page_title: Himari Noihara
section_title: Creation and conception
hierarchical_section_title: Himari Noihara / Creation and conception
caption_attribution_description: English: Ami Koshimizu in November 2008 in Waseda University.
context_page_description: Himari Noihara or Himari for short, is a fictional character in the manga series Omamori Himari, created by Milan Matra. She also appears in the anime adaptation where she is voiced by Ami Koshimizu. Himari's character design was created simply, but Matra became bogged down on other things such as naming of the main heroine. In the story, Himari is shown to be a bakeneko or demon cat, a type of Japanese spirit known as a yōkai. Reception of her character by English-language media has been mostly positive with writers often calling her a good lead character based on her traits.
  In both the anime and manga series she is the descendant of a yōkai that was spared rather than being killed by a demon slayer family. As a result, she and her ancestors have sworn to protect its members. Yuto Amakawa, being the current heir to the family, is thus under her care. As the series progresses she shows that she deeply cares for and loves Yuto, but struggles with demons within herself. At the end of the series, Yuto saves Himari and confesses his love back to her. The anime differs from the manga when it comes to the final battle at the end.
context_section_description: When creating Himari, author Milan Matra opted to go for an easily drawn character. He soon came up with her design, but became stuck in regards to her name and her style of speech. Eventually he decided on the name Himari and an old-fashioned speech style. Himari was originally going to have short hair in the final chapter but Matra decided to go with long hair, and use the short haired designs for her evil side, Black Himari, which appears earlier in the series. Matra describes Himari's appearance on the cover of the first volume as the "first he had ever done". In order to attract readers, Matra stated that he drew Himari in a way that was unusual for her character whom is usually  serious. He described her smile as "gentle" which is something that would never be seen in the story itself.
  Himari also has a sister named Hime who was originally going to be a male character. Matra made the change saying that he did not want his readers to wrap their hearts around two different male characters which would have also impacted Himari's storyline. When asked at a book fair in Taiwan why he chose a cat to represent the main character, Matra replied that he thinks that cats in general are cute. In the story, Himari states that her mother died while giving birth to her while her father might have been another species of demon cat, or possibly a stray.
  Himari's character is voiced by Ami Koshimizu in the anime adaptation. She was chosen for the role during a series of interviews, then was photographed along with the other chosen cast for promotional shots. Koshimizu described her feelings about Himari in another interview when asked what she liked best. She said that while Himari has great mental abilities and can fight, she is still a girl who cares about various things. Koshimizu went on to say that it was difficult to "add or subtract" Himari's feelings about being a yōkai. In addition to voicing Himari, Koshimizu also sings the ending song called BEAM my BEAM after each episode.
caption: Himari is played by Ami Koshimizu in the anime.
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