Kana Arima

About Kana Arima

Kana Arima was a famous child actress once called a genius who could cry in ten seconds flat. By her teens the work had dried up, leaving her sharp-tongued and insecure. Joining the new B-Komachi as its centre gives her a second chance. Kana says exactly what she thinks, works harder than anyone, and slowly becomes the group's beating heart.

Appearance

Kana is a petite young woman, just 150 cm tall, with short reddish-brown hair usually topped with a beret-style hat, and sharp, expressive eyes. Her resting expression is a glare; her working expression, honed since childhood, can switch to tears or joy on command, she was once famous for crying in ten seconds flat. As an idol she wears B-Komachi's bright costumes with visible reluctance and total professionalism, and her small frame and big attitude make her stand out in any group shot.

Personality

Kana is sharp-tongued, brutally honest and allergic to pity, including her own. She says exactly what she thinks, works harder than anyone and panics in private about being a washed-up child star at seventeen. Her insecurity makes her prickly; her talent makes her undeniable. She reads scripts, rooms and people with a veteran's eye, and her honesty, to Aqua especially, is a kind of courage nobody else in his life attempts. Under the venom she is the group's beating heart: the professional who holds B-Komachi's standard when the cameras roll.

Background & Story

Kana was a celebrated child actress, called a genius who could cry in ten seconds, but child stars grow up: by her teens the roles had dried up and her agency dropped her toward the industry's scrap heap. She kept working, school, auditions, bit parts, refusing to quit while quietly terrified she was finished. Her second chance comes through Aqua, who recruits her as the centre of the revived B-Komachi, the idol group Ruby is building in their mother's image. Kana protests, panics and then does what she has always done: out-works everyone in the room. The new B-Komachi gives her back a stage; learning to believe she deserves it is the harder role.

Key Relationships

• Aqua Hoshino: A fellow former child actor she has known since they were small; she is one of the few people who talks back to him honestly.
• Ruby Hoshino: Her B-Komachi bandmate, whose optimism Kana pretends to find exhausting and quietly depends on.
• MEM-cho: Her bandmate and the group's social media brain; MEM-cho teases Kana mercilessly about her feelings.
• Akane Kurokawa: A fellow actress and rival, professionally, and in their complicated feelings about Aqua.

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