Manari

Manari (マナリ) is a character who was introduced in Nakoruru: Ano Hito kara no Okurimono. She is Nakoruru and Yantamu's childhood friend and she has unrequited feelings for the latter. Most players likely recognize her as the girl that appears during Nakoruru's winposes and intro sequences in Capcom vs SNK 2. Seiuchi, the game's producer, comments that she is a character archetype the Samurai Shodown staff always wanted to add into the series.

She is voiced by Ayako Kawasumi.

Story
Manari comes from a family of bards -called Sinotca (シノッチャ) in the Ainu language- who pass on the village's oral legends through song. She teaches the village's songs to Mikato as she is studying to be the next priestess. While she was confident of her singing ability as a child, Manari couldn't cope with her faults and couldn't bring herself to sing for others as she got older. She is considered a black sheep of sorts in the village but is still respected for her ability to compose music through the town's instruments. Her mother frequently scolds her for neglecting to fine tune her art as she spends most of her days trying to get Yantamu to notice her.

When the time came for the village festival, Manari couldn't bring herself to sing until Yantamu encouraged her. She performs wonderfully and gains the village's respect. Soon after this, she wanted to confess her feelings for her friend but refrained once she saw Yantamu propose to Nakoruru. Heartbroken, she wanted to forsake singing and music until Mizuki terrorized the village.

After hearing the importance of her village's song from the village chief, she decides to compose lyrics for the part of the song that was available to her. By the time she completes the composition and hands it to Mikato, Nakoruru and Yantamu are slain. Determined to keep the story of her friends alive, Manari created a ballad about them, starting in the spring when Mikato first arrived to the village and ending when the girl becomes a priestess in the winter. She tells her listeners that she isn't lonely since her friends are always with her in the tale.

Personality
She is a clumsy yet gentle girl who doesn't like to cause conflict. Since Yantamu liked her singing, she dedicates her singing voice to him. Although she loves to spend time with Nakoruru, she also felt inferior to her when Yantamu compared them.

Music

 * Ashita no Kate - image song; shared with Nakoruru
 * Nidaime no Kiseki - image song

Game Appearances

 * Nakoruru: Ano Hito kara no Okurimono

Cameo Appearances

 * Capcom vs SNK 2 - during Nakoruru's intros and winposes

Anime Appearances

 * Nakoruru ~Ano hito kara no okurimono~ (OVA)