Happy (belated) birthday, Nozomi Tojo!
I didn’t understand the appeal of your character for the longest, but, over time, I’ve found plenty of amazing qualities of yours that I enjoy!
First things first, I’ll address the elephant in the room – a big reason I couldn’t appreciate your best qualities entirely from the get-go: your “washi washi” shtick. I don’t know why the Love Live! creators thought that it was a good idea to give you such a trait. Actually, yeah I do; it was likely gross otaku pandering That topic is a different discussion for a different day, but your “washi washi” was so off-putting that it drove me away often. I knew that it wasn’t all there was to you, though, so each time I analyzed your character, I told myself to try and look past it – to look at positive traits to see what makes you shine. Here’s what I gathered!
First and foremost, you’re a supporter. When μ’s first got their feet wet, you kept a watchful eye over them. You continued to watch over them as they progressed as school idols. You also made sure to back your best friend Eli up – not only with student council duties, but with making sure that she was being honest with herself, later encouraging her to join μ’s. A while after that, you and Maki had a heart-to-heart, and you helped her to form a stronger bond with the others. Let’s not forget that you were the one that anonymously suggested the μ’s group moniker in the first place, showing that you had faith in how far the group would go. When you’re being a supportive, sisterly figure, you’re at your best.
You were a loner for much of your life – socially awkward and detached up until high school as the result of moving often. Then, you met Eli, who was also a bit of a misfit. She helped you to break out of your shell. Eli reaching out to you helped you to reach out to others because you’ve been in a place of loneliness yourself. She helped shape parts of you, and you returned the favor. You always go out of your way to help one another no matter what. That’s why I love the bond between you two.
I really love your goofy side. You’re in your own little world, and it’s amusing to watch. This goes for you across multiple forms of media, but I feel that it’s especially evident with your manga counterpart, where you’re a huge geek that’s eager to get everyone to join the Supernatural Phenomenon Research Society. Your manga counterpart is probably my favorite incarnation because you’re way into your hobbies and you’re a full-on cloudcuckoolander! It’s truly adorkable.
The little details of your design and character makeup say a lot about who you are. Your hair color and your image color are purple. Purple is a color of mystery, wisdom, and magic – all things that you possess. Your eye color is pretty unique, as green is one of the rarest eye colors. This probably doesn’t apply in the technicolor world of anime, but shhh let me have this According to the internet, apparently, green eyes are often associated with mysteriousness and mischievousness. I’m not sure how accurate that description is, but it definitely fits you to a T.
Other things I like about you include your distinct voice, certain event cards in the mobile games, and your Kansai dialect. The way that the one of your Event Fairy lines of dialogue got translated still makes me laugh.
I’m glad that I decided to not let one part of the way you act ruin your character entirely for me. Never stop being the cool advisor that you are! Spiritual ya ne!
