Marika Tachibana

Marika Tachibana is one of the main characters of the Nisekoi series. She is the daughter of Gen Tachibana and Chika Tachibana who is introduced as the fiancé of Raku Ichijō. Marika is a fair-skinned girl who was considered to be such a beautiful girl in her class that people were awed by her beauty and wondered whether or not she is a model. ("Ordeal") She has hip-length orange hair that is carefully divided into two strands of marigold/marigold cufflinks that she received from Raku Ichijō as a child and orange eyes. As a child, Marika kept her hair very short, but once she met Raku, she let her hair grow out when he told her he liked girls with long hair. She also changed the way she spoke to get closer to Raku's liking for all the changes she did for him but whenever she becomes flustered or embarrassed, Marika returns to her bad speaking habits and becomes timid and soft-spoken, a far cry from her usual behavior. She wears a different uniform compared to everyone else's at the school due to her transferring. She also wears a sailor uniform with a long, pleated black skirt that reaches around her knees, matched with a white-grey shirt and a yellow cravat. In the final chapter, Marika cuts off the two long hair strands and she is now seen with short hair, but she still has the same flower hair clip. Marika is predominantly attracted to Raku Ichijō that she is bold enough to claim herself to be the most suitable girlfriend he can ever have. In fact, among the girls who are attracted to Raku, Marika is the most vocal and upfront as she does not hold second thoughts in her attempts to claim Raku for herself. She does her best to do anything that might appeal to Raku, noting her sheer dedication for him, even as a child, into shaping herself to what she conceives an ideal girl for Raku, putting aside the time that would have been spent for her treatment. All this, coupled with the frail physique she inherited and was born with, Marika always tries to keep her composure in front of her friends and only shows her frailty to her aide - Honda - or whenever nobody is around. Yet this would not yield her in doing something as bodacious such as sculpting Raku a huge chocolate statue in his likeness. However, in the face of her mother, Marika is shown to feel desperate and hopeless, obeying her mother's words to the letter even if it meant hurting the ones she holds dear. Despite this, however, Marika is usually shown in high-spirits, optimistic yet somewhat prideful. She is not afraid of making bold statements to herself and towards others and is rarely shown to lose composure. If so, Marika turns violent, reverts to her vulgar speaking habits and capable enough to throw off Yakuza, Bee Hive and police force members. Back when she was a middle-schooler, Marika is also revealed to be quite manipulative and cunning that she single-handedly was able to beat the ring-leader of the ones who had bullied her and eventually controlling an entire school from the shadows. Though not apparent, Marika genuinely cares for her friends and is usually delighted by their company. She is also shown to be quite perceptive by the agendas that occur between her friends, such as the fake relationship Raku and Chitoge Kirisaki share, as is her being secretive in this regard as well as other matters. Overall, Marika remained a loyal and supportive friend, adamant to her emotions, and a very competitive love rival vying for Raku's affection.