Houki Shinonono

Houki

**Houki Shinonono** (篠ノ之 箒 *Shinonono Houki*) is one of the *tsundere* characters in the IS:Infinite Stratos series.

## Appearance

Houki is a teenage girl of average height with long black hair that she keeps in a slightly messy ponytail (that seems to be divided into two sections) with a green and black ribbon, dark blue eyes and a slim, curvaceous body with large breasts (which are still growing [1][2]). She often complains that her breasts are too big.

She usually wears her IS Academy uniform, with high stockings and black knee-high boots that have white soles. After the battle with the Silver Gospel, she replaces her green ribbon with a red-and-white ribbon that Ichika bought her for her birthday.

Her initial IS training uniform matched the standard ones worn by all other female students, but after gaining Akatsubaki, she changed into one (a uniform) that is predominantly white with a black neckline, and black edges on the legs.

## Personality

Having been raised in a shrine, Houki possesses a stern, disciplined personality. As such, she had a hard time socializing with other people, so she had virtually no friends, with the exception of Ichika. Ichika thought of Houki as a cute girl, and he helped her out by chasing the bullies away whenever they mocked her. Even as a child, Houki had trouble expressing her feelings for Ichika, and shortly after they first met, she asked him to use her first name, but then she justified it by saying that there were three other Shinononos (her father, her mother, and her sister). Since her place of residence is a kendo dojo, Houki had been interested in kendo ever since she was young. After being forced to move away from Ichika, Houki continued practicing kendo, as it was the only connection she had left with him.

As a result of the separation, Houki has a serious emotional problem. Although she has been training in kendo, which emphasizes obtaining self-control as with most other forms of martial arts, she is very emotionally unstable, often resorting to violence first, and is quite prone to jumping to conclusions without taking the time to understand. Whenever Houki gains a new power, it doesn't take long for it to go to her head, causing her to do and say things that she would later regret.

Ichika says that Houki is vile at times. This is because she's too prideful and stubborn to agree with others or admit her mistakes whenever she's wrong. Ichika even notes that this is what leads her to make mistakes as a result. She usually wants to be punished for her mistakes and feels worse when she isn't. Ichika was quick to forgive her, but she did accept his kindness because she thought that she sh

## Trivia

* Houki is the first character to confess her feelings to Ichika Orimura with the second one being Kanzashi Sarashiki.
	+ However, the first time she did so, her confession was rendered inaudible by the fireworks. The second time she did, she was asleep when she said it, but Ichika didn't hear her well and quickly noticed she fell asleep.
* Houki's IS unit Akatsubaki and its swords are a tribute to the MBF-P02 Astray Red Frame from Gundam SEED Astray. Both Akatsubaki and Astray Red Frame are close combat units that use katanas as main weapons. Its inactive silhouette, foot blades, and colors are all reminiscent of the ZGMF-X19A Infinite Justicefrom Gundam SEED Destiny.
* Aside from Ichika, she respects and admires Ryuuin Shinonono (Houki's father).

* Houki is the only known main female character who isn't a representative of any nation or country due to her being the sister of the IS creator and being the only person who possesses a 4th Generation IS that does not belong to any country or organization.
* In episode 2, when Houki's in the changing room, she's seen wearing a duster. After the few seconds of flashback, she's seen wearing the school uniform.
* As shown in Volume 8, Houki's ideal world is where she still lives in her family shrine, with Ichika still practicing kendo there and is stronger than her. This is most likely the reason why she always wants Ichika to train harder in kendo. This also shows the reason why she talks down to Ichika most of the time, as she wants him to be stronger than her.
	+ Unlike the other girls, Houki's Ichika didn't act or show any lewd behavior. It unknown if this is based on what Chloe Chronicle said about the world purge effects being weaker, or possibly because Houki doesn't want Ichika to act indecent (ironically, Houki only realized everything was fake when the real Ichika grabbed her breast), Strangely, while Houki was annoyed at Ichika about it, she thought to herself how much happier she was then.
* She has a similar appearance to Momotaros
* Houki Shinonono's Japanese and English voice actors both play Erica Blandelli in Campione!.