OVA
Description
Kaguya Shijuuin, whose name is also sometimes spelled Shinjūin or Shijyuin, is a prominent character in Kandagawa Jet Girls. She is a student at the prestigious Musashino Girls High School and serves as the ace Jetter for the jet racing team known as Dress, competing alongside her teammate and personal maid, Kuromaru Manpuku.
Physically, Kaguya has a striking appearance characterized by her thigh-length silvery-gray hair, which is often styled into four distinct curled sections and frequently adorned with a butterfly-shaped hair clip on the left side. Her eyes are a bright violet color. She stands 165 centimeters tall and has a birthday on May 10th. In her everyday school life, she wears a lavender jacket over a long purple skirt, which is cut shorter in the front to allow for easier movement, paired with burgundy high-heeled shoes. For jet racing, she dons a full-body wetsuit in black and dark purple, accented by small red triangles on the neck and shoes; in this racing gear, she typically does not wear her signature butterfly hair clip.
Kaguya embodies the archetype of a wealthy, aristocratic young lady. She initially presents as confident, proud, and somewhat arrogant, expecting others to defer to her, as seen when she first arrives at the harbor and assumes people will vacate the area for her team to practice. However, she is also shown to be fair, responding to challenges not with brute force but by proposing a jet race to settle a dispute. Beneath her haughty exterior lies a deep and genuine care for those close to her, particularly her teammate Manpuku, and a strong dedication to the sport of jet racing.
Her primary motivation in the video game storyline is to win the Kandagawa Cup to prevent her father, who is also the principal of her high school, from disbanding the school's racing team. This goal is driven by a desire to prove her worth through personal merit and skill rather than relying on her family's status and influence. She initially focuses on victory at all costs, but her journey reveals a more complex set of values where the well-being of her partner is paramount.
In the narrative, Kaguya and the Dress team serve as the initial rivals to the protagonists, Rin Namiki and Misa Aoi. Their first encounter occurs when Kaguya challenges Rin to a race after Rin refuses to move from a fishing spot. While she starts as an antagonist, she quickly transitions into a respected rival and, eventually, a friend, acknowledging the abilities of other racers gracefully.
The most significant relationship in Kaguyas life is with Kuromaru Manpuku. Manpuku is not only her teammate in jet racing but also her faithful maid and best friend, hailing from a family that has served the Shijuuin family for generations. Kaguya is aware of Manpukus status as a shinobi, or ninja, and treats her with deep affection and respect. This bond is most powerfully illustrated when Kaguya is willing to forfeit a crucial race and abandon her chances of winning the Kandagawa Cup to protect Manpuku`s health after seeing her overwork herself to the point of collapse. She regularly rewards Manpuku with meals, such as trips to all-you-can-eat buffets, demonstrating that she values their friendship above their formal master-servant relationship.
Kaguya undergoes notable development throughout the series. Her character arc sees her evolve from a competitor obsessed with winning to a leader who understands the greater values of teamwork, compassion, and the spirit of the sport. She experiences defeats, such as losing the Kandagawa Cup to Rin and Misa, and accepts them with grace, vowing to improve her skills and showing respect to her rivals. In her interactions with the Grindcore team, she even takes on a mentorship role, using a strategic loss to teach them that jet racing is about more than just victories and defeats, showing her growth into a more mature athlete.
As a jet racer, Kaguya is renowned for her exceptional skill and tactical mindset on the course. She is depicted as someone who works extremely hard behind the scenes, engaging in rigorous physical training that includes using weights, gym equipment, running, and even unconventional methods like bungee jumping to maintain her peak physical condition. A notable aspect of her racing style is her reserved use of her jet`s boost function, which she employs only as an absolute necessity. This strategy demonstrates both her confidence in her baseline abilities and her tactical efficiency, as she prefers to rely on her conditioning and skill rather than overusing power-ups.
Physically, Kaguya has a striking appearance characterized by her thigh-length silvery-gray hair, which is often styled into four distinct curled sections and frequently adorned with a butterfly-shaped hair clip on the left side. Her eyes are a bright violet color. She stands 165 centimeters tall and has a birthday on May 10th. In her everyday school life, she wears a lavender jacket over a long purple skirt, which is cut shorter in the front to allow for easier movement, paired with burgundy high-heeled shoes. For jet racing, she dons a full-body wetsuit in black and dark purple, accented by small red triangles on the neck and shoes; in this racing gear, she typically does not wear her signature butterfly hair clip.
Kaguya embodies the archetype of a wealthy, aristocratic young lady. She initially presents as confident, proud, and somewhat arrogant, expecting others to defer to her, as seen when she first arrives at the harbor and assumes people will vacate the area for her team to practice. However, she is also shown to be fair, responding to challenges not with brute force but by proposing a jet race to settle a dispute. Beneath her haughty exterior lies a deep and genuine care for those close to her, particularly her teammate Manpuku, and a strong dedication to the sport of jet racing.
Her primary motivation in the video game storyline is to win the Kandagawa Cup to prevent her father, who is also the principal of her high school, from disbanding the school's racing team. This goal is driven by a desire to prove her worth through personal merit and skill rather than relying on her family's status and influence. She initially focuses on victory at all costs, but her journey reveals a more complex set of values where the well-being of her partner is paramount.
In the narrative, Kaguya and the Dress team serve as the initial rivals to the protagonists, Rin Namiki and Misa Aoi. Their first encounter occurs when Kaguya challenges Rin to a race after Rin refuses to move from a fishing spot. While she starts as an antagonist, she quickly transitions into a respected rival and, eventually, a friend, acknowledging the abilities of other racers gracefully.
The most significant relationship in Kaguyas life is with Kuromaru Manpuku. Manpuku is not only her teammate in jet racing but also her faithful maid and best friend, hailing from a family that has served the Shijuuin family for generations. Kaguya is aware of Manpukus status as a shinobi, or ninja, and treats her with deep affection and respect. This bond is most powerfully illustrated when Kaguya is willing to forfeit a crucial race and abandon her chances of winning the Kandagawa Cup to protect Manpuku`s health after seeing her overwork herself to the point of collapse. She regularly rewards Manpuku with meals, such as trips to all-you-can-eat buffets, demonstrating that she values their friendship above their formal master-servant relationship.
Kaguya undergoes notable development throughout the series. Her character arc sees her evolve from a competitor obsessed with winning to a leader who understands the greater values of teamwork, compassion, and the spirit of the sport. She experiences defeats, such as losing the Kandagawa Cup to Rin and Misa, and accepts them with grace, vowing to improve her skills and showing respect to her rivals. In her interactions with the Grindcore team, she even takes on a mentorship role, using a strategic loss to teach them that jet racing is about more than just victories and defeats, showing her growth into a more mature athlete.
As a jet racer, Kaguya is renowned for her exceptional skill and tactical mindset on the course. She is depicted as someone who works extremely hard behind the scenes, engaging in rigorous physical training that includes using weights, gym equipment, running, and even unconventional methods like bungee jumping to maintain her peak physical condition. A notable aspect of her racing style is her reserved use of her jet`s boost function, which she employs only as an absolute necessity. This strategy demonstrates both her confidence in her baseline abilities and her tactical efficiency, as she prefers to rely on her conditioning and skill rather than overusing power-ups.