Mina Hakuba

is the childhood friend and likely romantic interest of Soma Cruz. Her family at the Hakuba Shrine was previously responsible for the sealing of Castlevania within the darkness of a solar eclipse in the battle of 1999, which achieved the true death of Dracula himself. Mina is an extremely sociable lady who has come to know everyone around the shrine prior to the events of Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, including government agent Genya Arikado and witch Yoko Belnades, and gets along comfortably with Soma Cruz in spite of his intimidating personality.
==Background==
In the 2035 solar eclipse, at age 18, Mina and Soma are transported to Castlevania, and she agrees to stay behind in the safety of the castle's front courtyard as Soma travels through for a way out. Later, she finds out Soma's apparent fate as the inheritor of the powers of the Dark Lord Dracula, and though frightened initially, she sends him moral support telepathically when Soma prepares to confront the powers of Chaos and therefore reject the role of Dark Lord. Soma is successful in part due to her influence, and they escape Castlevania together as the place is drawn back into the eclipse. Soma and Mina become closer immediately after the adventure.
In 2036, when Soma is forced to confront Celia's cult, Mina stays behind at the safety of her home and is not physically involved in Soma's quest for the most part. She sends him moral support through a letter during Soma's journey along with her personal talisman. This proves to be vital in preventing the Dark Lord from emerging out from Soma's body when Celia kills a doppelganger made to resemble a captive Mina and Soma's emotions overflow; the darkness-suppressive nature of the talisman holds off the dark influence within Soma long enough for Arikado to arrive and save him. After Soma returns to normal, he is able to defeat Celia and Dmitrii at length and escape the crumbling location, where at the outskirts he reunites with Mina and their relationship becomes something of a romantic joke among their other friends, much to both their embarrassment.
Mina, along with Soma, make cameo appearances in the novel Akumajō Dracula: Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku, which takes place one year after Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow.
Mina's relationship with Soma parallels that of Dracula and Elisabetha and Lisa (women whose deaths had brought Dracula to wage war on humanity against the name of God initially and on two separate occasions), in part due to Soma's status as the reincarnation of Dracula and when he nearly succumbs to evil upon witnessing Mina's apparent death.
==Quotes==
:Note: If quotes are separated, then someone else talks between them.
===Aria of Sorrow===
====Castle Corridor====
*Hey, looks like he's coming to.
*It's OK, Soma. His name is Genya Arikado...
*Soma! Listen to him, he's telling you the truth!
When she's unconscious:
*......
(First talk after Hammer sets up shop)
*Welcome back, Soma. Hey...
*That man over there...
*His name's Hammer, huh? Don't you think he's a little scary?
*But look at all those weapons he has over there...
*Here!? He's opening a shop in this castle? He's weird...
*But if you say that he's a good guy... I'll believe you.
(Subsequent times without leaving room)
*Welcome back.
*Lately I've had some really bad headaches.Sometimes I just feel so uneasy waiting here.My body feels really heavy at times.Sometimes I lose control of my arms and legs...What's wrong with me?Well, I...I've been passing out occasionally. I get so dizzy, then...Lately, I've been feeling strange...I'm soooo exhausted...
*Yes. No need to worry, I'm fine.I'm sorry I worried you. I'm sure I'll be fine. Waiting here is easy.
(After player re-enters room after Hammer sets up shop)
*What's up?
*Soma, do you know the story of the Amanoiwado Shrine?
*In the story, Tensho Daijin hides herself in the shrine to calm Susanoo down.
*Tensho Daijin is the sun. The act of hiding symbolizes an eclipse.By hiding herself away, she was able to contain Susanoo's anger.
*Yes, people have prayed to eclipses for centuries.And the Hakuba Shrine is a shrine for this very purpose.
*And usually, we only conduct ceremonies for Japan's eclipses, but...
*Yes...That's what I was told.
*That's why I knew the things that Mr. Arikado said were...
*I'm sorry. I haven't been much help to you.
She also gives hints to Soma, after re-entering entrance after listening the Hakuba Shrine story.
*Welcome back. I have a message for you from Arikado.
*Yes it's, ah...
;Initial hints
*I hear there is an enemy that moves at extremely high speed. He's so fast he's invisible. If you could stop time, perhaps you could see him.
*I hear that some space is tweaked here in the castle.And some connected to different spots.In short, in some places, you cannot return to the spot where you came from.
*Somewhere in the castle, there's a monster that can stop time.I've also heard there are monsters immune to being frozen in time.
*There should be ancient books that talk about Dracula's power hidden somewhere in this castle.I wonder what they are about.
*When you're able to swap your HP and your MP, there is an enemy you'll be able to defeat instantly.I don't really understand it, but... this helps you, right?
;Hint after defeating the Headhunter
*If you stand on the water and jump from that spot, you'll be able to go up there.Stand on the water, what does that mean? Maybe you have to act like a ninja?
;Hint after defeating Death
*There is an area accessible by traveling through water.Without scuba gear, it may be too tough for a human to handle.
*Come back again later. Maybe I'll have another message from Arikado.
==Notes==
*In Castlevania: Aria of Sorrow, if Soma is injured while talking to Mina, she will fully restore both his HP and MP.
*In Aria of Sorrow, the Succubus takes the guise of Mina in order to lure in Soma and attack.
**This behavior would also return in the sequel, Dawn of Sorrow, although in that game the Succubus takes the guise of Yoko Belnades instead.
==Trivia==
*The name Mina Hakuba seems to be patterned after Mina Harker, a character from the 1897 Gothic horror novel Dracula by Bram Stoker.
**In the novel, the name "Mina" was actually an abbreviation of "Wilhelmina", which could hint that this is also the real name of Mina Hakuba. However, "Mina" is a proper Japanese given name, so it's likely this is the case for the Castlevania character.
*Given Mina's relationship with Soma Cruz, it is implied that she could be the reincarnation of either Elisabetha Cronqvist or Lisa, Dracula's two former wives, or maybe both.
*By 2035, Mina Hakuba is living at Hakuba-chō, a town on the Nagano prefecture in Japan..
*In the opening sequence of Castlevania: Dawn of Sorrow, Mina appears as an image while Soma is absorbing Malachi's soul, implying that he's using his memories and feelings for her as a way to avoid succumbing to its power and become Dracula.
*In the Japanese version of Dawn of Sorrow, and to a lesser extent the English version of the same game (as Mina, or rather, a doppelganger of her, was heard addressing Soma audibly upon being killed), Mina addresses Soma using the honorific "-kun", which is an informal pronoun generally used by women for men that they are deemed particularly close to.
*Mina was planned to appear as an assist summon alongside Hammer in Castlevania: Grimoire of Souls; however, Konami announced that on September 9, 2020, service for the original game would be discontinued. Though she did not appear in the Apple Arcade version, she was mentioned by the Grimoire replica of Soma Cruz, after he was freed from the Grimoire's dark control.
==References==
de:Mina Hakuba
es:Mina Hakuba
pt-br:Mina
Category:Female Characters
Category:Humans
Category:Literary Characters
Category:Lovers of Dracula
Category:NPC
Category:Priests and Priestesses
Category:Supporting Cast
Category:Aria of Sorrow Characters
Category:Dawn of Sorrow Characters
Category:Kabuchi no Tsuisoukyoku Characters