Twin Spica - Main Characters

Main Characters

Yaginuma's work prior to serialization introduces readers to Asumi Kamogawa and her mentor, the ghost of a Lion astronaut whom she calls Mr. Lion. Their friendship develops in several short stories in which, throughout her childhood, he nurtures Asumi's interest in space. As her interest and dreams grow, Asumi is often ridiculed by classmates, especially because she immerses herself in books about space and rarely engages in classroom activities. When she decides to apply for admission to the Tokyo Space Academy, her teachers urge her to reconsider because she is below average height. Her friendship with Mr. Lion continues to grow after Asumi successfully enters the academy, and she often consults him during periods of self-doubt.

Asumi's elementary and middle school classmate Shinnosuke Fuchuya also enters the academy much to her surprise. He defended Asumi from ridicule by other classmates throughout their childhood despite occasionally teasing her as well, and it has been suggested that he sees her as a romantic interest. The two eventually befriend three other students in the astronaut training program. Shu Suzuki, who is named student representative for the astronaut program, has an easygoing personality. He wears a distinctive face by shaving his eyebrows as a symbol of defiance against his father. Kei Oumi befriends Asumi during the academy's entrance examination and is portrayed with an outgoing personality and a deep sense of loyalty toward her friends. Marika Ukita initially responds coldly toward gestures of friendship, but she moves into Asumi's dormitory following an argument with her father. The five students later make a promise to complete the astronaut program together as their friendship grows stronger. After three years in the astronaut program, Asumi is chosen out of eleven remaining students to take part in Japan's second human spaceflight mission, making her, at the age of eighteen, the youngest person to go into space.

Throughout their time at the academy, astronaut candidates must overcome numerous physical and mental trials. Readers discover from a pre-serialization story that Asumi's mother dies following the Lion disaster, but this is not known to Asumi's friends until Kei discovers the obituary listing in a newspaper article. Marika is revealed to be the genetic copy of a deceased Marika Ukita despite a standing ban on human cloning. Fuchuya suffers from red-green color blindness after his eyes are exposed to an exploding firework at close range in a childhood accident. Unknown to the group, Shu suffers from hereditary hemoptysis (coughing up of blood) and dies from the condition soon after his selection as an exchange student to the American space program. This tragedy reveals Kei's feelings for him, which she keeps hidden for much of the series.