Echizen

**Echizen** (越前?) is a female supporting character in *Tanaka-kun wa Itsumo Kedaruge*. She and Oota are childhood friends and next-door-neighbors. She is Miyano's “best friend” but the main subject of her affection.

## Appearance

Echizen is a tall girl with short, chin-length blonde hair and brown eyes. Her face usually wears a scowling expression, but this changes whenever Echizen sees Miyano or something cute.

She wears long skirts instead of the usual short fashion. She also has ear piercings, as seen by the holes on her ears.

## Personality

Echizen keeps up a delinquent appearance in front of everyone she knows, barring her own family. She is quite aggressive toward everyone, excluding Miyano. She can easily get angry over small things, such as Oota calling her "Ecchan". Despite her tough exterior, she is easily flustered by notions of romance, and loves things that are cute. She also cannot bring herself to eat sweets if they are shaped like cute animals. She sometimes jumps to conclusions, but is very dedicated to helping what she believes in.

## History

Echizen grew up with Oota as his next-door-neighbor and childhood friend. Oota stated that Echizen used to come over to his house to eat his mother's homemade donuts when she was young, and that his mother was sad that she had not come to visit lately. It is unsure how they drifted apart, but it's probable that they attended different junior high schools.

   In Chapter 87 of the manga, it is revealed that Echizen decided to become a delinquent after an unknown delinquent girl defended young Echizen from being teased for wishing to be a princess. Admiring this woman, Echizen tells her mother her new dream. That girl is strongly implied to be Satou-sensei.

In Chapter 93, it is explained that Echizen and Miyano first met on a rainy day, during their last year of middle school. Miyano got separated from her friends at the railroad crossing and was left behind without an umbrella. Echizen, who was also waiting at the crossing, offered her umbrella to Miyano. A year later, during their first year of high school, Miyano saw Echizen in the hallway without remembering who she was. One day it started raining again, and Miyano shared her umbrella with Echizen when she saw that Echizen had put her own umbrella on the ground to protect a kitten. This led to the start of their friendship.

## Etymology

The name **Echizen** means "jump forward" (越前). It is also the name of an old province in Japan.

## Trivia

* Echizen has a golden retriever named Sally. She also has a kitten named Elly.
* Echizen loves cute things, like bunnies, baby birds, and Miyano. It is later revealed that Echizen can't eat or destroy cute things such as the bunny-shaped chocolate that Miyano made for her.
* Later in the series, Echizen buys a smartphone in order to contact Miyano after being unable to find each other when meeting for dates. However, she doesn't know much about smartphones. For example: she doesn’t know it needs to be charged daily or how to use a touch screen.
	+ It is later revealed that Echizen named her smartphone "Lily".
* It is implied that Echizen calls her mother "Mommy" in private, but refers to her as "Ma" to keep up with her delinquent front.
* Echizen is a fan of YDT48 (their universe's version of AKB48).