Naruko Anjō, commonly known by her childhood nickname Anaru, is a central character in the story. She is a childhood friend of the other former members of a close-knit group called the Super Peace Busters. At the start of the narrative she is a first-year student at the same high school as Jinta Yadomi, though he has largely stopped attending classes. Outwardly, Naruko presents herself as a flashy gyaru with bleached orange hair styled in twin tails, heavy makeup, and trendy, sometimes revealing clothes. This appearance is a deliberate change from her quieter childhood self and represents an attempt to fit in with popular peers after entering high school. However, beneath this confident exterior she is actually shy, awkward around boys, and deeply insecure. Her personality is marked by a strong need for external validation and approval, which often makes her easily influenced by others and prone to making impulsive decisions based on peer pressure.

Naruko’s central motivation is her enduring, unspoken love for Jinta, a feeling she has carried since childhood. This love is complicated by intense jealousy and admiration for Meiko Honma, the deceased friend whom she believes possessed all the qualities Naruko herself lacks: flowing hair, a gentle personality, and Jinta’s focused affection. She also bears a heavy burden of guilt, as she blames herself for the accident that led to Menma’s death. Years earlier, she had asked Jinta directly whether he liked Menma, and the resulting emotional turmoil is believed to have precipitated the tragic events that followed. This unresolved guilt and her conflicted feelings drive much of her internal struggle throughout the narrative.

Naruko’s role in the story is that of an emotional anchor who embodies the tension between wanting to move forward and being trapped by the past. She is often the first to express frustration or anger when the group resists confronting their shared history, and her reactions bring hidden friction to the surface. She serves as a bridge between the present lives of her scattered childhood friends and the unresolved grief that binds them together. Her journey is one of learning to accept her own feelings and her past mistakes, ultimately finding the courage to admit her love for Jinta and to participate fully in the group’s effort to grant Menma’s final wish.

Her key relationships are shaped by shared memories and unresolved emotions. With Jinta, she oscillates between coldness and genuine care, often hiding her concern behind sharp words. Her unreciprocated feelings for him create a constant emotional tension. With Menma, even as a spirit, Naruko experiences a mix of fondness, inferiority, and resentment, which she gradually learns to forgive in herself. With Yukiatsu, she shares a complicated dynamic of mutual understanding and manipulation; he sometimes exploits her insecurities, but they also recognize each other’s pain. Her friendship with Tsuruko is marked by an undercurrent of rivalry over Yukiatsu, yet they share a deep, unspoken bond as the two girls who remember Menma most vividly. Poppo is the one who most readily accepts Jinta’s claim of seeing Menma, and Naruko finds a dependable ally in him as she reconnects with the group.

Over the course of the story, Naruko undergoes notable development. She begins as a character who avoids the past, keeps up a fashionable front to mask her vulnerabilities, and struggles with social anxiety and the fear of judgment. A turning point occurs when she is involved in a scandal with an older boy that leads to ostracism at school, forcing her to quit attending classes and confront the cost of trying to fit in. This event, combined with Jinta’s continued focus on Menma, pushes her to reevaluate her priorities. She gradually lets down her defenses, admitting to Jinta that she cannot bear to see him hurt and that her love for him has never faded. In the climax, she contributes to the group’s plan to build a rocket to fulfill Menma’s wish, working at a part-time job to help fund the project. Her final confession on a bridge that she loves Jinta and that he is irreplaceable marks her emotional maturity and acceptance of her true feelings.

Naruko does not possess any supernatural abilities. Her strengths are emotional: she demonstrates resilience, empathy, and a capacity for honest self-reflection when pushed. Her weaknesses stem from her insecurities, jealousy, and tendency to be swayed by others, but she grows past these limitations by the end of the story. Her physical description includes medium-length wavy orange hair, brown eyes, and a height of approximately 164 centimeters. She works at a video game store and owns a large collection of manga and video games, a hobby that helps reconnect her with Jinta and Poppo. Her character arc illustrates the difficulty of letting go of guilt, the importance of self-acceptance, and the enduring strength of childhood bonds even after tragedy.