List of Pani Poni characters

This is a list of characters in "Pani Poni".

Main characters (Class 1-C)

;:Rei is a girl with a heart and appearance as cold as ice. Of the girls in class 1-C, Rei is the most mature one. Threatening bodily harm is Rei's way of enforcing order in the classroom with Himeko being her usual target. She's the one to put Becky in her place when she gets out of hand and also the one to lure Becky out from behind the curtain with candy after she's put the fear of God into her. Rei has the second highest GPA in the entire school and works four days per week at a Chinese restaurant. However, Rei is shown to have no artistic talent. Despite her apparent coldness, Rei is often the one to teach Becky important moral lessons.

:She has also shown herself to have a greedy streak as when during the school festival she purposely made it so their classroom was the most popular so that she could reap the profits later, something she was unable to do since all profits went to charity.

;:Mesousa is a parody of the "cute mascot" type characters often seen in anime, with one huge difference: Mesousa has a severe case of depression. His lack of thumbs makes everyday tasks almost impossible, further deepening his depression. Practically useless in every way, Mesousa serves as the slapstick of the series, being blown up in one episode and having his legs broken in another, all without complaint. He also appears to be somewhat infatuated with Ichijou. His "tastiness" stat is a reference to the mascot character Menchi from the parody anime Excel Saga. Mesousa is not Becky's pet, but, rather, her companion who tries to help her in class such as getting and holding the footstool for her while she stands on it to write on the blackboard. His name derives from the combination of "meso meso," a Japanese psychomime for whimpering, and ::Not much is known or revealed about this character in the animated series. She wears the standard Peach Moon uniform and her face is drawn differently than the other characters in that she has a bulbous nose, fat lips and pitch black eyes. Multiple Itō's are often used to represent crowds of people or the other members of class 1-B.

:It is shown in one scene in the anime where she possibly died and was reborn after several cats started to feast on her corpse, not unlike that of Catwoman.-

upporting characters (Class 1-D)

;Nihongo|Old Geezer|ジジイ|Jijī|"Old Man":anime voices|Hiroshi Ōtake|Andy McAvin:Old Geezer is the homeroom teacher of class 1-D. He always has an armband on his left arm that has different text every time it's shown, the text being anything from the title of the episode to an adage. He is surprisingly lively for his old age and is seen as strange by his students, but the feeling is actually mutual. Nihongo|"Jijii"|爺 is used to address a grandfather or an old man in Japanese. He is known for using different "scare tactics" in order to keep his class in order, the first of which was his promise to stand by his students' beds if they were to skip class.-

;Nihongo|Misao Nanjo|南条 操|Nanjō Misao:anime voices|Hitomi Nabatame|Sasha Paysinger:Misao is an animal-loving, energetic girl who frequently loses her exotic pets. Her pet collection is extensive and contains strange animals such as snakes and alligators. Her idiosyncrasy is giving her pets bland names, frequently simple wordplays on the pet's natural name. She frequently enlists Tsurugi Inugami's help in finding her pets when she loses any of them. Additionally, her pets are used to fill in all the other empty seats in class 1-D, so in effect, this classroom takes on the feel more like a zoo than a classroom, something that is noted later in the anime series.-

;Nihongo|Tsurugi Inugami|犬神 つるぎ|Inugami Tsurugi:anime voices|Hiroshi Kamiya|Chris Patton:Tsurugi often helps Misao find her lost pets. He has a serious, conservative demeanor and gets top grades in his class. His "caring for lost children" stat in the image refers to episode seven, in which he returns Ichijo's missing little sister. He has a German grandfather and bears a striking resemblance to Satoshi Hiwatari from D.N.Angel. Tsurugi often criticizes Misao for her odd like in animals though ends up helping her nonetheless.-

;Nihongo|Akane Serizawa|芹沢 茜|Serizawa Akane:anime voices|Miyuki Sawashiro|Luci Christian:Akane is an enthused student who likes to over-dramatize things. She is a member of the drama club and enjoys donning costumes and tricking her more slow-witted schoolmates, such as Himeko. The sharper characters, usually Rei or Miyako, see through her schemes easily but usually allow her to continue for a while for entertainment. She is notable for her nekomimi (cat ear) hair (she has a normal set of ears hidden under her hair) and her vicious humour — she frequently imitates Jason Voorhees and wears a hand puppet of him to scare the others. The costume of hers that reoccurs the most in the anime is a robot named Roboko, literally meaning "Robot girl".

:One notable episode shows her in a dramatic fight against Yuzuko Kurusu of the Movie Club as Godzilla VS. Robot. Akane and Yuzuko are a canon "yuri" pair in the manga, and the anime gives a small indication of their developing relationship. Serizawa is also considered a pseudo-main character; she has so much interaction with the main cast from class 1-C that she often appears with them or being included in the production of official merchandise such as figurines that don't include the other main characters.

:The students of class 1-C (Rei in particular) tend to utilize Serizawa's acting talent on occasion, such as trying to provide a distraction for the bull man by first dressing up as a heifer, and then as Suzune, resulting in being attacked with a bazooka both times. She was also used in the PTA episode as a stand in for Becky (Successfully in this case.) Her disguises are always obvious to the viewer of course, as her neko-mimi hair always stands out.

:Miyuki Sawashiro, her Japanese voice actress, also plays another blue-haired, four-eared, costume-loving girl with a wicked sense of humour in the Galaxy Angel series as Mint Blancmanche.

;Nihongo|Akira Miyata|宮田 晶|Miyata Akira:anime voices|Ryoko Shintani|Jessica Boone:Akira has a reputation for being clumsy because she frequently trips and falls. She is very sensitive about her clumsiness, but she is, ironically, also a member of the Intelligence Club. Her only redeeming characteristic is her razor buzz haircut. Her English explanation and statistics state that she is number 003, and her costume and Japanese explanation state that she is 002. This confusing contradiction is never cleared up because Akira and Yuzuko are always called upon by Hibiki together. Only in episode 16 do we hear Hibiki refer to Akira as "002" when speaking to her alone on the phone. From this, it is clear that the English explanation was in error. Due to her clumsiness, Akira is frequently referred to by Inugami as "Dojiko", which usually translates to a stereotypical clumsy girl. Akira is also seen and talks about her membership in the Falling Club, an obvious joke about her clumsiness.

;Nihongo|Behoimi|ベホイミ:anime voices|Mai Kadowaki|Rozie Curtis:Behoimi describes herself as a "healing type magical girl" and wears an eye-grabbing pink costume to prove it. Her character is a reference to Dragon Quest, but she never actually shows any magic powers. She claims that she can only use her powers when no one is watching, because if she was observed using them, she would have to return to the land of magic. During the time she is dressed like this she has an energetic personality akin to the magical girl stereotype found in anime and manga and is only seen down in spirits in episode 8. After coming to terms that she cannot continue this way of life any longer, she completely changes her appearance by donning glasses, dying her hair black, tying it in pigtails, and dressing normally. However, she makes another small appearance in magical girl attire in episodes 10, 15, 17, and 25. Behoimi has an extensive knowledge of medicine, toxicology, and explosives.

:After the change to normalcy, her personality is much more reserved and serious, a stark contrast to what was seen of her prior to the change. She still holds a penchant to help people out, but knows that a normal girl such as her cannot make much of a difference most of the time. Apparently, she knows Media, from a time when she worked for a 'service', and the two battled against each other. She could possibly be an actual magical girl, leaving much mystery around her.

;Nihongo|Media|メディア:anime voices|Miyu Matsuki|Kara Greenberg:Media, who enrolls in class 1-D after her first appearance in episode nine as an archaeologist's assistant, is sent to Peach Moon to keep an eye on Becky. She possesses superhuman strength and is always cheerful. She resembles Ichijo in that she does the seemingly impossible, but she does this much less frequently than Ichijo. She and Behoimi have a past together that they vaguely allude to but never explain fully. Media is nearly always smiling and never "opens" her eyes, except for one instance in episode nine. Also, she is almost never seen without wearing her trademark maid outfit.

:In later episodes, she attempts to persuade Behoimi to take on her role as the "healing magical girl" once more, even in one episode putting a smaller version of her magic wand in her hand, trying to invoke a response, but Behoimi does not fall victim to her suggestions. Apparently, she and Behoimi once fought.

Other supporting characters

;Nihongo|Lord Cat|ネコ神様|Neko-gami-sama|"Cat God":anime voices|Hiroshi Kamiya|Tommy Drake:Neko-gami-sama is a cat-like creature that often stays inside a vending machine to warm the drinks to "body temperature"; he often uses mysterious powers to play tricks on Mesousa, such as dropping him into a hole appearing out of nowhere. As his catchphrase, he almost always ends his sentences with the phrase "-desu nya" and additionally, "nya" is Japanese onomatopoeia for the sound a cat makes; the English equivalent of "meow" (hence, he actually says "Meow" in the English translation). In each episode he is shown with his fur a different color and in the final episode there is a scene where he is constantly changing colors. When he is unable to watch the vending machines, he often will ask others to step in for him until his return; Mesousa did this in one episode in the anime. Neko-gami-sama has a younger brother that looks nearly identical to him who appears once late in the anime. Neko-gami-sama bears a resemblance to Chiyo's "Father" in "Azumanga Daioh", and might even be a parody of him.fact|date=July 2007-

;Nihongo|The Aliens|宇宙人|Uchūjin:anime voices|Mugihito|Mike MacRae (Captain) (voiced by Andrew Love in episodes 15+):anime voices|Tomokazu Sugita|Rob Mungle (Subordinate):The Aliens are a group of aliens who observe Becky from orbit of the Earth. They are often involved in numerous silly antics, but seem to be adhere to a code of non-interference with the humans. Ichijo and her sister are the only ones who know about them. Their ship looks almost exactly like an upside down Musai from Mobile Suit Gundam (whose design was derived from an upside-down USS Enterprise (NCC-1701)), and the characters randomly transform into (or have their reflections in the ship turn into) characters from Star Trek, including the alien captain as Captain Jean-Luc Picard. This is a reference to the fact that Mugihito voiced Picard in the Japanese dub of Star Trek.

:At points, the bridge of their ship is an exact replica of the Enterprise-D's. For a time, Ichijo was involved romantically with the captain, but eventually their code of non-interference forced them to end their relationship. The aliens seem to be modeled slightly after Zeon's mobile suits, a trait that is further shown by the command antenna on the captain's head.-

;Nihongo|Raccoon Dog|タヌキ|Tanuki|:anime voices|Satsuki Yukino|Kira Vincent-Davis:Raccoon Dog sometimes transforms [According to Japanese legends, raccoon dogs are said to be able to transform into humans by hiding their true face behind a leaf, and cheat people.] into students of Peach Moon academy, sometimes amusing them or annoying them. She appeared in episode 14 for the first time, as a potential meal caught by Ichijo. Later, she became a member of the Intelligence Club as "004" and managed to complete their mission of finding Mesousa. When she transforms, she is not able to do this completely, which leaves all but her face looking like what she intended to transform into. However, there was one instance in the anime where she made a complete transformation of Behoimi, though it is never explained why she was the only one this could happen to. She also ends her sentences with "Yansu".-

;Nihongo|Giant Salamander|オオサンショウウオ|Ōsanshōuo

:Japanese seiyū: Sayaka Ohara, Asuka Nakase, Ai Nonaka, Sawa Ishige, Ryoko Shintani, Chieko Higuchi and Chiwa Saitō:English voice actors: Mariela Ortiz, Christine Auten, Monica Rial, Andy McAvin:Giant Salamander first appeared in episode 5, caught from a river by Ichijo to fill a spot as another camp member. He ends his sentences with "kero". Sometimes he is eaten by someone, and his seiyū and body color changes every time after that. In English, his voice is not changed quite as often.-

;Nihongo|Michael|ミカエル|Mikaeru:anime voices|Takahiro Sakurai|John Swasey:Michael is a fat man in armor resembling "Sub-zero" from The Running Man. He calls himself an archangel and lives in Himeko's dream as a guard. He attacked Peach Moon students wandering in Himeko's dream in episode 12. He also appeared in episode 25 as a messenger from "Ichijo-Matsuri".

References