This article contains details about plotlines described in the anime. Do not proceed unless you want to be spoiled. |
Ayumu Uehara 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 A・ZU・NA, a unit under Nijigaku. Her image color is light pink.[1]
Background[]
An ordinary girl with no exceptional talents, Ayumu is seemingly content with just living a normal high school life. But when she and her best friend, Yu Takasaki—or the player in All Stars—stumbled upon a school idol performance for the first time, a new path would suddenly appear in Ayumu's world. Despite not being able to sing or dance, Ayumu would nevertheless venture on to become a school idol herself.
In All Stars, she becomes a school idol because the player loved school idols. When conflict arises that causes her to reconsider being an idol, she realizes that she now loves being a school idol, and she wants to continue being a school idol for herself, with or without their input (although welcomed).
In the anime, she becomes a school idol because she wants to, however, when Yu seems like she's drifting away, she starts reconsidering whether she even wants to be an idol without her best friend by her side. However, she later realizes that she became a school idol for herself, with or without Yu, and that she will always be friends with Yu, whether they walk the same path or not.
Personality[]
Ayumu is a hardworking girl that puts everything into what she does. She does not believe she is very skilled at her school idol activities, but she continues to try her hardest to excel in them. She is generally insecure in her abilities. Her struggles revolve largely on confidence and how that relates to her pathway to her dream as a school idol. This is illustrated by both her solos songs and the Nijigasaki anime. She is kind, cheerful, and friendly, but a bit shy and tends to be clumsy at times. She often responds to the mischief from Karin Asaka and Kasumi Nakasu in a pure manner, which throws the two of them off-guard. However, she doesn't do this intentionally and is truly a pure-hearted girl overall.
She is very protective of her and her childhood best friend's relationship. This manifests in jealous glances when Yu interacts with or praises other girls and disheartened remarks when Yu claims she can't pick a favorite. In instances where her personality is satirized, she tends to act extremely controlling, pulling Yu off to the side and isolating her from the other girls in the club, and even displaying murderous tendencies (albeit, jokingly).
Clubs and Hobbies[]
Ayumu likes Pokémon, as confirmed in the 4koma. She tries to study fashion and other "girly" things. She's also unexpectedly good at video games, due to her hardworking personality.
Appearance[]
Ayumu has a slim figure with orange hair that she ties into a bun on the right side and yellowish hazel eyes.
Other Data[]
| Official Introduction from Website[2] |
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 Uh, since this is the first time I’ve written up a message that can reach everyone like this, I’m a little nervous, and my heart is beating quickly. |
| Official Introduction from Famitsu App Website[3] |
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Umm, is it fine if I sit here? Oh, good! Ahaha, somehow, I’m super nervous—. Once it came to mind that we’re taking our first step towards this dream with my self-introduction video, it made me nervous, and my heart started racing. Your dream is to bring people around the world the joy of cheering on school idols, and of getting fired up with the crowd at incredible live shows—my dream is to make this a reality, together with you. Without the two of us working together, there’s no way this wish can be granted, right? Ufufu~ Ah, my heart might have settled down a bit. You know, when I saw you having fun setting up for the video, it made me remember something from a long time ago. Hey, do you remember it too? It was when we danced at the play party in kindergarten. Aah, you look like you forgot—! You know, when our whole class participated? We were behind the curtains, and I was crying because I was too nervous. Didn’t you comfort me? Something like “It’ll be OK, since we’re together. Let’s just have as much fun as we can!”. Just like today, you looked like you were really enjoying yourself. Gosh, you’re awful—. Even though it’s one of my most important memories. Ah, looks like you remembered. Ufufu~ When I saw you smile, it felt like everything was gonna be all right, and if you were with me, we could surely do anything. Oh, sorry for suddenly bringing up something weird. We’re gonna be shooting this important video now, so I better get fired up! I’m gonna try my absolute best at being a school idol and putting smiles on a ton of people. I’ll try to make you smile a lot too, so please stay with me from now on, all right? Well, shall we start filming? No matter what, we’ll set our sights straight ahead, and take on the challenge of fulfilling our dream. Even if we can only take small steps, we’ll make our way one step at a time! |
| Question & Answer Corner[4] |
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Being frank, how has it been, working with Famitsu App? Have you gotten used to helping out at Famitsu App? Am I... used to it? If I’m really helping everyone out here, then I’d be glad, but is that so? Am I being useful here? On the other hand, if I’m just dead weight, would you please tell me? Because I’ll try even harder if that’s so!
I always read these articles on a casual basis, so to see how they’re made has been really informative! I’ve only been helping out a little after school, so I haven’t seen all of the process behind writing these articles, but seeing bits of work coming together to become incredible pieces gives me the courage to work hard. I’m the type that can’t help but move forward a step at a time, so when I look around, there’s this feeling of impatience, but once everything is complete, I get this feeling of “Wow, that’s amazing!”.
Lately, my friend and I have been playing a lot of mobile games and reading about them on Famitsu App, so it shows up in my life the most. But a bit of it was also just to see if I could learn anything about new games... ehehe.
With Ai-chan, I talk a lot about new apps. Ai-chan’s incredible! She knows so much about them! When we talk about things like how to best make use of social apps, it’s really exciting. With Rina-chan... we don’t really talk that much, but she puts a smile on her board, so maybe she’s having fun when we talk...?
Yes! I’m saying that so energetically, but I might not have been able to deal with this alone. Actually, I was worried that I wouldn’t be able to keep up with school once I started working, so my friend ended up studying with me... Having the opportunity to work here, to learn so much, and even more, to study together with my friend... I’m really glad, now that I think about all this.
T-that’s not true! Oh no, my face is getting red—. *fans self* I’m happy to hear people say that! Thank you! But, I’m smiling because everyone around me is smiling as well. So, I’m really happy to be able to work here! Though it’s only been a short time, I’ll be trying my best from here on out, so I look forward to continuing to work with everyone!
Why did you start being a school idol? To be honest, I wasn’t really good with doing things in front of people, but an important friend taught me about school idols. When I decided that I want to try my best with her, that’s when it started!
Appeal points, huh...? My friends would say that “she puts her all into everything”, but anyone can be like that, you know. And when I look at the others, I think that I really have to practice singing and dancing more... Ah, when it comes to my desire to delight our fans, I think I won’t lose to anyone on that front! I definitely can’t lose to anyone there.
We’ve been able to bring a lot of energy to the friend that taught me about school idols. So I want to be able to make the people who come to see us really excited like that—that’s the kind of school idol I want to become!
A live show! After all, it’s an opportunity to get close to our fans, so I think it really is important! Becoming one with our fans, creating a dream-like atmosphere with our concert... wouldn’t that be a wonderful experience! |
Video[]
Songs[]
The songs featuring Ayumu are:
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!
Colorful Dreams! Colorful Smiles!
Twilight
Yume ga Bokura no Taiyou sa
Ryouran! Victory Road
Future Parade
Level Oops! Adventures
Eien no Isshun
OUR P13CES!!!
Wachu Gonna Do
KAGAYAKI Don't forget!
Sugar Sugar Yummy Yummy Parfait
Go Our Way!
SINGING, DREAMING, NOW!
Wawawa☆What's up!
Fly with You!!
New Year's March!
Nijigasaki Gakuen Kouka
Doko ni Itemo Kimi wa Kimi
LIVE with a smile! (Featuring Aqours and Liella!)
Ijigen★♥BIGBANG (Featuring Uzuki Shimamura, Shizuka Mogami, Kogane Tsukioka, Chika Takami, Kanon Shibuya and Kaho Hinoshita)
Bring the LOVE! (Featuring You Watanabe, Kanon Shibuya, Kaho Hinoshita and Honoka Kosaka)
Chronology[]
| 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 |
| Chapter | Title | |
|---|---|---|
| 01 | The Path of Dreams We Walk Together | |
Etymology[]
- The name Ayumu is a common name and can be written with various kanji characters. "Ayumu" means "to walk", "to proceed", etc. "walk, step" (歩) (ayu) and "dream, vision" (夢) (mu).
- Ayumu's surname Uehara means "above, top, upper" (上) (ue) and "field, plain" (原) (hara).
Trivia[]
- Ayumu fulfills the pure attribute of the NijiGaku second years.
- Together with Ai Miyashita and Rina Tennoji, Ayumu works with Famitsu App.
- In the Famitsu App 4-koma, Ayumu is shown to own a pet snake named Sasuke. However, in one of the All Stars Daily Theater segment, her conversation with Chika Takami implies that Ayumu doesn't own any pets which disprove the existence of her pet snake Sasuke from the Famitsu 4-komas.[5]
- Sasuke makes an appearance as Ayumu's plush toy/pillow in Muteki-kyuu*Believer PV. It also became one of the official goods for Nijigaku's 2nd Live. Ayumu also wears a hairpin of Sasuke in this official art.
- Sasuke makes an appearance in the Nijigasaki Anime, showing up as a plushie off to the side while Ayumu is getting ready to go to school.
- According to Setsuna Yuki, Ayumu has a "serious mode" when she plays something she likes; this happened when Setsuna showed her Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice.[6]
- As seen in the second season's 12th episode, Ayumu is shown to have some fluency to English as she was able to understand the e-mail sent by a fan from the United Kingdom and go abroad.
Gallery[]
- Please refer to this character's Image Gallery.