Reina Aharen

### Friends

Raidō (best friend / boyfriend / future husband)Mitsuki Ōshiro (childhood friend)

## First Appearance

### Anime

Episode 1

**Reina Aharen** (阿波連 れいな, *Aharen Reina*) is the female protagonist in Aharen-san wa Hakarenai and later it's anime adaptation.

## Description

> 他人との距離をはかるのが苦手な女の子。ある日、隣の席に座るライドウくんに消しゴムを拾ってもらったことがキッカケで、彼に興味を持つようになる。
> Translation: A girl who is not good at keeping a good distance with others. One day, Raidō, who was sitting next to her, picked up the eraser she dropped on the floor for her. It was the start of her interest in him.
>
> TV Anime "Aharen-san wa Hakarenai" Japanese Official Site

## Appearance

Reina is a short teenage girl with long silver hair and deep blue eyes. She is seen most of the time to have a stoic expression even when laughing or crying. Despite that, she is capable of smiling and becoming cheerful, mostly when Raido is present. She is mostly seen in her school uniform that consists of dark blue button-up outfit over a white dress shirt, a dark navy skirt, long black tights, and brown penny loafers.

## Personality

Reina is a quiet and timid girl with a bad sense of gauging interpersonal distance. She is shy when talking to people she just met, to the point where her voice becomes so soft it's almost inaudible. Inversely, she often becomes too excited when interacting with people which leads her to act overtly familiar to people she just met. This coupled with her generally expressionless face has led to her being ostracized in the past which made her scared to get close to others. Due to this, Reina is incredibly appreciative to those who accept her despite her strange behaviors such as her friends and family. She often feels obliged to repay their kindness to her with whatever means she has(e.g: making them food, teaching them, etc).

Due to her inability to gauge interpersonal distance, Reina is often self-concious of the way she is viewed by her friends. She also fears being a burden to them due to her own perceived inability. Despite that, she is willing to step up when her friends need her and isn't afraid to show her appreciation to them. Reina values the friends she has made in high school greatly and has expressed her desire that she wishes for them to continue being friends long after their graduation.

## Relationship

### Raidō

Reina first encountered Raido on a playground when she was a little girl. The young Raido, who mistook her for a boy due to her appearance and only heard the first half of her name, thought her name was Rei. They played in the sandbox while building impressive structures. Raido then promised to play with her the next day, which sadenned her since she was moving away the next day. She does not appear to remember this encounter.

Reina would later encounter Raido, who would be seated next to her, as both of them entered high school. Raido would try to interact with her on their first day but due to her small voice he mistook her attitude for annoyance at him. Reina would later approach Raido to ask to share his textbook. She then spent the whole day closely with Raido, which confused the boy. Fearing that she had once again acted too familiar with a new person, she would keep her distance with Raido the next day. However, Raido approached her instead which prompted her to confess that she had been ostracized in the past for being too friendly too soon. Raido replied that he didn't mind, which relieved her and marked the start of their friendship.

After becoming friends, Reina and Raido would spend a lot of time together during and after school. Raido would attempt to improve his communication with her, which she was grateful for. In return, she often made meals for him when they ate together. Gradually, the two would grow closer as they learnt to communicate better and in the process formed their own circle of friends including Mitsuki, Ishikawa, Hanako, and Riku.

Their relationship would change during a camping trip with their friends. While the rest of her friends were sleeping, Reina and Raido stayed up. Reina would attempt to confess her feelings to Raido, but the latter surprised her by confessing first. A shocked and overjoyed Reina then kissed him suddenly but became saddened when she saw Raido's shocked face, believing she had once again failed to understand the distance between them. After their trip, Reina and Raido would continue to act normally with each other, but act a little different than before.

However, it wouldn't be until Mitsuki challenged Raido in order to make him cut contact with Reina that their relationship would finally be solidified. After overhearing Raido's confession and resolving the misunderstandings with both Raido and Mitsuki, Reina would finally confess her feelings to Raido and officially be his girlfriend. Her interactions with Raido would not change much after becoming a couple but they would on occasion show their affection towards one another, with Raido often being bluntly casual about his feelings to her embarassment. They would also become more open with one another with Reina opening up to Raido about her insecurities and feelings, and the latter about his own insecurities for the future.

### Mitsuki Ōshiro

Reina and Mitsuki first met in elementary school when the latter was seated next to her. Due to her small voice, she would often approach Mitsuki very closely to communicate, which flustered the shy Mitsuki. After an incident where she called Mitsuki cute, it flustered her friend so much that Mitsuki would from then on only watch over Reina from a distance. Despite that, both of them still consider each other friends. When Raido befriended Reina, Mitsuki would shadow the boy as she believed Raido to be a suspicious person trying to take Reina away. Reina reprimanded her friend for her presumptions and would try to convince Mitsuki to both trust Raido and interact with her normally. Afterwards, Mitsuki slowly began to accept Raido as Reina's friend and gradually decreased her distance to Reina, later joining her circle of friends consisting of Raido, Ishikawa, and Hanako.

During their camping trip, Reina confided in Mitsuki about her plan to confess her feelings to Raido. After she kissed Raido in the heat of the moment, Mitsuki would witness the event and unbeknownst to her, saw her return to their shared tent in tears. Some time after their trip, Reina would talk one-on-one with Mitsuki about the events of that night. Revealing she and Raido were not dating, Mitsuki got the wrong idea and thought Raido was playing with her feelings. After Mitsuki confronted Raido and the boy cleared up the misunderstanding, Mitsuki would be present when Reina confessed to Raido and congratulate the new couple. Afterwards, Mitsuki and Reina's relationship greatly improved, with the former now no longer afraid to approach her.

## Trivia

* She has a pet dog named, Nui.
* She shares the same birthday as Raidō.
* Both her parents are always busy with work, so she takes care of both her siblings on her own.
* Reina has been shown to be skilled in playing games, such as arcade games, board games and video games. However, she is shown to be lacking in sports.
* She has a grandmother who owns a patch of farming land.
* Unlike the other students in their school, Reina is the only character who doesn't wear a red ribbon.

## Etymology

* Her given name **Reina** is written in hiragana (れいな) in Japan, while it is written in a kanji/hanzi form "玲奈" in the Mainland China and Taiwan.
	+ "玲" (rei) means "tinkling", "exquisite", or "clever".
	+ "奈" (na) means "how/what/why" or "endure". It also means "apple" in old Japanese.
* **Aharen** (阿波連) is a surname that is originated in Okinawa. It might be derived from the hamlet of Aharen (Google Maps), Tokashiki Island, Okinawa Prefecture. Many other characters from the Aharen-san manga and anime also have Okinawan surnames, e.g. Ōshiro (大城), Tōbaru (桃原), Miyahira (宮平), Tamanaha (玉那覇), and Henzan (平安山). It may be because Okinawa is the home of Asato Mizu, the author of the manga.
	+ "阿" (a) means "ridge of roofs" or "to flatter". It is also used as a prefix expressing familiarity or just to express the "a" sound.
	+ "波" (ha) means "wave".
	+ "連" (ren) means "to link/join". It is also used as a suffix that means "group/party/company".
	+ This kanji form (especially "阿波" part), however, might be an ateji, in which kanji are used just to express the sound.

## References

1. ↑ Aharen-san wa Hakarenai Romantic Comedy Manga Gets TV Anime Next April - Anime News Network
2. ↑ Crunchyroll Streams Aharen-san wa Hakarenai Romantic Comedy Anime's English Dub on April 15 - Anime News Network
3. ↑ Character - TV Anime "Aharen-san wa Hakarenai" Japanese Official Site
4. ↑ 玲 - Wiktionary
5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 奈 - Wiktionary
6. ↑ 阿波連 - Japanese Wikipedia
7. ↑ 阿波連 - 沖縄姓名
8. ↑ 阿 - Wiktionary
9. ↑ 波 - Wiktionary
10. ↑ 連 - Wiktionary