Tsubasa Shibahime
At first glance, Tsubasa seems like a little girl because of her looks and height. She’s cute, she whines, she pouts : she’s your average fifteen-year old girl adored by all. Tsubasa, like every other person, has her likes and dislikes and her big dislike are men. Time and time again, Tsubasa is hurt by the men in her life. Take for example, her longtime friend, Soichirou, was her crush and she had planned on confessing to him once they entered highschool. However, she does attend Hokuei High School until later on in the manga/anime because of a skateboard accident and when she returns, Soichirou is already claimed by Yukino. Tsubasa then finds out later that her father who has taken care of her ever since her mother passed away is planning on getting remaried. For our little princess, Tsubasa had hoped that she’d be the only girl in both Soichirou and her father’s life and that with her by their side, they would all be content. When she finds out that they are allowing other women into their lives, Tsubasa is devastated and feels even more lonely. When she finally meets her step-brother, Kazuma, she soon finds herself falling for him even though she was against her father’s remarriage in the first place.
Tsubasa is definitely one of the most dynamic characters of Kare Kano for she learns to open up again to the world. She matures and learns to grow up and to accept many things that may hurt her. Even though she doesn’t get along with some people, such as Yukino, she learns to like her and eventually is attached to her. Tsubasa may be overlooked as a character who’s just simply “there”, but she is definitely more than that. Despite her cute childish behavior (which includes overdose of sweets), Tsubasa is a girl full of many mixed emotions and her way of thinking is very complexed. In a way, she learns to become independent and knows that the only way to find happiness is to get up and go for it rather than sit at home and sulk about it. Tsubasa is more than just a pretty face and defines a lot of what “girl power” is. There is definitely something amazing about this princess of ours.
Tsubasa is known commonly as the baby of the group in Kare Kano. Most of the time, you’ll see her eating candy whenever the group is eating lunch. In the anime, you can see that she loves Totoro and in the manga, you will see that she loves big cats. When Tsubasa’s in a bad mood, she’ll become violent and scratch people. Despite her violent nature at times, Tsubasa is like a real princess deep down. It also makes sense since the “hime” in her name means “princess” in japanese. She’s a good homemaker and takes good care of her father and the house they live in.
