Kana Arima

"I'm no prodigy. In fact, I believe I got to where I am today, because I was able to realise that on my own early on. But that doesn't mean I won't try to live up to those expectations! even an unrivaled prodigy would die if you stabbed them! There are many ways to put up a fight. Ah, please edit that out though. I went overboard with my metaphor."

Kana Arima (かな) was a child prodigy and actress, a friend of Aquamarine and Ruby Hoshino, and the lead idol of the renewed B-Komachi. Before this, she used to be a popular figure in the entertainment industry, one who always stole the show with her talent. Due to this, however, she started getting fewer jobs, and had to change her acting style to be more adaptable to survive in the industry.

Despite her predicament, she never gave up on honing her talents. Even if the jobs she was able to land were B-grade at best, she would do what she could to gain back what was once lost. This gave her leeway to encounter Aqua and Ruby, which presented her many opportunities to achieve success and amicable relationships.

Appearance
Kana is described as a cute girl having an innocent face. She has pinkish-red hair and eyes and shoulder-length hair with blunt bangs. Due to her occupation and high fashion sense, she often wears a variety of outfits. She is much shorter when compared to the other casts especially when compared to her rival Akane Kurokawa.

Personality
Kana is described as foul-mouthed and sharp-tongued which often leads her into trouble. Nonetheless, she can be empathetic, cheerful, confident, and weak to pressure. Her most evident trait is her diligence. She continued honing her acting even when she couldn't find work, as is her ability to raise or lower her quality of acting so she doesn't stand out. She also puts the quality of the product above everything else, even her reputation as an actor.

Aqua once remarked that she has always been rude and that he's once wanted strangle her back when they were kids. When she a child, she can be described as pompous and imperious, always putting herself and her acting career above her peers. Furthermore, she would make sure others know how precocious she was by comparing herself to them and continuously degrading their efforts.

After she was humbled by Aqua, she became attuned to the darkness of the world and realised she was no genius. When they were kids, Akane Kurokawa confessed that she was an avid fan of hers, and states that the staff was joking when he said that Kana was already chosen before the audition happened. Kana snapped at her for being ignorant and taught her the meaning of match fixing. She proceeds to snatch her hat and tells Akane that she hates people like her the most.

In truth, Akane deduced that Kana was just insecure and wanted to feel needed. She was afraid and wanted people to look at her and so, she held herself back and matched others expectations. However, the time where Kana shines the brightest is when she acts selfish and imposing. Subsequently, Kana began to not hold back and let herself loose, immediately drawing everyone’s attention. As a young adult, Mem-Cho notes that she has a rather materialistic side to her after she had splurge on many items for a video of theirs.

Kana has had a crush on Aqua since they reunited. This feeling was further strengthened when she saw him multiple times supporting their idol group. When Aqua kissed Akane, she was utterly destroyed and wept in her room, calling him a jerk. Whenever possible, she would give him the silent treatment or ignore his existence entirely so they did not have to converse.

She resolved herself to move on from him and consequently fell in love with Pieyon after being impressed by his fitness level and resemblance to Aqua. On one occasion when Pieyon was unavailable, Aqua wore his disguise and had a heart to heart talk with Kana. After the talk, Kana saw Aqua's face after he'd removed the mask momentarily. She then resolved herself once again to make Aqua like her.

She is constantly jealous of Akane's position as Aqua girlfriend and would unceasingly remind them every chance she gets that their relationship is only for show and isn’t authentic. She has invited Aqua to go out with her when he wanted to get new things for his vacation, though the latter rejected since he had a date with his girlfriend. Undeterred, she practically begs for them to go the day after his date. When Aqua finally agreed to go on an outing with her, she envisioned them 'doing it' at the end of it though instead, she was sent off after their meal. Nonetheless, she made sure to gloat after wards to Akane, who wasn’t bothered by her shallow attempts to make her jealous.

Story
Kana Arima was an actor since she was three years old, also known for being a prodigy. She was so confident in her craft that she belittled and underestimated Aqua's skills when they were children. This popularity spike faded away little by little as she grew up, being described as a one-hit-wonder. Kana adapted her acting style to put others in the spotlight, intentionally diminishing her skills for the sake of larger productions. She had to take odd jobs like Pepper Workout to remain in the entertainment industry, but her persistence led her to reunite with Aqua and Ruby at the same high school.

Kana's knowledge and connections with the entertainment industry piqued the interest of Aqua, using her as one stepping-stone to get closer to his goals. After she and Aqua performed a grand finale for an adaptation of the manga "Sweet Today", she was called upon by the two siblings to ask if she could join the in-the-works revival of B-Komachi. Although initially against this, her weakness to pressure caved into their demands.

After the ending of LoveNow (a reality dating show), Aqua convinced Mem-Cho, one of the co-stars, to join the new B-Komachi. Now she, Ruby, and Kana act as the group's first three members. They made their first debut at JIF.

Etymology

 * The name Kana (1) is written in hiragana (かな), which has no special meaning. However, when written in kanji (香菜, 香奈, 佳奈, 加奈, 夏菜 or 花奈), it could possibly mean:
 * 香菜 - "fragrance, fragrant" (香) (ka) and "vegetables, greens" (菜) (na).
 * 香奈 - "fragrance, fragrant" (香) (ka) and "apple tree" (奈) (na).
 * 佳奈 - "good, beautiful" (佳) (ka) and "apple tree" (奈) (na).
 * 加奈 - "add, increase" (加) (ka) and "apple tree" (奈) (na).
 * 夏菜 - "summer" (夏) (ka) and "vegetables, greens" (菜) (na).
 * 花奈 - "flower, blossom" (花) (ka) and "apple tree" (奈) (na).
 * Kana's surname Arima means "exist" (有) (ari) and "horse" (馬) (ma).

Trivia

 * In an early flashforward, Kana refers to Aqua as "A-kun".
 * In the "Reality Dating Show" arc, it was revealed that many people has referred to Aqua as "A-kun".
 * This may possibly hint that their relationship are on friendlier terms in the future compared to the present where Aqua does not have a good impression of her.
 * Kana dislikes bell peppers.