Kasumi Nakasu

Kasumi Nakasu is a main character in Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club. She is a first year student of Nijigasaki High School. She is a member of QU4RTZ, a unit under the reformed Nijigaku and is a co-founder of both groups. Her image color is pastel yellow.

Background
Kasumi had always dreamed of becoming an idol. Upon entering Nijigasaki, Kasumi would go on to join the School Idol Club as its most passionate member. But when the club fell into disarray, Kasumi's dreams never took off, and she would soon begin to doubt herself. Her sole presence in the club room would serve as a reminder that the School Idol Club has seen better days. Nevertheless, Kasumi still believes in the club and is determined to keep the dream alive. She would continue to strive to become a school idol and hopes to once again participate in club activities, especially with a senpai she adores. Along with Karin Asaka and Setsuna Yuki, she works with Dengeki Online.

Personality
Although slightly self-centered and mischievous, Kasumi is a kind, friendly and lively girl who loves all things cute, and her love for idols is unrivaled in strength and inspiration. Kasumi wants to be number one in any competition she's in, and often resorts to cheating or even sabotage to achieve that goal. As a consequence, she is a sore loser whenever she achieves anything other than first place.

She hates the nickname Kasukasu (かすかす) which roughly translates to "just barely" or "not quite", and gets in a bad mood when she is referred to with it.

Kasumi spends a lot of her time scheming or thinking up new ways to ensure her own victory; however, these plans often fail or aren't as devious as she thinks.

Kasumi can also be considerate of her fellow idols and is seen doing things to cheer them up or to be nice to them. For example, she tries to rile up the group when Ayumu Uehara is nervous before their live, and exchanges genuine Christmas gifts with the Dengeki Online group.

Clubs and Hobbies
Kasumi enjoys making bread and watching idol videos. Her favorite school subjects are science and home economics, but she dislikes classical literature and history. On her days off, Kasumi will typically spend 2-3 hours baking bread, 3-4 hours watching videos, and utilize one hour of jogging. She would also devote an hour after 9pm to activities that are kept "secret" to anybody but herself.

Appearance
Kasumi is short with a slim figure and short grey hair and pink eyes. She wears a yellow hairpin shaped like a star and a crescent moon on the left side.

Songs
The songs featuring Kasumi are:

Solo

 * Diamond
 * ☆Wonderland☆
 * Muteki-kyuu*Believer
 * Margaret
 * Poppin' Up!
 * TO BE YOURSELF

Nijigasaki High School Idol Club (Group)

 * 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!
 * Yume ga Bokura no Taiyou sa
 * Ryouran! Victory Road
 * Colorful Dreams! Colorful Smiles!
 * Twilight
 * Future Parade
 * Level Oops! Adventures
 * Eien no Isshun

QU4RTZ (Sub-unit)

 * Sing & Smile!!
 * Beautiful Moonlight
 * Make-up session ABC
 * Twinkle Town
 * Swinging!
 * Not Sad
 * ENJOY IT!
 * 4 SEASONS
 * Fuwa Fuwa Hour!

Collaboration

 * LIVE with a smile! (Featuring Aqours and Liella!)

Chronology
NOTE: The Tapestry Manga's story took place in the ALL-STARS continuity rather than the Anime.

Etymology

 * The name Kasumi is written in hiragana (かすみ), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (霞 or 花澄), it could possibly mean:
 * 霞 - "fog, mist, haze".
 * 花澄 - "flower, blossom" (花) (ka) and "clear, pure" (澄) (sumi).
 * Kasumi's surname Nakasu means "middle" (中) (naka) and "ought, by all means, necessarily" (須) (su).

Trivia

 * Kasumi fulfills the pure attribute of the Nijigaku first years. She shares both her year and attribute with Shioriko Mifune.
 * Kasumi claims to hate the nickname "Kasu" because it was overused in the past, particularly by people she had falling outs with. She adamantly suggests her own nicknames instead, usually asking people to either call her by her full name or Kasumin.
 * Kasumi has matching nicknames for Shizuku (Shizuko), Rina (Rinako) and Shioriko (Shioko) because they're all first years, and for Mia (Miako) as she is younger than her despite being in a higher grade. When Rina suggested calling Kasumi "Kasuko" so they could truly match, Kasumi got upset. She too was upset when Ai and Kanata called her "Kasu-chi".
 * In Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS, Kasumi addresses her fellow first-year idol mates as the following:
 * Maki as "Makiko"
 * Rin as "Rinko"
 * Hanayo as either "Kayoko" or "Hanako"
 * Yoshiko as "Yohako" (although Yoshiko tells Kasumi to call her Yohane)
 * Ruby as "Rubyko"
 * Hanamaru as "Maruko"
 * Kasumi is the first girl in the entire Love Live! franchise to have her solo song be fully animated.
 * Unlike her game counterpart, Kasumi doesn't wear her moon hair clip in the anime until the 13th episode.
 * It's also noted that the hairpin is omitted in the Episode preview seen at the end of Blossoming Feelings.
 * Kasumi, in a way, shares a number of traits with Nico, most prominently making sure they receive the highest attention and praise, and being the last members of their respective clubs before being reformed. Despite these similarities, both Kasumi and Nico do not get along well in ALL STARS.

Gallery

 * Please refer to this character's Image Gallery.