Eli Ayase

Ayase Eri, or also known as Ayase Ellie from her ''Solo Live! - Beloved Ellie'', is one of the nine main characters in Love Live! She is 17 years old and a third year. Eri was born on October 21st and is a Libra. She has blonde hair with ponytail and blue eyes. Her main color is blue/light blue. She is 162 centimeters tall, and her blood type is B. Eri is voiced by Yoshino Nanjou.

Background
Eri is partly Russian from her grandmother. She has a younger sister name Arisa, though two brothers in the manga. She told Sonoda Umi that her family has been living abroad when they were little and hasn't really adapted the lifestyle in Japan yet. Her grandmother is also an alumni of Otonokizaka High School, which urge her more to defend her high school from getting closure. In episode 7, it is shown that her mother and grandmother did ballet through the glimpse of her photos in her room, and its a legacy passed down to Eri as she also a ballet dancer herself when she was younger. However, later it is revealed that Eri was actually at the bottom list in ballet compared to the other dancers and hardly pass the auditions. Due to her constant failures, she given up her dream in ballet and gradually closing her heart and even distance herself from trying to achieve her dream, to shine and dance again.

Personality
Eri is shown as a perfect role model to the student in Otonokizaka High School. With her as the student council president, she is often portray as a cold and strict character due to her responsibility and often against Honoka and her friends forming an idol group to get more attention from the public. However, ironically, Nozomi revealed that Eri was also thinking the same idea but was rejected by the Chairman.

Eri is highly respected and well-known among the students, especially her juniors. Unlike Nozomi, she is appeared rather stoic and skeptical in the early episodes. But it is revealed that Eri is actually very kind and caring towards her close ones like her little sister. Despite of that, she is also dependable as her grandmother trust her to prevent the school from getting shut down.

In Episode 7, Eri said that all the school idol groups', including A-Rise's, dancing were amateur. Umi Sonoda told Eri that she can't say that, but Eri only walked away. When Umi told Nozomi what she said, Nozomi told her that Eri was a ballerina and an expert at dancing. Therefore, Umi wanted to ask Eri to teach μ's how to dance and be their chereographer. However, Nozomi told her that there was something else Umi had to do: help the others study for their exams.

In the series, Eri tends to say the Russian word "хорошо" [xərɐˈʂo] ('good').

Clubs and Hobbies

 * Student Council - President
 * Good at quilting and crafts.

Chronology
Eri is the student council president of the school, and is sadden by the news of it shutting down. Eri is determined to save the school, but at first declines Honoka's idea of creating an idol group to save the school, but she herself is told that she cannot take her own action to save school by the chairman of the committee. Later, it is revealed that Eri taped the first performance of the school idol group. She says she did this so that she could show the other girls that they had no fans, but her plan went wrong due to the huge reaction to this video. She also says that she doesn't support idol groups, because, compared to herself, they are amateurs.