Maki Kuwana

* Anime
* Manga
* Stage Play

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桑名マキ

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*Kuwana Maki*

* High School
* University

**Maki Kuwana** (桑 (くわ) 名 (な)  マキ,  *Kuwana Maki*?) is a former member of the cram school that Yatora Yaguchi attended.

## **Appearance**

Maki is a petite girl with shoulder-length black hair that fades into brown near the bottom, large red eyes and earrings to match.

Her uniform consists of a white button-up shirt with a tie, a short pleated skirt with black stockings and loafers as well as a cardigan on top. When painting, Maki prefers to wear a jumpsuit.

## **Personality**

Although seemingly positive, energetic and a bit eccentric, Maki suffers from an inferiority complex towards her older sister. This causes her to be highly emotional, lack self confidence in her abilities, and fail to see how her artistic innovations inspire people around her, including her sister.

That said, Maki has been depicted as talented and hard working, being among the few who managed to shock and inspire Yatora with her focused gaze while working on her piece in cram school.

Maki is also very friendly and caring, going above and beyond for those she hold dear without any hesitation. She often shares her food with others, exclaiming that art exhausts the mind, even though it's clear that she simply loves food and wants those around her to share the same joy.

She also shows care for the wellbeing of those around her. At the 1st day of their 2nd exam, she hurriedly carried Yatora's tools up the stairs without so much as a blink of an eye the moment she saw his predicament.

## Background

Maki comes from a family of successful artists. It is well known that a majority of them attended Tokyo University of the Arts. Her older sister passed the test on her first try, and despite not wanting to pressure her sister into comparing one another. Maki deals with a lot of issues regarding her inferiority complex in comparison to her older sister, but does not reveal that to her.

## **Plot**

### Prep School Arc

Maki first appears as one of the summer prep school students, being known for her older sister already in Gendai and her unique framing technique. As she leaves her house, she gets advice from her sister to not get 1st place in the summer competition. She later runs into Yatora, and the two have a chat over lunch about the other students in the prep school, stating she believes that cutting up a canvas could be 'one way to get an advantage.' It is later revealed that she won the initial competition, placing 1st, and is visibly upset about it, believing that whoever wins first is destined to fail the real exam.

She gets relocated to Class D after the competition, where she continues making art pieces. Maki is briefly seen along with Fumi Kamiyama and another friend out about to eat lunch. She meets Yatora once again on the roof of the prep school, after she believes he mistakenly thinks her sister's paintings is one of hers.

Right before the exams begin, her older sister suprises her with tickets to a concert, and tries to ease her pressure of the exam periods. Once again she meets Yatora on a balcony of stairs, where she tells him about a fellow student, Maki tells Yatora that she was hospitalized for not taking care of herself and overworking, to which she says made Maki feel better about herself, that she could do better. Maki goes on to ask Yatora if he thinks he would draw better if 'a certain someone didn't exist.' Yatora assures her that her art never actually reminded him of her sister's, and calls it more transparent. Ooba makes her own observations about Maki at this time, and how she's dragged down by comparison to her sister since a young age, which has hindered her art. Maki apologizes to Yatora later for being 'cranky', but assures him their talk made her lighten up a bit.

### Geidai Exam Arc

Maki tears up after attending a concert with her sister, admitting that she failed the Gedai entrance exams and stating that she'll try again next year.

### First Year University Arc

Maki and Yatora have a chance meeting at a zoo during his first year. After failing her exam, she began attending a prep school, this time for sculpting. The two have a conversation about how their lives are going, and part ways.

### Second Year University Arc

Maki appears at the beginning of the arc, getting into Gedai after applying once again. She greets Yatora, telling him she got accepted into the Sculpture program. She eagerly joins the program and gains new friends quickly.

## **Etymology**

* Maki's surname **Kuwana** means "mulberry" (桑) (**kuwa**) and "name, noted, distinguished, reputation" (名) (**na**).

## **Trivia**

* Maki won 1st place in the cram school ranking.
* According to the extra comics at the end of volume 2, Maki is a fan of pandas, shonen manga, and K-Pop idols; particularly BTS.