Coffee's Entry to okusawamiikun's 30 Day Bandori Challenge!

Day two: Favorite Poppin' Party Character - Arisa Ichigaya

How do I begin to talk about my precious angel Arisa? <33

She has been my favorite Bandori character from the very beginning! I've always been a fan of characters with cute pigtails, so I was immediately drawn to her design. On top of that, her tsundere attitude and adorable voice charmed me to no end. Her initial card was my first 4* and I was through the roof excited! I always preferred the untrained version of the card - her cute little expression as she cuts her bansai (the expression fit perfectly with her phrases in gameplay, too). When I saw her initial 3* in the exchange shop I saved up as best I could to buy it. Precious Arisa + coffee = heaven.

But for me, Arisa isn't just a pretty face. She reminds me a lot of myself in that we both have a hard time conveying our feelings. We look at situations in a practical(ish) light that can seem a little stuck-up to some. Oftentimes the love we feel is muddled by overthinking, fear, and the inability to act. My heart broke reading the Double Rainbow story - seeing how desperately she wanted to keep Poppin' Party together, sacrificing her own connections to the band in order to save it, broken by her own insecurities, and accidentally making things worse for everyone. All this could have probably been worked out sooner with direct communication, but instead she avoided everyone like the plague! Arisa was mortified by how she treated Rimi, and that one mistake stuck out like a thorn in her side.

And unlike other tsunderes, there are times she allows her true feelings to shine through that tough facade. The last thing she wants to do is hurt anyone. Poppin' Party knows how much she cares about the band and doesn't question her loyalties in the slightest (I love that). They accept her for who she is and embrace her flaws, knowing that in all truthfulness she only wants the best for her friends.

I believe Arisa is a lovely soul inside and out. Seeing her face brightens my day, and our similarities make me feel more connected to her character. I just love her to death!

Now I only have to wait for Craft Egg to release a Halloween Arisa... on that day the world will rejoice!

Read the previous day's entry here