Naruko Aoba

"Wetting my sleeves with tears in the drizzling rain...O great moon over Matsushima, guide the dazzling lights! This I humbly, humbly beseech thee."

- Naruko Aoba

Naruko Aoba (青葉 鳴子, Aoba Naruko) is the magical girl representative of Miyagi Prefecture, accompanied by her familiar Takesuzume. She appears in Magica Wars Tactics and the anime series.

She was designed by Kae Yamaguchi and her voice actor is Miho Arakawa.

Background
Before becoming a magical girl, Naruko is a typical middle school student who studies in Miyagi Prefecture. She is known for her bright and positive attitude, although she can also be an airhead at times, and often spends her time tending to rice paddy fields near her home. She meets Takesuzume one day, which she mistook for a farm pest, and was struck by Takesuzume's magic, instantly turning her into a magical girl.

After this meeting with Takesuzume, Naruko splits her time between studies and acting as the guardian of Miyagi Prefecture. Naruko showed reluctance to taking up her role because her outfit resembles cosplay, and she even admits that she lacks the resolve to seal Magatsuhi because of how she got her powers. Despite this, Naruko manages to use the urge to protect her hometown to push through her duties.

Abilities
Naruko primarily uses Tanikaze (谷風, lit., "valley wind"), a kokeshi-shaped large mace as a weapon, which has the ability to seal any Magatsuhi struck by it. While using the club in combat slows down Naruko considerably, she can use the ball-and-chain attachment at the end of the club to extend her combat range and take out enemies from a distance.

Design
Key details: ◾Her hair is adorned with a pair of large headpieces similar to the decorations made during Tanabata. ◾The sleeves on her dress, her head and her shoes have details similar to the official seal of Miyagi Prefecture.

Trivia
◾Naruko's name was derived from two festival-related terms. Her first name Naruko was derived from the wooden percussion instrument featured in the Michinoku Yosakoi Festival, while her surname is derived from the Sendai Aoba Festival.