Karin Asaka
This article contains details about plotlines described in the anime. Do not proceed unless you want to be spoiled. |
Karin Asaka is a main character in Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club. She is a third-year student at Nijigasaki High School. She is a member of DiverDiva, a unit under Nijigaku. Her image color is royal blue.
In All Stars, she was a member of the Association.
Background
Karin wanted to become a school idol to boost her self-confidence. Along with Kasumi Nakasu and Setsuna Yuki, she works with Dengeki Online.
In the Nijigasaki dorms, she shares a room with Emma Verde.
Personality
Karin is very mature and gives off a rather seductive vibe. She uses her adult-like looks to her advantage, such as when she tries to tease her underclassmen. She also teaches others how to be sexy and cool like her. However, these lessons sometimes backfire when people begin to show her significant attention or respond in a pure manner, as Karin will become embarrassed. Despite her teasing attitude, she is rather innocent and has a somewhat naive side to her personality.
In the anime, however, her personality is different, being noticeably more reserved and shy. She states she doesn't like being around many people, and used to be a little bit aloof at the beginning of the first season, but nevertheless is genuinely kind and friendly. She is shown to be rather self-conscious about her weaknesses and initially being a loner, and can be naive and clumsy.
Sometimes, Karin is a little bit more childish and nervous than usual, which she dislikes, but she manages to keep up her cool demeanor most of the time. While she is quite confident and likes to compete, she's also a genuinely supportive and empathetic person, as shown when she interacts with Ai's friend Misato and when she worries about her.
Because of her modeling activities taking up most of her time, her grades are below average and she has difficulties waking up in the morning. She is helped at studying by Mia later on, while Shizuku helps Kasumi.
Clubs and Hobbies
Karin's strength is dancing, and thus she takes the role of choreographer in the club. Outside of the school idol club, she works as a model for magazines. She has enrolled in a design course at Nijigasaki Academy.
Her favorite classes are science and cooking, but she dislikes geography. As revealed in ALL STARS, she actually has bad grades.
Appearance
Karin is tall with a slim yet curvaceous figure and short navy blue hair that reaches her shoulders and bright blue eyes. She has three aligned beauty marks on the left side of her chest.
Other Data
| Official Introduction from Website[1] |
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Hey, what kind of school idol do you like? What kind of live show would you like to see? |
| Official Introduction from Dengeki Online Website[2] |
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Yahoo— sorry I kept you waiting~♪ This video you mentioned, it’s meant to hype people up or something? We’re shooting in this classroom, right? I’m entrusting my body and heart to you today, so make onee-san look pretty, OK? Hm? What’s up? You look concerned. Eh? You thought I was going to wear a swimsuit? Ah, right, that was a part of it... as if! Look, if you showed my swimsuit-clad figure, the viewers would get rather excited, and that would be terrible, you know? And・don't・for・get, a girl’s strongest weapon shouldn’t be deployed so easily. Its destructive power would be far too dangerous. Ah~, or did you want to use my mature, sexy side as a selling point? If that’s so... hmm. Should we be bold and shoot a kiss scene with just the two of us? Just kidd—what? You want to know how one should breathe while kissing? Th-that came out of nowhere. My answer? W-well, uh, for now, I’ll pace my teaching slowly. Of course, it’ll just be practice, you know ♪ Anyway, it’s about time for us to start filming. Like you asked, I’ll be sure to show off plenty of my adult-like appeal! |
| Question & Answer Corner[3] |
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What made you decide to come to Dengeki Online? Hmm… the word “Dengeki” sounds good. [TL: it translates to “electric shock”] It’s like it’ll bring a little shock to your heart and body, and that kind of stimulation is what I want to accomplish as a school idol.
My adult-like manner, perhaps. I might not have the “cute girl” feeling of other idols, but I think that maybe I could bring the fans enjoyment with a more mature charm. ...for example, hopping and jumping around like a cute girl might not really suit me, but sexy dancing with my flexible body is fine too, right?
My greatest strength is dancing. Right now, every time I practice, I can feel that I’m getting better, so I put way too much effort into it. Afterwards, I might check up on how my posing and walking look in the mirror. I want to be able to give everyone a little electric shock, so I hope that one day I’ll be able to say that posing is my specialty. Oh, right! I also specialize in coordinating Western-style clothes. I’m good at making amazing outfits using cute cheap clothes! What I’m bad at... umm... I’m not sure? I can’t think of anything in particular... If I had to say, maybe something like planning an aggressive wake-up visit?
Well, however you feel about her, Kasumi is quite a character. She doesn’t get scared easily, she’s assertive, and she’s willing to just get up and leave in front of you. I do respect those parts of her. She’s always moving so restlessly, so she seems kind of like a cute small animal. I can’t help but think that if she bit you, it wouldn’t hurt at all, and instead it’d just be cute. Setsuna seems like the quintessential school idol. Even though she already towers above the rest of us in singing and dancing, she’s always aiming ever higher and putting in so much effort. She doesn’t brag. While she’s younger than me, I think I’d like to learn to have that same attitude.
I like going to flea markets, I guess. You can find surprisingly good secondhand clothes and accessories, so I end up losing track of time. I enjoy the excitement of haggling over prices with the dealers as well. At those kinds of places, there are a lot of street performers as well, right? I like watching those performers too~ Being able to draw people’s attention in a short time is something that us school idols have to do as well, you know. So it’s very useful to see them work.
I like science classes. The answers are clear-cut, and the methods and formulae are exact. You can derive the answers just by following the procedures—isn’t that wonderful? Ah, but cooking classes are another one of my specialties. I’m well-known for what happens during cooking practice. Why? Fufu, something about aprons fitting me well ♥ I guess I’m a little bad at geography. Isn’t finding your way on a map kind of hard? Like when you’re sure you’re heading north, but then you realize you’re actually heading south... Maybe this is what it means to have a poor sense of direction?
When I started, it was because I wanted to build up my self-confidence... I suppose. School idols perform on stage looking incredible, like they’re enjoying themselves, and they seem full of confidence. My thinking was that being able to hear everyone watching and supporting them must give them that confidence, and that’s why they can shine so brightly.
Animal? Compare myself to an animal? Umm... how should I answer this... An animal that resembles me... For this, it feels like something like a cat would definitely be a good answer, but it’s troubling in that I do wonder whether I really am like a cat... hmm... a civet? No, there aren’t really many people that know about them. Comparing myself to an animal... hmm... This is difficult!
I listen to everything, but if I had to pick a genre I like, maybe ballads. Listening to a ballad, you can really lose yourself in its mellowness, right? I like that kind of song. Someday, I’ll be able to take my listeners into my own world like that too... I want to try singing that sort of song.
Times when I become childish... maybe when I’m playing games. I’m not very good, but I easily become really serious about winning, so until I succeed, I pester whoever I’m with to let me try “just one more time!”. Now that I’m looking at it from afar, it really is kind of embarrassing...
Practicing posing and walking is, of course, important to do every day. Aside from that, perhaps the daily routine would include eating niboshi [TL: a dried sardine snack] and drinking milk. After all, it’s important to take care of what [your parents] took so much trouble to give birth to. And before getting into the bath, make sure to stretch. Because in order to maintain your body’s softness, you need self-confidence.
Excitement, huh. Really, I feel like I look a little out of place. All the others look like adorable girls. Even when I was sitting in the waiting room, I thought “everyone looks so cute”. But, my weapon is what makes me different from the others. Once I polish up my maturity and sexiness, I’ll captivate our fans. If you’re looking for cuteness... I’ll try with all my strength. To do that, I’ll aim to become the best! |
| Monthly Rankings (October 2017) |
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| Monthly Rankings (November 2017) |
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Video
Songs
The songs featuring Karin are:
TOKIMEKI Runners
Love U my friends
Mirai Harmony
Just Believe!!!
Nijiiro Passions!
Sweet Eyes
NEO SKY, NEO MAP!
Zensoku Dreamer
Yume ga Koko Kara Hajimaru yo
Hurray Hurray
L! L! L! (Love the Life We Live)
Miracle STAY TUNE!
Colorful Dreams! Colorful Smiles!
Twilight
Yume ga Bokura no Taiyou sa
Ryouran! Victory Road
Future Parade
Level Oops! Adventures
Eien no Isshun
OUR P13CES!!!
Wachu Gonna Do
KAGAYAKI Don't forget!
Sugar Sugar Yummy Yummy Parfait
Go Our Way!
SINGING, DREAMING, NOW!
Wawawa☆What's up!
Fly with You!!
New Year's March!
Nijigasaki Gakuen Kouka
Doko ni Itemo Kimi wa Kimi
Eternalize Love!!
LIVE with a smile! (Featuring Aqours and Liella!)
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Chronology
{{Nijigasaki Tab|
| Ep. | Title | Air Date |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | "The First Thrill" (はじまりのトキメキ "Hajimari no Tokimeki") |
October 3, 2020 |
| 02 | "Cutest♡Girl" (Cutest♡ガール "Cutest♡Gāru") |
October 10, 2020 |
| 03 | "Shout Out Your Love" (大好きを叫ぶ "Daisuki o Sakebu") |
October 17, 2020 |
| 04 | "The Uncharted Path" (未知なるミチ "Michi Naru Michi") |
October 24, 2020 |
| 05 | "Something I Can Only Do Right Now" (今しかできないことを "Ima Shika Dekinai Koto o") |
October 31, 2020 |
| 06 | "The Shape of Smiles (〃＞▽＜〃)" (笑顔のカタチ(〃＞▽＜〃) "Egao no Katachi (〃＞▽＜〃)") |
November 7, 2020 |
| 07 | "Haruka, Kanata, and Beyond" (ハルカカナタ "Haruka Kanata") |
November 14, 2020 |
| 08 | "Shizuku, Monochrome" (しずく、モノクローム "Shizuku, Monokurōmu") |
November 21, 2020 |
| 09 | "Friends but Rivals" (仲間でライバル "Nakama de Raibaru") |
November 28, 2020 |
| 10 | "Summer Begins." (夏、はじまる。 "Natsu, Hajimaru.") |
December 5, 2020 |
| 11 | "Everyone's Dream, My Dream" (みんなの夢、私の夢 "Minna no Yume, Watashi no Yume") |
December 12, 2020 |
| 12 | "Blossoming Feelings" (花ひらく思い "Hanahiraku Omoi") |
December 19, 2020 |
| 13 | "School Idol Festival (The Place Where Everyone's Dreams Come True)" (スクールアイドルフェスティバル（みんなの夢を叶える場所） "Sukūru Aidoru Fesutibaru (Minna no Yume o Kanaeru Basho)") |
December 26, 2020 |
| Chapter | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| 08 | "Casting Off the Shell I Wore" | |
Gallery
- Please refer to this character's Image Gallery.
Etymology
- The name Karin means "fruit, reward, carry out, achieve, complete, end, finish, succeed" (果) (ka) and "forest" (林) (rin).
- Karin's surname Asaka means "morning" (朝) (asa) and "fragrance, fragrant" (香) (ka).
Trivia
- Karin fulfills the cool attribute of the NijiGaku third years. She shares her attribute and year with Mia Taylor.
- Karin is the first third-year of the Cool attribute to not have the role of Student Council President.
- It is shown in both the anime and Love Live! All Stars, that Karin is very clueless when it comes to navigation.
- In Something I Can Only Do Right Now, Karin said that she did not like crowds.
- It can explain why she is often seen eating alone or having a solitary attitude.
- Karin plays the saxophone.[4]
