Aoyama, Motoko

青山　素子

Motoko Aoyama is a 15-year-old high school student who is quite formal and deeply devoted to kendo, to the extent that her room resembles a samurai's quarters (complete with a suit of armor). She claims descent from a school of demon-slaying swordsmen and demonstrates exceptional skill with her katana. She can often inflict significant damage on boulders or other objects using only her wooden practice sword. Motoko is deeply afraid of her sister, Tsuruko, whose abilities far surpass her own, and she has an unexplained phobia of turtles that persists for most of the series. Initially, she disapproves of Keitaro because she views him as a lecher and a weakling, but she later develops a grudging respect and eventually a hidden affection for him (much to her annoyance). At first, she feels uncomfortable with her femininity, partly because her sister abandoned her sword for a husband, and partly due to her height: she is the tallest person in the house, standing 3 cm taller than Keitaro (171 cm). She later becomes more open-minded due to Keitaro's influence. Regardless of her feelings toward Keitaro at any given time, she still frequently threatens or attacks him with her sword.