Aoi Saitou (斎藤 葵 Saitō Aoi) is a supporting character in Sound! Euphonium series. She was a student at Kitauji High School two years above Kumiko Oumae. She used to play tenor saxophone in the school's concert band until she decided to quit the band in order to concentrate on her studies.
Appearance[]
Aoi is a teenage girl of below-average height and build with approximately shoulder-length black hair that fades to dark green where it is tied in two braids with bangs clipped back by two light blue barrettes on both sides and light green eyes.
She wears the standard Kitauji High School uniform for female third-year students.
Personality[]
Aoi is a very friendly and disciplined girl who is rarely seen being mad or upset, in which she is calm in most situations where she takes everything nicely and she is also shown to be mature, reliable and understanding as she is seen giving Kumiko Oumae advice, which is why she is also seen as a responsible girl.
Background[]
Aoi was a childhood friend of Kumiko Oumae and Shuuichi Tsukamoto, who is two years older than them and they lived in the same neighborhood that they often played together, but they grew apart as they got older.
In the novels, it is said that Aoi was considered a gifted child during her childhood up until middle school. She had applied to top level high schools on the recommendations of her teachers. She however failed getting into them, paving the way for depressing thoughts at Kitauji.
Chronology[]
Aoi was first introduced in Hibike! Euphonium Episode 2, where she appears when Kumiko Oumae and Shuuichi Tsukamoto were talking, and thus meeting them after a long time.
Later, in Episode 7, she announces that she will be quitting the band in order to focus on her academic studies, since she is currently struggling with balancing academics and participation in the concert band. She was also partially motivated to quit because of her disappointment in her inability to prevent the schism of the previous year from transpiring.
Although Aoi no longer participates in the performances of the school band during season 2, she is still willing to show her support for the band in events like buying a hard-to-get ticket to listen to their performance at the Nationals. She is also shown to remain on good terms with other band members including Kumiko and Asuka Tanaka.
Relationships[]
Kumiko Oumae[]
Kumiko and Aoi are childhood friends that lost contact with each other, but they are later reunited when Kumiko joined the concert band in Kitauji High. They are on good terms, often chatting and hanging out after school despite Aoi being two years older than her. Kumiko can openly talk to Aoi when she needs help, since she knows Aoi is a very kind person and will listen. After Aoi quit the band, they, once again, lost their contact; since the two are rarely seen to interact anymore and Kumiko was sad to find out that Aoi never really regretted leaving the band.
Shuuichi Tsukamoto[]
Shuuichi is also Aoi's childhood friend who haven't interacted much, but they seemed to have a close relationship in the past that they later developed a quite friendly relationship after reuniting in high school.
Asuka Tanaka[]
Aoi first met Asuka when she arrived at Kitauji, through Asuka's speech as the year's representative. In their third year, Aoi is in the same class as Asuka. She sees Asuka as a prodigy, capable of doing anything, and thinks she is as beautiful as a model. She has conflicted feelings about her, while Asuka just roams around applying a logic that Aoi is not used to see. She is destabilized by Asuka's presence.
Haruka Ogasawara[]
Haruka and Aoi are friends. Aoi sees Haruka as a capable person though needing to grow, while Haruka shows that she does not want Aoi to leave the band, feeling like it would be a loss for her. She even cries when Aoi finally leaves.
Etymology[]
- The name Aoi means "hollyhock, althea" (葵).
- Aoi's surname Saitou means "religious purification/purification, Buddhist food, room, worship, avoid, alike" (斎) (sai) and "wisteria" (藤) (tou).
Voice Actresses[]
| Language | TV anime | Chikai | Liz | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Japanese | Yoko Hikasa [name 1] | |||
| English | Deneen Melody | |||
| Korean | Kim Sae-hae [name 2] | |||
| Cantonese | Kate Cheng Lai Lai [name 3] | |||
Trivia[]
- Aoi resembles Youko Sasaki, a side character from K-ON! anime series which was also produced by Kyoto Animation.
- Aoi originally wanted to go to Horiyama High School.
- In the novel, Aoi has a little "deformed yellow rabbit" charm keychain on her bag.
Gallery[]
Notes[]
- Native names
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| Note: Section leaders are shown in bold text
1Rejoined the band 2Left the band 3Also in charge of the Tuba and Double Bass sections | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||