Eli Ayase

Ayase Eli is one of the nine main characters in Love Live!. She is 17 years old and a third year in high school. Eli was born on October 21 and is a Libra. She has blonde hair that is tied up into a ponytail and blue eyes. Her main color is blue/light blue. She is 162 centimeters tall, and her blood type is B. She is the center of BiBi, a mini idol unit under μ's. Eli is voiced by Yoshino Nanjou.

Background
Eli is partly Russian from her grandmother. Because of this, she is known to say the Russian word "хорошо" (pronounced "harasho"), which means "good" or "okay". Eli first says it in episode 10 when Sonoda Umi was awoken by the girls' pillow fight and she threw "supersonic pillows" in her rage.

She has a younger sister named Ayase Arisa, though she has two brothers in the manga. She told Umi that her family has been living abroad since they were little and haven't really adapted the lifestyle in Japan yet. Her grandmother is also an alumni of Otonokizaka High School, which urged her more to defend her high school from getting shut down.

In Episode 7, it is shown that her mother and grandmother did ballet through the glimpse of the photos in her room, and it's a legacy passed down to Eli as she was also a ballet dancer herself when she was younger. However, later it is revealed that Eli was actually at the bottom of the list in ballet compared to the other dancers and could hardly pass the auditions. Due to her constant failures, she gave up her dream of becoming a ballet dancer and gradually tried to close her heart and distance herself from her dream to shine and dance again.

Personality
Eli is shown to be a perfect role model to the students in Otonokizaka High School. With her as the student council president, she is often portrayed as a cold and strict character due to her responsibilities, and being against the idea of Kousaka Honoka and her friends forming an idol group to get more attention from the public. However, ironically, Toujou Nozomi reveals that Eli was also trying to save the school, but was denied permission to take action by the chairwoman.

Eli is highly respected and well-known among the students, especially among her juniors. Unlike Nozomi, she appears rather stoic and skeptical in the early episodes, but it is shown that Eli is actually very kind and caring towards people that are close to her, like her little sister. Despite of that, she is also dependable as her grandmother entrusts her to prevent the school from getting shut down.

Other than being admirable, Eli also has a lot of fans in the school. Ever since she joined the group, their popularity rose and became quite famous in the school idols ranking. Honoka also complimented her beauty, saying she is beautiful, tall, and has a great body shape. On top of that, she is also very mature and level-headed and acts as a strategist in promoting their group as she planned to introduce μ's in Akihabara by having a street performance.

Clubs and Hobbies
She is Otonokizaka High School's student council president. She's also good at quilting and crafts and is part of the Idol Research Club.

Chronology
In Episode 1, Ayase Eli and her friend Nozomi approach Honoka, Umi, and Minami Kotori. Eli asked Kotori if she heard her mother, Principal Minami, tell her anything about the school shutting down. When Kotori says no, Eli and Nozomi both excuse themselves to go talk to the chairwoman. There, Eli tells her that the student council believes they should continue club activities under the assumption that the school isn't going to close. However, the chairwoman replies that the student council should focus on improving the school life for current students, instead. Eli tries to object, but Nozomi shushes her. The chairwoman tells Eli that she knows she means good, and the two excuse themselves.

Later on, near the end of the episode, while Honoka, Umi, and Kotori were leaving the school, Nozomi overheard what the girls were saying, and tells Eli that she wishes she could tell someone she knows that she understands how Honoka feels. Eli tells her that she always says a little too much, to which Nozomi replies that it's the vice president's job to do so.

In Episode 2, while Honoka, Umi, and Kotori prepare for their first concert, Eli warns them that their plan of becoming school idols could backfire and ruin the school's reputation even more. However, they continue with their plans, anyway.

In Episode 3, after μ's perform their first live in a nearly empty auditorium, Eli walks down to the stage and asks Honoka what will she do next, and she is met with the reply that they will work harder and one day fill up the whole auditorium.

In Episode 5, μ's realizes that they have more than enough members to form an official club. However, Eli tells them that there's already an Idol Research Club.

Near the end of episode 6, after μ's finishes their new music video, "Korekara no Someday," Nozomi tells Eli that she should help μ's.

In Episode 7, Umi finds a girl named Arisa waiting in front of the school. Umi notices her watching a recording of one of μ's performances and asks how she got it. Arisa explains to her that her sister recorded it and then spots Eli. Umi quickly figures out that Eli is Arisa's sister. While at a park, Eli admits that she did record the first performance of μ's and uploaded it to the web. She says she did that so that she could show μ's they had no fans, but her plan went wrong due to the huge, positive reaction to the video. She also says that she doesn't support idol groups, because they're amateurs to her, including A-Rise. Umi tells Eli she can't say that, but Eli ignores her and leaves with her sister.

When Umi tells Nozomi what Eli said, Nozomi tells her that Eli was once a ballerina and an expert at dancing. After this, Umi decides that she wants to ask Eli to teach μ's how to dance and be their choreographer. However, Nozomi tells her that there's something else Umi has to do: help the others study for their exams. When the exams are done and all the members of μ's pass, they go to the chairwoman's office, bur overhear her tell Eli and Nozomi that the school will stop accepting new students next year and shut down.

In Episode 8, following the events of the previous episode, the principal explains to μ's that it will only happen if the upcoming open day doesn't go well. Umi asks Eli to be μ's choreographer, and she eventually agrees. Eli puts μ's through intense training, but is surprised that they're willing to go through with it.

Nozomi tells Eli that she should do what she wants to do instead of doing what people expect her to do, thus leading Eli to wonder what she really wants to do. She stays silent and begins to regret giving up her dreams. Knowing the truth, Honoka and her friends approach Eli and ask her to join the group. Even though she was not convinced at first, she sees this as a way for her to rise back up again, and Eli finally joins μ's, together with Nozomi, who reveals that she came up with the group's name μ's, which refers to the nine Greek goddesses of music. Coincidentally, there are nine members in μ's. The now complete group performs "Bokura no LIVE, Kimi to no LIFE" at the open day to a pleased crowd, making the open day a success.

In Episode 9, after discovering Kotori working at a maid café in Akihabara, Eli decides that it'd be the perfect place to hold a concert. Because Kotori knows Akiba best, Eli assigns her the job of writing lyrics for μ's next song. However, Kotori struggles with writing the lyrics. But with Honoka and Umi's help, Kotori is able to write the lyrics for μ's new song "Wonder Zone".

In Episode 10, μ's decide to go to Nishikino Maki's beach house after getting permission from her parents. Eli creates a rule that no one is allowed to use the honorifics "senpai" for the duration of the trip, so they can break down the barrier between upper and underclassmen. The girls spend the whole day at the beach playing, but Nozomi and Eli are quick to notice Maki not participating. At night, Nozomi initiates a pillow fight and all of them join in except for Umi, who is already fast asleep. However, two pillows hit Umi while she was sleeping, causing her to get cranky and begin throwing "supersonic pillows" at everyone, hitting Yazawa Nico, Honoka, and Eli. At the end of the episode, all of μ's go out to the beach and watch the sunrise while holding hands.

In Episode 11, μ's has manage to reach rank #19 on the school idol ranking site, making them eligible to apply for the Love Live! tournament. This puts pressure on μ's to keep their position. However, Nico fails to win a lottery spin to use the auditorium, causing μ's to think of where to have a concert. Honoka comes up with the idea that they can use the rooftop to hold their performance, and the group hesitantly agrees. On the day of the concert, it's raining, but the group decides to perform, anyway. They perform "No Brand Girls", but as the song finished, Honoka faints.

In Episode 12, following the events of the previous episode, Eli tells the audience that one of the members had an accident. The next day, μ's go to Honoka's house to check on her. They discover that she's still recovering and has a sprained leg. They sadly tell Honoka that they dropped out of the Love Live! tournament, meaning their ranking was removed from the school idol ranking site. Honoka blames herself for the incident, but μ's tell her that it's everyone's fault, instead. Everyone gets depressed from this event, but Honoka the most. At the rooftop, Maki, Hanayo, and Rin all announce that the school has been saved, thus the group decides to have a celebration. At the party, however, Umi and Kotori are noticed to not be in jolly spirits. Umi then reveals to μ's that Kotori is moving to a fashion boarding school for the rest of her high school career. Everyone is surprised by the announcement, but Honoka gets angry at Kotori for not telling her earlier. Kotori explains to her that she wanted to tell them but couldn't, and runs away.

The next day, on the rooftop, μ's reveals that they're planning to do a final live with everybody before Kotori leaves. But Honoka tells them that it was her fault and that none of this would've happened if it wasn't for the accident. The members tell her to stop saying that, but Honoka then says that the school is saved, therefore there's no reason to keep on performing and that it's impossible to go against a group like A-Rise. Honoka tells them that she quits, but before she leaves, Umi slaps her cheek, saying that she didn't think that she's that kind of person and that she's the worst there is.

In Episode 13, Eli decides to put μ's on a hiatus. Nico disagrees with Eli, saying that she wants to continue being a school idol. Maki tells her that they can't continue without Honoka. Later, Nozomi and Eli are working, and Eli tells Nozomi that "μ's isn't μ's unless there are nine members".

Much later on in the episode, Eli goes to visit Honoka's house along with her little sister. Eli tells Honoka that μ's is going on an indefinite hiatus. Eli confesses that she's jealous of Honoka's personality and how she isn't afraid to show them. She tells her that everyone is shocked that Kotori is leaving, and that is was even more unbearable when they think about how Honoka and Umi are feeling about it. Eli tells Honoka that she taught her to have the courage to move forward without fearing change. Eli then shows Honoka her hand and tells her that she was saved by Honoka's hand.

After fetching Kotori at the airport, near the end of the episode, Honoka runs into the backstage of the school auditorium and slips, hurting her butt. Kotori also comes in and μ's begin performing "Start:Dash!!", despite wearing their school uniforms, and this time with the auditorium full of people. Afterwards, Honoka tells the crowd to say "μ's Music Start!" and μ's are in the school idol ratings again.