Natsuki Kuga
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Natsuki Kuga (玖我 なつき Kuga Natsuki) is a character from the My-HiME and My-Otome anime and manga series. Her name is Natsuki Kruger in the My-Otome series. She is voiced in both series by Saeko Chiba.
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[edit] Natsuki In My-HiME
Seventeen years old, Natsuki Kuga appears in the beginning of the My-Hime series as a strong-willed and forceful individual known for being a truant. She is indifferent towards others, only caring if they happen to have some connection with her past. She is a lone wolf and has difficulty expressing her feelings and trusting others.
Natsuki's entire life revolves around the mystery concerning her mother's untimely death, which seems to involve the existence of HiMEs: twelve girls with supernatural powers of which Natsuki herself is a part of. Her mother was apparently working for a group known as the Searrs Foundation that had conducted research on the HiMEs. Learning more about that research, how it ties into her mother's death, and taking vengeance against those responsible form the basis of Natsuki's existence.
As the series goes on, Natsuki begins to reveal the more sensitive sides of her character. She realizes that she has friends who genuinely care for her and eventually makes peace with herself, ending her quest for revenge.
Natsuki's Element consists of a pair of small pistols that can fire an apparently infinite number of ice bullets. Her Child is called Duran, a silver metallic entity that resembles a wolf. It is named after the dog Natsuki owned prior to her mother's death. Duran has a pair of cannons on its back and is capable of executing several kinds of cartridge-based projectile and energy attacks: Silver Cartridge fires a burst of piercing icicles, Chrome Cartridge fires a volley of conventional explosive charges, and Flash Cartridge produces a blinding light that stuns any opponents within its area of effect.
Natsuki's most important person is Shizuru, but because of her fear of intimacy, she doesn't fully accept that fact until near the very end of the series.
[edit] Natsuki In My-Otome
In My-Otome, Natsuki Kruger is the headmaster of the Garderobe Academy - a school where young girls are trained to become honored Otomes. Shizuru is her assistant and closest confidant, as well as her former upperclassman. It is strongly implied that she is also Natsuki's lover.
Natsuki appears more mature and disciplined than her My-HiME counterpart, most likely due to her age and relatively high social position. She is a capable leader and exudes an air of confidence that inspires both the faculty and students of Garderobe alike.
Natsuki's relationship with Nao no longer contains the bitter malice it once did in My-HiME. The two women now have a sisterly if somewhat begruding affection for each other which more often than not manifests in bouts of bickering and teasing. This is made apparent during their journey to the Republic of Aries where Nao (in reference to a similar situation in My-HiME) removed an article of Natsuki's clothing in order to increase their chances of hitching a ride.
Natsuki comes from a remote region of territory owned by Count Kruger (クルーガー伯辺境領). She is #2 of the Five Columns - special Otome who serve no master save for Garderobe, and who are considered to be among the strongest of all Otome - and her GEM is known as the Ice Silver Crystal (氷雪の銀水晶 Hyōsetsu no Ginsuishō). During her days as a student at Garderobe, she and Mai Tokiha were rivals as well as roommates. She was also Shizuru's room attendant. Her own room attendant was Rosalie from Florence.
Her Element is a massive energy cannon capable of executing an attack called Howling Silver Wolf. In another of many references to My-HiME, she shouts " Load Silver Cartirdge " and " Load Chrome Cartridge " before she prepares to attack, sending a powerful attack reminiscent to her old Child.
[edit] Manga
[edit] My-HiME
In the My-HiME manga, Natsuki's character and back-story undergo several changes. She is more ruthless and cares even less for others than her anime counterpart, and her relationship with Shizuru is pushed into the background and left undeveloped. She also becomes involved in a love triangle with Mai Tokiha and Yuuichi Tate. Tate, being the Key for both Natsuki and Mai, unwittingly becomes the most important person for both girls, exasperating the antipathy between the two.
The apparent murder of Natsuki's mother was what led Natsuki to Fuuka Academy in the manga, although it is revealed in later chapters that she is still alive. Alyssa Searrs is her sister. The manga also introduces her odd dining habits: unable to cook, mayonnaise is the only "food" she eats. It should also be noted that in the manga, her Child Duran receives several upgrades the more Natsuki opens up to her friends.
[edit] My-Otome
In the My-Otome manga, two versions of Natsuki exist.
The first is Natsuki Kruger, who is this time the daughter of Aries' president. She is still the headmaster of Garderobe, and just as in the My-HiME manga, Alyssa Searrs is her sister. Her Robe remains the same as in the My-Otome anime, but she doesn't use it until just before the series end. A running gag is made of her being deprived of the opportunity to Materialise at the most inconvenient times. She displays a more forceful personality than in the anime, taking it upon herself to scold Manshiro a few times for his misdeeds.
The second is Natsuki Kuga revived from the dead. This Natsuki has a larger bust than any of her other incarnations (though this is not reflected in the image to the right.) She mocks the appearance of others and has a deep-seated hatred for those with larger bust sizes than her own. She has a seemingly congenial relationship with the revived Nao Yuuki, who sees her more as an elder sister rather than an enemy as in My-HiME.
[edit] Trivia
- In early episodes of My-HiME, Natsuki is depicted as having very bad luck and often finds herself in extremely embarrassing situations. In My-Otome and the corresponding manga series, several references are made to her bad luck, often involving her losing an article of clothing at the worst possible times. Her hitchhiking mishaps in both My-HiME and My-Otome are the best known examples as well as the most popular among fans.
- Natsuki's character song is Mizube no Hana (Flower By The Pond), which is performed by Saeko Chiba. She has another character song titled Kirei na Yume no Sono Hate ni (At The End of That Beautiful Dream) which is also performed by Chiba. Along with the two other lead voice actresses for My-HiME, Chiba also performs for another insert song titled Parade.
- Natsuki is the only My-HiME character aside from Mai Tokiha and Mikoto Minagi to have two character songs.
- Natsuki's hair color is jet black in the HiME/Otome mangas.
- Natsuki's birthday is on August 15, making her a Leo. Her HiME symbol is located on her lower-left back, which is one of the areas of the body said to be governed by Leo in western astrology. The other HiMEs are similarly marked, with their HiME symbols located on the areas of their bodies said to be governed by their respective astrological signs.
