Chizuru Ichinose

* Manga
* Anime

**Chizuru Ichinose** (一いちノ瀬せ ちづる, *Ichinose Chizuru*?), alternatively known as **Chizuru Mizuhara** (水みず原はら千ち鶴づる, *Mizuhara Chizuru*?) in her "rental girlfriend" persona, is the main female protagonist of the *Kanojo, Okarishimasu* series.

She is a college student at Nerima University, majoring in Literature. As rental girlfriend, she is affiliated with Diamond, and thus a colleague of Ruka Sarashina and Sumi Sakurasawa. She formerly resides at Room 204 of Royal Hills Nerima, just next to Kazuya Kinoshita, before moving back to her home when the residence collapsed.

## Appearance

Chizuru has waist-length chestnut-brown hair, with a notable braid tied into a small ponytail hanging on the back (though it can appear to be on the left or right in most artwork) and light brown eyes.

Chizuru is a dazzling and stunning beauty that turns heads wherever she goes. She's described to have a large bosom, long slender legs, and almost ideal proportions. She is athletic and has pride in her fitness and appearance. In addition, she has an eye for fashion, which is reportedly inherited from her mother Kasumi Ichinose.

When posing as a diligent student, she wears glasses, a butterfly accessory and she sports double braided hair. In stark contrast to her activities off-campus, she dresses in an unassuming manner that hides her features, leaving her unnoticeable to those who do not know her real identity. It is later revealed that she does have sight trouble and she uses a pair of contact lenses when she is not going out with her friends.

## Personality

At first glance, Chizuru comes across as very kind and considerate, which positively surprises anyone who considers renting, and makes them give high ratings to her. While her kindness is genuine, she is still prideful of her reputation, and can be a little irritable and brash when her ratings go down. She shows this side of her to people she dislikes or has to put up with, such as Kazuya Kinoshita.

Chizuru is described to be an 'iron lady,' who has surrounded herself with an emotional wall that is almost impenetrable. Although she has friends before meeting Kazuya, and at first glance she easily comes across as outgoing and cheerful, she kept her personal life at a distance. She is hard to read and many people misinterpret this as her being cold and even callous. Her defense mechanism is so strong, even she fails to understand her own emotions.

Underneath all her pragmatic and professional attitude, though, Chizuru is a genuinely kind-hearted person. She goes out of her way to assist Kazuya at great risk of her profession. Her kindness is also seen when she becomes friends with Sumi, and she helps her becoming better at her job. Although she is prideful of her appearance and profession, Mini Yaemori notes that while Chizuru is popular and very beautiful, she is not an attention seeker like most good-looking people she knows.

Though she is half responsible for continuing their false relationship, she is irritated when Kazuya needs her to be portrayed as his girlfriend at his convenience. Even though Kazuya has repeatedly tried to confess and end their rental relationship, circumstances involving their grandmothers - as well as Chizuru's compassionate nature - keep them attached to each other.

During her junior high school years, Chizuru was a crybaby, a little apathetic and somewhat rambunctious, often fighting with boys who bullied her for having no parents. However, after watching films starring her grandma, as well as encouragement from her grandpa, she gained the inspiration to pursue acting.

According to Chizuru's grandmother, Sayuri Ichinose, she used to be a 'clingy crybaby', something that she has overcome over the years. Still, there is a chance that she just hides it with her perfect facade around others. When Sayuri is seemingly close to her end, Chizuru shows more of her weak side, and she refuses to accept a 'sad truth' after Kazuya had decided to give up on keeping the lie as he felt guilty to keep lying to a dying person. The trauma of the sad truth is from how sad she was during her spirit to chase on her dream and wishing her grandpa to see her before his death from the accident.

## Etymology

* The name **Chizuru** is written in hiragana (ひな), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (千鶴), it could possibly mean "thousand" (千, *chi*?) and "crane, stork" (鶴, *tsuru/zuru*?).
	+ An ancient Japanese legend says that if someone folded one thousand origami cranes, they will be granted a wish by the gods, such as recovery from an illness, which is likely a reference to Sayuri Ichinose's illness.
		- It is also revealed that her naming was intended by her parents as they prayed that she would have a great achievement.
* Chizuru's surname **Ichinose** means "one" (一, *ichi*?) and "swift current, rapids" (瀬, *se*?).

### Alias

* The name **Chizuru** means "thousand" (千, *chi*?) and "crane, stork" (鶴, *tsuru/zuru*?) .
* Chizuru's surname **Mizuhara** means "water" (水, *mizu*?) and "field, plain" (原, *hara*?).

## Trivia

* Chizuru's favorite color is red.
* Chizuru uses **Mizuhara** as her alias surname to prevent risks of getting recognized.
* Chizuru has a large wardrobe and says she never wears the same thing for different dates.
* Chizuru apparently has a nice singing voice.
* Chizuru stays in good shape and states that she is quite proud of the effort she puts in her appearance. She practices yoga at home, can complete a rock climb with ease, and is capable of hitting a baseball.
* Chizuru knows self-defense in case she ever deals with a violent customer, though she's never really had to utilize it.
* At 162 cm (5'4"), Chizuru is the tallest female in the series.
	+ In contrast, her live-action character, portrayed by Hiyori Sakurada, is among the shorter cast members at 157 cm (5'2"), which is closer to Mami Nanami's and Sumi Sakurasawa's height.

## References

1. ↑ Chapter 34
2. ↑ Chapter 54
3. ↑ Chapter 66
4. ↑ Anime Season 1 Reference Book
5. ↑ Chapter 1
6. ↑ Chapter 203
7. ↑ chapter 273
8. ↑ Chapter 18
9. ↑ Chapter 270
10. ↑ Chapter 143
11. ↑ Chapter 237
12. ↑ Chapter 59
13. ↑ Chapter 47

1. ↑ It is depicted in the same source that Chizuru is wearing high heel in the referred image.
2. ↑ Further language rules render the reading "づる"