About “The Asterisk War” in a few words:

“The Asterisk War” is a Japanese light novel series that was adapted into an anime in 2015. The story takes place in the Rikka High School City, where students with special abilities called “Genestella” compete in battles for fame, power, and wealth. The series follows Ayato Amagiri, a transfer student who enters the school and meets Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld, a princess who teams up with Ayato to win the Festa, a tournament held annually for Genestella students. Along with other characters, they navigate their way through school life and battle against powerful opponents to achieve their goals.

Meet the characters from The Asterisk War

Orphelia Landlufen

Orphelia is that soft-spoken, almost-too-kind type who heals people and also probably knits sweaters for strangers — like, sweet angel energy but with a tiny stubborn streak. She gives off aristocratic calm but then will trip over a rug and laugh it off like nothing happened (adorable and human). Quiet, caring, and a bit mysterious about her past, she’s the one you want at your bedside and also the one who secretly hoards stamps or cookies (I’m not sure which, she might hoard both). Honestly, she feels like a warm cup of tea that knows how to fix your heart — and maybe your sword, if she’s feeling dramatic.

Ayato Amagiri

Ayato is the broody, competent lead who somehow juggles being deadly in a fight with being adorably awkward in conversation — he protects people like it’s his job and also like it’s his hobby. He’s stoic on the surface but melts into genuine care around friends (especially his sister), and oh man does he have hidden depths and weirdly specific hobbies (ramen connoisseur? maybe). He’s skilled, reckless when pushed, and oddly sentimental about small things that surprise everyone. Also he’s that calm center everyone anchors to, even if he pretends not to want the attention.

AR-D

AR-D is the quirky mechanical pal/AI type who should be clinical and precise but actually has the worst timing for jokes and the sweetest curiosity. You expect flat emotionless lines and get weirdly poetic beeps instead — like an automaton who downloaded a poetry app and can’t stop. It glitches sometimes, mishears feelings as software updates, and yet will loyally show up at 3 AM with hot cocoa because that’s apparently in its protocol now. Honestly it’s both creepy and heartwarming and you’d trust it with your secrets and your spare battery.

Sylvia Lyyneheym

Sylvia is the icy, elegant strategist who organizes chaos like it’s a hobby — very poised, very precise, sometimes suspiciously fond of chess metaphors. She speaks in cool one-liners and then surprises you with this rare, soft laugh (don’t tell anyone you heard it). There’s an academic, almost aristocratic vibe but also a tendency to get impulsively protective, which is kind of adorable and confusing at the same time. She collects rules and breaks one or two when someone she cares about needs it, very quietly dramatic.

Irene Urzaiz

Irene is the fashionable, exuberant wildcard who flounces into scenes like confetti and very likely has seven different hats for every mood. She’s playful and loud but don’t mistake that for weakness — she can switch to laser-focused in a blink, which is honestly intimidating. She’s dramatic in the best way, loves gossip and maps and probably has a secret talent for lockpicking (or maybe that was knitting? I can’t remember). Basically she’s the kind of person who will throw a party and then save the world before dessert.

Claudia Enfield

Claudia is cool, composed, and a little deliciously manipulative — think velvet gloves with a steel core. She sips tea, delivers barbed compliments, and somehow makes plotting look like haute couture; also possibly writes melancholy poetry at 2 AM, who knows. There’s a loneliness under that polish that shows up in tiny reckless choices, and that contradiction is what makes her interesting. Even when she’s scheming you kind of root for her, which is slightly unnerving but also brilliant.

Kirin Toudou

Kirin is tiny, fierce, and absolutely committed to the samurai code — polite to a fault and will challenge you to a duel if you insult her training regimen (she’s dramatic but also very sincere). She’s this adorable blend of tsundere sharpness and embarrassing sweetness: scowls one moment, offering you a hand-made bento the next. She loves discipline, hates losing (with a burning passion), and probably has a plushie tucked in her gear which she denies fiercely. Energetic, honorable, and surprisingly clumsy sometimes — like a storm wrapped in a ribbon.

Julis-Alexia von Riessfeld

Julis is the fiery redhead heiress who throws fire and blurts out declarations like she’s composing operas — passionate, proud, and intensely competitive. She can be stubborn to the point of comedy, but she trains like a demon and cares like a soft-hearted monarch (contradiction alert: swears she’s not romantic, then blushes whenever someone looks at her too long). She loves cooking but burns things in the most dramatic way possible (it’s a whole thing), and she fights with such theatrical flair you’d forgive her anything. Basically a walking, yelling inferno of charisma and awkward vulnerability.

Saya Sasamiya

Saya is calm, sweet, and quietly fierce in the way that sneaks up on you — like a gentle melody that suddenly turns into a battle anthem. She’s tender and supportive, the kind of person who remembers your birthday and also knows how to handle a serious fight without breaking a sweat. There’s a soft, almost shy warmth to her but don’t be fooled; she has steel where it counts and a stubborn streak that shows in small, surprising acts (bakes a mean cake and then throws it in your face if you joke about it). She’s comforting, steady, and somehow both one of the most ordinary and most extraordinary people in the room.