Naruko "Anaru" Anjou

Information

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Naruko "Anaru" Anjou
Main Movie Special
Name
Kanji:	安城 鳴子 (あなる)
Rōmaji:	Anjou Naruko (Anaru)
Information
Hair Color:	Brown (Child) Orange (Adult)
Eye Color:	Brown
Gender:	Female
Race:	Human
Height:	164 cm (5'3")
Weight:	53 kg (116 lbs)
Blood Type:	A
Age:	15
Zodiac:	Capricorn
Affiliation:	Super Peace Busters
Status:	Alive
Voice Actors
Japanese:	Haruka Tomatsu
English:	Erica Lindbeck
First Appearance
Manga:	Chapter 01
Anime:	Episode 1 - "Super Peace Busters"

Naruko Anjou (安城 鳴子 Anjō Naruko), usually called Anaru, is a childhood friend of Jinta "Jintan" Yadomi and Meiko "Menma" Honma and a member of the Super Peace Busters.

Appearance

Naruko is a slim young woman of average height with wavy, mid-length orange hair that is usually attached into two pigtails with bangs/a single hair strand hanging on the left side and brown eyes.

She usually wears a school outfit consisting of a white, collared shirt with rolled up sleeves, a red bow, a pink hair tie bracelet on her left wrist, a dark magenta skirt and a dark red belt with a gold buckle, dark blue, mid-calf socks and brown shoes.

As a kid, she had chin-length brown hair and she wore glasses with a very dark grey rim. She wears a blue shirt with a yellow shooting star on it, a white skirt, blue running shoes and a light blue handbag.

Personality

Naruko displays a cold attitude towards Jinta "Jintan" Yadomi, especially while in front of her friends, but is secretly worried about his well-being. Naruko is described as a person easily influenced by others, hanging out with and playing along with the actions of other girls around her even when she doesn't agree with them.

Chiriko "Tsuruko" Tsurumi comments that Naruko has not changed over the years: she is still easily persuaded by everyone around her. Naruko seems to be popular in high school and gets along well with girls that Chiriko deems "sluts." While they have grown apart, Naruko seems to care deeply about her childhood friends.

She attends the same high school as Jinta and is closest to him at the start of the series, even dropping off homework for him while he refuses to attend class. She tells him that she is disappointed by his current lifestyle, but still shows lingering feelings, even painting her nails before she goes to see him.

She works at a video game store and has a large collection of manga and video games herself. Because of this collection, she started reconnecting with Jinta and Tetsudō "Poppo" Hisakawa.

Relationships

Jinta "Jintan" Yadomi

Naruko acts rudely to him in front of others but in reality cares for him. It has even been shown she still loves him the way she did when they were children. However, she never had the courage to tell him because she knew he was in love with Meiko "Menma" Honma. In the present, she is frustrated with his obsession and inability to let go of Menma's death and memory, and also at his habit of avoiding school. She confesses to him at one point and while the two have gotten closer, their relationship hasn't changed yet. But in the ending, it seems that he starts developing feelings for her as he hands over her handkerchief with a blush face and her friends start teasing.

Meiko "Menma" Honma

Meiko was one of Naruko's close childhood friends; a fellow member of the Super Peace Busters. Naruko had admired Meiko when they were children, though she was also envious of her relationship with Jinta. Naruko remains jealous that Meiko is still Jinta's subject of attention and feels guilty for asking the question that led to Meiko's drowning. Naruko plays an active role in granting Meiko's wish, despite doubting her return at the beginning of the series. Meiko states that Naruko is exactly the same as she was as a child: still very kind, as well as having a lot of games and comics in her possession.

Atsumu "Yukiatsu" Matsuyuki

Atsumu states that both he and Naruko were left behind and are trapped by their unrequited feelings for Meiko and Jinta, respectively. Due to this mutual understanding of unrequited love, Atsumu considers them kindred spirits. When Naruko is being assaulted outside of a love hotel, Atsumu comes to her aid and rides the train home with her. He also suggests that they should date several times throughout the series. Atsumu insists that he isn't joking, though he is still hung up on Meiko..

Quotes

• "In the old days, I always hoped that Menma would go away somewhere. If that happened, I thought I could be the closest one to Jintan. But it turned out not to be true. After we actually lost Menma, the relationship between me and Jintan was getting weaker and weaker. After a long time, we’ve gotten close to each other again, though just because Menma came back to us."
• "Nothing's changed.. then, or now."
• "I don't know if I love him. I just can't get him out of my mind."
• "Are you fine with her disappearing, even though you loved her so much?!"

Etymology

• The name Naruko means "ringing" (鳴) (naru) and "child" (子) (ko).
• Naruko's surname Anjou means "peace, quiet" (安) (an) and "castle" (城) (jou).