Rinko

**Rinko** (凛子) is one of the main protagonist of the *Dream Girls*.

## Personality

Rinko is a tomboyish girl who is Hajime's next-door neighbor, classmate, and childhood friend. Rinko speaks and acts in a boyish manner, often coming off as confident and competitive. She is known to be quite rough around the edges, often teasing Hajime and getting into physical altercations with her classmates.

Rinko is popular amongst her peers due to her athletic prowess, often seen playing sports, swimming, and engaging in martial combat. She has a competitive streak and is not afraid to challenge her classmates to a sparring match. She is also known for her unbridled enthusiasm and her outgoing nature, often encouraging her classmates to get out of their comfort zone and try something new.Despite her rough exterior, Rinko is an optimistic genki girl who enjoys spending time with her group of friends. She often encourages her classmates to be brave and try new things, always willing to lend an ear to her friends when they need someone to talk to. Rinko loves to hang out with her group of friends, often seen participating in activities such as karaoke, shopping, or eating out.

Rinko and Hajime have been close friends for many years, ever since she was the only kid to show up to his birthday celebration when he was young. Although she was often aggressive and pushy towards him, she had developed feelings for him but hid them away. Despite the teasing and rough play, Rinko was the only one who could ever make him smile. As a teenager, Rinko still often teases Hajime and gets into physical altercations with him. Her rough exterior hides her true feelings for him, which she has kept a secret for many years. Although Rinko's enthusiasm and positive attitude hides her true feelings, it also helps her to relate to her friends and encourages them to take risks. She also often deflects from her own feelings towards Hajime by making jokes and teasing him, which helps her to maintain a sense of distance. Despite trying to hide her true feelings for Hajime, Rinko's insecurities grow as Hajime interacts closely with her female friends Seira, Ayumi and Kozue. She begins to feel jealous and insecure of the attention that Hajime is giving to them, and she struggles to keep her emotions in check. She often finds herself comparing herself to the other girls, feeling that she can never measure up to them. She also finds herself feeling left out and excluded, often feeling like she is the odd one out in the group.

Although she tries to maintain her composure on the outside, on the inside, Rinko is struggling with her feelings of insecurity and inadequacy. Rinko often finds herself comparing herself to the other girls, wishing she was more "girly" like them. She desires to wear dresses and do makeovers, believing that this would make her more desirable to Hajime. Although she puts on a brave face and tries to act like she doesn't care, Rinko is deeply insecure about not being able to measure up to the other girls. She often finds herself wishing that she could be more like them, believing that if she was, then Hajime would see her more as a girl than as just a friend. As Rinko's desire for Hajime's attention grows, she begins to feel increasingly more insecure. She often finds herself comparing her appearance to the other girls, feeling like she can never measure up to them. This leads to a spiral of negative emotions, such as sadness, jealousy and anger. Rinko struggles to keep her emotions in check, but is unable to do so and begins to feel overwhelmed. Her feelings of inadequacy and insecurity lead to a sense of depression and loneliness. Rinko begins to doubt her self-worth and her ability to be desirable to Hajime, leading to her having negative thoughts about her own self-image. As she struggles to come to terms with her feelings, she starts to feel isolated and out of place, as if everyone around her is living a life that she can never have. This struggle is a very real aspect of depression and self-image issues, which is a common problem faced by many people in real life.

## Quotes

* *"Hey! It's not like I like you or anything!"*
* *"Don't get the wrong idea, creep!"*
* *"You're such an idiot."*
* *"What exactly do you think you're doing?!"*
* *"What are you smiling at?!"*
* *"I... I... I love you, okay! There, I said it..."*