Ai Miyashita

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Ai Miyashita is a main character in Love Live! Nijigasaki High School Idol Club. She is a second year student at Nijigasaki High School. She is a member of DiverDiva, a unit under Nijigaku. Her image color is ultra orange.^[1]

In Love Live! School Idol Festival ALL STARS, she was a member of the Association.

Background[]

Along with Ayumu Uehara and Rina Tennoji, Ai works with Famitsu App.

She has known her neighbor since she was a child, and considers her to be her big sister. Because both of her parents work at her family's restaurant, she was mostly raised by her grandmother.

Personality[]

As a suggestible, friendly and sociable person who's always willing to help, Ai has a lot of friends and can be seen chatting with strangers at any given time. She is also very caring, especially with her family and friends. In the neighborhood she lives, she tends to refer to all sorts of people around as siblings. Ai is very empathetic, selfless and supportive, as she loves helping others and is also very open about how much she cares about their feelings. This is particularly evident with Rina and her childhood friend Misato, as she's shown to constantly be loving and supportive to them.

Because she is a gyaru, she can be mistaken as the type of person to skip school or be rebellious. However, she has very good grades and is very fun-loving and nice. She can be a bit loud, but never in an obnoxious way, as it just serves as a mood-maker to her fellow idols. Her cheerfulness, however, mustn't be taken at all for her being dumb; Ai is indeed very intelligent and an excellent student. Also, despite her energetic, cheerful nature and somewhat goofy appearance, she's also very capable of being levelheaded and well-organized.

Ai tends to speak very casually, using a lot of slang. She is also known for her puns, many of which are not very funny to those around her. She easily laughs at bad puns, too, as she has a rather childish sense of humor.

Despite Ai having a flawless image in school and being very popular, Ai is very down-to-earth and does not perceive herself as better than others, especially her fellow school idols. She even seems unaware of her reputation, as she never pretends to be someone she isn't, nor is she conscious of whatever image she is giving off. In fact, contrary to her "cool" and "popular" image, Ai's frequent use of puns can sometimes come off as so lame that the other members react with visible exasperation.

Clubs and Hobbies[]

Typical of a gyaru, Ai likes fashion and mobile app/games. She also likes candy and sometimes carries extra with her.

Ai is excellent at both academics and sports. Due to her proficiency in nearly every activity possible, her openness to try her hand at anything fun, and her incredibly sociable attitude, she is the type of girl to have friends in every club, and as a result have also been involved with the activities of numerous clubs. Ai's top performance in all aspects of school combined with her many friends make her a very popular and likable classmate/student with a flawless image at school.

She also enjoys her grandmother's fermented pickles (nukazuke).

Appearance[]

Ai has an athletic and slim figure with light blonde hair that she usually ties up into a ponytail and orange eyes.

Other Data[]

Official Introduction from Website^[2]
Yo. I’m Ai Miyashita. I stumbled into being a school idol because my friend from school asked me if I wanted to! Everyone, I’ll be in your care! I love you! Because I’m Ai! [TL: the pun here is that “aishiteru” can mean “I love you” or “I’m being Ai”.] With that, Ai-san’s special rapid-fire pun corner starts no— oh, I can’t? ......Ah, OK, sorry. I’ll be serious from here on. Seriously. Well, as you can see, I end up getting dragged into a lot of things, but I’m an honor student. You can’t see that? Wait wait wait, but it’s true! I’m good at both studying and athletics, and I’m stylish... you see? Anyway, the friend I mentioned before said to me, “I think the impression of the school idol world that you have is totally off. Sure you don’t wanna give it a shot?” That got me excited! I’m really prone to getting fired up from that kind of challenge. So! I decided that I’ll aim to be number one in the world of school idols! I want to see this world that I haven’t seen! And I want to show everyone that landscape! Let’s soldier on in high spirits!

Official Introduction from Famitsu App Website^[3]
Hey, were you waiting? Oh, that’s a camera! Whoa, you borrowed it for today’s filming. I definitely thought you’d be using a smartphone instead. Because using a smartphone would be smart! Ahahah! “Smartphone” and “smart”! That’s a knee-slapper! Wait, why the face? Wasn’t that hilarious? You got the joke about “smartphone” and “smart”, right? Gah! Why do you look like you saw something bizarre? What’s up with you? Even though I’m an energetic girl! What’s my favorite food? I guess I’d say Nukazuke. My grandma’s Nukazuke was really delicious... To think that I can’t eat it any more... oh, she’s not dead! She’s still alive and kicking! Eh? I’ve done enough of telling jokes and explaining them, so it’s time to sober up? OK, got it. I’ll be serious. You went to the trouble of borrowing the camera, after all. What!? You bought the camera yourself!? You worked at a part-time job!? Wow, you’re really committed. That’s kind of incredible. Ah, sorry, sorry. I wasn’t trying to make fun of you. More like, “wow, they’re really giving it their all”, or “I’m kinda jealous”. There isn’t anything in my life that I’m as dedicated to, you see. Huh? So the world of school idols will have things I’ve never seen before. And I’ll be able to see a deeply touching landscape? Is that so? This is coming from you, and you’re really serious about this, so I guess it has to be true. Ahahah, I’m down for that! I’m getting super excited! A landscape I haven’t seen before, huh... what could it be like? Not just that, but if I do something like becoming a top school idol, grandma’s definitely going to be pleased, right? “Ai’s giving it her best!” All right, I’m suddenly pumped up. Hurry up and start recording—I’ll be in a great mood for this intro video!

Question & Answer Corner^[4]
Being frank, how has it been, working with Famitsu App? Have you gotten used to helping out at Famitsu App? I’ve gotten to experience a lot of stuff, and it’s been awesome! Making a magazine really does need the strength of a lot of people, huh~ Getting to know this world that I knew nothing about has been super exciting! Hm? The other employees are praising me? Saying that I have good muscles? Heheh, as expected of Ai-san—I’m doing pretty well, huh? Juuust kidd- wait, hold on, don’t print that! I haven’t even done that much yet~!! What are your thoughts on working with us? Though I’ve only been allowed to help with researching for the articles, I’ve really learned a lot. It’s important to understand not just the perspective of someone being covered, but also that of the person covering them. Somehow, it perfectly fits what we need for our school idol activities! Oh, now that I think of it, I wonder when my gravure shots will be released? I promised to my grandma that I’d make sure I’ll show her first! What motivated you to work with Famitsu App? Someone I hang out with a lot is a Famitsu reader, so when they heard, they said that “of course you have to choose Famitsu!”. I trust them a lot, so I thought, “I guess I have no choice!”! When you’re working at Famitsu App, what do you talk about with Ayumu-chan and Rina-chan? I talk about work with Ayumu-chan a lot, I guess. And afterwards, I tell her about things like the latest popular apps. When I tell her about some interesting social apps, she smiles a lot when we’re talking about trying to make friends using them. With Rina-rii... oh yeah, I call her Rina-rii, but anyway, we manage to talk, with her using the Rina-chan Board. That thing has a lot of faces, so it’s pretty amusing. Oh, and I promised Rina-rii that we’d go shopping together. We’re planning to hit up some cute shops and eat pancakes with tons of cream! Rina-rii is the type to want to be fed! Do you have any thoughts on clothes? My clothes? I guess I’d say they feel freeing? But I like them, and what’s most important is that I wear what I want to wear! Right, if you wanted to talk about fashion, you’d want to talk to Karin. She’s pretty good at coordinating clothes, she knows some good stores, and she gets really excited about it. I actually bought the accessories I’m wearing from an online shop that Karin recommended~ When you’re talking with people in a higher position, do you talk to them like you’re doing right now? Huh? I don’t think so... Ahem, even I use keigo [TL: honorific speech] with my superiors, you know? On that note, has everyone had the chance to eat yet? [TL: she switches to a more formal tone here.] You wanna... er, if you please, would you like to dine together? ...how was that? I got my manners from my grandma—when she said that I was being rude, I tried to be proper and polite! But when I messed up, she taught me how to phrase things correctly. What do school idols mean to Ai-chan? Why did you start being a school idol? Well, I have this classmate who’s a big fan of school idols, and they asked me, “The world of school idols is completely different from what you’ve seen before, I think. So do you want to take up the challenge?” When someone says something like that to me, I’m the type to suddenly get really fired up about it. Being honest, what are your appeal points as a school idol? My appeal point would have to be… my knack for puns, maybe! Who else could tell these grate cheesy puns? Heh! What? Why didn’t you laugh? Ah, did it go over your head? You see, it’s because it’s “grate” and “cheesy”... wait, why are you looking at me so kindly?? What kind of school idol do you want to become? With my amazing puns, I’d like to make people laugh when they think of me while they’re relaxing, and fire them up when they’re in a tough spot... Yup, I want to become an idol that’s like a good friend. I’d give you the feeling that Ai-san Power is always by your side. Like “One order of love for the weary!”. Because I’m Ai, after all! From now on, what activities do you want to do as a school idol? Of course, I want to get on stage as soon as I can! And I want to be on the biggest stage. Since I started working to become a school idol, and this goes for helping out here as well, every day brings a view that I haven’t seen before. Up until now, I’ve seen everyone being noisy and having fun, but it’s kind of like—how do I put this—we’re doing jiu-jitsu, I guess? So, standing in the center up on stage... on a huge stage, just what kind of landscape would you see from there? I really want to find out soon! Recently, I’ve been thinking about this every day before I fall asleep, but I think it has to be beyond my wildest dreams!

Video[]

Character Introduction

Songs[]

The songs featuring Ai are:

Meccha Going!!
Yuu & Ai
Tanoshii no Tensai
Saikou Heart
Diabolic mulier
Request for U

SUPER NOVA
Love Triangle
POWER SPOT!!
Saika -saika-
THE SECRET NiGHT
Fly into the sky
Eternal Light
Koisuru Magic!!
Fashionista
Shadow Effect
Kiss the Sun

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

Chronology[]

Anime

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

Etymology[]

The name Ai means "love, affection" (愛).
Ai's surname Miyashita means "temple, shrine, palace" (宮) (miya) and "under, below" (下) (shita).

Trivia[]

Ai fulfills the smile attribute of the NijiGaku second years. She shares her year and attribute with Lanzhu Zhong.
Ai is the first blond school idol who is fully Japanese.
Ai has a fear of thunder and covers up her bellybutton during thunderstorms. This is due to her grandmother telling her about the Japanese folklore where Raijin, the thunder God, takes away and eats bellybuttons.
In All Stars, it is eventually revealed that Ai's parents run a restaurant.
Ai is the first smile attribute second year who is not the main protagonist of her anime.
Ai's original hairstyle is not featured in the anime timeline until the illustration for the Odaiba Ōedo-Onsen Monogatari collaboration.^[5]

Gallery[]

Please refer to this character's Image Gallery.

References[]

[1] ttps://odex-anime.myshopify.com/products/lovelive-series-9th-anniversary-love-live-fest-love-live-blade-fest-ver-ラブライブレード

[2] Member Profile Translation

[3] Famitsu App Introduction Translation

[4] Ai Miyashita Q&A Translation

[5] ttps://twitter.com/LoveLive_staff/status/1414804277436944384

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Love Live! Wiki