Ami Kawashima

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This page is about the character. If you are looking for the episode with the same name, click here.

This article contains HEAVY spoilers. Please view at your own risk.

Ami Kawashima
Kanji	川嶋 亜美
Characteristics
Age	16-17
Gender	Female
Height	165 cm (5'5")
Weight	45 kg (99 lbs)
Personal Status
School	Ohashi High School
Class	2-C
Occupation	Student Model
Relatives	Anna Kawashima (mother)
First Appearances
Anime	Episode 5
Manga	Chapter 7
Light Novel	Chapter 7
Portrayal
Japanese VA	Eri Kitamura
English VA	Erika Harlacher
German VA	Magdalena Turba

Ami Kawashima (川島 亜美 Kawashima Ami) is one of the series' heroines. She has a deep understanding of the relationship situation going on between Minori Kushieda, Ryuuji Takasu, Taiga Aisaka and Ami herself.

Appearance 

Ami's design.

Ami is an attractive teenage girl who is blessed with natural beauty with straight waist-length blue hair that has bangs split on both sides, wide violet eyes and she maintains a slim figure with a relatively large bust, which she likes to show off (and she goes to the gym readily).  

She is usually seen wearing Ohashi High School normal uniforms. Otherwise, she wears costumes, which corresponds to her maintaining her model image. Sometimes she is seen wearing less revealing clothing and sunglasses, to try and hide her identity from strangers and avoid attracting attention.  

Personality

Ami always wants people to see her as a simple, beautiful and sweet girl where one of whom is always kind and generous towards others, although this is just a scam.

In fact, she is a arrogant girl who will not hesitate to use abusive language towards others and she even tries to make amends if someone sees her true personality, because she is uncertain about her dual personality. Ami is also seen as very wise indeed as she has seen through the romantic attraction of Taiga Aisaka, Ryuuji Takasu and Minori Kushieda to each other. Ami is shown dropping hints and tips on them, trying to indirectly tell them about their situation, without hurting them.  

Unfortunately, Ryuuji's generally naive nature, Taiga's stubborn attitude, and Minori's airheaded facade leave her irritated to no end, especially near the conclusion of the series, when it becomes clear that each of them are holding back their feelings out of fear and/or inability to understand it themselves.  

This especially applies to Ami's general distaste towards Minori's airheaded facade, towards the love triangle between Ryuuji, Taiga, and herself. 

Background 

Ami is the daughter of a famous actress named Anna Kawashima and the childhood friend of Yusaku Kitamura who transfers into class in the middle of the second year of high school. She is a very beautiful girl who is working as a famous model and she is seen as one of the more mature members of the group. After this, as she moves temporarily, she stops going to modeling schools. But, she still goes to the gym readily and maintains a slim figure.  

Plot 

The First Meeting Of Arc 

After Taiga Aisaka accidentally spills Ryuuji Takasu's drink on herself, Ryuuji offers to clean her dress if they go to the restaurant where Minori works. But when they get there they find out that she had her day off that day. As they are looking at a fashion magazine, Taiga notices that a girl coming into the restaurant is pictured in the magazine, a model named Ami Kawashima. To their surprise Yusaku Kitamura is also there with her and tells them that they are childhood friends and she has come to visit for a while. Ami seems innocent, kind, polite, and a self-proclaimed airhead; but Taiga learns she only acts that way to get what she wants. Ami begins taunting Taiga to the point that Taiga slaps her. Seeing Yusaku and Ryuuji coming back she starts crying. Yusaku apologizes for what happens and takes Ami home. The next day they find out that Ami will be in their school, even in their very class. 

Out of habit Taiga references to different people dismissively as dogs, Ami quickly gaining the nickname "Stupid Chihuahua" ("baka-chi"). 

Ami Stalker Arc

Ryuuji Takasu and Taiga Aisaka were walking home together until he found them. Ami is being followed by a stalker, but refuses to let Taiga and Ryuuji know, and said that someone following her is a normal thing for models like her. Ami insists to stay at Ryuuji's place, but Taiga made her choose between a high-rise apartment with high security or an old-Rent a house with poor security. Ami chose the condominium skyscraper, which gave Taiga a smile. Taiga then tells Ami to stay at her house for the night. Ami refuses for a while, but then agreed. In the condominium, Taiga offers Ami orange juice, saying that it is good for her throat. Also, Taiga threatens Ami and made her impersonate over 100 people.

Ski Field Trip Arc

While "girl bonding", Ami opens up the topic in which Minori Kushieda rejected Ryuuji Takasu (Ep.19), the two had a very heated argument. Ami crassly but truthfully points out that despite having preemptively rejected Ryuuji, Minori still attempting to speak to him is simply sending the wrong message and is being rather cruel to Ryuuji, because from a third-party's perspective it would appear that she's toying with Ryuuji's unsure feelings. Minori simply responded in an uncharacteristically cold manner that the topic has nothing to do with Ami and that she shouldn't judge her decisions when she can't even read her right. Undeterred, Ami rather sarcastically questions whether Minori rejected Ryuuji out of guilt for taking him away from Taiga or simply because she hates him. When Minori doesn't provide an immediate response, Ami claims maybe it'd be best if she simply told Ryuuji of Minori's apparent dislike for him, which caused Minori to finally snap at her. Disgusted at Minori's stubbornness, Ami closes the topic by claiming that Minori's better at faking than she is with her dual personality.

The next day, Taiga and Minori accidentally runs into Ami while using their sled. Ami believes that they did it on purpose, as a revenge from yesterday's argument and the two engaged in a physical fight. Minori drops her clip (Ryuuji's Christmas gift) on a nearby slope and Taiga goes to look for it by herself. However while searching for it, she loses her ground and falls down unnoticed to others. When Taiga does not return, Yusaku, Ryuuji and Minori go to look for her. Ryuji then realizes that he has left Taiga alone again. Ryuuji finds her at the bottom of the hill, bleeding and covered with snow. As Ryuuji moves her back, the barely conscious Taiga thinking that he is Yusaku Kitamura, apologizes and confesses that she can not stop loving Ryuuji. At a later time Ryuuji asks Yusaku to make it appear that Yusaku was the one that saved her.

Relationships 

Ryuuji Takasu

When they first meet, Ami is nice to Ryuuji, but she later shows him her true personality. Ami likes to tease Ryuuji every time she has the chance, and she finds Ryuuji interesting. Intriguingly, Ami begins to develop romantic feelings towards Ryuuji. However, she is thoroughly annoyed by Ryuuji's denseness to her many hints about her attraction to him, which is further perpetuated by the fact that he doesn't even realize his own feelings despite much evidence to the contrary.

Ami always drops her facade when she sees Ryuuji, and feels like she can be her true self when around him. She and Ryuuji always speak in "the usual place" with Ami, in a place between her two personalities. Ryuuji accepts the true nature of Ami. Ami once said to him: "As long as one person understands me, I'll be fine. Even if it is not a romantic way."

She clearly understands the feelings between Taiga and Minori though, and decides not to get romantically involved. She often drops hints for Ryuuji to not play "house" or to not play "Dad", as Minori often acts as a mother to Taiga, with Ryuuji as Taiga's father. Ami is fully aware that if they continue to do that someone is bound to get hurt. Ami is the first person Ryuuji confessed to when he realized that he loves Taiga.

At the end of the series, she remains good friends with Ryuuji and supports Ryuuji and Taiga's relationship.

Taiga Aisaka

Initially, Ami and Taiga are seen as mortal enemies and spend every bit of their time fighting. Ami envies Taiga because of her personality and how she can remain true to herself. Ami often teases Taiga about her height, which clearly irritates Taiga. Ami also earned the nickname "Stupid Chihuahua" from Taiga. Ami is also shown as sympathetic towards Taiga, often helping her, if she asks. This is evident when she helps Taiga at school fairs, promising her to switch roles when her father arrives. Ami understands the situation between Taiga, Minori, and Ryuuji but she is not shown dropping hints to Taiga, contrary to what she is doing for Minori and Ryuuji. 

Ami and Taiga started to become friends in the near end of the series, and began to be fond of each other.

Minori Kushieda

The two do not get along very well, as they have opposite personalities. Ami is a model and is somewhat arrogant and mean to others, while Minori is a quirky kind of girl who is the head of the softball team. Minori also disapproves of people who calls themselves "air heads". In spite of this, Ami drops hints for Minori on her relationship with Taiga and Ryuuji, with the intention of trying to avoid hurt feelings.

Minori was the first of this group to realize that Ami is mature, saying that it was because she was working with adults.

They fight during the Ski Trip arc, when they argue about Minori's relationship with Ryuuji. Ami then calls the topic Ryuuji's rejection of Minori, and two become angry at each other. Minori says that Ami should not judge her because Ami could not see or read her heart, and Ami tells Minori that Minori is really good at pretending. Minori gets mad at Ami, and they argue again. The next day, Taiga and Minori accidentally run into Ami on their sled. Ami believes that they did it on purpose, because of the argument yesterday and engages in a physical fight with Minori.

Ami was really pissed off that Minori rejected Ryuuji, as well as the fact that Minori was lying to their own feelings and everyone. But after that, Minori and Ami are friendly to each other and become friends at the end of the cycle!

Yusaku Kitamura

Ami is Yusaku's childhood friend. Yusaku is already aware of Ami's true nature since they are childhood friends. Yusaku is shown to have a deep concern for Ami. He even asked for Ryuuji and Taiga's help to be "nice" to Ami and let her know that it's okay to be her "real self". Ami is also shown to clearly understand Yusaku, shown when she had suspected Yusaku's real reason behind dying his hair.

Maya Kihara

Maya decided to meet with Ami, because Ami is a childhood friend of Yusaku and model, making her popular in school. Maya and Ami have a common interest in some places. Maya, Ami, and Nanako often hang out and drink coffee after school. Maya knows only the facade Ami that shows in most high school students, Maya is not aware of Ami's "true self".

Nanako Kashii

Ami always talk to Nanako when they had girl conversation with Maya. They always hang out together a lot.

Quotes

• "Adoration never leads to a balanced relationship."
• "It's difficult to like me when I'm being myself."
• "If I show you my real self, what will you do? Will you fall for me?"
• "Whatever. Talking to you is like being on my period."
• "You're really good at faking."
• "I, Ami Kawashima, will walk the same path as you. It's just that I'll be one step ahead."
• "I've never really considered whether I'm lonely or not."
• "As long as there's at least one person who understands me, I'll be okay."

Etymology

• The name Ami means "second, Asia" (亜) (a) and "beautiful" (美) (mi).
• Ami's surname Kawashima means "river, stream" (川) (kawa) and "island" (嶋) (shima). 

Trivia

• Ami and Sumire Kano have both a strong resemblance to each other:  
  • Both have blue hair.  
  • Both are close to Yusaku Kitamura.  
  • Both have a cold personality.  
• Ami bears a strong resemblance to Ryoko Asakura from The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya.
  • She bears little resemblance to Momoko Kibitsu from Ookami-san and her Seven Companions.
    • Ami, Taiga Aisaka and Minori Kushieda make a scene in Ookami-san and her Seven Companions.