Nenene Sumiregawa

Infobox animanga character
name = Nenene Sumiregawa
series = Read or Die
R.O.D the TV


caption =
first =
last =
creator =
voiced by = Satsuki Yukino (Japanese)
Wendy Tomson (English)
nickname = Nene-nee, Sensei, Sumiregawa-Sensei
alias =
age = 23
gender = Female
born = 1983
death =
occupation = Author
title =
relatives =

Nenene Sumiregawa (菫川ねねね "Sumiregawa Nenene"), is a young author from the "R.O.D" series of manga and anime created by Hideyuki Kurata. Originally appearing as a major supporting character in the "Read or Die" novels and manga, she is one of the main characters in "R.O.D the TV".

Name Etymology

Nenene's surname is comprised of the Japanese words "sumire", meaning "violet," and "kawa" (or "gawa"), meaning "river," translating "Sumiregawa" as "violet river."

In "R.O.D the TV", Nenene asks the character Anita King to call her "Nenene-nee" (where "-nee" is an honorific meaning "elder sister"). That being a bit of a mouthful, Anita shortens it to "Nene-nee" (Big Sis Nene), sounding only slightly different than her actual name.

Since Nenene is an accomplished author, many characters also simply refer to her as "Sensei."

Character Background

Although the R.O.D novels, manga, and anime all occupy a slightly different canon, Nenene's history remains more or less the same in each iteration of the series. Nenene is a famous young author, who published her debut work "You Know Me" (nihongo|"Kimi ga boku wo shitteru"|君が僕を知ってる) when she was 13 years old (according to the TV series, she won an inaugural youth writer's award with this book). She writes prolifically and lives well off royalties.

Read or Die

Nenene is 17-years-old, actively writing, and her books are admired immensely by R.O.D heroine Yomiko Readman, who used to read Nenene's books alongside Yomiko's mentor Donnie. Volume 1 of the novel and the manga tell the same story: originally meeting when Yomiko seeks out Nenene's autograph, Yomiko witnesses Nenene's kidnapping by a crazed "fan" who plans to rape Nenene. Yomiko rescues her and the two become fast friends. Nenene appears many times throughout the 11 R.O.D novels and manga, sometimes following Yomiko on her missions and also interacting with Yomiko's friends such as Wendy Earhart.

=R.O.D OVA=

Nenene does not appear physically in this series, but a number of post-it notes signed by her are spread throughout Yomiko's apartment, reminding her to save money, take out the trash, lock her door, etc. (In the official English version, this is mistranslated; the writers apparently confused her name for emphasis on the message of the note (see Etymology above) and translated the notes to say, "Lock this Up! Up! Up!" (etc.) instead of, "Lock this up! - Nenene".)

R.O.D the TV

Nenene is 23-years-old and despite her prolific writing in her youth, she had not published a novel in four years (as of the start of the series), her last book being "Midnight Liberation Zone." She lives alone in a two-story condominium in Tokyo; her parents moved to the United States for employment opportunities.

Nenene is suffering from writer's block because her friend Yomiko disappeared around the time of "Midnight"'s publication; despite strong efforts to find Yomiko, Nenene has had no luck. After nearly being killed by extremists at a book signing in Hong Kong, she unwillingly gains the Paper Sisters as bodyguards. Nenene's relationship with the Paper Sisters and the events they subsequently are thrown into launch the "R.O.D the TV" plotline.

Note that through the course of "the TV," Nenene is introduced to Drake Anderson and Wendy Earhart for the first time. As a younger Nenene befriended Drake and Wendy in the novels and manga, this is a key difference illustrating that the print series and the animated series of R.O.D have different canon.

Personality and Appearance

Nenene is a petite young woman with layered, light brown hair with bangs that hang into her green eyes. She often wears a white headband. Depictions of Nenene at the age of 17 have her usually in a blue school uniform. 23-year-old Nenene in "the TV" has longer hair, wears large square framed glasses similar to Yomiko's, and usually dresses simply but stylishly.

Young Nenene, as portrayed in the manga, is a very energetic young woman who nearly devotes all her time to writing. She hates distraction when she writes, to the point of demanding that nearby construction workers cease their activity until she finishes. Generally, she is very assertive, though can be temporarily cowed when frightened. She does not appear to have many friends, and tries to push Yomiko away until Yomiko nearly kills herself trying to rescue her.

Young Nenene is intelligent and keen to pick up on details (in the Manshu Academy adventure in the manga, she gleans very quickly that Wendy is not the "fellow student" the young agent is pretending to be). She has a mischievous streak.

The older Nenene seen in "R.O.D the TV" has many of the same qualities as her younger counterpart: outspoken, assertive, bright, and quick to defend her territory. Her solitude and worry for Yomiko have worn away her enthusiasm, however, making her cynical and far more irritable. She engages in "comedy violence" when irritated, such as kicking the Paper Sisters when they've done something she considers wrong, and she often "wrestles" with youngest Paper Sister Anita.

Showing any emotions other than anger seems to be difficult for her. When she realizes she enjoys the company of the Paper Sisters, she makes them look away so they don't see her blush when she asks them to stay with her.

Nenene is less obsessive about her writing than her younger self, though as she regains her confidence through the series, she becomes equally dedicated to getting her thoughts down on paper.

Nenene has a strong sense of honor and loyalty, and most often chides people for being rude, unobservant, or unethical. Slow to befriend people, Nenene is nonetheless extremely dedicated to the few people she lets past her guard. Her faith in her friends allows her to remain calm in the face of seeming hopelessness, and her calm demeanor in turn reassures others.

kills and Powers

"Truly, there are times when writing is difficult. But the reason I never stopped, never gave up, is because writing is all I know how to do." -Nenene ["A Christmas Carol." R.O.D the TV. 2003-11-01. No. 10.]

Surrounded by superheroes, Nenene faces the same danger her friends do, armed only with her considerable willpower and her pen. She has no supernatural abilities, save perhaps an extreme level of stubbornness which prevents her from being broken by the likes of Dokusensha's "Perfect Language" installation project.

Nenene has a deep understanding of human motivation, chalking this up to the fact that she is a writer, and likewise expects people to understand her motivations if they have read her work ("Do you honestly think I would go along with [your evil plot] ? What do you think you were reading about in my books?" ["Twilight of the Papers, Part II." R.O.D the TV. 2003-12-01. No. 13.] ). Just as she is likely a persuasive writer, Nenene is an extremely persuasive speaker; her dramatic speech in the final episode of "the TV" even has dedicated British Library minions pause for thought when they have worked obsessively toward their goal for five years.

Relationships

Yomiko Readman

Nenene has been close friends with Yomiko since the age of 17, since Yomiko rescued her from kidnapping. As suggested in "R.O.D the TV", Yomiko gave feedback and reassurance to Nenene about her writing; Nenene in turn serves as a bit of a "reality anchor" for Yomiko. Yomiko's disappearance in "the TV" shakes up Nenene a great deal, and is all the more hurt when Yomiko pretends not to know her when they meet again five years after Yomiko's disappearance. Yomiko explains she was trying to keep Nenene out of the trouble Yomiko was in with the British Library, and although Yomiko remains distant to Nenene at first, Yomiko later finds herself clutching to a photograph of herself and a young Nenene and weeping, clearly regretting the stalling of their friendship. Nenene refuses to let Yomiko out of her sight again, and travels with her and Yomiko's friend Nancy at the end of "the TV" to make sure she doesn't disappear. The protege becomes the protector.

Nenene's school chums suggest Nenene had a romance with Yomiko when she was a student because Nenene spent nearly all her time at the substitute teacher's house, but Nenene replies nonchalantly, "I don't swing that way" ["Heart of Darkness." R.O.D the TV. 2003-11-01. No. 9.] .

Maggie Mui

The most-down-to-earth of the Three Sisters, Nenene keeps Maggie around with her while Michelle and Anita go out. Nenene can mercilessly tease Maggie (making the shy girl carry her down the stairs in a somewhat intimate position), but obviously trusts her deeply--even when Maggie is blackmailed into turning Nenene over to British Library forces, calling her "too honest for backstabbing" ["Seize." R.O.D the TV. 2004-02-16. No. 22] .

=Anita King=

Anita and Nenene, equally short-tempered and outspoken, have a friendship that on the surface appears volatile but, beyond their bickering, is a deep and warm mentorship. Nenene reveals to Anita before anyone else her doubts and fears regarding Yomiko's disappearance, and Anita is nearly as dedicated to protecting Nenene as she is her own sisters.

Michelle Cheung

Nenene seems least close to Michelle out of the three sisters, and Michelle's goofy demeanor and lack of etiquette irk Nenene on a number of occasions. At the same time, Michelle obviously admires Nenene as a writer and, like her other sisters, is willing to go to great lengths to protect her.

Lee Linho

In the early part of "the TV", Nenene establishes a strong rapport with her editor, even giving him a Christmas present. Lee reassures her that beyond wanting her to publish for his company, "He's a big fan." His betrayal of her in "Goodbye Japan" is therefore a shock to her, perhaps as hurtful if not moreso than the Dokusensha torture itself. In the end, however, she earns his true loyalty, as he turns on Dokusensha and allows her to escape.

References

External links

* [http://www.rodthetv.com/main.html Official English R.O.D the TV site]
* [http://www.sonymusic.co.jp/Animation/ROD/index.html R.O.D -THE TV- Official site] jp icon
* [http://readordie.wikia.com/ Read or Die Wiki] : an English language wiki designed to cover all aspects of the Read or Die universe