TV-Series
Description
Mao Onigawara is the eight-year-old main protagonist of Ground Defense Force! Mao-chan. She is a cheerful but easily frightened elementary school student who serves as the Ground Defense Force member. She has long pink hair tied into pigtails with red bows and purple eyes. She lives with her father, who works as a covert operative for the Japanese Defense Forces, and her grandfather, Rikushiro Onigawara, who is the Chief of Staff of the Ground Defense Force. Her mother is deceased, a fact she mentions during a school sports festival.
Mao was raised from a young age to embrace a strong sense of defense spirit instilled by her grandfather. This makes her the most enthusiastic of the three girl defenders, but she is also a crybaby, extremely timid, clumsy, and a very slow runner. Her lack of athletic ability often leads to mistakes during missions, and she frequently trips or fails to execute her part correctly, especially when using the team's ultimate attack, the United Defense Barrier. When she gets flustered, she has a habit of exclaiming "Aueu."
Her primary role in the story is to defend Japan from invasions by cute aliens, alongside her two best friends and fellow defenders: Misora Tsukishima, who represents the Air Defense Force, and Silvia Maruyama, who represents the Naval Defense Force. The three girls attend the all-girls Saint 14 Academy, where they live a normal school life while also being deployed to combat alien threats. Mao's dedication to her duty is genuine, but her youthful vulnerability means the team often ends up crying during televised battles, which paradoxically earns them public sympathy and continued government support.
Mao has a close relationship with her grandfather, who assigns her the mission, and she is especially attached to her toy tank, which is officially named "White Tiger" but which she personally calls "Mee-kun." She pilots this tank during ground operations. Her key relationships also include her father, who is rarely present due to his top-secret work, and her two teammates and classmates.
In terms of development, Mao starts the series as an eager but inept defender. Over time, the story shows her gradually gaining some practical aids, such as a pair of rollerblades that are provided to compensate for her poor running speed, but she remains fundamentally clumsy and emotionally fragile.
Mao's notable abilities come from her green clover-shaped badge, which is part of the United Defense Force equipment. The badge allows her to transform by downloading Type-2 Ground Gear, which consists of a red band uniform and a double-ended baton. The baton is summoned from a crystal orb attached to her belt. This transformation does not grant any supernatural physical enhancements; it merely provides the uniform and weapon. Together with Misora and Silvia, she can perform the United Defense Barrier, which uses the Light of Kusanagi to create a triangular barrier around an alien. However, Mao's part in the procedure often goes wrong because she misses catching the energy beam, resulting in the barrier exploding and damaging a large area. Her green badge also functions as a communicator and tracking beacon connected to headquarters. Despite her limitations, Mao remains the central figure of the team and is considered a symbol of Japan, which eventually makes her a target for alien abduction.
Mao was raised from a young age to embrace a strong sense of defense spirit instilled by her grandfather. This makes her the most enthusiastic of the three girl defenders, but she is also a crybaby, extremely timid, clumsy, and a very slow runner. Her lack of athletic ability often leads to mistakes during missions, and she frequently trips or fails to execute her part correctly, especially when using the team's ultimate attack, the United Defense Barrier. When she gets flustered, she has a habit of exclaiming "Aueu."
Her primary role in the story is to defend Japan from invasions by cute aliens, alongside her two best friends and fellow defenders: Misora Tsukishima, who represents the Air Defense Force, and Silvia Maruyama, who represents the Naval Defense Force. The three girls attend the all-girls Saint 14 Academy, where they live a normal school life while also being deployed to combat alien threats. Mao's dedication to her duty is genuine, but her youthful vulnerability means the team often ends up crying during televised battles, which paradoxically earns them public sympathy and continued government support.
Mao has a close relationship with her grandfather, who assigns her the mission, and she is especially attached to her toy tank, which is officially named "White Tiger" but which she personally calls "Mee-kun." She pilots this tank during ground operations. Her key relationships also include her father, who is rarely present due to his top-secret work, and her two teammates and classmates.
In terms of development, Mao starts the series as an eager but inept defender. Over time, the story shows her gradually gaining some practical aids, such as a pair of rollerblades that are provided to compensate for her poor running speed, but she remains fundamentally clumsy and emotionally fragile.
Mao's notable abilities come from her green clover-shaped badge, which is part of the United Defense Force equipment. The badge allows her to transform by downloading Type-2 Ground Gear, which consists of a red band uniform and a double-ended baton. The baton is summoned from a crystal orb attached to her belt. This transformation does not grant any supernatural physical enhancements; it merely provides the uniform and weapon. Together with Misora and Silvia, she can perform the United Defense Barrier, which uses the Light of Kusanagi to create a triangular barrier around an alien. However, Mao's part in the procedure often goes wrong because she misses catching the energy beam, resulting in the barrier exploding and damaging a large area. Her green badge also functions as a communicator and tracking beacon connected to headquarters. Despite her limitations, Mao remains the central figure of the team and is considered a symbol of Japan, which eventually makes her a target for alien abduction.