Umika Misaki

Umika Misaki
Japanese Name	御崎 海香 (Misaki Umika)
Weapon	Magic book

"What I wanted was not talent, but only to be famous." - Umika Misaki, Chapter 2.

Umika Misaki (御崎 海香, Misaki Umika) is a major character in Puella Magi Kazumi Magica: The Innocent Malice.

An accomplished novelist, she lives lives with her two friends, Kazumi and Kaoru while their parents are working overseas. She provides for them financially with the money earned from her books. She is a Puella Magi, and a member of the Pleiades Saints. She wished for the chance to meet an editor that would recognize her works.

Personality

Kaoru is the brains of the three, and also seems to fill that role with the Pleiades. Although a rather cheery person and far from cold, she keeps her cool most of the time, carefully analyzing situations.

As a writer, she often has episodes of writer's block. When this happens, her personality changes dramatically: she becomes extremely frustrated and grows visible horns, going on a cooking frenzy. Her cooking is rather good, and eating it generally solves her block. When this does not work, she goes on a shopping spree with her friends: given her wealth, money is not an issue. Still, she can be quite stingy: it is said she will go anywhere to save one Yen in groceries.

She wished for an editor who would recognize her works. When asked why she didn't simply wish to be a best-selling author, she states she did not want talent, but fame. This may mean she either believes in her own talent, or simply wants to be famous. Either way, she uses the money she earns to give herself and her friends a comfortable life.

History

This section may contain major spoilers for the Kazumi Magica manga!

Please refrain from reading if you haven't read the latest chapter yet.

Umika with an episode of writer's block.

Umika has so far only appeared in Kazumi Magica.

Her first appearance was at the mall where Kazumi was being traded for a bomb. After getting reacquainted with Kazumi, she and Kaoru led her to their house. While she was out, Kazumi met and fought the police detective from earlier. Umika and Kaoru arrived just after the end of the battle, picking up what a Grief Seed like object (later revealed to be an Evil Nut) that appeared when the detective was defeated.

The next day, she suffers from writer's block, acting awkwardly towards the other girls, growing horns and cooking maniacally. This almost worked, had it not been for an untimely comment by Kazumi. She then used her second trick to overcome her block: shopping. This apparently worked. While leaving the mall, Kazumi's "witch detector" sensed something in a nearby alley, leading her to a pseudo-witch. In the resulting battle, the monster gets the upper hand, prompting Umika and Kaoru to show their own powers to Kazumi and awakening some of her lost memories. However, Kazumi's attempt to follow those memories causes her to nearly hit Umika and allows the pseudo-witch get away. Umika and Kaoru "punish" Kazumi by giving her a new (and rather messy) haircut while telling her about magic and their own wishes. Afterwards, they meet and defeat the same pseudo-witch, who is briefly seen with a mysterious Puella Magi.

Umika reading her opponent's mind with Ex Fille

Sometime later, the three fight a "real" witch. Kazumi hesitates at a critical moment, causing Kaoru to nearly be devoured by it. Umika jumped inside the witch just in time to summon a protective barrier around the two of them, but the witch flees with both of them trapped inside. Kazumi meets the remaining Pleiades, and they engage in a mad rush to save the two before Umika's barrier collapses. They arrive just in time to save them both and defeat the witch.

While they celebrate their victory, they are attacked by the mysterious Puella Magi from earlier, Yuuri. She kidnaps Kazumi, and orders them to go to the Asunaro Dome if they want Kazumi back. They head there, but due to a force barrier, they can do nothing but watch.

However, Kazumi is able to free herself, and engages Yuuri. However, over the course of the battle, Yuuri becomes a witch. Along with the other Pleaides, Umika is trapped on a cross in the witch's barrier, and is enveloped in thorny vines.

The magical girls are then shown a vision of the witch's past as Airi. After that, Kazumi falls under the influence of the Evil Nut and breaks free. However, she is unwilling to fight the witch and even attempts to change her back. Saki then shoots the witch, freeing Umika and the other Saints. They then attack the witch as they explain to Kazumi that they have no choice but to kill her. Umika is seen crying during this sequence. Finally Kazumi delivers the final blow, saying she wishes to share this burden with her friends. She then collapses crying into Umika's arms.

Later, Kaoru and Umika walk home with Kazumi. Kazumi then tells them to go on ahead, as she wishes to be alone.

Umika and the other Pleiades Saints then appear to rescue Kauzmi and Nico from Ayase and Luca Souju. Kaoru says they'll be taking the Soujus' gems. Saki tells Kaoru not to do it in front of Kazumi, but Nico says Kazumi already saw her doing it. Kaoru pulls out both Ayase and Luca's gems with the spell Tocco del Mare. Kazumi angrily asks the others why they're taking the Soul Gems of other magical girls, saying that she said earlier she would bear the burden with her friends. Against Saki's objections, Umika says she'll tell Kazumi the truth about the Pleiades Saints, but is interrupted by Nico's Soul Gem glowing. As she falls over, a witch appears.

As Nico's Soul Gem cracks, we see background text of her thinking that that she'll die without a trace, and she wants everyone to remember. She thinks she doesn't want to kill anyone anymore. The runes coming out of her Soul Gem read "We have no future as long as he's around." The next page has a cover image of a golden-eyed Nico holding a gun, asking to be killed. The Pleiades are shocked to discover Nico has become a witch. Repeatedly shouting "Cut", the witch turns her hands into a single pair of scissors. Kaoru transforms and blocks the attack using Capitano Potenza ("Captain Power"), which encases her arms in a black metallic substance. Kaoru turns to the others and tells them not to stand there. Umika encases herself, Kazumi, and Satomi in a barrier. Saki pushes Mirai in, but Mirai flips out and uses her attack La Bestia ("The Beasts"), causing an army of teddy-bears to appear and chew on the witch. Mirai leaps into the air, turns her wand into a giant sword, and cuts both the bear and the witch in half. The witch dies, yelling "Cut" one last time. She drops a Grief Seed (which notably looks different than Nico's Soul Gem).

Mirai asks Saki if she's alright, but she's still processing Nico's death. Mirai tells her she had to do it, but is interrupted by Satomi screaming that she doesn't want to die or turn into a witch. Jubey and Umika look at the Grief Seed, as Umika wonders how did things turn out like this. Kazumi takes the hand of Nico's body and finds it's cold. As she shouts Nico's name, a voice says "You called?" Everyone is shocked to see another Nico standing behind them. Jubey, a disturbing grin on his face, says that the body was Nico's "spare" and "compensation for Nico's contract". Kaoru asks why Nico didn't tell them. Nico says that to deceive an enemy, you have to deceive your allies.

The scene switches to Mirai's teddy bear museum, "Angelica Bears". Mirai says that in Japanese it's called "Ashitaba" (literally "tomorrow's leaf") and says that Kazumi came up with the name. As they walk inside, they step onto a magic circle. Umika holds out her ring, suddenly transporting them all somewhere else. Umika tells Kazumi that the museum was born from them meeting with her. The walk up to a giant door, which opens into a giant room filled with girls floating in tanks. The middle of the room contains a pile of Soul Gems. Umika explains that after they take Soul Gems, they put the empty shells of the magical girls into "the Freezer". Kazumi says that Ayase was right, and asks why they're doing this. Jubey says that it's their response to the magical girl system, which is full of contradictions: Rejection.

Powers, Weapons & Abilities

Having made a wish related to writing, her weapon is a magical book. It's main function is to read the opponent's mind, their thoughts being written on it. Umika can then use that information to identify the enemy's weakness, and come up with a plan. She can also summon objects from the book, most often a ball for Kaoru's attacks.
For close range attacks, she can transform the book into a double-edged pole, with the covers acting as blades. This pole has the ability to sever the link between humans and pseudo-witches spawned by them.

She can also summon a protective barrier around her, but she can only maintain it for a limited period of time.

Trivia

• While she has normal eyesight, she wears glasses when transformed possibly due to the nature of her wish and even acquiring common gestures such as adjusting them regularly.
• Her first novel, "Maps, Letters and Your Song," was released under the authorship of a top idol without her knowledge.

Speculation

• The note that Kaoru and Umika leave to Kazumi states that they're out dating, but there are no boys around them. Some believe this to be evidence of a romantic relationship between Umika and Kaoru.
• Umika was the only girl who so far was seen recognizing Yuuri. Though her name and outfit were mysteries to her, she recognized her face, once she took off her hat.
• It's speculated that Umika will become Izabel. This is because of her wish and artist blocks. However it isn't known whether Kazumi Magica takes place before or during the anime.

Gallery

• UmikaMisakiColorProfile.png

  Umika in color, from the first volume of Kazumi Magica.

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  Run. Run now.

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  Umika recognized Yuuri when she saw her face uncovered.

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  Umika transforming her book into a double-edged pole.

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  Her pole has the ability to cut the link between a human and the pseudo-witch spawned by it.

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  Art by Takashi Tensugi of Kazumi, Umika and Kaoru.

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