Characters

[edit] The Twelve Sisters

Part of the series' charm is that each sister has a unique method of addressing her older brother. Each method is derived from either onii-san or ani, both of which mean "older brother." It is important to note that there is never any sibling rivalry among the sisters. Though they all are competing for their brother's attention, it appears that their unconditional love for him strengthens their bonds with one another. The sisters not only regularly hang out with one another (often to exchange tales of how wonderful a brother he is), but they also arrange to "share" him when he inadvertently neglects to or cannot regularly visit any of them. It should also be noted that the seiy for the sisters are the same in the game and the anime.

The Twelve Sisters as they appear in the anime, ordered according to birthday: 1st row LR: Kaho, Shirayuki, Chikage; 2nd row L-R: Marie, Haruka, Yotsuba; 3rd row L-R; Rinrin, Hinako, Karen; 4th row L-R: Mamoru, Aria, Sakuya Aria (?) Voiced by: Nana Mizuki (Japanese), Mariela Ortiz (English) Hailing from France, Aria is a rather soft-spoken character who has a tendency to cry whenever there is trouble, uttering the phrase "kusu" (an onomatopoeia for sniffling) when doing so. She enjoys sweets, especially parfait, and can usually be found wearing very frilly dresses with plenty of lace and bows. She refers to herself in the third-person, which is considered childish in Japanese culture, and speaks slowly. In the first anime, Wataru comments that time seems to pass more slowly around Aria, especially to someone who is used to the high-paced life of the city. In the

second anime, Aria comments that being in the brother's company relieves her of her 'sleepy feelings', energizing her. She addresses the brother as Nii-ya (?) the most childish name for one's brother. Her birthday is November 2, is a Scorpio, and stands 139 cm (about 4' 7") tall. Chikage (?, "Thousand shadows") Voiced by: Ayako Kawasumi (Japanese), Shelley Calene-Black (English) Mysterious, aloof, and occasionally gothic, Chikage is very much into spellcraft, the occult, and religion. She is an accomplished practitioner of dark magic, but prefers to utilize her sorcery in subtle methods, rather than brute power. Common images associated with her are the Christian cross and butterflies. In the anime, Chikage claims that she and the brother have been together in previous lives, possibly as brother and sister, perhaps as lovers. She expresses a desire to have him for herself somehow, but admits that he has refused the offer or simply slipped from her grasp several times throughout their incarnations. Out of all the sisters, she is the only one who entertains thoughts of somehow taking the brother away from the others, and almost executes plans to do so. She calls the brother as Ani-kun (?), the suffix -kun being an address to a boy who has a close relation or is about the same age as the addresser, giving the impression that her age is close to him. Her birthday is March 6, is a Pisces, and stands 157 cm (about 5' 2") tall. Haruka (?, "Spring song") Voiced by: Yumi Kakazu (Japanese), Tiffany Grant (English) Hailing from Germany, Haruka aspires to become a perfect Japanese lady (Yamato Nadeshiko). She is frequently seen wearing a kimono and can be found learning Japanese tea ceremony (sado) along with other cultural things. Haruka is an expert at handling the daikyu and naginata. Interestingly, training in these weapons is akin to the training given to the brides of samurai; Haruka's training in these weapons may or may not have been inspired due to her desire to be a perfect Japanese bride for a person of high standinglike her brother. Haruka addresses the brother as Anigimi-sama (?), the honorific suffix -kimisama (a combinations of the honofirics kimi or kun and -sama) used to address a venerable person in the same bloodline. Her birthday is May 16, is a Taurus, and stands 156 cm (about 5' 1") tall. Hinako (?, "Little child") Voiced by: Chiemi Chiba (Japanese), Serena Varghese (English) The youngest of the sisters, Hinako is very much a child and shows her affection accordingly. In the anime, Hinako frequently insists on her brother reading to her from picture books. Hinako refers to herself in the third-person as "Hina", dropping the "-ko". She addresses her brother as Onii-tama (?), a more childish version of Kaho's onii-chama. Her birthday is August 15, is a Leo, and she is the shortest among the sisters at 132 cm (about 4' 4"). Kaho (?, "Flower petal") Voiced by: Hisayo Mochizuki (Japanese), Cynthia Martinez (English)

Despite being a bit clumsy, Kaho is on her school's cheerleading team and loves to cheer her brother on. She is an accomplished gardener, and frequently grows flowers for and with her brother. She refers to herself in the third-person and addresses her brother as Onii-chama (?), a childish version of oniisama. Her birthday is January 7, is a Capricorn and has a height of 143 cm (about 4' 8"). Karen (?, "Lovely one") Voiced by: Natsuko Kuwatani (Japanese), Hilary Haag (English) Sweet and gentle, Karen's personality sometimes seems more suitable for an older (rather than younger) sister. She is a very skilled pianist. In the magazine stories and mini-novels, Karen owns a kitten named Vanilla (who, incidentally, has a thing for vanilla flavored sweets). Like several of the sisters, she refers to herself in the third-person and addresses her brother as Onii-chan (?), a way to call a brother by a younger sibling, usually a child. Her birthday is September 23, is a Virgo and stands 148 cm (about 4' 10") tall. Mamoru (?, "Guardian") Voiced by: Yumiko Kobayashi (Japanese), Kira Vincent-Davis (English) The athlete of the group, Mamoru is always trying to get her brother to play sports with her. She is sometimes mistaken for Rinrin due to their similar hairstyles and their penchant for donning their eyewear on their head. As she is a tomboy, Mamoru uses phrases and mannerisms that only boys are expected to. As proof of this, she addresses her brother as Anii (?), a shorter address used by a male teenager. Her birthday is October 18, is a Libra and stands 150 cm (about 4' 11") in height. Marie (?, "Nurtured picture") Voiced by: Ryouka Yuzuki (Japanese), Sasha Paysinger (English) Possessing a weak constitution, the bespectacled Marie has spent a lot of time in the hospital due to her illness. Her pet Michael, a Golden Retriever, acts as her guardian and friend when her brother isn't around. She addresses her brother as Aniue-sama (?), the honorific -uesama (a combination of ue and -sama) being used within the royal family or as a sign of politeness. Her birthday is April 4, is an Aries and stands 148 cm (about 4' 10") tall. Rinrin (?, "Courageous bell") Voiced by: Chiro Kanzaki (Japanese), Nancy Novotny (English) Gifted in the fields of science and technology, Rinrin spends a lot of her time building things but constantly asks her brother for monetary donations to keep her projects going. Lately, she's been constructing a robot duplicate of herself, MechaRinrin (?). She speaks with a strong Chinese accent and addresses her brother as Aniki (?), another way for a boy to address his brother. Her birthday is July 9, is a Cancer and measures 152 cm (about 5') in height. Sakuya (?, "Curious blossom") Voiced by: Yui Horie (Japanese), Monica Rial (English) Sakuya behaves very much like a modern teenager and is fashion conscious. She would love for her brother to see her as woman and not just a sister. In both anime, Sakuya claims that she and the brother are connected by the "red string of fate" and expresses the desire that she might somehow marry her brother.

She is quick to agree it would be impossible when in his presence. In the anime, Sakuya is arguably the most emotionally vulnerable of all the sisters where the brother is concerned, since she goes through extreme emotional reactions when they are separatedor when she anticipates separation. In the first anime, Sakuya frequently uses double entendres and innuendo when speaking to her brother, dismissing her words as jokes when he becomes really flustered. Sakuya addresses her brother as Onii-sama (?) as her sign of admiration. Her birthday is December 20, is a Sagittarian, and is the tallest of the sisters at 159 cm (about 5' 3"). Shirayuki (?, "White snow") Voiced by: Kumiko Yokote (Japanese), Jessica Boone (English) Shirayuki loves to cook, especially for her brother, and is always trying out new recipes for him. She refers to herself in the third-person as "Hime" (?), which translates to "princess". This might be because of her name's Western variant: Snow White. She also frequently ends her sentences with the phrase "desu-no." She addresses her brother as Nii-sama (?), which is shorter than Sakuya's, but polite. Her birthday is February 11, is an Aquarian, and stands 140 cm (about 4' 7") in height. Yotsuba (?, "Four-leaf clover") Voiced by: Tomoe Hanba (Japanese), Luci Christian (English) Hailing from England (as evidenced by her occasional penchant for anything with a Union Flag), Yotsuba fancies herself a detective la Sherlock Holmes. She can often be found with either a digital camera or a magnifying glass in hand, trying to spy on her brother. In the magazine stories and mini-novels, Yotsuba owns an unnamed talking toucan (not surprisingly, it can only say "checki" and "Anichama"). She refers to herself in the third-person and is fond of using the catchphrase, "Checky!" (! Cheki?). She addresses her brother as Ani-chama (?), which is a childish address similar to Kaho's, but laced with a British accent. She celebrates her birthday on June 21, is a Gemini, and is 149 cm (about 4' 11") tall.

[edit] The Brother

Wataru Minakami ( Minakami Wataru?, lit. "Sea God Wandering") Voiced by: Kenji Nojima (Japanese), Braden Hunt (English) The brother whom all of the sisters adore. In their eyes, he can do no wrong. Until the final set of illustrated stories, the brother's face was always hidden or turned away from the reader to keep his appearance hidden. The intention was to have the reader believe he was the character. As the series came to its end, a slightly modified version of the character design from the anime was used. As the father of the siblings is never present, and the mothers of the sisters are regularly preoccupied by their upper-class careers, Wataru serves as much a parent figure as he does a brother. He devotes extraordinary time to teaching or guiding them through various life crises, no matter how trivial or difficult they may be. For this reason, the sisters attribute many of their personal accomplishments to him. Despite their unwavering testimonies, Wataru is not perfect, even in the magazine

stories and mini-novels. He is unquestionably selfless however, and will do everything in his power to aid his siblings whenever humanly possible. Wataru also seems to possess an uncanny ability to show up exactly when a sister needs him most. Wataru has a habit of saying "It can't be true" in almost every episode. Understandably, the greatest fear the sisters share is someone or something taking Wataru away from them. For this reason, some of them entertain and dream of somehow becoming his wife or life partner. The inclination is far more innocent and less disturbing than it initially may sound: there are no incestuous intentions. As pure as Watarus sisters are, they show signs of jealousy and concern when a non-family member "takes" their brother away from them, fearing he may forget or leave them. (The name Wataru Minakami was given to the brother character only for the first Sister Princess television series. In Sister Princess Re-Pure, he is simply referred to as , Ani, or "Brother.")