Kanno, Naoe

管野直枝

Kanno Naoe, nicknamed Nao (ナオ), is one of the main characters of Brave Witches. She is a witch of the 502nd Joint Fighter Wing, originating from Fuso, affiliated with the Fuso Imperial Navy, and the "partner" of Karibuchi Hikari.
Background
Born to strict parents, Kanno was an obedient girl as a child who enjoyed reading. She idolized literature and kept a diary of Tanka and poetry. She admired Gallian literature and specialized in the Gallian language at the naval academy. She does not drink alcohol.
She was often picked on by others during her training, including her instructors. Kanno also had the habit of, driven by a vigorous fighting spirit, approaching the target until she reached the very limit. At times, this resulted in a collision and damage to the Striker Unit, which earned her the nickname "Destroyer" (デストロイヤー). On the other hand, because of this, she came to specialize in tactics of closing in on the opponent and then avoiding him by a paper-thin margin.
Simultaneously with her appointment as a Pilot Officer, Kanno was assigned to the European Dispatch Fleet and put into Operation Barbarossa. Assigned to ground units, she provided inland support for the Petersburg Invasion Operation. Afterwards, she took up the duty of defending Petersburg. Also, although it happened only on paper, she would later be moved from the European Dispatch Fleet to the 201st Flying Corps and then to the 343rd Flying Corps.
In the middle of the fight in Europe, and with the intensification of the interchange of witches between nations, she would later become a member of the 502nd Joint Fighter Wing when it was established.
Personality
Kanno is described, in one word, as Napoleonic; despite her small size, she is bold and daring in the air, brash and sometimes belligerent socially. It is an attitude she forces on herself because of the war with the Neuroi: when her Witch abilities woke up, she roused herself by repeating the prayer: "to fight a Neuroi, one should have a ferocious personality". This attitude does not lend itself well to teamwork or cooperation, but under Flight Lieutenant Pokryshkin this is dampened somewhat, perhaps because she resembles an elder sister of Kanno's childhood, whom she remembers fondly.
Kanno embodies a daring combat style, in which "if you run out of bullets use a blade, and if the blade breaks use a body blow". She also operates to good effect against big targets and her pet theory is that "the larger the enemy, the more worthwhile it is to defeat it". Her forte is to do a nose dive from just above the target and fire as the two pass by each other.
Kanno had refused to accept Hikari as a member of the 502nd, because Kanno thought that Hikari was not like her original partner, Takami, anymore. But when Hikari showed her intelligence and will to fight to Kanno, she began to accept her, and they eventually become close friends later.