- "I'm just a regular person. I don't belong in Shana and Sakai's world, do I?"
- —Kazumi thinking to herself
Kazumi Yoshida (吉田一美 Yoshida Kazumi ) is Yūji Sakai's classmate and a resident of Misaki City. She eventually becomes rivals with Shana for Yuji's affection and is one of the few notable humans from Misaki City who has knowledge of the existence of Flame Haze and the Crimson Realm.
Appearance[]
Yoshida is a young woman with short light brown hair cut above her shoulders and bangs which come down to her eyes. On the left side of her head, she usually wears two orange hair clips and a large white ribbon which she entwines through a bunch of her hair to form a cross above the ribbon bow. Yoshida has brown eyes and a light complexion. She has a well-developed figure[1] and rather large breasts, though they're not really noticeable unless she's naked or in a swimsuit.
Yoshida has no distinctive characteristics and gives off a modest impression, but can be regarded as cute after a closer look[3] and has pretty facial features.[1] Her smile gives others a feeling of relief.[3]
She is usually seen in her school uniform. With it, she chooses to wear white socks that reach just below her knee. She is 158cm tall.[1][2]
In the side story Hope, Yoshida grows her hair out so that it reaches the middle of her back, though she still wears the hair clips and ribbon.
Personality[]
Yoshida is a very kind, shy and soft-spoken young woman who hardly ever spoke and mostly kept her thoughts and feelings to herself in the beginning. She had had a crush on Yuji for some time, but was unable to confess them even with some encouragement, as Yukari Hirai did,[4] due to her shyness.[1][2] She is very polite, usually using honorifics when talking to people and referring to most people by their last names, including Yuji. She's also quite perceptive, as she can easily catch on to Shana's feelings for Yuji, before she's even conscious of them herself, and vows to declare her love for him before she does.
Yoshida does not stand out in class due to her introverted personality.[1] She is initially very timid, but becomes much more confident in order to confront Shana.[5] Becoming more resolute, Yoshida sometimes demonstrates a surprisingly strong will.[1] Contrary to her usual meekness, when it comes to Yūji, Yoshida displayed a competitive spirit which caused Shana to falter often.[6] After learning the truth about Yūji, she still told him of his humanity in a tender way.[5] Over time, she becomes more cheerful and positive.[7]
She is quite modest about her body, especially her large breasts which she usually keeps hidden, and gets really embarrassed when Kimiko Nakamura gropes her in the shower. Kazumi's hobby is cooking,[8] which she is very good at, often making Yuji bentos. Much like Shana, she also gets very jealous of Fumina Konoe due to all the time Yuji ends up spending with her. After getting advice from Margery Daw about love, however, Kazumi becomes more mature about her feelings, knowing that things like playing a role opposite Yuji isn't the way to his heart. She also starts to believe Yuji will choose Shana over her, being smart enough to know which one of them he cares for more.
Although very kind, Yoshida is still only human, and therefore can be rather selfish at times; when Yuji passes out due to eating the lunches both she and Shana made for him, Shana scolds her for putting his life at risk and tells her to stop interfering. Yoshida retorted that she cares about Yuji just as much as she does, and that she has no right to tell her what she can or can't do.[9] By the time she reunites with Khamsin, however, she seems to have lost this trait entirely, stating she has no right to stop them from fighting Yūji or asking them to save him, as she believes everyone, including Yūji, was risking their lives to save the world, and it would be arrogant to think Yūji needed saving as he was acting on his own accord.[10]
Kazumi is also a very brave and empathetic girl, which is shown when she attempts to make Pheles understand her love for Yuji after realising they have something in common; they're both women in love with men who are out of their reach- Yuji and Johann, respectively, who are also the two bearers of the Midnight Lost Child. Ultimately, she succeeds and Pheles gives her the Giralda, which Kazumi can use to summon her. However, she is shocked to learn that when she uses it, it will consume all of her Power of Existence. As a result, Kazumi feels lost and heartbroken, feeling that the only way to help her friends is by giving up her own life. After thinking it over, however, she decides that if that's what she has to do to help them, she'll do it without a second thought.
Background[]
Yoshida's family consists of her unnamed mother, father and her younger brother Ken. She has a weak constitution[3] and suffers from anemia.[11][12] She was born in Misaki City and has lived her whole life there.[6] In the anime, she has a dog named Ekaterina.
Yoshida had feelings for Yūji Sakai shortly after entering Misaki Municipal High School, but was unable to talk to him due to her timid personality.[3] Yukari Hirai was her close friend.
Plot[]
After being saved by Yūji and Shana in a Phys Ed. class, Yoshida was finally able to approach them and from that point joined Yūji's circle of friends every day for lunch.[13][5]
Yoshida was ignorant of Shana's true nature and her actual relationship with Yuji until the Misago Festival. She grows to be confident in her advances, proclaiming her intent to confess, sparking a rivalry with Shana.
These state of affairs, however, changed after her chance meeting with Khamsin Nbh'w, a Flame Haze, who requested her assistance in his tuning of the distortions in the city. After revealing The Truth of This World to her, Khamsin provided Kazumi an eyeglass which can detect Torches after he realized Kazumi was worried if Yuji was a Torch. Kazumi decided to test the eyeglass on Yuji during the Misago Festival, and was horrified to discover that Yuji was indeed a Torch. However, as the battle with Bal Masqué raged on, Yuji revealed that, with the Reiji Maigo, he would not disappear, and Kazumi eventually accepted that near the end of the season. Also she realizes that if Shana can still love even if knowing Yuji is a Torch, she can also.
Kazumi carries a small relic provided to her by Khamsin during their first meeting, permitting her to move within a Fuzetsu. Yuji became aware of this in the second season. Also, it is revealed that Pheles gave Kazumi a cross shaped Treaure Tool, which would summon Pheles if there was any trouble happening to Yuji/Johann. The setback, according to Pheles as she gave the Treasure Tool to Kazumi, was that it would take all of Kazumi's Power of Existence, if she used it.
In the beginning of the final season she asks why Yuji returned the letters where he explains that he didn't have anything to say so he thought it was the best way without anyone getting hurt. (This indicates that she was rejected and that Yuji chose Shana over her.)
She was later taken to Seireiden by Snake of the Festival Yuji Sakai to be used as a catalyst to the ritual which would reverse the effects of Khamsin's Tuning (ironically, she was the same catalyst for the Tuning ritual). After Shana, Wilhelmina, Chiara, Seere and the three remaining members of The Four Gods of Earth reached Seireiden, the "Flame-Haired Burning-Eyed Hunter" witnesses Kazumi understanding what she needed to do at that time and activates Giralda, calling forth Pheles in the second great battle between the Flame Haze and Crimson Denizens. Luckily for her, she doesn't die as it turns out that Pheles had been lying about the Treasure Tool consuming the user's Power of Existence. It is, in fact, a tool that allows humans to use an Unrestricted Spell, a feat that is usually beyond human abilities due to their incapability of focusing wholeheartedly on even a simple prayer. It is only with the determination to activate the Treasure Tool even with the promise of a fate worse than death that a human could cast their stray thoughts aside and focus. The real danger of using Giralda is the physical strain it places on the user, a factor which had killed the previous user, who was frail from old age and a hard life. Due to her youth, Kazumi is only knocked out by her exhaustion.
While she sleeps, Johann appears in her dreams with a resting Pheles by his side, showing Kazumi the memory of a location that is of great significance to both him and Pheles. Entrusted with their last words and only child, Kazumi wakes up only to find herself in the company of the Hyakki Yakō, who are employed by Pheles to first transport Shana's company to the Seireiden and now attempt to make their escape from the ocean of fellow Denizens.
Yuji uses her memories to revive Yukari Hirai and to restore order in Misaki City.
Other Appearances[]
Novel Appearances[]
Shakugan no Shana[]
Cinderella no Shana[]
Kaguya-hime no Shana[]
Ojō-sama no Shana[]
Sanjūshi no Shana[]
Anime Appearances[]
Shakugan no Shana-tan[]
In Shakugan no Shana-tan, Yoshida has a different personality, referred to as Black Yoshida (ブラック吉田 Burakku Yoshida )[14] or Black Yoshida-san (ブラック吉田さん Burakku Yoshida-san ).[15][16] Unlike her purity in the main series, she is malicious and her catchphrase is "I'll kill her" (殺す ).[16] She acts out her personality seen in the main series whenever Yuji is present, but behind the scenes, she gets irritated at Shana-tan's behavior as well as being jealous of her whenever she is with Yuji, leading to some attempts to kill her. She also stalks them while hiding behind a telephone pole, even having a "Reserved for Yoshida" (吉田専用 ) sign attached to it and using it inside the school or weirdly, at the Sakai Residence.
She is very obsessed with Yuji, even ignoring Ike when he confessed that he loves her. She is also proud of her big breasts, using it to seduce Yuji multiple times by jiggling them and even enlarging them via 10 breast enlargement sessions to seduce him.
Dengeki Bunko 2007 Movie Festival Special[]
In this special, Kazumi goes to Yūji's house with two tickets to the Dengeki Bunko Movie Festival and asks him to go with her. In the theater, Kazumi leaves him to buy drinks and bumps into Keita Kawahira from the Inukami! series. Keita's love interest Yōko sees him talking to Kazumi and uses a spell to make his clothes vanish, to Kazumi's horror. Kazumi screams and runs to Yūji, who is accidentally knocked unconscious by Yōko. Kazumi holds him up against her breasts, which Shana is angered by.[17]
Relationships[]
Yuji Sakai[]
Kazumi is Yuji's classmate. After she worked up the courage to talk to him, the two became quite close friends. Her crush stems from her attraction to his kindess. She confesses her feelings by letter, but is rejected by Yuji. She did not seem entirely upset, stating that she was "...happy as long as he's happy."
Shana[]
Kazumi and Shana initially started as rivals in love. The two gradually became closer, eventually becoming friends. She even wanted the best for both Shana and Yuji. In the anime, she said that Shana and Yuji were the two people she cared about most.
Powers and Abilities[]
Treasure Tools[]
Jettatura (ジェタトゥーラ Jetatūra ): Given to Kazumi by Khamsin Nbh'w, Jettatura is a monocle that allows her to see Torches, as well as other existences related to the Crimson Realm, when she looks through it. Kazumi uses Jettatura to find out that Yūji is a Torch.
Giralda (ヒラルダ Hiraruda ): Given to Kazumi by Pheles, Giralda is a cross pendant which allows her to summon Pheles to the exact location the keeper invokes the effect. In doing so it will consume the entire existence of the user.
Quotes[]
- (Thinking) "He's fine. I'm sure he's not a Torch. And at the festival tomorrow, I'm going to tell him that I love him." [18]
- (To Shana) "I am not going to lose to you." [19]
- (To Shana) "There's more to his life than fighting alongside you!" [20]
- (To Shana) "She says it's important that we all try and understand one another. She said that if your love is unrequited, you start to feel jealous of others, but there's no need to be ashamed because that proves how much you really care."
- (To Shana) "I'm not stupid. I see the way Yuji looks at you. He may not have made a decision yet but I know who he'll choose. I've always known. You'd think I'd be upset about it but I'm not. I think it's the right choice for him. The two of you have been fighting alongside each other all this time. But I won't give up." [21]
- (To Margery) "She's a Crimson Denizen. But she's more than that. She's a woman who's in love with a man. We have that in common. We all fall in love. Humans and Denizens alike."[22]
Trivia[]
- Kazumi was born in September.[23]
- Like the other human characters of the series, Kazumi's surname is a homage to Japanese politicians; she is named after Shigeru Yoshida, the former Prime Minister of Japan.
Gallery[]
References[]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 Dengeki G's Festival! Vol.8 Page 18
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 DVD Special Book Grand Grimoire page 11
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Shakugan no Shana Guide Book Nyūmon-hen page 18
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Movie
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Shakugan no Shana Guide Book Nyūmon-hen page 19
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Dengeki G's Festival! Vol.8 Page 19
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Second Saisoku Visual Book page 31
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Guide Book Nyūmon-hen page 07
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Second Episode 02
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Final Episode 07
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Manga Chapter 09
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Episode 04
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Manga Chapter 10
- ↑ Dengeki G's Festival! Vol.8 Page 37
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Marugoto Guide Book page 09
- ↑ 16.0 16.1 Anime Shakugan no Shana II no Subete page 132
- ↑ Dengeki Bunko 2007 Movie Festival Special
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Episode 18
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Episode 24
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Second Episode 02
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Second Episode 11
- ↑ Shakugan no Shana Episode 14
- ↑ Side Story Domicile, Shakugan no Shana Light Novel Volume SII page 65