Atsuko 'Nuku Nuku' Natsume

Atsuko Natsume, known as Nuku Nuku (English: "snuggly-wuggly"), is the main protagonist of the All Purpose Cultural Cat Girl Nuku Nuku OVA, TV series, and DASH OVA. In the DASH series, Atsuko is named Atsuko Higuchi, rather than Atsuko Natsume, but retains the Nuku Nuku nickname. In all three, her Japanese voice actress is Megumi Hayashibara and her English voice actress is Allison Keith. In the OVA and TV series, Nuku Nuku is shown as a green-eyed, magenta-haired young girl of around fourteen to sixteen with a large bust, while in DASH, she is depicted as a nineteen-year-old girl, with green hair and golden eyes. In all three incarnations, Nuku Nuku will often have robotic cat ears pop out of her head. Atsuko Natsume is an alias that Nuku Nuku was given to pass as a real girl; she prefers to be called Nuku Nuku which is considered her true name. In truth, she is a biotech-type android of sorts with the brain (or nervous system as some sources claim) of a cat inserted inside. She was originally a cat until an incident (differs depending on each series) caused her brain to be transferred into the body of a war robot built by Mishima Industries. In the OVA and TV series, Nuku Nuku was created by Kyusaku Natsume, while in DASH, she was created by a friend of his. Regardless of which series, Nuku Nuku lives with Akiko, Kyusaku and their son, Ryuunosuke, who she considers her family. In the OVA, Nuku Nuku acts as the protector for Ryunosuke while he's in the middle of a custody battle between Kyusaku and his wife, Akiko, the granddaughter of the weapons-producing Mishima Industries. They parted when they argued about the usage of his NK-1124 android (who would become Nuku Nuku), and Kyusaku took their son with him. In the TV series, Nuku Nuku's role as protector changes, since Akiko and Kyusaku live together (albeit dysfunctionally and always arguing). Instead, she's protecting her family and her classmates from the machinations of Mishima Industries (whose president is different in this series). In DASH, Nuku Nuku's role as protector degrades, only using her powers to stop berserk machines of Mishima, or occasionally their human agents, as she is programmed to protect all life. Like in the TV series, Akiko and Kyusaku also live together (still slightly dysfunctional) But, like Nuku Nuku, they have more mature natures as Akiko still works for Mishima Industries but in a lesser capacity and wears glasses. In this series, Ryunosuke is now 14 years old and has an immense crush on Nuku Nuku, who in this series is referred to by the name Atsuko Higuchi. Personality In all three series, Nuku Nuku is displayed as happy, caring, naive, and protective of her loved ones. But, In DASH She has a little more maturity. Nuku is very attached to her "father", Kyuusaku, even going so far as to refer to him as "Papa-san". She generally prefers not to fight and does not display any aggression to people who have wronged her. For example, in the OVA, Nuku Nuku does not hate Akiko at all, and even calls her "Mama-san,". In the same series, another android known as Eimi tried to steal Nuku Nuku's body (and later just focused on destroying her), but Nuku Nuku took her actions as just simple playing. Nuku Nuku is also an amazing homemaker in all three series, shown by how she's always cooking and cleaning for her family and with a smile on her face. Nuku Nuku always feels she has to protect someone when they're in danger, whether they're her friends and her family. She will only fight when this happens. Due to her personality and attractive figure, Nuku Nuku is always the main attraction of many young boys. Once when she worked at a restaurant, she was the sole reason their business tripled from all the young men coming in to see her. The strongest and more complex of Nuku Nuku's relations would be with Ryuunoske. In the OVA, Ryuunoske was the one who discovered her as a cat (shortly before she was injured, leading her to becoming an android). She is most protective of him, as a devoted older sister, which usually spurs on her powers. In the OVA, it is likely this is due to the kindness he showed her by taking her in when she was a stray cat. Nuku Nuku always wants to be there for Ryuunoske, once suggesting she'd go to his school instead because she'd thought he'd be lonely without her. Nuku Nuku always tries to make Ryuunoske happy; for example, when she damaged his bike by accident, she went to work to buy him a new one. In DASH, her relationship with Ryuunoske is changed to that of a young man with a crush on the cute girl. Still, they share a deep closeness rivaling their sibling one in the OVA and TV series, and by the end of the series, Nuku Nuku has found herself reciprocating Ryuunosuke's romantic feelings, though this revelation comes just as she essentially commits suicide to stop her homicidal sister Rei Rei, making the moment bittersweet for the both of them. One of Nuku Nuku's most played-on quirks is the fact she's still technically a cat in mind. Often, she will get excited when she sees a mouse and will chase after it, though this is only seen in the OVAs, TV series and manga, while in DASH! she does not portray those characteristics, instead she will often paw at her face with a fist as if grooming herself. This is typically seen after mealtimes or just after waking up from the previous night's sleep. Nuku Nuku is also a sucker for catnip in all forms of animation and the manga except for her appearance in DASH, in which she and Kyuusaku make every effort to conceal her nature and origins until the very end of the series.