Anri Minami

https://m-78.jp/videoworks/ultraman-blazar/https://tsuburaya-prod.com/news/6104 is a combatant and pilot belonging to the SKaRD.
==Personality==
Anri has a modest and down-to-earth personality, and holds a strong admiration for special operation forces. She approaches missions with a serious attitude, and due to her past experiences, she cannot hide her ingrained habits of strict adherence to regulations and long-term execution of infantry tasks from her time at GGF. Initially, she felt perplexed by SKaRD's unique combat style.
In addition, Anri excels in hand-to-hand combat skills and is skilled in automotive repairs. Through teamwork with her teammates, she gradually showcases her potential. Her other interest lies in weightlifting.
After becoming acquainted with the members of SKaRD, Anri gradually moves beyond her initial reserve, becoming more willing to open up about her thoughts and feelings. Additionally, it appears that she holds a certain aversion towards insects.
==History==
===Pre-Ultraman Blazar===
Anri Minami was born on May 8, 1997, in Ichinoji Town, Akita Prefecture. During her childhood, she formed a strong bond with Mizuho, a descendant of the local shrine family. Anri did not ostracize Mizuho for her ability to hear the inner voices of animals, but rather found it intriguing. They often visited a shrine located on Mount Kirino together, where they paid homage to Dorgo, revered locally as the "God of Abundance."
During her junior high years, due to a relocation, Anri moved away from Ichinoji Town and subsequently lost touch with Mizuho. Coming from a rural background, upon her arrival in Tokyo, she became mindful of not letting her distinctive dialect become too apparent during conversations with others. In social interactions, she frequently exhibited hesitation and shyness, displaying a reluctance to delve into her superficial memories.https://twitter.com/konoooomin/status/1688195625761001472
In 2013, at the age of 16, Anri encountered an amateur band performing music on a roadside plaza during her sports training with high school classmates. She developed a strong interest in the band's performance quality and curiously asked the band's leader, Hoichi Tsukushi, if they were an amateur band. She praised their performance, finding it quite professional. She mentioned her love for music, which was initially influenced by her father. Although she didn't have a particularly strong interest in music at first, over time, she grew to love it because she realized that "good music is good, and enjoying it never gets boring."
She asked Tsukushi if she could see the band perform again, to which he gave a favorable response. From that moment on, she maintained regular contact with Tsukushi.
===Ultraman Blazar===
During her time at engineering school, Anri Minami had extensive experience as an infantry soldier. Prior to her transfer to the SKaRD, she served as a rifleman in the 1st Paratroop Regiment of the GGFJ General Unit, at the Toma GarrisonUchusen 181. She was involved in multiple infantry missions, earning her skills in close-quarters combat.
Thanks to her exceptional skills in the infantry, Anri became one of the selected candidates for the SKaRD. She was training martial arts when she was approached by SKaRD Captain Hiruma and member Emi Aobe. She received a transfer letter, which she accepted straight away.
Upon being introduced to the SKaRD Mobile Outpost vehicle, she took the initiative to be in charge of upgrading it. When Captain Gento told the members to call each other by their first name and/or nicknames, she was among the members to become bewildered by the captain's rules.
Reports on the appearance of the aquatic kaiju Gedos reached the members and Anri was sent to have the SKaRD MOP operation-ready. However, she discovered that the vehicle had received extensive upgrades by the time she returned from buying supplies. She later drove Gento to the port and assisted in the battle against Gedos. When Ultraman Blazar appeared and was struggling with Gedos' electric attack, Emi and Anri helped disrupt the kaiju. The mission concluded with the destruction of Gedos under the hands of Blazar.
When Anri and the other SKaRD members reported to a hangar underneath their base, they were introduced to member Yasunobu Bando. There, the members received their first official order from Chief of Staff Retsu Haruno.
Anri provided her insight on Taganular and proposed methods on attacking the kaiju. The proposals were accepted by the members and she was assigned to pilot Earth Garon for the mission. Arriving at the scene in the mecha with Gento, Anri effectively fought the kaiju in Close-Quarters Combat Mode. When the mecha was downed and unable to reactivate, Anri was instructed by Yasunobu on how to reactivate the Tail VLS. This allowed the missiles to launch and provide fire support for Ultraman Blazar.
On June 17, 2023, GGF conducted an exercise involving the experimental electromagnetic cannon "Mega Shot" in Ichinoji Town. To facilitate the test, Anri returned to her original hometown after a long absence. However, having been away for many years, everything seemed unfamiliar upon her return. During this homecoming, she unexpectedly crossed paths with her childhood friend, Mizuho.
Due to the installation process of Mega Shot necessitating the removal of local stone niches, Mizuho insisted that the exercise should be halted, believing it would awaken Dorgo. She showcased a family heirloom to Anri, revealing the omen of Dorgo's revival. Although Anri expressed a desire to believe Mizuho's perspective, the lack of evidence led her to prioritize the mission and proceed with the trial. Nevertheless, for the sake of caution, she transmitted the information documented in the records to Emi at CP, seeking confirmation of Mizuho's viewpoint.
During the confrontation assessment test between Earth Garon and Mega Shot, the explosion sound ultimately triggered Dorgo's reawakening. However, it refrained from sustained attacks, merely returning to slumber after consuming water. Analysis revealed that Dorgo could fully revive in another hour. This left the group in a predicament. Mizuho vehemently advocated against killing Dorgo, showcasing the sacred object enshrined in the original shrine. She emphasized that reinserting the sacred object into the shrine's location might induce Dorgo to slumber once again. In accordance with Mizuho's desire, Anri sought Gento's approval to undertake this task. Subsequently, upon receiving data from Emi, it was concluded that the sacred object might impact Dorgo's neural activity, further affirming the sealing approach. Consequently, the responsibility of transporting the sacred object was assigned to Gento and Anri.
As the two arrived at the shrine ruins, the malfunction of the electromagnetic cannon provoked a premature awakening of Dorgo, causing a tremendous upheaval. Just before being flung away, Gento entrusted the sacred object to Anri. With the appearance of Ultraman Blazar and the ensuing battle against Dorgo, Anri found herself in peril multiple times. However, during a moment when Blazar subdued Dorgo, she skillfully utilized the "Three-battle stance" technique from her martial arts training to maintain her balance, successfully inserting the sacred object into the shrine's remains and allowing Dorgo to slumber once again.
At the conclusion of the event, both Anri and Mizuho separately witnessed and heard laughter and illusions of their childhood selves. These manifestations were memories through which Dorgo conveyed its gratitude to them. This experience also prompted Anri to recall the cherished childhood memories she shared with Mizuho, along with the emotions they felt during their final farewell.
Upon confirmation, if all proceeds smoothly, Dorgo can continue to slumber for a thousand years. Both of them firmly believe that everything will take a positive turn, and together they watch as Dorgo returns to its original state. Following this incident, Anri has rediscovered her hometown and rekindled her affection for it.
In August 2023, while walking home, Anri unexpectedly received an invitation to a concert, which reminded her of her encounter with Tsukushi ten years ago. Despite initial considerations due to work, she ultimately decided to attend and watch their performance.
Shortly thereafter, Garamon emerged from the meteorite that had crashed into the Tama River in Tokyo. Anri promptly boarded the SKaRD MOP and headed to the scene to be on standby. While examining Garamon's waveform data, she noticed that these waveforms seemed to match the frequencies of musical performances. When detecting sound waves in the surrounding area, she also observed that Garamon's behavior patterns changed in accordance with the waveform variations. Ultimately, she confirmed that this suspected music was related to Tsukushi's band. With Gento's approval, Anri ventured alone to the performance location of Tsukushi's band at the Tokyo Comprehensive Arts and Culture Center.
Upon arriving at the scene, Anri learned that Tsukushi and his group were actually Cicada Humans, who had arrived on Earth sixty years ago but abandoned their invasion plans due to their love for music. She attempted to stop their performance but was thwarted by the other three band members.
Nonetheless, Anri continued to press why they had sent her an invitation to the concert, ultimately concluding that they actually wanted her to prevent their performance.
After a deep internal struggle, Tsukushi's performance ultimately came to a halt at the sound of Anri's gunshot. With the cessation of the performance, Garamon also ceased its operation, marking the failure of Cicada Human's invasion plan. However, Tsukushi, nursing an injured hand, breathed a sigh of relief and said, "I've come to understand that humans are truly beings who love music. I'm glad you didn't disappear." Tsukushi announced that this would be the band's final performance. From that point on, the band disbanded, allowing their fellow members to fully enjoy music, and the curtains on the stage fell for the last time.
After the conclusion of the Gebalga incident, Anri stayed at SKaRD CP to organize battle records dating up to that point. Concurrently, she along with Yasunobu and Emi, individually reminisced about their numerous encounters battling kaijus. They discussed commonalities among Space Kaijus, including the possibility that Bazanga and Gebalga originated from the same planet and that the invasion trajectories of these two kaijus matched the trajectory of a meteorite that GGF had shot down in 1999. In conversations with both individuals, Anri mentioned the potential existence of some human-made factors behind these coincidences.
However, as she was engrossed in organizing the data, she unintentionally fell asleep, her body resting on the keyboard. When she woke up, she discovered a jumble of meaningless text on the keyboard, and unfortunately, the original data had been lost, leaving her feeling quite frustrated.
On September 28, 2023, in Fujigaki City, a group of workers encountered unidentified creatures in an underground cave during an exploration at a construction site. SKaRD was promptly dispatched to conduct an investigation. The following morning, during a shift change, Mogusion suddenly emerged to the surface, and Anri was also affected by Mogusion's illusion, causing her to see a gigantic Taganular. Just as Anri and Yasunobu were about to be attacked, Gento successfully broke free from the illusion and rescued them, immediately sending them to a medical center for treatment.
Upon receiving a notification from Earth Garon's AI system, EGOISS, she and other team members used remote communication to successfully encourage Emi, who was piloting Earth Garon for the first time, helping her break free from the illusions.
Upon learning that Varallon had crashed on the moon and started manufacturing and detonating bombs, GGFJ quickly ordered the completion of the Earth Garon Mod.4 upgrade, instructing SKaRD to head to the moon to intercept Varallon. Despite the members realizing it was a challenging battle, they resolutely carried out the mission. During the subsequent eighteen hours of downtime, Anri went to the park where she had previously met Tsukushi, engaging in reflection and saying goodbye to things that were important to her.
As SKaRD officially commenced the mission, they faced severe retaliation even before landing on the moon. However, under Yu Dobashi's instructions, they were forced to land forcefully. During the battle, Earth Garon unexpectedly caught a bomb on its tail, resulting in a massive explosion that left everyone unconscious.
After the members woke up, they brought Blazar back to Earth, but Earth Garon needed extensive repairs due to severe damage. Once the repairs were completed, Anri resumed her role as the primary pilot, boarding Earth Garon and heading to the battle scene to assist Blazar in confronting Varallon. During this process, through conversations with Emi and Dobashi, Anri learned all the truths about V99.
After V99 departed, Varallon was successfully defeated. Anri reunited with other SKaRD members, continuing their mission to protect the Earth.
==Merchandise==
*Ultraman Blazar Deformed Acrylic Stand (2023)
**Release Date(s): October 2023 (Premium Bandai)
**Price: 770 yen for each piece
**Materials: Acrylic
:Released as part of the Blazar-themed Deformed Acrylic Stand series, Anri (illustrated in an anime style) is one of the character display stands for this product.
:Anri (and the rest of the characters) is available as a made-for-order item (where the customers can choose one during purchase) for Premium Bandai in October 2023.
==Gallery==
===Ultraman Blazar===
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===Ultraman Blazar The Movie: Tokyo Kaiju Showdown===
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===SKaRD Break Room===
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===Miscellaneous===
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Anri Minami 2024.png|https://tarzanweb.jp/post-305618
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SKaRD Dossier File - ANRI.png|Fan recreation of Anri's file
Anri Minami doodle.png|Anri's doodles
Anri Minami notes.png|Anri's notes speculating on the origin of Space Kaijus
==Trivia==
*According to a tweet posted by the actress, Anri returned the supplies originally for upgrading the SKaRD MOP to the place she bought them from.https://twitter.com/konoooomin/status/1681141808624173056
*According to a statement by Konomi Naito, the actress who portrays Anri, in an interview, Naito initially auditioned for Ultraman Decker Finale: Journey to Beyond, aiming to play the role of Dinas. Despite making it to the final list of candidates, she ultimately was not chosen for the role. However, due to Naito's suitability for a character in the new series, as determined by the relevant individuals, she eventually secured the role of Anri without the need for an audition.https://news.mynavi.jp/article/20231025-2801924/
==References==
Category:Ultraman Blazar
Category:Ultraman Blazar Characters
Category:Human Characters
Category:Female Characters
Category:Allies
Category:SKaRD Members
Category:SKaRD
Category:Heroines