Nene Kinokuni, a 91st-generation student at Tōtsuki Culinary Academy, ascends to the Sixth Seat of the Elite Ten Council in her second year and later claims the Ninth Seat as a third-year. Heir to the esteemed Kinokuni lineage, her childhood revolved around rigorous training in traditional Japanese arts—classical dance, calligraphy, judo, and naginata—leaving little room for leisure. This relentless upbringing forged an unwavering devotion to precision and tradition, cementing her disciplined, protocol-driven approach to culinary craft. A specialist in time-honored Japanese fare, Nene excels in crafting handmade soba noodles using a centuries-old family recipe. Her technique, stripped of superfluous motion, mirrors years of exacting practice. Though this mastery secured her the highest rank among second-year Elite Ten members, her inflexible adherence to tradition left her unprepared for variables like environmental factors, exposing tactical blind spots. Blunt and reserved, Nene frequently clashes with boisterous rivals such as Terunori Kuga, dismissing first-year students as inconsequential and rejecting challenges from non-Elite Ten peers. Her defining rivalry orbits Satoshi Isshiki, a childhood acquaintance sent to train under her family. Resentment simmers over his effortless mastery of skills she painstakingly honed, driving her relentless pursuit to outstrip him. Aligning with Azami Nakiri during Central’s regime, she retains her Elite Ten status until Sōma Yukihira defeats her in a Regimental Shokugeki. The loss unravels her confidence, laying bare fears of mediocrity compared to Isshiki’s genius. Yet his candid praise—acknowledging her incremental progress as a strength and crediting her influence on his culinary passion—softens her resolve, sparking tearful introspection and fragile emotional growth. Following Central’s collapse, Nene reclaims the Ninth Seat, her ambition now tempered by hard-worn resilience. Her arc traces a shift from brittle perfectionism toward reluctant acceptance of failure’s role in evolution. Physically, she is marked by shoulder-length green hair threaded with delicate braids, pink eyes behind large circular glasses, and the standard Tōtsuki uniform. Her narrative weaves tension between tradition and adaptability, framing perseverance as a counterweight to natural talent. Though post-defeat arcs skimmed her coping strategies, her Elite Ten return signals quiet determination to refine her craft, embracing setbacks as stepping stones rather than endpoints.