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QLeft I'm doing my best to be like Tamao-senpai! QRight
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Rui Akikaze (秋風 塁, Akikaze Rui) is a character in the Shōjo☆Kageki Revue Starlight franchise, original to Re LIVE. She is a first-year student from the Performance Department at Rinmeikan Girls School.

Rui's became inspired to act after being instantly smitten with Tamao Tomoe's performance skills in junior high. Thanks to Tamao's training, she's gradually gotten better about her stage fright and dealing with pressure. She has a strong admiration for Tamao as the person who inspired her to act [2].

Revue Introduction[]

QLeft Drawn by a distant pearl, I rested my blade.
Distance awakes me. I draw my blade and run to you.
Rinmeikan Performance Association — Rui Akikaze! My life is on this stage!
QRight

QLeft 遠き美珠に 憧れ抱き 鞘にて過ごした 幼きあの日々
隔てて気付く 想いの緒 抜き身の覚悟で いざ駆け上らん
凛明館演劇同好会 秋風塁! 命の在処 この舞台に見つけたり!
QRight

QLeft tōki mitama ni akogare daki saya nite sugoshita osanaki ano hibi
hedatete kidzuku omoi no itoguchi nuki mi no kakugo de iza kake aga ran
Rinmeikan engeki dōkō-kai Akikaze Rui! inochi no arika kono butai ni mitsuke tari!
QRight

Audio

Appearance[]

Rui has dark brown, wavy hair that goes below her waist, even in her usual style of a high ponytail. Her bangs are parted above her right eye, and two sections of her hair are left out of her ponytail to hang over her shoulders. She has cranberry colored eyes.

School Uniform
The Rinmeikan students wear a sailor-style uniform, described by Fumi as being quite retro. It consists of a waist-length black blouse has a white sailor collar decorated with a single black stripe, matching the cuffs of the bishop-style sleeves, and a chest flap in the same color of the uniform that is conversely decorated with a single white stripe. A red ribbon is worn as the traditional ornamental tie. The blouse is worn over a knife-pleated pinafore dress in black that is decorated with two golden buttons placed horizontally along its waist, making them visible through the front opening of the blouse. Rui wears her uniform with solid black knee-high socks and brown loafers.

Casual Outfit
Rui wears a patterned teal high-waist dress with a dark blue longline blazer over it. She accessorizes it with a teal flower hairclip on the right side of her bangs.

Practice Outfit
Rui's practice outfit consists of a turquoise short-sleeved leotard with a lace neckline and sleeves. Underneath it, she wears white tights.

Revue Outfit
Rui's revue outfit consists of a kimono that fades from a lighter to a darker tone of forest green. She ties the sleeves of her kimono with a tasuki, which allows for long, black, fingerless gloves to be seen underneath. The collar has golden piping and a black lace han eri, and the sleeves and bottom hem have a gold band in an over-under pattern. The kimono has a front opening which shows a white skirt with box pleats and a gold band, underneath which she wears a black petticoat. The obi is in an imperial purple with a top golden piping and a front slit, underneath which she wears a gold obi-age; over the both of these, she wears a thick red ribbon which ties as a bow in the back and an obi-shime consisting of a thick golden string, with two obi-dome in the shape of a golden five-petal flowers with golden tassels. She wears black over-the-knee boots resembling jika-tabi with a golden trim and heels, with bright red ribbons tied around the ankles and knees, and golden anklets. Rui wears a red spaulder with gold edges and red tassels, tied to her arm with a red ribbon and over her shoulder with a golden string, and a red camellia on her hair.

Personality[]

At her core, Rui is a very devoted person to the people and causes she cares about. Initially, her focus is mostly limited to Tamao, but she grows to be a firm champion of the Rinmeikan Performance Association as a whole.[3] She puts in endless amounts of work to be able to support and honor what she loves, even if doing so means that she has to reject seemingly easier ways of doing things and take the harder route[4]. It is noted that some of her charm as a performer comes from the earnestness of her effort.[5] Her love for others is apparent in her actions off-stage as well; she asks them to open up to her about their troubles[6] and is delighted by being able to listen to her friends' true feelings[7]. The fervor of her dedication is a double-edged sword--while it pushes Rui to work her hardest and makes her willing to speak up when no one else will,[8] it also has a tendency to make her myopic, causing her to annoy the people around her by forgetting they exist and to even neglect to think about her own desires and goals[9].

Rui starts out her time at Rinmeikan unsure of her goals as an individual performer, primarily focused on supporting Tamao and becoming like her. As such, she ends up reliant on Tamao for direction, feeling lost when without her guidance.[10] However, with encouragement from fellow stage girls such as Fumi and Yuyuko, Rui more closely examines what kind of performer she wants to be and why she wants to stand on stage.[11][9] These realizations make her assertive about her own artistic choices[12][13] and further sharpens her determination to improve.

Earlier on, Rui is concerned with the aged-based social hierarchies present in school settings.[14] She limits her estimation of her capabilities because of her status as a first-year, causing her to shy away from taking on too much before Yuyuko challenges her to think otherwise.[15] Her determination to keep pursuing the stage in full and do what is necessary ends up outweighing her concerns about age, enabling her to take on more responsibility.

Rui has had lots of people-related anxiety since elementary school[16], hindering her ability to talk to strangers and inducing stage fright in her.

Background[]

Rui's grandmother was an actress, who specialized in fight scenes[17] and won awards for playing Onikage in "Tales of Onikurenai."[18], and her grandfather was a kendo master. Rui's grandmother trained Rui in fight scenes, and she and Rui's father taught Rui kendo.[19][20] Despite having trained for a long time, Rui has trouble getting promoted in kendo because the exams make her nervous,[21] though she has won some competitions[22].

Rui attended the same junior high school as Tamao. In Rui's first year there, she saw Tamao perform on stage and was inspired to join their school's drama club, despite Rui's stage fright and shyness.[23] During junior high school, Rui and Tamao became good friends. After Tamao graduated, Rui took over the club and eventually enrolled at Rinmeikan to keep following in Tamao's footsteps.[24]


Relationships[]

Tamao Tomoe[]

Rui first saw Tamao in a show that Tamao was in during Rui's first year in junior high. Inspired by her, Rui joined their school's drama club.[25] When Tamao moved to study at Rinmeikan, it was Rui who took over the club[26], and then Rui followed her to Rinmeikan[27].

Due to Tamao's strong sense of responsibility and Rui's overwhelming admiration for Tamao, their relationship initially has some issues. Tamao looks out for Rui to the point where she keeps secrets from her and does not communicate openly with her for fear of pressuring her into things.[28] Meanwhile, Rui is blind to Tamao's struggles[29], centers her identity as a stage girl around Tamao[9], and tries to imitate Tamao even when it goes against her own individuality[30][31]. Additionally, since Rui is so concerned with Tamao and Tamao is so worried about Rui, they look out for each other at the cost of being able to focus on their own actions. This causes them to put themselves in greater positions of vulnerability, weakening their strength both as individuals and as a duo.[32] However, Rui becomes more aware over time of when Tamao is having problems and is proactive in helping Tamao[29][33], and she also begins to focus on herself as a stage girl more[9]. These developments in their relationship culminate in the Revue of Salvation and Rebirth, where Rui calls Tamao out on the unhealthy nature of her actions. Going forward, Rui is able to look out for Tamao more as an equal.[34]

Tamao is incredibly important to Rui. Rui credits Tamao with helping her come out of her shell more[25], and she has learned a lot about performing by following Tamao's example[35], making her feel a deep sense of gratitude towards Tamao. Much of her earlier motivation to improve as a performer comes from wanting to become Tamao's equal so that she can better support her.[36][37] Rui's admiration of Tamao's kindness, dignity, and grace inspires Tamao to restore her faith in those parts of herself, which she had previously viewed as weakness. Rui clearly has romantic feelings for Tamao. Among other things, she frequently comments on Tamao's beauty (going as far as to say that she wishes that Tamao would kidnap her because of how "strong and cool" she is[38]), has dreams focused on Tamao, and attempted to confess to her on White Day[39].

Yuyuko Tanaka[]

Rui and Yuyuko met at Rinmeikan Girls School and became friends very quickly, and Rui feels comfortable around her.[40] Yuyuko designates herself as Rui's "producer" so that she can help Rui become the best stage girl she can be[41], and it is Yuyuko's words that spur Rui on to be more self-centered with her goals instead of only acting on behalf of Tamao.[42]

Earlier on in their relationship, Rui yells at Yuyuko for her constant sleepiness and perceived laziness, and she tends to ignore Yuyuko if she is distracted by thoughts of Tamao. However, they have a very close bond; official material has described their relationship as a "classmate duo that works in perfect harmony,"[43] and Yuyuko describes them as a pair who "fill in each other's shortcomings"[44] They share a mutual respect for each other's talents--Rui admires Yuyuko's scriptwriting, and Yuyuko sees Rui as someone she can go to for advice when she is stuck[45][46] as well as someone who is excellent at fight scene choreography. Additionally, Rui comes to realize that Yuyuko's laziness was feigned and praises her hard work even when Yuyuko tries to hide it.[47] Rui does not always feel that she is able to pick up on Yuyuko's emotions and is as a result very happy when Yuyuko tells her what is on her mind.[7] Rui is the only person to refer to Yuyuko by the nickname Yukko.

Fumi Yumeoji[]

Rui first heard of Fumi in passing, when she learned that Fumi was a former student in Siegfeld's Music Acting Department. In order to improve their chances of getting selected for the Performance Festival, Rui, along with Tamao, Ichie, and Yuyuko, sought her out. After joining the Rinmeikan Performance Department, Rui and Fumi work alongside each other, even starring in the play Tales of Onikurenai together. Though Rui initially found Fumi scary[48], she looks to Fumi for advice on performing[49] and credits a lot of her growth as a performer to Fumi[50]. She also admires Fumi's talents[51] and how direct she is when speaking.[52][53] Fumi is very outspoken when it comes to encouraging Rui to embrace her own ideas as a performer instead of letting herself be influenced by Tamao.[54]

Ichie Otonashi[]

Rui and Ichie first met early on into Rui's time at Rinmeikan. When she was looking for Tamao, Ichie approached her and offered her "barley tea," which was actually noodle sauce in disguise.[55] Rui has felt comfortable and welcomed around Ichie from the very beginning.[56] They hang out outside of theater activities; one memoir shows them visiting Fumi's workplace together[57], and Rui mentions that Ichie has told her a bit about idols.[58][59] She takes some issue with Ichie's prankster antics[60], moreso when they affect Tamao than when they affect her personally[61].

Futaba Isurugi[]

Rui and Futaba bond over their shared affinity for stage combat and martial arts, disciplines which not many others specialize in. They face off against each other in Revue of Canis Major in a 2v2 revue, Rui allied with Tamao and Futaba allied with Kaoruko. Even though Rui and Tamao lose, Futaba is impressed by Rui's fighting skills and encourages her to come to Futaba to practice together, which Rui is enthusiastic about.[62] Rui trains more extensively with Futaba in preparation for the Performance Festival, practicing with her mornings and nights[63]. Futaba shows Rui how to use adjust her body movements to her physicality to make the most of her potential.[64] By teaching Rui, she essentially takes the role of Rui's senior while Tamao, Ichie, and Fumi are occupied with their own goals.[65] Rui is thankful to Futaba for all her help.[63] Futaba also looks out for Rui--she encourages Rui to speak her mind[66], provides context for Tamao's actions[64], and sticks up for her against Kaoruko's teasing[67]. Official material has acknowledged their relationship as that of mentor and mentee.


Revues[]

Live[]

Game[]

Etymology[]

  • The name Rui means "base" (塁).
  • Rui's surname Akikaze means "autumn" (秋) (aki) and "wind" (風) (kaze).

Trivia[]

  • Rui's favorite gift is a donut, which is her favorite food.
  • Rui's weapon is an ōdachi, a Japanese greatsword sometimes extending beyond 100cm in length. It is typically wielded with two hands, but it was actually more often used as a ceremonial sword. Because of its unwieldy length, samurai would carry it by hand to be able to draw it quickly, and during the Muromachi period some samurai even had a follower to help them draw it.
  • Doing practice swings helps Rui calm down.
  • Rui has stage fright, despite being a stage girl.

Gallery[]

Stage Cards[]

Memoirs[]


Outfits[]

*For Stage Girl Live2D Models, please visit their respective card pages.

Stamps[]

Emblem[]

References[]

  1. From Rinmeikan Girls School Rui Akikaze Climax Act
  2. https://www.en.revuestarlight-relive.com/character/rui/
  3. Shōjo☆Kageki Revue Starlight Re LIVE/Story/Main_Story_17:_Stage_Before_Dawn#Part_13 Rui: This isn't enough! I need to be even better!
    Rui: But it's not for the sake of reviving the Performance Department. It's to carry on and protect the Performance Association!
  4. Carmen - Song of Freedom/Story#Part 10
  5. Shōjo☆Kageki_Revue_Starlight_Re_LIVE/Story/Main_Story_13:_Curtain_Rises_-_The_Journey_Begins#Part_9 Yuyuko: You see... I like your acting.
    Yuyuko: It's clumsy and pure... But you always try your hardest and occasionally appear really big...
  6. Momotaro Tamao Tomoe/Bond Story#Chapter 1
  7. 7.0 7.1 Stage Girl Yuyuko Tanaka/Bond Story Rui: It's nothing, I just...you never really talk about what you think.
    Rui: So it makes me worried sometimes when I don't know what you're thinking and how you actually feel.
    Rui: But when it matters, just like you did in "Shibahama", you always show your feelings through the stage...
    [...]
    Rui: But still, being able to hear your feelings straight from your mouth like this—
    Rui: It makes me happy as your friend.
  8. Shōjo☆Kageki Revue Starlight Re LIVE/Story/Main_Story_17:_Stage_Before_Dawn#Part_10
  9. 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 Shōjo☆Kageki Revue Starlight Re LIVE/Story/Main Story 13: Curtain Rises - The Journey Begins#Part 9
  10. Shōjo☆Kageki Revue Starlight Re LIVE/Story/Main Story 09: Downfall
  11. Tales of Onikurenai/Story
  12. Tales of Onikurenai/Story#Part 4
  13. Saito Hajime Rui Akikaze/Bond Story#Chapter 2
  14. Yamato_Takeru_Rui_Akikaze/Bond_Story#Chapter_1Rui: It was the last stage for all the third years, so at first, I was troubled over being chosen for the lead role, Yamato Takeru, as a second year.
  15. Shōjo☆Kageki_Revue_Starlight_Re_LIVE/Story/Main_Story_13:_Curtain_Rises_-_The_Journey_Begins#Part_8 Rui: T-That's impossible! Because...
    Rui: Because... We're still just first years!
    Rui:The dream of reviving Rinmeikan's Performance Department... That burden is too much for me!
  16. Tales_of_Onikurenai/Story#Part_3
  17. Tales of Onikurenai/Story Part 2 Yuyuko: Oh yeah, your grandma's specialty was fight scenes, right?
  18. Tales of Onikurenai/Story#Part 1 Rui: Onikage, one of Onikurenai's leads, was her [Rui's grandmother] first leading role and won her a number of awards.
  19. Rinmeikan Girls School Rui Akikaze My Theater dialogue: "My grandfather was a kendo master. He taught me."
  20. Tales of Onikurenai/Story#Part 2 Rui: Yes. Even now, whenever I go back home, I get her critique on that along with my kendo.
  21. Rui Akikaze/Quotes School Uniform Rui: I've been doing kendo since I was little, but I get so nervous during exams that I can never get promoted.
  22. Rui Akikaze/Theater Story#Not Nervous Rui: Not at all, I'm just average. I did win some competitions, but there are lots of people better than me.
  23. Rinmeikan Girls School Rui Akikaze/Bond Story
  24. Yamato Takeru Rui Akikaze/Bond Level 15 Talk
  25. 25.0 25.1 Rinmeikan Girls School Rui Akikaze/Bond Story
  26. Yamato Takeru Rui Akikaze
  27. Rinmeikan Girls School Rui Akikaze/Bond Story
  28. Shōjo☆Kageki Revue Starlight Re LIVE/Story/Main Story 09: Downfall
  29. 29.0 29.1 Sweet Days in Ryugu-jo/Story
  30. Tales of Onikurenai/Story
  31. Hanged Man Rui Akikaze/Bond Story
  32. Starry Diamond Chasing Sirius/Story#Part 5
  33. Yamato Takeru Rui Akikaze/Bond Story
  34. Persephone Tamao Tomoe/Bond Story
  35. Stage Girl Rui Akikaze/Bond Story#Chapter 2
  36. Rinmeikan Girls School Rui Akikaze/Bond Story Rui: I can't wait to get closer to her level and help her shine even brighter.
  37. Tales_of_Onikurenai/Story#Part_4 Rui: Th-That's not... I didn't! I DO want to understand!
    Fumi: Why? Tell me. In your own words.
    Rui: B-Because... I... I want to... I want to be with her. I want to be peers with Tamao-senpai. Equals...
  38. Heir to Splendor/Story
  39. Purehearted White Day Recipe/Story#Chapter 2
  40. Rui Akikaze/Quotes Yukko and I became friends before I knew it. I feel very at ease around her.
  41. Magician Yuyuko Tanaka/Bond Story#Part 2
  42. Shōjo☆Kageki Revue Starlight Re LIVE/Story/Main Story 13: Curtain Rises - The Journey Begins#Part 9
  43. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WsEX2BlAP1E&t=3162s 22:29
  44. Demon Hunter Suiren Yuyuko Tanaka Bond Level 15 Talk
  45. Demon Hunter Suiren Yuyuko Tanaka/Bond Story#Chapter 1
  46. Christmas Oyuyu Yuyuko Tanaka/Bond Story
  47. Carmen - Song of Freedom/Story#Part 11 Yuyuko: Ugh... It wouldn't have been as tough if Lala-san hadn't found that training schedule...
    Rui: You say that, but you got up even earlier than me today too.
    Yuyuko: Erm...a coincidence.
  48. Rui Akikaze/Quotes#School_Uniform At first I thought Fumi-senpai was scary, but she turned out to be great at showing us things.
  49. Rinmeikan_Girls_School/School_Story#Part_7
  50. Purehearted White Day Recipe/Story#Chapter 2 Rui:"I don't doubt that for a moment. I can feel myself growing each and every day, and that's thanks to Fumi-senpai."
  51. Purehearted White Day Recipe/Story#Chapter 2 Rui: "She chews us out a lot, but her critique is always on-point, and she gives amazing demonstrations of proper technique."
    Rui: "When I first heard there was a transfer student from the Siegfeld Institute of Music, they said she'd been one of the top performers there."
    Rui: I don't doubt that for a moment. [...]
  52. Rui Akikaze/Quotes#Urashima Taro Believing someone means that you're not afraid to tell them your opinion, even if it's harsh. Fumi-senpai was so cool...!
  53. Tales of Onikurenai/Story#Final_Part Rui: (She's right...but she's still awesome for being able to say it so matter-of-factly.)
  54. Tales of Onikurenai/Story#Part 4
  55. Purehearted White Day Recipe/Story#Part 2 Rui: "When I first got here and didn't know my way around campus, I was looking for you when Ichie-senpai approached me."
    [...]
    Rui: "Perhaps she was trying to hep me shake my nerves when she offered me a glass of 'barley tea.' ...It was actually noodle sauce."
  56. Purehearted White Day Recipe/Story#Chapter 2 Rui: "Despite us just having met, she spoke to me as she would a close friend, and I opened up to her immediately."
  57. Good Service, Good Acting
  58. New Pop Music? memoir description
  59. Sea God Heir Kaoruko Hanayagi/Bond Story Rui: Oh, I see! Now that you say it, Ichie-senpai used that word [oshi] to refer to me before too...
  60. Winged_Tengu_Ichie_Otonashi/Bond_Story#Chapter_1
  61. Tengu's Handiwork Memoir description
  62. Starry_Diamond_Chasing_Sirius/Story#Final_Part Futaba: Anyway, Akikaze. Your fighting skills were good. I can't believe you're only a first-year student. I have to put more work into it!
    Futaba: Let's practice together sometime!
    Rui: Sure! Anytime!
  63. 63.0 63.1 Stage Before Dawn Part 10 Rui: I'm really grateful for Isurugi-san. We're not even from the same school, but she practices with me in the morning and evenings.
  64. 64.0 64.1 Hanged_Man_Rui_Akikaze/Bond_Story#Part_2
  65. Hanged_Man_Rui_Akikaze/Bond_Story#Part_2 Futaba: Just kidding... Well, to be honest, this should really be something that Tomoe and the others should be teaching you...
  66. Heir to Splendor/Story#Part 4
  67. Heir to Splendor/Story#Part 2 Kaoruko: Haha, give me back Tamao-senpai!
    Rui: Hrrrngh!!!
    Futaba: Hey, Kaoruoko!

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