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 tied into a 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 named Ayase Arisa, though she has 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 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 her photos in her room, and it's a legacy passed down to Eri as she was also a ballet dancer herself when she was younger. However, later it is revealed that Eri 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 ballet and gradually tried to close her heart and distance herself from her dream to shine and dance again.

Personality
Eri is shown as 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 was against the idea of Honoka and her friends forming an idol group to get more attention from the public. However, ironically, Nozomi reveals that Eri was also trying to save the school but was denied permission to take action by the chairwoman.

Eri is highly respected and well-known among the students, especially among her juniors. Unlike Nozomi, she is appears rather stoic and skeptical in the early episodes. But it is shown that Eri 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.

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. In Episode 7, 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, including A-Rise's, dancing were amateur. Umi Sonoda told Eri that she can't say that, but Eri ignored her and 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 choreographer. However, Nozomi told her that there was something else Umi had to do: help the others study for their exams.

In Episode 8, a flash-back revealed that Eri constantly failed passing the ballet auditions when she was young. Because of this, it gave an impact to her personality, where she set boundries between dreams and reality. She gave up her dream in dancing and grew to be a realist. Seeing how other idols shine throughout the internet and screens, Eri is no other than feeling envy of their success. Deep down in her heart buries a strong desires shine, but because of her past disappointment, she is afraid that she will get hurt again. Due to this scar, Eri believes that Honoka and her friends are only wasting their time on something they soon to fail, just like her in the past. Honoka however confronts her, told her that they won't give up trying no matter what. Her determination has added more confusion in Eri, which shakens her between her contradiction. Nozomi told Eri that she worked so hard for others, and thought of others more than herself, thus questioning her what is it she really wants to do, as Ayase Eri, not as a Student Council's President; Arisa also said the same thing. These had given her a silent pause and regrets in giving up her dreams.

Knowing the truth, Honoka and her friends approached Eri and asked her to join the group. Even though she was not convinced at first, she saw this as a way for her to rise back again, and Eri finally join μ's, together with Nozomi as well.