true in ALL STARS, which uses the anime version’s setting.

In the original and manga versions, however, Dia is completely unaware of school idols, so the “ardent μ's fan” characterization is unique to the anime.

Kozue Otomune

In works following Nijigasaki, references to previous school idol groups or units are generally not explicitly made.

Naturally, Hasunosora follows this style, but:

• The school idol group she admired as a child once prevented their school from being closed.
• Behind-the-scenes stories about her ponytail-style live costume reveal that it was inspired by “the same hairstyle as her favorite school idol.”
• During a real-life live event, Kozue recommended the licensed song Mermaid festa vol.1
• Kozue’s voice actress is also a fan of Eli. (Since Hasunosora members often incorporate their voice actresses’ real-life interests, this is considered a kind of “reverse import.”)

Other Fan Voting Results

In 2011, Eli won first place in the “μ's Christmas Girl Contest!” held in Dengeki G's magazine, beating out all other members.

In 2013, she took first place in the “Love Live! Café Image Pair Poll,” resulting in a newly drawn collaborative illustration with Umi, who had already become the solo image girl.

In April 2014, Eli won first place in the “Summer Girl Contest,” a special campaign held to celebrate School Idol Festival surpassing 3 million users.

In 2015, she ranked first in the Amazon.co.jp Image Girl General Election, earning her a brand-new illustration used as a retailer bonus for the movie Blu-ray box set.

In 2021, Eli also placed first in the “Persona Series × School Idol Festival” collaboration event. As a result, a UR card featuring Eli in a costume from the Persona series was implemented as a reward in Love Live! School Idol Festival: Live! Arena.

Trivia

• Eli is the member who fulfills the “cool” attribute among µ's’s third-year students.
• Her name “Eli” (絵里) means “picture” (絵) and “village” (里).
• Her surname “Ayase” (絢瀬) means “brilliant fabric/kimono design” (絢) and “swift current/rapids” (瀬).
• Early PVs often paired Eli with Umi, implying a close friendship before the anime’s story was established.
• Both Eli and Dia are third-year students who represent the “cool” personality trait in their groups.
• Both serve as student council presidents, but Eli steps down in Season 2, while Dia remains president until graduation.